Inuyasha picked up the red skull, which was slightly larger than his palm, and examined it for a moment.
His thoughts unconsciously turned toward Higurashi Kagome.
Technically speaking, Yura of the Hair had been the first deadly crisis he and Kagome faced together.
Despite being a modern girl raised in peaceful times, Kagome had not been defeated by the evil surrounding her or the desperate situation where death could come at any moment.
Instead, she had faced the demon with courage, care, and determination.
That strength of character was truly extraordinary!
It only made him like and miss her even more.
‘I can’t wait to meet you, Kagome.’ Inuyasha suppressed his longing and swaggered forward as though he owned the place.
He casually tossed Yura’s lifeline into the air as he stepped across the scattered bones and stopped beside her.
He lowered his gaze.
The seductive and enchanting demoness from her first appearance had been reduced to a broken rag doll.
Blood spread beneath her ruined shell, soaking the hair and shattered bones covering the ground.
She lay on her back in a shadow untouched by moonlight, her limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
Her exposed skin was covered in blood and grime, with none of its former seductive beauty or sharp menace remaining.
Like the lost travelers she had suspended in her nets and beheaded, Yura had become a lamb awaiting slaughter in Inuyasha’s hands.
Her entire body was immobile.
Only her eyes could move, and the light in them had faded into the cloudy haze of approaching death.
She heard footsteps crushing the bones underfoot.
They came closer and closer before finally stopping beside her.
Yura stared up at Inuyasha beneath the moonlight.
He casually weighed the red skull in his hand—the object that held her life and everything she possessed.
Moonlight poured down behind Inuyasha, coating his outline in cold silver while hiding his face in shadow.
Fighting and killing were normal among demons.
It was nothing more than the strong devouring the weak.
With matters having reached this point, Yura had nothing to say.
She only wanted to curse him—viciously and without restraint!
She had been happily minding her own business as a homebody when someone attacked her for absolutely no reason.
‘What do you mean I’m dangerous?
Aren’t you far more dangerous than me, you damned half-demon bastard?!’ ‘Hurry up and die already!’ Her once-radiant pink eyes could only glare into the golden arcs flickering in his own.
The fury burning in her pupils replaced all the curses she was unable to voice.
Now that victory was assured, Inuyasha was in no hurry to finish her.
‘Should I kill her or not?’ Inuyasha believed that transmigrating into an anime world without building a harem was practically the same as being impotent.
Combined with his tendency to collect things, this left him unwilling to kill her.
After all, she was the beautiful bad woman who had amazed him during his childhood.
Killing her so casually would be a waste, and keeping her nearby would at least give him something pleasant to look at.
From the perspective of someone who intended to stand above others, he also needed capable humans and demons to work beneath him.
Yura unquestionably met those requirements.
Her hair-control technique could only be seen by priestesses.
Against ordinary humans and demons, it was a weapon of mass slaughter that completely surpassed roadside trash like Mistress Centipede.
‘But I’ll need to tame her first.’ Having made his decision, Inuyasha crouched and brought the red skull close to Yura’s face.
Under her furious gaze, he repeatedly scraped his nails against the crown of the skull.
The spiritual comb serving as her anchor lay directly beneath that thin layer of bone.
Scrape—scrape— The sound of his nails dragging across the bone rang with terrible clarity across the silent cliff.
Every scrape was like a blunt knife slowly sawing through Yura’s nerves.
She could only watch as her lifeline was carelessly toyed with between his claws.
Any one of those scrapes could become her final death knell.
The torment of waiting for death was even more maddening than death itself.
Her eyes widened until they nearly split at the corners.
The murderous fury in her gaze seemed to pierce Inuyasha’s skull ten thousand times.
Once Yura realized she was merely raging helplessly, she closed her eyes.
Her lashes trembled against her bloodstained cheeks as she seemingly abandoned all resistance and surrendered herself to fate.
Then she heard him speak.
His light, casual words drifted down alongside the bone dust falling above her.
“Yura, do you want to live?” The sudden glimpse of hope made Yura’s eyes snap open.
Inuyasha was looking her over.
‘You evil half-demon!’ Yura cursed him inwardly.
What reignited in her eyes was not hope, but even greater suspicion and vigilance.
She would never trust this half-demon’s nonsense, so she closed her eyes again.
Yet the instant her eyelids met, she opened them once more.
Inuyasha had completely removed her comb from the red skull.
He now held it in his hand, casually turning it back and forth as he played with it.
The teeth of the comb extended between his fingers, glowing with an unnatural red light beneath the moon.
His movements were casual and gentle, as though he were handling an amusing little toy.
However, every finger rested against the comb’s spine.
That was its most fragile point.
The slightest pressure would snap it.
The terror of death crawled back into Yura’s heart.
Her true body was now completely exposed between those sharp claws, without the slightest protection.
She could feel the warmth of Inuyasha’s fingertips traveling through the comb’s spine.
She could even feel the tingling sensation of his nails gently scraping across its surface.
Her entire life now hung from the hand the dog demon was holding so carelessly.
“Do you really not want to live?” Inuyasha asked her again.
After repeatedly struggling along the boundary between life and death, Yura suddenly began to hesitate.
Inuyasha noticed the change in the demoness’s expression.
He chuckled and placed the comb against her chest.
The instant its spine touched her skin, Yura’s eyes lit up and her hair surged into motion.
Thousands upon thousands of strands rushed in from every direction and completely enveloped her body.
The strands pulled her broken bones back into place and stitched her torn flesh together without leaving a gap.
Even the gaping wound through her chest vanished beneath their delicate weaving.
If she learned the principle behind “Art is an Explosion!” and combined it with this unconventional recovery ability, her combat power would reach an entirely different level.
Before long, Yura was once again standing in front of Inuyasha.
Her short black hair swayed gently in the night breeze.
The cloudy haze had vanished from her eyes, leaving them clear and shining with an alluring light once more.
Even her revealing black ninja outfit had been flawlessly repaired by the strands.
Inuyasha bent down, picked up Benigasumi, and casually tossed it toward her.
Yura raised a hand and caught her beloved sword.
She was considering whether to make a tactical retreat when the dog demon raised his claws, which gleamed with a cold light beneath the moon.
A wild smile spread across his face.
“Come with me and see the world.” Yura stood frozen, staring at Inuyasha, whose expression clearly said, “Follow me or I’ll beat you to death.” Her eye twitched.
After holding herself back for a long moment, she finally spoke.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll ambush you?” “You’re not capable of it.” Inuyasha gave her a disdainful look before turning away.
“Stop dawdling.
It’s already late, and I still need to sleep.” ‘Who was the one who came out in the middle of the night to harass a woman?!’ The night wind swept through the valley, stirring the withered strands covering the ground as the demoness finally stepped forward.
Walking across the shattered hair and bones beneath the moonlight, Yura followed the silver-haired figure ahead with her face flushed red.
Her ninja outfit blended into the darkness, leaving only the occasional flash of her yellow belt beneath the moon.
‘Inuyasha, you’ll regret this!’ …