Kobe Hikaru had known for a long time that this world was not simple.
On the first day of his transmigration, he discovered the existence of yokai.
Those hideous faces, twisted bodies, and instinctive killing intent did not match any movie or show he had ever seen.
For a while, he thought he had transmigrated into some original otherworld, a chaotic era ruled purely by demons and monsters.
During his first week here, he witnessed the spiritual power of an exorcist.
That day, a purifying arrow shot from somewhere far away had nearly pierced straight through him, giving him a deep understanding of the iron law that “spiritual power counters demonic energy.”
During his first month, he pieced together the general background of this era from the casual chatter of several yokai.
Japan’s Warring States period.
Warlords carved up the land, feudal lords fought endlessly, and human lives were cheaper than grass.
Yokai ran rampant, the night belonged to demons, and villages lived from one morning to the next.
Human forces such as exorcists, onmyoji, and shrine maidens kept the yokai forces in check, and neither side could completely devour the other.
But he had never been able to confirm exactly which world this was.
Was it an original Sengoku setting?
Or was it from some work he had seen before?
Until now.
The Shikon Jewel.
Kikyo.
The demon slayer clan, the ancestors of Sango and Kohaku.
When those key terms were put together, the answer was already obvious.
It was an anime he had watched countless times before transmigrating.
Its name was Inuyasha.
Hikaru looked at the Shikon Jewel in his hand.
This jewel could be called the core item of the entire Inuyasha story.
According to legend, it was born from the battle of the Four Souls, formed after a shrine maiden and hundreds of powerful yokai perished together.
Sealed inside the jewel were the four souls: Aramitama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama.
They represented the four human virtues of courage, friendship, wisdom, and love.
At the same time, the resentment of yokai was also sealed within it.
The forces of good and evil eternally clashed inside the jewel.
Whichever side gained the upper hand would determine the jewel’s nature.
If it was held by someone with a benevolent heart, the jewel would exert purifying power.
If it was held by a malicious yokai, it would cause that yokai’s strength to skyrocket.
That was probably why the swarm of yokai earlier had been willing to chase the old man at all costs.
As long as they obtained the Shikon Jewel, they could ascend in a single step and become high-level yokai.
Perhaps even great yokai.
And that was only the current situation.
In the original story Hikaru knew, countless factions had also fought until their heads were broken and bloodied over this jewel.
The protagonist, the half-yokai Inuyasha, wanted to use it to become a full yokai.
Naraku, the main villain formed from countless yokai, also wanted to use it to become the strongest existence.
Even Hikaru himself had once sat in front of a screen and fantasized, ‘If only I could get the Shikon Jewel.’
Now?
It was lying right in his palm.
“Damn it.”
Hikaru cursed, unsure what expression he should make.
Surprise?
Definitely.
But more than that, he felt a sense of absurdity.
Then again, if this really was the world of Inuyasha, then his current point in the timeline should be…
The era when Kikyo was still alive.
Because the old man had said that Kikyo was the only person capable of suppressing the Shikon Jewel.
In the original story, Kikyo had indeed been the shrine maiden who guarded the jewel.
In other words, at this moment, there were still at least fifty years before the original Inuyasha timeline began.
Which meant…
This stretch of time was enough for him to do many things.
For example…
He looked at the system panel again.
[Shikon Jewel]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[Current State: Dormant]
[Affection: Cannot be unlocked.]
[Unlock Condition: Find the “Suppressor.”]
The Suppressor.
The name the old man had mentioned before his death.
Kikyo.
“So I have to find Kikyo first before I can unlock the Shikon Jewel’s affection?”
Hikaru frowned.
This condition was a little troublesome.
Kikyo was the shrine maiden who guarded the Shikon Jewel.
Her spiritual power was overwhelming, her archery was divine, and she specialized in dealing with yokai.
In the original story, she had once shot down countless demons with a single arrow and was known as the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States period.
And what was he right now?
An oni samurai.
A yokai.
Kikyo’s primary hunting target.
He even suspected that the purifying arrow that had nearly skewered him back then had come from Kikyo herself.
“If I just show up at her door, won’t she shoot me into a pincushion again?”
Hikaru felt a headache coming on.
He could already imagine the scene.
That would be far too unfair.
But he soon thought of another possibility.
The system only said he had to “find” the Suppressor.
It did not say he had to make direct contact.
Maybe as long as he brought the Shikon Jewel near Kikyo and triggered some condition, it would automatically unlock.
“Worth a try.”
Hikaru tucked the Shikon Jewel into his clothes.
In any case, the old man had entrusted him with delivering this thing to Kikyo before he died.
It was conveniently on the way.
Whether to fulfill the old man’s final wish or to unlock the Shikon Jewel’s affection, he had to find Kikyo.
He could also use the jewel directly, but when he thought about the original story, where people or yokai who used the Shikon Jewel never had good endings and eventually became dependent on its power, Hikaru felt that the affection route was safer.
He stood up and walked to the cave entrance, looking out at the night beyond.
The demonic energy in the distance had already scattered.
The yokai who had been chasing the old man seemed to have given up.
Maybe they had lost track of the target.
Maybe they had sensed that the Shikon Jewel had changed location.
Either way, he could not stay here for long.
That horde of yokai would find him sooner or later.
“A village beyond several mountains…”
Hikaru recalled the old man’s words.
That should be where Kikyo was.
He lowered his head and glanced at the system panel.
[Demon Blade Muramasa: Current Affection: 27.]
His affection had risen quite a bit after all the killing earlier.
But he was still three points short.
After all, killing one yokai did not always mean gaining one point.
“No rush.”
Hikaru sheathed Muramasa.
“I should run into plenty of yokai on the way to find Kikyo.”
After all, he was now carrying the Shikon Jewel.
To yokai, this thing was probably no different from a walking slab of meat.
“Perfect.
I can travel and grind monsters at the same time.”
He stepped out of the cave and vanished into the night.
But before leaving, he still glanced back at the old man’s corpse.
“Don’t worry.”
He said.
“I’ll let your grandson and granddaughter know about your death.”
“If I get the chance.”
With that, he turned and left.
Moonlight fell over the cave entrance, stretching his shadow long behind him.
After a few steps, he stopped again and looked up at the moon.
“Kikyo…”
He murmured.
To be honest, he was not against this mission.
In fact, one could even say—
He was looking forward to it.
Kikyo.
In the work he had watched before transmigrating, Kikyo had been one of his favorite characters.
That shrine maiden in a white kosode and red hakama, with black hair like a waterfall and a cool, distant face, yet still revealing softness and fragility in certain fleeting moments.
She was powerful, yet toyed with by fate, dying with hatred in her heart.
Even after being revived as a walking corpse, she still kept that nobility and pride.
Hikaru still remembered how he had felt when he first watched the scene where Kikyo completely vanished.
It had left him bitterly unsatisfied.
Very bitterly unsatisfied.
Of course, even setting all of that aside, based purely on what Hikaru had seen and experienced in this world, it would still be difficult for him not to be interested in Kikyo.
After all, she was a powerful and beautiful young woman.
And although Hikaru had become a yokai, he still possessed a human self and human awareness.
More than that, he still had desires and impulses that belonged to a human.
‘What if I can save her?’
The thought flashed through his mind.
But it lingered for a long time.
As for Inuyasha or whatever…
He could go sit in a corner and stay there!
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