Kamaitachi.
Before crossing over, Kōbe Hikaru had read plenty of information about yōkai.
In legends, these creatures traveled in groups of three.
The first would trip a person, the second would cut them, and the third would apply medicine.
But that was only a folktale.
The true Kamaitachi was far more terrifying than the legends.
Because its essence—
Was not a weasel.
It was wind.
Wind solidified into a physical form.
Hikaru’s pupils contracted as he watched the dark shadow pressing down from the horizon.
The creature was at least three zhang tall.
Its body was slender like a weasel, but the ends of its four limbs were sharp claws curved like scythes.
Its entire body was grayish-white, its fur gleaming with a cold, metallic luster under the moonlight.
The most bizarre feature was its eyes.
It had no eyeballs.
Only two hollow sockets filled with howling, swirling air currents.
That was the color of the wind.
The color of nothingness.
“Quality Transformation…”
Hikaru muttered.
Body Transformation was the first stage, referring to the mutation of physical structure.
Quality Transformation was the second stage, referring to changes in mass and volume.
And the essence of Quality Transformation was not simply “growing larger or smaller.”
It was the increase or decrease of mass.
The increase or decrease of density.
It was the reshaping of the very essence of one’s existence.
For an ordinary yōkai to achieve Quality Transformation, it required a long period of accumulation.
After perfecting Body Transformation, they had to continue devouring their own kind, piling up their “Quality” with the lives of countless yōkai.
But the Kamaitachi was different.
Its starting point was not biological.
It was wind.
Formless wind that gradually increased its density by absorbing the Demonic Aura between heaven and earth.
From formless to tangible.
From nothingness to physical entity.
This process itself was Quality Transformation.
In other words, from the moment this Kamaitachi was born, it was destined to become an entity at the Quality Transformation level.
A true high-level yōkai.
The Kamaitachi let out a piercing shriek.
The sound was unlike the roar of a beast; it was more like the wailing of a gale tearing through a canyon.
Ear-piercing.
Shrill.
It felt as if countless blades were scraping against the eardrums.
Then, it moved.
It merely flapped its wings.
A violent gale howled forward.
Hikaru’s body was instantly blown backward, sliding across the ground as the bluestone tiles beneath his feet shattered with a crackle.
And this was just the aftershock!
He gritted his teeth and thrust Muramasa into the ground for leverage, barely managing to stabilize his posture.
The surrounding bat swarm was scattered by the fierce wind, many of them torn to shreds on the spot.
The Kamaitachi did not even spare them a glance.
From beginning to end, its gaze was locked onto a single direction.
The Jewel of Four Souls.
‘It’s coming for the jewel…’
Hikaru’s heart sank.
This was the true threat of the full moon night.
Not those small-fry yōkai, nor the thousands of bats.
It was this Quality Transformation-level, Seventh Stage Kamaitachi, drawn here by the evil energy of the Jewel of Four Souls.
No wonder the Straight Spirit had warned him.
No wonder it said the real threat had yet to arrive.
Hikaru was just about to warn Kikyō to be careful when he suddenly felt a strange fluctuation from behind.
The fluctuation came from the direction of the Jewel of Four Souls.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He whipped his head around.
He saw the Jewel of Four Souls suspended in midair, trembling violently.
The black energy that had been suppressed by the white light suddenly surged.
Like a venomous snake breaking free from its chains, it frantically spewed outward.
“Hiss—”
A pitch-black current of air shot out from the jewel.
The current had a vague humanoid outline but lacked facial features, possessing only a single twisted, ferocious face.
Countless faces.
Overlapping together.
It was the Crooked Spirit.
It was the amalgamation of evil thoughts sealed within the Jewel of Four Souls.
It was the lingering resentment of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of high-level yōkai who had reached the Seventh Stage or higher in life.
It was escaping!
“Damn it!”
Hikaru instantly understood.
The meaning behind the Straight Spirit’s final words.
“Be careful of me.”
It wasn’t talking about the Straight Spirit itself.
It was talking about the Crooked Spirit.
The Jewel of Four Souls was two sides of the same coin; the Straight Spirit and the Crooked Spirit coexisted within the single orb.
The Straight Spirit suppressed the Crooked Spirit, while the Crooked Spirit waited for a chance to turn the tables.
And on the night of the full moon, when Yin Energy was at its absolute peak, the Crooked Spirit’s power was at its strongest.
Coupled with the arrival of the Kamaitachi—the Demonic Aura carried by that Quality Transformation-level yōkai was enough to partially liberate the Crooked Spirit’s power.
This was the opportunity it had been waiting for!
Taking advantage of the Kamaitachi drawing everyone’s attention, taking advantage of Kikyō being forced to divide her focus to deal with external enemies.
It was going to escape!
The system panel frantically popped up with warnings.
Watching the black current of air grow larger and more solid, Hikaru had only one thought in his mind.
He had to stop it!
But just as he was about to move, the Kamaitachi’s second wave of attacks arrived.
This time, it wasn’t just flapping its wings.
It charged directly at him.
Its three-zhang-tall body turned into a grayish-white blur, its speed so fast that the naked eye could barely track it.
Wherever it passed, a deep trench was plowed into the ground.
Hikaru had no time to think.
His body reacted before his consciousness could.
He raised his sword to block.
“Clang—!”
A deafening crash of colliding metal erupted.
Hikaru’s arms instantly went numb, and he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.
He crashed through a corridor pillar.
Then another.
Finally, he smashed into the stone wall of the shrine, leaving a human-shaped crater.
“Cough…”
He slid down the wall, black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
His internal organs were damaged.
Although they were recovering at a visible rate, healing completely in less than a few seconds, this was just a single strike.
And the Kamaitachi clearly hadn’t used its full strength.
Its target was the Jewel of Four Souls, not him.
He was just an ant blocking the way.
Hikaru leaned on his sword and stood up, looking in the direction of the Kamaitachi.
The giant beast had already bypassed him and was charging toward Kikyō and the Jewel of Four Souls.
Meanwhile, the aura of the Crooked Spirit was growing thicker.
The black humanoid figure had completely detached from the jewel, hovering in midair and letting out an eerie, hissing laugh.
“Finally…
I’ve finally waited long enough…”
Countless faces spoke simultaneously, their voices uneven and overlapping, making one’s scalp tingle.
“Five hundred years…
I’ve waited five hundred years…”
“This time, no one can stop me!”
Hikaru gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his newly restored flowing blood boiling in his veins.
The Crooked Spirit.
The Kamaitachi.
A pincer attack from both sides.
This was the true crisis of tonight.
And Kikyō—
He turned his head to look at the figure in the white kosode and red hakama.
Kikyō still stood in her original spot, not taking a single step back.
Her hands formed seals, Spiritual Power flowing around her.
But Hikaru could tell she was struggling.
Dealing with both the Crooked Spirit and the Kamaitachi simultaneously was too difficult for anyone.
Even for the Strongest Shrine Maiden of the Sengoku Period.
The system panel suddenly popped up with a new prompt.
Hikaru stared at the word.
Believe?
Believe who?
Believe what?
He didn’t have time to think.
Because the Kamaitachi had already reached Kikyō.
Whether it was to continue raising his Affinity with the Jewel of Four Souls, or for other reasons, he could not just sit back and watch.