Hiruko, the Leech Child

General Summary

Declaring that he would kill them to avenge his brother Kagutsuchi, Hiruko attacked the group and the battle against the last of Izanami's sons began. In addition to fighting the Slug Prince, the group also had to contend with the filth that filled the bottom of the Dokuro's skull which spawned abominations formed of gore and viscera and would attempt to puppet and control the group's movements. Benkei suffered a number of grievous injuries and along with Genji, resorted to using the Graces they'd received from Amaterasu and Susano'o to turn the tide. Though Benkei eventually succeeded in striking Hiruko down, it was not without cost, as both Fai and Niktaor had succumbed to the body destroying effects of Hiruko's leech bile.   With Hiruko defeated, the Dokuro that housed the mausoleum began to crumble and fall apart, freeing several of the captives from their cages. The group landed and Benkei and Izanagi began searching for the demonic amulet, finding it inside of Hiruko's body, wrapped around a jar containing Hiruko's original fetus. Genji and Honoka attempted to pacify the surviving captives, but upon getting an odd chill, Genji demanded that the group abandon them and have Izanagi teleport away. Unable to come to a consensus on how to precede without Izanami or the Molydeus finding them, they were caught off guard as the sky above was suddenly filled with stars and two comets crashed down nearby and a pair of Retrievers emerged from within.