The Earth Spider’s compound eyes burst, spraying dark green fluid all over Kōbe Hikaru’s face.
Hikaru spat a curse, but he had no time to care about that right now.
Following the momentum, he slashed downward with the blade of his mass-produced famous sword, plowing a half-foot-deep fissure into the Earth Spider’s skull.
The giant beast writhed in pain, its eight long legs flailing wildly as its two front legs swept horizontally toward him.
Amidst the howling wind, Hikaru pushed off the ground, his body leaping backward into the air.
The two legs grazed a mere three inches above the tip of his nose.
Before he even landed, there was movement to his left.
It was the Conjoined Giant-Head Demons, charging forward while dragging heavy iron chains.
The chains were swung in a full circle and smashed down, carrying a piercing whistle as they tore through the air.
Suspended in mid-air with nowhere to find leverage, Hikaru was about to be smashed into a meat patty—
“Clang!”
A flash of white light streaked past.
Amidst brilliant radiance and an explosive hum, an Exorcism Arrow struck the middle of the iron chain.
The massive impact deflected the chain by half a foot.
Half a foot.
Just enough for Hikaru to slip past sideways.
He landed, his toes tapping the dirt, and shot toward the two giant-head demons like an arrow loosed from its string.
A flash of the blade.
The head on the left flew into the air.
Before it even hit the ground, a second slash was already executed.
The head on the right went flying as well.
The two massive heads spun in the air, spraying large arcs of black blood.
Hikaru had no time to check his system panel.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Human-Face Moth flying toward Kikyō’s direction.
Its wings flapped, raining down phosphorescent powder.
The stuff smoked upon contact; it was clearly highly poisonous.
“On your right!” he shouted.
Kikyō did not turn her head, but her bowstring was drawn to the full once more, and an arrow was loosed.
This arrow was not aimed at the moth itself, but at the base of its wing.
Thwack—
The arrow pierced straight through.
The giant moth shrieked as it lost its balance, plummeting erratically toward the ground.
Hikaru had already arrived.
He thrust his blade upward, striking dead center into the moth’s soft underbelly.
A single slash disemboweled it.
Its internal organs spilled all over the ground.
Hikaru landed on both feet, panting slightly, feeling absolutely exhilarated!
These three yōkai could all undoubtedly be classified as high-level.
All of them had already touched upon Quality Transformation on top of the Six Stages of Form Transformation, resulting in their unusually gigantic sizes.
Yet, these three high-level yōkai at the Sixth Stage or above were cleanly and decisively dispatched in less than fifty breaths, failing to even fully display their Demonic Transformation abilities.
This was something Hikaru absolutely could not have achieved when fighting alone previously.
Even relying on the traits brought by the blade in his hand, he could at most hold his own against a single high-level yōkai stronger than himself, and it would have been a bitter struggle!
However, working in tandem with Kikyō, his battle results were countless times more formidable than before!
But this was merely the appetizer.
More demonic silhouettes were surging out from the darkness.
Hikaru tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and took a deep breath.
“How many more?” he asked.
“Many.” Kikyō’s voice came from behind him, still as calm as ever.
“Can you hold on?” Hikaru asked.
“I can.”
“Good.”
Hikaru did not ask anything else.
He believed in her.
Just as she believed in him.
It was a very strange feeling.
They had known each other for less than ten days.
She was a Shrine Maiden, and he was a yōkai.
They were supposed to be natural enemies.
Yet standing here, back to back—
No, it was Hikaru in the front, and Kikyō in the back.
Their coordination was so seamless it felt as though they had practiced together for decades.
Kikyō drew her bow, aiming at an approaching One-Horned Snake Demon.
Her posture was standard, absolutely perfect.
But her heart…
was actually far from calm.
This was a feeling she had never experienced before.
As the Shrine Maiden protecting this village, she was used to fighting alone.
Facing demons alone.
Shouldering everything alone.
No one could help her, and no one was qualified to stand by her side.
Because she was the strongest.
And she had to be the strongest.
The Elder Village Chief of the Demon Slayer Clan had said that she was the only one capable of suppressing the Jewel of Four Souls.
The only one.
That word meant loneliness; it meant that no one could ever fight alongside her.
But now—
“The centipede on the left has a crack in its carapace, blow it up!” Hikaru’s voice rang out.
Kikyō did not hesitate.
Her arrow flew out in response.
It struck dead center into the crack.
The Centipede Spirit shrieked as it rolled across the ground.
“Thanks.”
Hikaru dashed forward to deliver the finishing blow.
A single slash decapitated it, clean and efficient.
Kikyō watched the gray silhouette weave through the horde of yōkai.
His blade flashed, claiming a life with every strike.
His movements were incredibly fluid.
It was not the polished grace born from years of training, but rather…
instinct.
Like the instinct of a wild beast.
Yet it possessed a degree of rationality that beasts lacked.
He knew when to advance and when to retreat.
He knew when to clash head-on and when to redirect his opponent’s force.
More importantly—
He knew where her targets were.
He never blocked her arrows.
He would even actively herd the yōkai into positions where she could easily shoot them.
This kind of tacit understanding…
Kikyō had never experienced it before.
For every arrow she loosed, there was someone coordinating with her.
At her back, there was an existence she could rely on.
This feeling…
was very unfamiliar.
But she truly did not dislike it.
“Sister—!”
Kaede’s voice echoed from the distance.
Kikyō furrowed her brows slightly.
That Barrier was supposed to be soundproof.
How could Kaede have woken up?
No,
This is…
“It’s an illusion!”
Kikyō realized it in an instant, completely unbeguiled.
Hikaru’s voice simultaneously pulled back her attention.
As he spoke, his blade swept horizontally, forcing back the two yōkai in front of him.
Then he spun around and unleashed a slash of Demonic Aura toward the direction of the voice.
The black energy tore through the air, plunging deep into the woods.
“Hiss—!”
A sharp, miserable shriek rang out.
That voice of Kaede came to an abrupt halt.
In its place, a three-tailed fox covered in grayish-white fur stumbled out from behind a tree, attempting to flee.
An Illusion Fox.
A mid-level yōkai that specialized in confusing its prey with illusions, highly adept at mimicking human voices.
It had clearly intended to use Kaede’s voice to lure Hikaru away, creating an opportunity for the other yōkai to launch a sneak attack on Kikyō.
“Cheap tricks.”
Hikaru scoffed coldly.
He did not pursue the fleeing fox, because—
“Thwack!”
An Exorcism Arrow flew past from behind him, accurately piercing straight through the Illusion Fox’s spine.
The fox shrieked as it crashed to the ground, never to rise again.
Hikaru glanced back.
Kikyō still maintained her bow-drawing posture, her gaze serene.
The next moment, he was already back by Kikyō’s side.
The entire process took less than ten breaths.
“Taken care of,” he said.
Kikyō looked at him without speaking.
But her hand, the one gripping the bow, relaxed ever so slightly.
It was not a lapse in vigilance.
It was…
peace of mind.
So this was what it felt like to have someone fighting by her side.
So this was a so-called comrade.
Hikaru glanced at his system panel, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
“Let’s continue,” he said.
“Seventeen left.”
Kikyō nodded.
The bowstring was drawn to the full once more.
The night was still long.
But she was no longer alone.