The two swords clashed in midair.
Sparks flew in all directions.
One was a mass-produced version of the renowned sword Muramasa, while the other looked completely rusted.
Yet the result was clear—Kōbe Hikaru, wielding the Muramasa, was forced back three steps, the webbing between his thumb and index finger completely numb.
The difference in strength was too vast.
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai’s Six Stages of Body Transformation were not just for show; every stage granted a qualitative leap in a yōkai’s base attributes.
And among the opponent’s transformations, at least two were clearly focused on enhancing physical strength—otherwise, Kōbe Hikaru, who possessed the [Archer Arms Transformation] and had also experienced a massive surge in arm strength, wouldn’t have been completely overpowered.
In battles between yōkai of the same type, a difference of even a single stage meant a world of difference in actual combat power.
“Is this all you have?”
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai’s voice echoed from behind its mask, dripping with obvious mockery.
“To think you dared to sneak in here.
You really don’t know how to value your own life.”
It swung its sword again.
This strike was faster and heavier than the last.
Kōbe Hikaru barely managed to block, the impact nearly dislocating both of his arms.
His body was sent flying backward, his legs dragging across the ground for several meters before he finally stabilized his stance.
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai sneered, its figure suddenly vanishing.
‘So fast!’
This wasn’t just pure speed; it was the propulsive force generated by an instantaneous burst of leg muscle power.
This guy’s legs clearly had a transformation stage as well.
Kōbe Hikaru’s pupils contracted.
His eye transformation, [Sharp Eyes Transformation], which he had obtained from a dagger with maxed-out Affinity, frantically tracked the afterimages in the air.
‘On the left!’
He instinctively raised his sword to block.
But—in the very next second.
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai’s sword-wielding arm suddenly let out a crisp crack in midair.
Its wrist joint abruptly dislocated, followed immediately by a visible, explosive elongation!
The originally normal-length arm had suddenly stretched out by three feet!
Cartilage extension.
This sudden extension caused its attack range to instantly exceed Kōbe Hikaru’s predictions.
The longsword bypassed the Muramasa’s defensive line, whipping viciously toward Kōbe Hikaru’s ribs like a venomous snake.
“Fuck!”
Kōbe Hikaru gritted his teeth and activated [Spear Waist Transformation], his upper body folding backward at an angle absolutely impossible for a human.
Incredibly strong and exceptionally flexible, bending like a long spear.
Sizzle—
The rusted sword scraped past his chest plate.
The moment that seemingly tough, battered armor came into contact with the Turbid Qi on the blade, it sizzled and smoked as if doused in concentrated acid, rapidly rotting and softening.
A piercing pain drilled into his heart.
Kōbe Hikaru rolled aside in a sorry state, dropping to one knee.
A charred, black wound now marred his chest.
“Shut up, I didn’t want to touch it either.”
Kōbe Hikaru spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
It was yōkai blood; unlike the red blood of humans, it was a murky grayish-black.
He quickly organized the information he had gathered from these brief exchanges—
At least two stages in the arms, resulting in explosive strength.
One stage in the legs, granting astonishing speed.
A poison stage affecting the body and blood, causing corrosion upon contact.
A bone stage that extended the body, making the attack range unpredictable.
And those eyes—the occasional gleam in those dead gray pupils clearly indicated another stage.
Six Stages.
It almost perfectly countered his Five Stages.
And what was even more troublesome was that Kikyō couldn’t spare a hand to help right now.
From the direction of the distant Barrier, three loud booms echoed in rapid succession.
The One-Horned Demon’s Spiked Club, the Giant Serpent’s poisonous mist, and the Three-Eyed Crow’s demonic light struck simultaneously, causing cracks to appear on the Barrier once again.
Kikyō was putting all her effort into repairing it.
Her Spiritual Power was still abundant, but her stamina was draining rapidly.
Repairing the Barrier, shooting arrows for Purification, and covering Kōbe Hikaru—fighting on three fronts at once was already her absolute limit.
Now, with the frenzied attacks of three high-level yōkai added to the mix, she simply had no leeway to worry about his side of the battlefield.
Kōbe Hikaru knew this.
So he didn’t expect Kikyō’s support.
At least in this battle, he could only rely on himself.
“Interesting.”
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai raised its rusted sword, a dense Demonic Aura erupting from the blade.
“It has been a long time since I encountered one of my own kind.”
“Let me see if your bones are hard enough.”
It charged forward.
Kōbe Hikaru met the charge head-on.
Not because he was confident he could win.
But because he had no way to retreat.
If he fell back, the Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai would pivot to attack the Barrier.
With four high-level yōkai attacking together, the Barrier absolutely wouldn’t hold.
He had to keep this one pinned down here.
Even if he could only stall it for fifteen minutes.
He had to buy time for Kikyō.
Clang—!
The two swords clashed once more.
Kōbe Hikaru was knocked back five steps, grayish-black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
But he steadied himself and raised the Muramasa again.
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai pursued, sweeping its rusted sword horizontally.
Kōbe Hikaru didn’t block—he knew that taking the hit head-on would only exhaust him faster.
[Ghost Step].
His figure vanished, reappearing to the enemy’s rear right.
He thrust his blade forward, aiming for the lower back.
“A petty trick.”
The Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai didn’t even turn its head.
It simply swatted its left hand backward, the arm extending once again to whip toward Kōbe Hikaru’s face.
Kōbe Hikaru tilted his head back to dodge the whip-like strike, [Spear Waist Transformation] allowing his upper body to fold at an impossible angle once more.
But his thrust also missed its mark.
The two pulled apart, resuming their standoff.
Kōbe Hikaru panted—although Ghost Samurai didn’t need to breathe, the rapid depletion of his Demonic Power caused his body to instinctively perform the action.
In this brief interval, peering through the blood mist drifting across the battlefield, he began to carefully observe every detail of the Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai.
The effects of [Blood Resonance] were still active.
The droplets of blood scattered on the ground and floating in the air were all his eyes.
Every rhythm of the Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai’s breathing—though Ghost Samurai didn’t breathe, the intake and output of Demonic Aura followed a similar pattern—every muscle contraction, every shift in its center of gravity, was completely captured in his sight.
Its left knee had an old injury.
The movements there were slightly stiffer than the rest of its body.
It wasn’t very obvious; if he hadn’t been observing it simultaneously from multiple angles through the blood mist, it would have been nearly impossible to notice.
But Kōbe Hikaru noticed it.
This was to be expected.
Ghost Samurai were demons formed when the lingering obsessions of formidable warriors attached themselves to armor or corpses after death.
The vast majority of them carried ‘wounds’.
The fatal wounds from their past lives!
Kōbe Hikaru’s eyes narrowed slightly.
‘There’s an opening.’
But merely knowing the weakness wasn’t enough.
With his current strength, even knowing the weak point, it would be extremely difficult to land a fatal blow.
Quality Transformation level—no, this guy was at the Six Stages.
It hadn’t broken through to Quality Transformation yet, but it stood at the absolute peak of Body Transformation.
Its defense was still nothing to joke about.
He needed an opportunity.
An opportunity sufficient to break the stalemate.
And that opportunity—
Hum—
The Jewel of Four Souls in his chest pocket suddenly began to vibrate.
‘The Straight Spirit is actually warning me?’
‘Furthermore.’
Kōbe Hikaru’s heart stirred.
‘Kikyō?’
His gaze darted over the Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai’s shoulder, quickly sweeping toward the direction of the Barrier.
Those three high-level yōkai—the One-Horned Demon, the Giant Serpent, and the Three-Eyed Crow—were still bombarding the Barrier.
But the cracks on the Barrier had already been fully repaired.
Kikyō stood on the stone steps.
Her left hand maintained the Ritual Seal for the Barrier, while her right hand…
Had already grasped her bow.
She was waiting.
Waiting for the right moment.
Waiting for Kōbe Hikaru to create that moment.
“Understood.”
Kōbe Hikaru took a deep breath—or rather, his Demonic Power took a deep breath.
He knew what he had to do.
He didn’t need to win on his own; he just needed to create an opening.
To expose the Hannya-Mask Ghost Samurai’s weakness.
To expose it to the Shrine Maiden Kikyō, who was about to free up her hands, so that even while multitasking, she could still land a perfect shot.
And then—
He would deal the finishing blow, and she would perform the Purification.
All in one smooth motion.
That would be enough!