The night outside the cave was quiet—abnormally quiet.
Kōbe Hikaru had taken less than ten steps out of the cave when he sensed something wrong.
It was the Jewel of Four Souls.
It was glowing.
The thumb-sized orb in his chest pocket was emitting a faint purple light through the cloth bundle, soft yet impossible to conceal.
The radiance pierced through the coarse linen and his battered armor, shining in the night like a lantern.
No, it was even more conspicuous than a lantern.
Because mingled within that light was a unique aura.
A mixture of Spiritual Power and Demonic Aura.
To humans, this aura might merely evoke an indescribable sense of mystery.
But to yōkai—it was a piece of meat.
A fragrant, glowing, succulent piece of meat enough to make any yōkai drool.
“Damn it.”
Hikaru cursed under his breath.
He should have known.
The reason the Jewel of Four Souls was being hunted by that horde of yōkai wasn’t just because of its legend, but because it was a massive beacon in itself.
As long as it existed, as long as it remained unsealed, it would continuously radiate its aura.
Like an eternal bonfire, drawing in every moth within a radius of dozens of miles.
“Graaah—”
A low roar echoed from the distance.
Hikaru looked up.
At the edge of the woods, countless pairs of eyes lit up in the darkness.
Red, green, yellow, purple.
Densely packed, like a sky full of stars.
Those eyes were moving rapidly, converging toward his location.
“Here we go again.”
Hikaru pressed his left thumb against the sword’s tsuba and lowered his center of gravity.
The system panel automatically popped up.
“You’ve got quite the positive attitude.”
Hikaru’s mouth twitched.
Before his words could fade, the first wave of yōkai burst out of the woods.
Leading the charge were three One-Eyed Demons.
Standing ten feet tall, they had only a single giant eyeball on their heads.
Their skin was a rusty, dark red, and each wielded a thick Spiked Club.
“Found it!”
The leading One-Eyed Demon let out an excited roar.
“The Jewel of Four Souls is on that Ghost Samurai!”
“Take it!”
The three One-Eyed Demons pushed off simultaneously, shattering the dirt beneath their feet.
Their massive bodies bore down on Hikaru like three mountains of flesh.
Hikaru did not retreat.
The body of a Ghost Samurai knew no fear, so naturally, it wouldn’t be intimidated by this level of pressure.
He simply observed the enemies’ movements calmly, looking for an opening.
The leader raised its Spiked Club the highest, exposing a gap under its armpit.
Right there.
Demonic Power surged beneath Hikaru’s feet.
[Ghost Step].
His figure vanished from the spot.
The next moment, he appeared on the left side of the leading One-Eyed Demon.
He drew his sword.
A black arc of light slashed upward, cutting precisely into the exposed armpit.
Clang—!
The blade pierced through the One-Eyed Demon’s armpit, traveling all the way up to cleave through its shoulder blade before bursting out from its neck.
This single strike nearly sheared off its entire left arm along with half of its torso.
The One-Eyed Demon’s single eye widened.
Before a scream could even escape its mouth, it crashed heavily to the ground.
“Big brother!”
The remaining two One-Eyed Demons froze for a split second before erupting into even more frenzied roars.
Two Spiked Clubs smashed down from the left and right simultaneously, forming a pincer attack.
Hikaru did not dodge.
He leaned forward, sliding flat against the ground, and slipped right through the gap between the two Spiked Clubs.
The Spiked Clubs struck empty air, smashing two large craters into the earth.
Hikaru had already appeared behind the One-Eyed Demon on the right.
With a backhanded thrust, he drove his sword into the back of its knee.
The tip of the blade pierced straight through, bringing with it a spray of blood.
The One-Eyed Demon’s knee buckled, forcing it to kneel on one leg.
Before it could react, Hikaru leaped onto its back and slashed horizontally.
The head fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the third One-Eyed Demon turned and fled.
Hikaru jumped down from the One-Eyed Demon’s corpse and formed a Ritual Seal with his left hand.
Demon Foxfire Firefly.
A cluster of ghostly blue flames shot out, accurately striking the One-Eyed Demon in the back.
The flames exploded, and the One-Eyed Demon collapsed to the ground with a scream.
Hikaru walked over and finished it off with a single strike.
Three One-Eyed Demons, dead in less than thirty breaths.
But this was only the beginning.
More eyes were pouring out from the woods.
Green-Skin Demons, Snake-Body Demons, Centipede Spirits, Bird-Head Monsters…
And some mongrel yōkai that Hikaru couldn’t even name.
They swarmed in, surrounding Hikaru in the center.
“That’s him!”
A familiar voice rang out from the horde.
Hikaru looked toward the voice and realized it was the same group of yōkai that had been hunting the old man earlier.
Or rather, the remnants of that group.
Leading them was a larger Green-Skin Demon, a full head taller than the ordinary ones, with a layer of coarse scales covering its skin.
Clearly, it was their boss.
“This is the Ghost Samurai who stole the Jewel of Four Souls!”
The Green-Skin Demon boss pointed at Hikaru and shouted to the surrounding yōkai.
“Kill him!
The Jewel of Four Souls is ours!”
“It’s ours!”
The horde erupted into heaven-shaking roars.
Hikaru scanned the area.
At a rough estimate, there were at least two hundred of them.
Even more than the wave outside the cave earlier.
It seemed the allure of the Jewel of Four Souls was no joke; every yōkai from the neighboring mountains had been drawn here.
“You really are a magnet for trouble.”
Hikaru muttered under his breath, his right hand tightening around the hilt of his sword.
The Jewel of Four Souls in his pocket continued to emit its faint purple light, completely unresponsive to his complaints.
It didn’t even reply.
Even harder to please than that sword.
“Whatever.”
Hikaru let out a breath.
He raised his head and looked at the encircling horde.
In his eyes, where the black and white were inverted, there was no fear—only apathy.
“Since you all insist on delivering yourselves to my doorstep…”
He drew his sword.
The blade gleamed with a cold, ghostly luster under the moonlight, its hamon faintly tinged with purple.
“Then don’t blame me for not holding back.”
The horde seemed intimidated by his aura for a moment, but their greed quickly overpowered their fear.
“Attack together!”
At the Green-Skin Demon boss’s command, over two hundred yōkai charged simultaneously.
Hikaru met their charge.
To carve a bloody path.
It was his only choice.
Amidst the humming of the blade, Hikaru swung his sword forward, slashing his way through.
Slash, slash, and slash again!