The night between them was dark and filled with ghostly shadows.
The sun had already set, and even the last mottled traces of twilight were fading bit by bit.
Outside, demonic energy spread and churned, while the barrier covering the village still stood firm.
It was as unmoving as a true wall.
At that moment, Kobe Hikaru’s system panel began to flash.
[Detected completion of a purification action involving the host.]
[Judgment: The host killed the demon, and spiritual power completed the purification process.
This is recognized as valid cooperative purification.]
[Naohi unlock conditions met.]
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi affection route unlocked.]
[Current Affection: 1 (Budding).]
Hikaru stared at the panel and froze for a brief instant.
How convenient.
Also, just as expected, this actually passed the system check!
“So a yokai can be an exorcist too,” Hikaru thought with some emotion.
“As long as he finds a partner.”
And his partner was currently standing on the stone steps ten jō away, drawing a second arrow in his direction.
Once again, she did not shoot at Hikaru.
Instead, the arrow flew toward a spot three steps behind him to the right, where two one-eyed oni were raising their spiked clubs and circling around from his blind spot.
White light pierced through them, and the two one-eyed oni turned to ash at the same time.
The aftershock of spiritual power spread outward, incidentally purifying the centipede demon corpse Hikaru had already cut down nearby.
For some reason, though, this time the jewel’s affection did not increase.
Hikaru had no time to think about that, nor did he need to look back.
Through the blood mist drifting behind him, he already knew what that arrow had hit.
He also knew one thing.
Kikyo had chosen to cooperate with him.
It was not trust.
Kikyo did not know him at all.
But she had already made the most correct judgment.
This was the battlefield instinct of the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States period.
With only a few breaths of observation, she had grasped one fact.
This oni samurai carried the Shikon Jewel, and the jewel’s Naohi was glowing.
Naohi represented good intent.
Naohi had never been wrong.
So at least in this moment, this yokai was not an enemy.
That was enough.
On a battlefield, no further reason was needed.
The third arrow that followed shot toward a point five steps in front of Hikaru to the left.
A snake-bodied yokai trying to lunge at his ankle from the ground was swallowed by white light, turning to drifting ash along with two yokai corpses he had cut down beside it.
The fourth arrow flew over his head, blasting a bird-headed monster diving from above into powder in midair.
Every arrow avoided his body by a hair’s breadth, yet with terrifying precision.
Some even howled past his ear, the aftershock of spiritual power making his skin heat slightly, but never injuring him in the slightest.
As that spiritual power spread, it also purified the yokai corpses Hikaru had slain earlier, turning them to ash.
Slaughter and purification moved in sync.
“She really understood it…”
Hikaru muttered under his breath, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly beneath the oni mask.
After all, he had not even had time to reveal the Shikon Jewel’s light properly, yet that shrine maiden had already managed to cooperate with him this well.
They had not exchanged a single word beforehand, but their coordination on the battlefield was unexpectedly smooth.
Wherever his blade passed, yokai corpses were left behind.
Wherever her arrows reached, those corpses became ash.
Offense and defense.
Blade and bow.
Demonic energy and spiritual power.
Two completely opposite forces had somehow formed an unspoken and astonishingly seamless cooperation in that moment.
Hikaru split open a blue-skinned oni charging straight at him, then twisted his blade and cut off the limbs of a centipede demon beside it.
Behind him, Kikyo’s arrow purified both corpses.
He deliberately controlled his battle position within ten to fifteen jō from the edge of the barrier.
This distance was just within Kikyo’s ideal shooting range, and it was also close enough for the aftershock of her spiritual power to cover the corpses he left behind.
Too close, and Kikyo’s arrows might injure him by accident.
Too far, and the spiritual aftershock would not reach, making purification impossible.
Ten to fifteen jō was the optimal answer. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
And Kikyo had clearly understood his intention in an extremely short amount of time.
Her arrows were almost synchronized with his killing speed.
Every time he killed three or four yokai, she would release one arrow, and the spiritual aftershock would cover those corpses at just the right moment.
As expected of Kikyo.
Even if she had not yet reached her peak, her battlefield insight was already absurdly strong.
She did not even need to fully open her eyes.
With spiritual perception alone, she could perfectly grasp his location, his rhythm, and the position of every corpse he left behind.
Then, at the most precise moment, she would release that arrow.
Not too early.
Not too late.
Not a hair off target.
[Demon Blade Muramasa: Affection +2.]
[Current Affection: 76.]
[It has conveyed a message to you: “Having someone help kill and serve the dishes feels amazing!”]
“For once, you said something sensible.”
Hikaru complained, then continued swinging his blade.
But when he cut down the thirtieth small fry—
The four high-level yokai finally moved.
Compared to Hikaru’s pleased mood, those four high-level yokai were clearly not feeling nearly as wonderful.
In fact, their mood could only be described as terrible.
According to Hikaru’s definition, these were yokai above the Six Changes, and their intelligence was clearly not something those muddleheaded lesser demons could compare to.
They could think.
They could coordinate.
They could even curse.
Bzzzt!
Another demon-purifying arrow shot out, drawing their attention while covering Hikaru.
It exploded beside the single-horned oni, forcing it to flee in panic to avoid being destroyed on the spot.
“What the hell did that shrine maiden eat growing up?
Why is she so damn strong?!”
The single-horned oni cursed, its blue-faced, fanged expression looking uglier than ever.
At the same time—
Boom!
The spiked club in its hand swung forward and smashed against the surface of the barrier, producing a thunderous impact.
Ripples spread across the barrier in layers.
“Break it open!”
The single-horned oni roared.
It knew they could not keep dragging this out.
If this continued, the shrine maiden might get tired, but they would definitely die first.
Only by breaking this barrier and rushing inside would they have any chance of winning.
Only in close combat could they threaten that shrine maiden.
As soon as it shouted, the giant python opened its bloody mouth and spat out a cloud of dark green poisonous mist, spreading it across the side of the barrier.
The three-eyed crow dove from high above, its three eyes shooting three beams of demonic light at the same time, blasting the top of the barrier.
Three attacks struck together.
At last, cracks appeared in the barrier.
The hannya-masked oni samurai seized the moment and swung its blade toward the cracked area.
Thick demonic energy erupted from its rust-covered tachi, and its slash tore the crack even wider.
“There’s an opening!” the single-horned oni shouted in delight.
“Keep going!
Smash the barrier apart!”
But inside the barrier, Kikyo opened her eyes.
Her gaze swept over the cracked area without the slightest panic, and she only spoke one word.
“Seal.”
More spiritual power surged from her palms, transforming into countless threads of light that flew toward the crack.
Those threads were like needle and thread, stitching the fissure shut bit by bit.
In an instant, the barrier was restored to its original state.
The tiny opening those four high-level yokai had worked so hard to create had not even lasted half a breath before vanishing without a trace.
“How is that possible?!”
The single-horned oni could not believe it.
The four of them had attacked together, and they still could not break through?
After fighting for so long, that shrine maiden still had this much spiritual power left?
But Kikyo’s brows furrowed slightly.
Maintaining the barrier, shooting arrows to purify the yokai horde, covering the oni samurai carrying the Shikon Jewel, and repairing cracks in the barrier—fighting on four fronts at once was starting to pressure even her.
Her firing speed began to slow.
The rhythm she had built with Hikaru was disrupted.
Hikaru also sensed the change.
“Looks like they’re getting serious.”
He looked toward the four high-level yokai.
The single-horned oni, the giant python, and the three-eyed crow were still bombarding the barrier.
But the hannya-masked oni samurai was no longer attacking it.
It had turned its head.
It had noticed the disturbance behind them.
It had also seen Hikaru.
The gazes of two oni samurai met across the battlefield.
Behind the hannya mask, a pair of deathly gray eyes burned with cold killing intent.
“You!”
The single-horned oni finally noticed the chaos on their flank.
It pointed at the hannya-masked oni samurai and roared, “Go kill that traitor!”
The hannya-masked oni samurai said nothing.
It only tightened its grip on the rust-covered tachi.
Then its figure vanished from where it stood.
At the same time, Hikaru felt a dangerous aura.
He did not sense it through blood mist.
It was instinct.
The instinct of one oni samurai facing another.
He turned sideways.
A streak of blade-light sliced through the place where he had just been standing, carving a deep trench into the ground.
The hannya-masked oni samurai stood five steps away, and the rusted blade in its hand was still dripping blood.
Hikaru’s blood.
A cut had opened on his left shoulder, and faint gray smoke rose from the wound.
That was the trace of demonic energy corroding him.
“A yokai helping humans kill yokai?”
The hannya-masked oni samurai spoke.
Its voice was hoarse, like something crawling out of a grave.
Hikaru did not answer.
He only tightened his grip on Muramasa and lowered his center of gravity.
He knew this opponent was different.
It was stronger than all the small fry he had killed before.
At the very least, it had reached the Six Changes of Body Transformation.
Six Changes meant the limit of Body Transformation, a body possessing six mutations distinct from normal living creatures.
Hikaru only had five.
The gap was obvious.
But—
With Kikyo supporting him, he naturally would not let this chance go.
The only question was whether Kikyo could spare any attention right now.
Those three high-level yokai were still attacking the barrier, and she was continuing to repair the cracks they created.
In other words, for a short while, he might not have any ranged support.
“Then I’ll hold it myself first.”
Since he had already acted, there was no point hesitating now.
It was just a fight.
He had already experienced far too many of those on the road here.
When you lived with your blade licking blood, chasing one hundred percent safety was impossible.
Opportunity had always walked side by side with danger.
At least this time, he was not alone.
Behind him, someone was helping him.
That was enough!
“Come on!”
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