“Gate of Life, open!” A low shout suddenly rang out.
A faint aura of demonic power erupted around Kamamara, and his skin flushed crimson as the power surged through his body.
He raised the enormous iron club from his shoulder.
His figure turned into an afterimage and appeared directly in front of the Tsuchigumo in an instant.
The muscles in his arms bulged.
With a violent howl through the air, the iron club smashed heavily into the Tsuchigumo’s massive body.
“Boom!” The impact was deafening, as though the air itself had been torn apart.
The Tsuchigumo’s body suddenly caved inward.
Its flesh rippled like waves, and foul demon blood sprayed in every direction.
The next second, its enormous body was launched downward like a cannonball and crashed into the castle’s main hall.
Half the wall collapsed instantly, sending a thick cloud of dust billowing upward.
“Whoosh!” Before the Tsuchigumo could struggle back to its feet, Kikyo’s sacred arrow was already flying toward it.
Unlike the probing shot from before, this arrow blazed with brilliant white light in the darkening sky.
Like a meteor tearing through the night, it struck the Tsuchigumo’s fallen body with perfect accuracy and sank deep inside.
“Bang!” The Tsuchigumo’s body instantly stiffened.
Its enormous form suddenly swelled, and countless cracks spread across its surface.
Brilliant white spiritual power burst from every fracture.
In the blink of an eye, its massive demonic body exploded into fragments.
Under the force of Kikyo’s purification, the remains gradually dissolved into countless specks of light before disappearing completely.
Kamamara landed on the ground and slowly closed the Eight Gates.
The aura of demonic power surrounding him gradually faded, and his crimson skin returned to normal.
He had only just taken a breath and felt the first hint of exhaustion when the demonic power released by the Tsuchigumo’s death surged toward him like a tide.
It poured into his body, continuously strengthening him.
At the same time, the progress on the panel in his mind jumped sharply.
[Gate of Pain: 10% → 25%] Seeing the progress rise directly from ten percent to twenty-five percent, Kamamara smiled in satisfaction.
“As expected, named yōkai give much better experience.” As for why the Tsuchigumo had increased Kamamara’s progress even though Kikyo had delivered the killing blow, that was something he had tested with her help during their journey.
He had discovered that the panel did not require him to personally kill a yōkai, as he had first assumed.
As long as he dealt a certain amount of damage with either demonic power or spiritual power before the yōkai died, he would receive the progress.
There was no need to steal the finishing blow.
The reason his Gate of Pain progress had risen from the original two percent to ten percent was because he had used this feature along the way, gaining experience from the yōkai Kikyo killed after he had struck them first.
That was also why he had insisted on accompanying Kikyo to the castle.
Kikyo had clearly noticed something as well.
Although she did not understand the exact reason, whenever the situation allowed it, she would first attack cautiously and leave Kamamara an opportunity to land a blow before using her full strength to finish off the yōkai.
“Let’s find where the Tsuchigumo was sealed.” Kikyo lowered her longbow and began searching through the half-collapsed hall.
Kamamara also carefully examined the surroundings for anything unusual.
Before long, the two discovered a cracked stone in the inner garden behind the main hall.
A faint trace of demonic aura still lingered around it.
“So someone brought home the stone sealing a Tsuchigumo and used it as a garden ornament.” Kamamara looked around the peaceful inner garden, with its artificial hill, pond, flowing water, and stone bridge, and complained speechlessly.
The stone that had once sealed the Tsuchigumo had been placed beside the pond like an ordinary decorative rock.
“Yes.
Things like this aren’t especially rare.” Kikyo’s expression remained calm.
She had clearly seen similar incidents before.
“Ordinary people often mistake objects sealing yōkai for valuable treasures and bring them home, only to cause a disaster later.” “Now that we’ve found the source of the problem, everything is settled.
We can collect the rest of the payment and leave.” Kamamara turned as he spoke.
“Wait.” Kikyo raised a hand to stop him.
“This sealing stone still needs to be dealt with.
Otherwise, the remaining demonic aura may attract other yōkai.” As she spoke, she gently placed her fingers against the stone.
Pure spiritual power instantly spread outward, completely enveloping it.
“Crack, crack, crack!” Fractures rapidly spread across the surface of the sealing stone.
Then, with a sudden crash, it broke apart into a pile of rubble.
The remaining demonic aura was purified completely.
“That’s done.
Let’s go.” After dealing with the sealing stone, the two turned and left.
“Sis!” When Kaede saw Kikyo and Kamamara emerge, the worry on her face instantly turned to joy.
She quickly rushed into Kikyo’s arms.
“It’s all right.
The yōkai has been dealt with.” Kikyo gently stroked Kaede’s head as she spoke.
“Kikyo-san, has the yōkai truly been exterminated?” Although everyone outside had personally witnessed the gigantic spider yōkai being blasted apart and reduced to light, the anxious Inagaki Masato still hurried forward to confirm the moment he saw Kikyo.
“Yes.
The yōkai has been purified.” Kikyo nodded, finally allowing him to relax.
“The yōkai had previously been sealed inside a large stone.
For some reason, that stone was placed in the inner garden as decoration.
When the sealing stone cracked, the seal weakened and allowed the yōkai to escape.
“The yōkai has now been purified.
You only need to have someone carry the broken pieces of the sealing stone into the mountains and dispose of them.” Kikyo explained the cause of the yōkai’s appearance.
“So that’s what happened!” Realization appeared on Inagaki Masato’s face.
“The inner garden of the main hall was renovated half a year ago.
The stone sealing the yōkai must have been mixed in by accident at that time.” “In the future, whenever you renovate a residence, you should ask a priestess or monk to inspect the materials.
That may prevent dangerous objects from being brought inside by mistake,” Kikyo advised.
“Yes.
Thank you for the warning, Kikyo-san.” Masato nodded seriously and thanked her.
Then he beckoned to someone behind him.
A retainer immediately approached, carrying a tray with a money pouch resting on it.
“This is your payment for exorcising the yōkai.
Please accept it.” Masato presented the pouch to Kikyo and thanked her sincerely.
“That won’t be necessary.
The advance payment you gave us earlier was already enough.” Kikyo shook her head and made no move to accept the pouch.
“But that was only the advance.
Please, you must accept the remaining payment.
“You eliminated the yōkai in the castle so quickly.
You truly are a priestess of extraordinary ability.
Consider this a small expression of my gratitude.” Masato had not expected Kikyo to refuse the rest of the reward, so he hurriedly tried to persuade her.
Kamamara could tell that the lord of Akegawa Castle was now extremely eager to remain on good terms with Kikyo.
In a world overrun by yōkai, earning the friendship of a powerful priestess was both necessary and worthwhile.
After all, yōkai did not care whether their victims were nobles or commoners.
If anything, a well-fed noble probably tasted better.
Kikyo looked at Masato’s sincere expression and thought for a moment before saying, “The advance payment truly was sufficient.
However, there is something I would like to ask your help with.
You may consider it the remainder of the payment for the exorcism.” “What is it?
As long as it is within my power, I will do everything I can to help!” Masato’s eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.