Looking down from the mountaintop, the situation in the village was even worse than Shinji had imagined.
The number of yokai was too many.
More than the group that had been chasing the old man three days ago, more than all the ones he'd encountered on the road combined.
At least seven or eight hundred.
Packed tightly together, surrounding the entire village in an impenetrable mass. From a distance, it looked like a writhing glob of grey-green mud.
Blue-skinned goblins, one-eyed ogres, snake-bodied yokai, bird-headed monsters, centipede spirits…
Every variety you could name.
But Shinji's attention quickly shifted away from those small fry.
Because he saw several figures that were clearly different from the rest.
At the very front of the mob, four massive yokai were directing the battle.
The first was a horned ogre, over seven meters tall, with dark purple skin and a single curved horn on its forehead. It was swinging a club made from a whole tree.
The second was a giant serpent, its body as thick as a water vat, about fifteen meters long, covered in blue-black scales. Its tongue flickered in and out, hissing.
The third was a three-eyed crow, the size of a horse. Its three eyes glowed red, blue, and yellow respectively. The wind from its wings alone could send an ordinary person flying.
The fourth…
Shinji squinted.
It was a humanoid yokai.
Wearing tattered samurai armor, holding a rusted katana, and wearing a white Hannya mask.
From its aura, it was also a demon warrior.
But stronger than Shinji.
At least a Six Changes existence.
"Four high-tier yokai…"
Shinji murmured.
This lineup probably wasn't targeting the village.
It was targeting the Shikon Jewel.
They must have tracked the traces the Shikon Jewel had left along the way, gathered, and launched this attack.
"These guys… think the Shikon Jewel is with that shrine maiden?"
Shinji realized.
When he left the village, he hadn't deliberately hidden the Shikon Jewel's aura.
Those yokai probably tracked it to near the village, then assumed that the jewel had already been handed over to the shrine maiden guarding this place.
So they decided to strike first, snatch the jewel before she could seal it of course, this didn't mean they could sense the Shikon Jewel while Kikyō couldn't.
It was just that this wasn't the Kikyō from the original story yet. This was Kikyō who hadn't formally encountered the Shikon Jewel. Powerful, yes, but unfamiliar with its existence.
In this situation, even if Kikyō sensed the Shikon Jewel, she'd probably just think it was power carried by that yokai
After all, at this moment, Shinji hadn't yet chosen between Righteous Spirit and Corrupted Spirit. Because of his yokai identity, the Corrupted Spirit's power would naturally be more apparent.
…Though only temporarily. Because based on what Shinji knew, the Corrupted Spirit would actively 'tempt' humans or yokai to fall – of course, he definitely wouldn't be tempted.
"Really a bunch of idiots."
Shinji shook his head.
But he didn't feel like reminding them either.
Whether they were mistaken or not, it didn't matter to him.
For him, this was undoubtedly an opportunity.
…
The fence at the village entrance had long been breached.
But the yokai advance had stalled at a certain point.
A curtain of light blocked them.
It was a pale white, semi-transparent barrier, a dome covering the shrine in the center of the village and the area about seventy meters around it.
Inside the barrier was a space of clarity and peace. Outside was the stench of demonic energy.
Like two different worlds, clearly divided.
"This is… a barrier?"
A barrier of this scale?
Shinji stared at that curtain of light, inwardly shocked.
That demon-slayer clan chief had also shown a similar ability, using spiritual power to form a protective film around himself.
But that film could only cover one person, and it wouldn't last long before collapsing.
And Kikyō's barrier… covered an area of about seventy meters, enveloping the entire shrine and several dozen villagers.
And it looked as firm as a rock, not a hint of wavering.
This was the gap.
The demon-slayer clan chief had been the strongest human spiritual power user Shinji had seen before this. That old man, able to deploy a barrier on his own, was already considered powerful among human sorcerers.
Ordinary sorcerers who wanted to perform a barrier needed to set up an altar, perform rituals, even call upon shikigami for help.
But even so, compared to Kikyō, it was like comparing a firefly to the bright moon.
"Definitely the strongest shrine maiden of the Sengoku era…"
Shinji thought to himself.
But he also understood that even so the shrine maiden before him probably wasn't even at her peak. At least, not the strongest state of the Kikyō he remembered.
She could be even stronger.
But before the thought had even settled, a roar came from outside the barrier.
"Smash it open!"
That horned ogre raised its club high and charged at the barrier.
The club slammed into the light curtain with a thunderous crash.
Ripples spread across the barrier's surface, but it quickly calmed again.
"Again!"
The ogre roared.
The mob behind it surged forward, attacks raining down on the barrier's surface like a torrential rain.
Club smashes, claw rips.
Venom sprays.
And that three-eyed crow dove from above, pecking at the light curtain with its demonic-energy-infused beak.
But the barrier remained unmoved.
That golden curtain of light was like an invisible mountain, standing firm against wind and rain.
"This woman's spiritual power… how is it so strong?"
The ogre gritted its teeth.
It looked up inside the barrier.
On the stone steps at the top of the shrine, that shrine maiden in white robes and red hakama stood there.
Her hands were clasped together, her eyes slightly closed, her lips moving faintly, as if reciting some incantation.
Pale white, translucent spiritual power continuously flowed from her body, feeding the barrier that sustained it.
At the same time, a bow and quiver rested at her right hand.
"Shww——!"
A piercing white light shot out from inside the barrier.
It was a purification arrow.
The arrow pierced the light curtain, unimpeded, and precisely nailed a blue-skinned goblin that was climbing the top of the barrier.
The goblin shrieked once and turned to ash.
"What?!"
The ogre's pupils contracted.
The barrier was one-way? Only blocking attacks from the outside, not hindering attacks from the inside?
How were they supposed to fight this?
She was maintaining the barrier and firing purification arrows, and still keeping up this level of spiritual power output?
Before it could react, a second arrow, a third arrow, a fourth arrow shot out in succession.
Each one, amidst a hum, hit a yokai.
Every yokai hit died on the spot.
"Scatter! Everyone scatter!"
The ogre roared, and the mob scrambled to disperse in panic.
But Kikyō's archery was too precise.
She didn't even need to open her eyes. Just by sensing with her spiritual power, she could lock onto every yokai's position.
String twang, arrow flies, hit, death.
Smooth and seamless.
In just a few dozen seconds, over twenty yokai had fallen to arrows.
"Damn it!"
The horned ogre roared.
"Get up there!"
It pointed at the demon warrior with the Hannya mask, the giant serpent, and the three-eyed crow.
The three high-tier yokai exchanged glances and attacked simultaneously.
The giant serpent opened its gaping maw and spewed a cloud of deep green poison mist.
The mist spread, obscuring the view of the barrier.
The three-eyed crow took the opportunity to dive, its three eyes shooting three beams of demonic light that slammed into the barrier's surface.
This time, the barrier finally cracked.
The demon warrior saw its chance and slashed at the crack with its blade.
A surge of thick demonic energy erupted from the rusted katana. One slash tore the crack wider.
"We've got a way in!"
The horned ogre was overjoyed.
"Keep going! Smash the barrier open!"
The four high-tier yokai took turns attacking, the crack growing larger.
But right in the midst of this –
Kikyō inside the barrier opened her eyes.
Her gaze swept over the crack. No trace of panic.
She simply spoke softly.
One word.
"Seal."
More spiritual power surged from her palm, transforming into countless threads of light that flew towards the crack.
Those threads of light were like needles and thread, stitching the crack back together bit by bit.
A few moments later, the barrier was restored to its original state.
"Impossible?!"
The horned ogre couldn't believe it.
The four of them joining forces, and still couldn't break through this barrier?
Just how deep was this shrine maiden's spiritual power?
The answer was
Very deep.
Deep enough to sustain a war of attrition for several hours.
Deep enough to maintain the barrier while continuing to shoot down yokai.
But it wasn't without limits.
Kikyō's brow furrowed slightly.
She could feel her spiritual power being consumed at a visible rate.
The barrier was too large.
Protecting this many villagers required continuously outputting a massive amount of spiritual power.
And the attacks from those four high-tier yokai were accelerating this consumption.
If this continued…
One hour.
At most one hour, and her stamina would be depleted.
Then the barrier would collapse, and the villagers…
A glint of determination flashed in Kikyō's eyes.
She couldn't wait to be killed.
She had to take the initiative, kill those leading yokai before her spiritual power ran out.
Once the leaders were dead, the remaining small fry would naturally disperse.
Kikyō took a deep breath, her right hand gripping the bowstring.
The next arrow, she would shoot with full force.
Target –
That horned ogre.
…
On the mountaintop.
Shinji watched this scene unfold. The Muramasa in his hand began to tremble violently.
[Cursed Blade Muramasa: Mood 'Extremely Hyper'. It conveys a strong message to you: 'I want to go down there and eat!']
At the same time,
The Shikon Jewel in his robe also lit up.
Shinji looked at the panel, his expression momentarily stunned. Then, he hesitated no longer.
He had nothing to hesitate about anyway.
Although choosing Corrupted Spirit would let him get stronger faster after all, he was a yokai, it really was too much trouble. Right now, there was clearly a better choice.
Latch onto that shrine maiden, ride this wave.
Shinji drew his blade.
"Let's go."
He said to the Muramasa in his hand.
"Time to eat."
Then he leaped from the mountaintop, charging towards the yokai mob.