[Blood Resonance].
The effect of this ability was even more outrageous than Kobe Hikaru had expected.
And it did not disappoint him at all.
The instant he swung his first slash and the first drop of blood splashed into the air, countless new perspectives suddenly appeared in his vision.
Those perspectives came from the blood.
Every drop of blood had become one of his eyes.
All directions, three hundred and sixty degrees, without a single blind spot.
A snake-bodied yokai was gathering strength behind him to the left, a bird-headed monster was spreading its claws above him to the right and diving down, and three blue-skinned oni were closing in from the front with bone clubs raised.
He could see all of it clearly.
This thing was absurd.
Hikaru wasted no words.
His body reacted before his thoughts could catch up.
He stepped to the left and swept his blade backward.
Pfft.
The blade sliced precisely into the snake-bodied yokai’s vital point.
Its serpent body was still charging forward, but its head was already tumbling in place.
There was no need to turn around.
Because the blood splashing through the air told him that the bird-headed monster was already two feet above him.
Hikaru leaned forward and stabbed his blade upward.
In a normal fight, this move would have been practically suicidal.
His back was turned to the enemy, his blade pointed skyward, and he had completely abandoned his defense.
But he could see.
The tip of the blade pierced through the bird-headed monster’s lower jaw and burst out through the top of its head.
The yokai’s claws scraped across his back, only tearing away a few broken armor plates.
A hair’s breadth.
Hikaru flicked his sword, sending the bird-headed corpse flying toward the three blue-skinned oni in front of him and knocking them off balance.
He rushed forward at once.
Three slashes.
Three heads hit the ground.
[Demon Blade Muramasa: Affection +1.]
[Current Affection: 31.]
Comfortable.
For the first time, Hikaru felt like he had room to spare in battle.
It was not because the enemies were too weak.
It was because he could see everything.
Blood was his scout.
As long as there was blood on the battlefield, he was the master of this area.
And right now, this battlefield had no shortage of anything, least of all blood.
“Kill him!”
The blue-skinned oni boss hid behind the yokai horde and roared.
More yokai surged forward, filling the gaps left by their fallen companions.
Hikaru did not stop.
He charged straight into the horde.
It was an insane choice.
But [Blood Resonance] had given him the right to be insane.
Blade-light flashed.
Once, twice, three times.
Every slash raised a spray of blood, and every spray of blood widened his field of vision.
He moved through the yokai horde like a fish slipping into water.
Not a single yokai could ambush him.
Their blood had already betrayed their positions.
Thirty breaths passed.
Another twelve yokai fell.
Hikaru’s swordsmanship grew faster and smoother.
The strength of these yokai varied wildly.
Some died in one slash.
Some needed two.
A few could even block his attacks.
There were clear gaps between them.
Where did those gaps come from?
They lay in the differences in their forms, in how far they had “mutated” from whatever they had originally been before becoming yokai.
Some were only ordinary deformed creatures with discolored skin and sharp claws.
That was all.
Some had clearly mutated much more thoroughly, growing horns, scales, tails, and other organs that should not have existed.
A small number were larger than others of their kind, and their movements were more agile and ferocious.
This was the essence of yokai.
Change.
From weak to strong.
From ordinary to demonic.
Every change was an evolution, and every evolution made a yokai stronger.
Over these three months, Hikaru had gradually figured out this system.
A yokai’s growth was divided into four major stages, known as the Four Transformations.
The first stage was called Body Transformation.
It was the most basic kind of change, referring to mutations in bodily structure.
A wolf growing horns, a snake growing feet, an insect growing wings, a fish growing claws.
These visible partial mutations were the signs of Body Transformation.
Body Transformation was divided into six minor stages, corresponding to the limits of what a normal creature could directly control: four limbs, head, and torso.
These were known as the Six Changes.
Every completed change would give the body a new mutated trait, and its strength would rise accordingly.
Some were obvious.
Some were not.
Some changes were reflected in the muscles and bones, barely visible from the outside, yet still making the creature abnormally strong.
Once a yokai completed all Six Changes, it could attempt to break through to the next major stage.
Substance Transformation.
Substance Transformation generally corresponded to changes in mass and size.
It was a step beyond partial mutation, becoming an overall transformation.
At this stage, a yokai could alter the size of its body.
It could grow larger or smaller as it wished, eventually reaching a “perfect mass” based on its original species.
After Substance Transformation came Energy Transformation.
Energy Transformation was a further metamorphosis built upon perfect mass.
Hikaru was still not very clear about the details, because none of the yokai he had encountered had reached that level.
He only knew that yokai of this rank seemed to be called “generals” by some lesser demons.
They could also be called great yokai.
Although Hikaru did not fully understand it yet, he did not find the title of “great yokai” hard to grasp.
After all, judging from the Substance Transformation stage he had observed, the so-called perfect mass at its limit could, depending on a demon’s own choice, become infinitely close to a human form.
Being close to human shape—wasn’t that a basic trait of “great yokai” in countless fantasy works?
The final stage after that was called Form Transformation.
Hikaru guessed that the foundation of Form Transformation was complete “shapeshifting,” transforming into some higher-level form.
And not just a simple change in appearance.
It would not be merely looking like that form.
The yokai would have to truly be both a yokai and that form, to the point of possessing two kinds of bodies.
It might even be able to have offspring that were not purely yokai.
Yokai capable of completing Form Transformation were often called demon kings.
They were beings who could openly establish their own territories, rule a country or region, and even build a demon nation.
Thus, there were Four Transformations and Twenty-Four Changes.
Body Transformation covered the first six changes.
Substance Transformation covered the seventh to twelfth.
Energy Transformation covered the thirteenth to eighteenth…
From weak to strong, while the details differed, most yokai followed this general principle.
Even when some powerful yokai did not show much change on the outside, it was very possible that their internal body had been strengthened instead, increasing their raw power and speed.
As for Hikaru himself—
He was currently in the first major stage.
Body Transformation.
Five Changes.
Only Five Changes.
Each change corresponded to a trait granted by a weapon whose affection he had completed.
The First Change was [Iron Skin Change], brought by the very first samurai sword.
It made his skin as tough as iron.
The Second Change was [Sharp Eye Change], brought by a dagger.
It greatly improved his dynamic vision.
The Third Change was [Archer Change], brought by a broken bow.
It doubled the strength of his upper limbs.
The Fourth Change was [Spear Waist Change], brought by a spear.
It made his waist and abdomen absurdly flexible.
The Fifth Change was [Shield Bone Change], brought by a shield.
It increased his bone density and greatly improved his resistance to impact.
Five weapons.
Five mutations.
Every time he maxed out a weapon’s affection, he could merge its ability into himself and complete one “change.”
This was probably the core function of his system.
If other yokai wanted to evolve, they had to spend hundreds of years suffering through countless trials, fighting through danger again and again.
He only needed to farm affection.
Simple.
Efficient.
Traceable.
More importantly, he could choose what kind of “change” he wanted.
Unlike other yokai, who could only rely on luck and mutate at random.
“Another one!”
A massive centipede yokai charged in from the side.
Its body was over six meters long, and the shell on its back gleamed like metal.
This centipede yokai had at least Four Changes.
Among yokai in the Body Transformation stage, it was outstanding.
But that was all.
Hikaru turned sideways and avoided the centipede yokai’s headbutt, then dragged his blade across its abdomen.
Its shell was too hard, and the cut did not go through.
But blood splashed out.
Through those droplets, Hikaru saw the seam in the centipede yokai’s shell.
Between the seventh and eighth segments, there was a tiny crack.
He pushed off with his feet and flashed to the centipede yokai’s side again.
The tip of his blade stabbed into the crack.
Then twisted.
The centipede yokai’s scream rang through the forest.
Hikaru gave it no chance to struggle.
The blade cut forward along the crack, directly splitting open the giant yokai’s belly.
[Demon Blade Muramasa: Affection +3.]
[Current Affection: 38.]
One Four-Change yokai had directly raised affection by three points.
Sure enough, the higher the quality of the prey, the greater the reward.
Hikaru licked his lips and continued pushing forward.
The yokai horde began to waver.
The smug look on the blue-skinned oni boss’s face had vanished, replaced by fear.
“What is going on?!”
It screamed.
“He’s only an oni samurai!
A low-level undead yokai!
How can he be this strong?!”
No one answered it.
Because everyone who could answer was already dead.
Hikaru’s blade never stopped.
One slash, one life.
Sometimes two.
But never a third.
[Affection: 42.]
[Affection: 45.]
[Affection: 48.]
The number on the panel kept jumping.
Muramasa’s blade had already changed from black to deep purple.
Its temper line wriggled like a living thing, letting out a satisfied hum with every kill.
It was happy.
Extremely happy.
[Demon Blade Muramasa is ecstatic.
It has conveyed a message to you: Another dozen!]
“Your appetite is getting bigger and bigger.”
Hikaru complained, but his hands did not stop moving.
Another blue-skinned oni fell.
[Affection: 50.]
[Bond Dialogue Unlocked (3): It tells you that it likes you very much.
Even more than its previous master, because you know how to feed it properly.]
[Special Ability Unlocked (2): Bloodthirst Frenzy.]
[Effect: After the blade absorbs enough blood, it can enter a “frenzied” state.
During its duration, strength, speed, and reaction ability all increase by 30%.
The cost is a short period of weakness after it ends.]
Hikaru’s eyes lit up when he saw the new ability on the panel.
A thirty-percent increase to all physical attributes.
Although it had a side effect, this was a trump card that could save his life at a critical moment.
“Not bad.”
He said to the sword in his hand, “Keep working hard.
Once I’m stronger, I’ll find you a real high-level yokai for the main course.”
[Demon Blade Muramasa expresses anticipation.]
There were fewer than fifty yokai left on the battlefield.
The blue-skinned oni boss finally broke.
It turned and ran.
“Retreat!
All of you, retreat!”
The remaining small fry scattered in every direction as if they had been granted amnesty.
Hikaru did not pursue them.
He had killed enough.
If he kept going, his stamina would be seriously overdrawn.
If he ran into another yokai horde on the road afterward, things would get troublesome.
He stood amid a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, watching the fleeing silhouettes disappear into the distance.
Moonlight spilled down, stretching his shadow long across the ground.
His damaged armor was covered in blood of every color, and the black tachi was still trembling faintly, as if savoring the feast from moments ago.
One hundred and fifty-three.
Hikaru silently counted the results.
Affection had gone from 28 to 50, rising by 22 points.
On average, it took seven kills for one point.
Sure enough, small fry had terrible value.
He sheathed the blade.
Click.
The sound of the guard locking against the scabbard echoed through the silence.
Time to go.
He raised his head and looked toward the distant mountains.
There, a shrine maiden named Kikyo was waiting for him.
No.
The Shikon Jewel was waiting to be delivered.
And while he was at it…
Waiting for its affection to be unlocked.
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