Kōbe Hikaru naturally knew early on that this world was far from simple.
On his first day after transmigrating, he discovered the existence of yōkai.
Those hideous faces, twisted bodies, and instinctual murderous intent didn’t match any movies or television shows he had ever seen.
He once thought he had transmigrated into some original alternate world, a chaotic era ruled entirely by demons.
In his first week, he witnessed the spiritual power of Demon Slayers.
That day, a purification arrow flying from afar nearly pierced him through, making him profoundly aware of the ironclad rule that spiritual power counters demonic aura.
In his first month, he pieced together the general background of this era from the idle chatter of various yōkai.
Japan’s Sengoku period.
Warlords divided the land, feudal lords engaged in endless warfare, and human life was worthless.
Yōkai ran rampant, a hundred demons marched in the night, and villages lived in constant peril.
Human forces like Demon Slayers, Onmyōji, and Shrine Maidens kept the yōkai factions in check, with neither side able to completely devour the other.
But he had never been able to determine exactly which world this was.
Was it some original Sengoku setting?
Or a work he had seen before?
Until now.
The Jewel of Four Souls.
Kikyō.
The Demon Slayer Clan, the ancestors of Sango and Kohaku.
With these keywords pieced together, the answer was glaringly obvious.
An anime he had watched countless times before his transmigration.
Its name was *InuYasha*.
Hikaru looked at the Jewel of Four Souls in his hand.
This bead could be considered the core item of the entire *InuYasha* series.
It was said to have been born from the battle of four souls, formed after a shrine maiden perished together with hundreds of powerful yōkai.
Sealed within the bead were four types of souls—Courage Soul, Affinity Soul, Wisdom Soul, and Love Soul—representing the four human virtues of courage, friendship, wisdom, and love.
But at the same time, the resentment of yōkai was also sealed within.
The forces of good and evil were locked in an eternal standoff inside the bead; whoever gained the upper hand would dictate its alignment.
If held by someone with a kind heart, the bead would exert a purifying power.
If held by a yōkai harboring malicious intent, it would cause their strength to skyrocket.
This was probably why that horde of yōkai had pursued the old man at all costs earlier.
As long as they obtained the Jewel of Four Souls, they could ascend to the heavens in a single bound, becoming high-level yōkai.
Or even Great Yōkai!
It wasn’t just the current situation.
In the original story Hikaru was familiar with, countless factions fought tooth and nail over this bead.
The protagonist, the half-demon InuYasha, wanted to use it to become a full yōkai.
The main villain, Naraku, formed from the amalgamation of countless yōkai, also wanted to use it to become the strongest existence.
Even Hikaru himself had once fantasized in front of his screen: ‘If only I could get my hands on the Jewel of Four Souls.’
And now?
It was resting right in the palm of his hand.
“To hell with it,” Hikaru cursed, unsure of what expression to make.
Pleasant surprise?
Indeed.
But more than that, it was a sense of absurdity.
However, then again, if this truly was the world of *InuYasha*, then the point in time he was currently in should be…
The era when Kikyō was still alive.
Because the old man had said that Kikyō was the only one who could suppress the Jewel of Four Souls.
In the original plot, Kikyō was the shrine maiden who guarded the Jewel of Four Souls.
At this moment, there was at least a fifty-year gap before the original timeline of *InuYasha*!
In other words…
This period of time was enough for him to accomplish many things.
For example…
He looked at the system panel once more.
The Suppressor.
The name the old man mentioned right before he died.
Kikyō.
“So I have to find Kikyō first before I can unlock the Affinity for the Jewel of Four Souls?” Hikaru frowned.
This condition was a bit troublesome.
Kikyō was the shrine maiden who guarded the Jewel of Four Souls.
Her spiritual power was tyrannical, her archery was god-like, and she specialized in dealing with yōkai.
In the original story, she had once killed countless demons with a single arrow and was known as the Strongest Shrine Maiden of the Sengoku Period.
And what was he right now?
A Ghost Samurai.
A yōkai.
Kikyō’s hunting target.
He even suspected now that the purification arrow that had nearly blown him apart back then had come from Kikyō!
“If I deliver myself right to her doorstep, won’t I just get shot into a hedgehog again?” Hikaru felt a bit of a headache coming on.
He could imagine the scene—
That would be way too unjust.
But he quickly thought of another possibility.
The system only said he needed to find the Suppressor; it didn’t say he had to make direct contact.
Perhaps as long as he brought the Jewel of Four Souls near Kikyō and triggered a certain condition, it would unlock automatically?
“It’s worth a try.”
Hikaru tucked the Jewel of Four Souls into his robes.
The old man had entrusted him with delivering this thing to Kikyō before he died anyway, so it was on the way.
Whether it was to fulfill the old man’s dying wish or to unlock the Jewel of Four Souls’ Affinity, he had to go find Kikyō.
Although he could use it directly, recalling that in the original story, neither humans nor yōkai who directly used the Jewel of Four Souls ever met a good end, and they all subsequently became reliant on its power, Hikaru felt it was better to use Affinity.
He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and looked out at the night.
The demonic aura in the distance had dissipated.
The horde of yōkai that had been hunting the old man seemed to have given up the chase.
Perhaps because they had lost track of their target.
Or perhaps because they sensed that the Jewel of Four Souls had changed locations.
Whatever the case, he couldn’t stay here for long.
That horde of yōkai would come knocking sooner or later.
“A village a few mountains away…” Hikaru recalled the old man’s words.
That should be where Kikyō was located.
He looked down at the system panel.
Fighting his way over just now, his Affinity had increased quite a bit.
But it was still short by three points.
After all, killing one yōkai didn’t guarantee a one-point increase.
“No rush,” Hikaru sheathed Muramasa.
“I should run into plenty of yōkai on the way to find Kikyō.”
After all, he was currently carrying the Jewel of Four Souls on him.
The attraction this thing had to yōkai was roughly equivalent to a walking piece of fat meat.
“Perfect for grinding mobs and leveling up while traveling.”
He stepped out of the cave and disappeared into the night.
But before leaving, he still glanced back at the old man’s corpse.
“Rest easy,” he said.
“I’ll let your grandson and granddaughter know of your passing.”
“If I get the chance.”
With that said, he turned and left.
The moonlight spilled over the cave entrance, stretching his silhouette long.
He walked a few steps, then stopped again, looking up at the moon in the sky.
“Kikyō…” he muttered.
To be honest, he wasn’t averse to this task.
One could even say—he was looking forward to it a little.
Kikyō.
In the work he had watched before transmigrating, Kikyō was one of his favorite characters.
That shrine maiden dressed in a white top and red hakama, with black hair like a waterfall and a cold expression, yet revealing softness and vulnerability in certain moments.
She was powerful, yet toyed with by fate, dying with a heart full of resentment.
Even after being resurrected as a walking corpse, she still retained that nobility and pride.
Hikaru still remembered how he felt when he first saw the scene of Kikyō completely fading away.
It left a deep sense of regret.
A very deep sense of regret.
Of course, even putting all that aside, based solely on the experiences and sights of his current body, it would be hard for Hikaru not to be interested in Kikyō.
After all, she was an incredibly powerful and beautiful young woman.
And although he had turned into a yōkai, Hikaru still possessed human ego and consciousness.
Furthermore, he still had the desires and impulses of a human.
‘What if I could save her?’
This thought flashed through his mind.
Yet it echoed for a long time.
As for InuYasha and the rest…
they could go take a hike!