Before the three blue-skinned oni corpses even hit the ground, the system panel popped up with a new prompt.
But it was not the one Kobe Hikaru had expected.
It was still only Muramasa’s affection.
As expected, he knew it would not be that simple.
Killing and purifying were two completely different things.
No matter how fast his blade was, all it did was cut a yokai’s body in two.
The demonic energy still remained in the corpse, and the resentment still lingered in the blood.
That was not purification.
That was chopping vegetables.
As for true purification—his gaze drifted uncontrollably toward the inside of the barrier.
Every time Kikyo’s demon-purifying arrow struck a yokai, its body would turn to ash inside the white light, leaving not even bone fragments behind.
That was purification.
Spiritual power completely burned away demonic energy and scattered resentment until nothing remained.
Clean, thorough, not a single trace left behind.
“So that’s why I need her help…”
Hikaru muttered under his breath.
But here came the problem.
He was standing inside the yokai horde, while Kikyo was inside the barrier.
Between them were ten jō of distance and who knew how many yokai.
How was he supposed to coordinate with her?
How could he make Kikyo’s arrow “just happen” to hit a yokai near him?
How could he make the aftershock of her spiritual power “just happen” to cover the target he had killed?
There was also an even more fundamental problem.
Did Kikyo know him?
No.
As a professional shrine maiden who hunted and exorcised demons, was there any chance she would feel goodwill toward an oni samurai who suddenly popped out of a pile of yokai?
Absolutely not.
Would she treat him as a target too?
Very likely.
“…Forget it.
Thinking too much won’t help.”
Hikaru tightened his grip on Muramasa.
To unlock Naohi, he had to complete a purification.
To complete a purification, he had to borrow spiritual power.
The closest source of spiritual power was Kikyo’s arrows.
So all he needed to do was drive yokai into Kikyo’s shooting range.
No, that was not right.
They were already in her shooting range.
He just needed to kill loudly enough for Kikyo to notice him.
To make her notice that he was killing yokai, not helping them.
To make her notice the light of the Shikon Jewel on him—
At that thought, Hikaru’s heart moved.
He looked down at his chest.
The light of the Shikon Jewel was still there, dimmed by the cloth wrapping and his armor, but still present.
What if he removed the cover?
No.
Too risky.
That light would attract every yokai’s attention.
At that point, he would not be driving yokai away; the yokai would be driving him instead.
But what if he only revealed a little?
Just for an instant?
At the exact moment he cut down a yokai, he could let the Shikon Jewel’s Naohi light flash once—just enough for Kikyo to sense it.
She was the Suppressor.
She had a natural perception of the Shikon Jewel. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Even if it was only a momentary glimmer, she should be able to catch it.
“I’ll gamble.”
Hikaru made his decision, but before he could act—
Boom—!
An explosion rang out from the western ridge, and the ground shook violently.
Demonic energy.
Powerful demonic energy had appeared.
And it was not just one source, but four, coming from four different directions.
The first to appear was a single-horned oni.
It stood over two jō tall, with deep purple skin and a curved horn jutting from its forehead.
It leaped down from the ridge and landed behind the yokai horde, smashing out a massive crater as it raised a spiked club made from an entire tree.
The second was a giant python.
Its body was as thick as a water jar and roughly five jō long, covered from head to tail in blue-black scales.
Its forked tongue flickered through the air.
The third was a three-eyed crow, its body as large as a warhorse.
Its three eyes shone red, blue, and yellow.
As for the fourth—
Hikaru’s instincts sounded the alarm again.
At the edge of the yokai horde, a humanoid figure was walking over slowly.
It wore tattered samurai armor, held a rusted tachi in one hand, and wore a white hannya mask over its face.
Judging from its appearance and posture, that was also an oni samurai.
But it was stronger than Hikaru.
At the very least, it had completed all Six Changes of Body Transformation, one change more than him.
“Four high-level yokai…”
Hikaru muttered to himself, but he no longer had time to hesitate.
These were clearly the four powerful auras that had been hiding around them just now.
Once those four things joined the battle, the situation would instantly worsen.
At that point, Kikyo would already be too busy dealing with them, let alone paying attention to an oni samurai mixed into the yokai horde.
He had to create enough noise before they launched their attack.
He had to make Kikyo see him.
He had to make Kikyo see the Shikon Jewel.
And let her make her judgment.
“Go!”
Hikaru no longer hid.
He rushed out from the corpse pile and swept Muramasa horizontally.
A one-eyed oni blocking his path was cut in half at the waist.
Its upper body flew out and crashed into several other yokai.
Hikaru did not stop.
He kept pushing forward, blade-light flashing again and again.
The head of a snake-bodied yokai flew off, a centipede demon’s shell was split open with its organs spilling across the ground, and two blue-skinned oni were pierced through by the same slash in between.
“What is that?”
“An oni samurai?
He’s killing our people!”
“Kill him!”
Roars erupted from every side as over a dozen yokai broke away from the main force attacking the barrier and pounced toward him.
Perfect.
This was exactly what Hikaru wanted.
He wanted to create chaos.
The more chaotic, the better.
Chaotic enough that even Kikyo would have to look over.
He charged into the incoming yokai, Muramasa dancing in his hand.
One slash, one life.
Yokai blood sprayed, and [Blood Resonance] fully activated.
The blood droplets scattering through the air became his eyes, bringing every yokai’s position, movement, and attack path into his perception.
Dodge left, cut right, thrust forward, sweep back.
He carved a bloody path through the horde, his armor already dyed deep purple by yokai blood.
But in truth, he did not need to keep killing.
Because Kikyo had already seen him.
Inside the barrier, in front of the shrine, Kikyo’s hand stopped.
She had been drawing her bow, the arrowhead aimed at an earth-moving yokai that was trying to dig under the barrier.
But at that instant, her spiritual perception caught a clear signal.
She saw it too.
The light of the Shikon Jewel.
It was not far away.
It was nearby.
It was—
Inside the yokai horde.
Kikyo’s eyes widened slightly.
She abandoned her original target and swept her gaze quickly across the battlefield outside the barrier.
Chaos, blood, and killing filled every corner, with yokai slaughtering and trampling over one another.
Yet within that chaos, there was one figure that stood out.
He was killing yokai.
A yokai was killing other yokai.
He wore battered crimson armor, with loose pale hair, a red oni mask, and a black tachi in his hand that gleamed with a cold purple light beneath the moon.
And that Naohi light from the Shikon Jewel just now—
It had come from him.
Yes.
Kikyo could see it directly.
As the one already chosen as the Suppressor, her eyes could pierce through every obstruction and see the existence of the Shikon Jewel.
The shrine maiden froze for only a brief instant.
Although she did not understand what was happening or why, she made her decision in that single moment.
The bowstring was drawn to its limit.
The direction of the arrowhead changed.
It no longer pointed at the burrowing earth yokai.
It pointed instead toward the yokai horde near that oni samurai.
Toward the demon who was killing demons.
Whoosh—!
The demon-purifying arrow shot out.
White light tore through the gray-green demonic energy, passed through the barrier, and struck a snake-bodied yokai that was lunging at Hikaru from the side.
Spiritual power exploded.
The snake-bodied yokai’s body burned, collapsed, and turned to ash inside the white light.
Not even bone fragments remained.
And the aftershock of that spiritual power—
It happened to cover the three blue-skinned oni corpses Hikaru had cut down first.
Ash.
The three corpses turned to drifting dust in the aftermath of the spiritual power, scattering with the wind until nothing remained.
Cleanly.
Completely.
That was—
Purification.
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