Shinji leaped down from the mountaintop.
The wind whistled past his ears, the tattered plates of his armor clattering in the air. He didn't charge straight at the main yokai force, but arced around, cutting in from the flank.
The four high-tier yokai were at the front. Going head-to-head with them would be unwise.
But the small fry on the flank? Perfect for an appetizer.
The moment he landed, Shinji pushed off with his left foot and shot forward.
A blue-skinned goblin barely turned its head before a black blade flashed past its eyes.
The head flew. The body crumpled.
It didn't even have time to scream.
Number one.
Shinji didn't pause. The blade swept horizontally, severing the necks of two snake-bodied yokai beside him.
Number two, number three.
Yokai blood sprayed. Muramasa's blade began to purple.
[Cursed Blade Muramasa's mood is ecstatic. It conveys a message to you: Now this is a buffet!]
"Shut up and focus on eating."
Shinji muttered, pushing forward.
His goal was clear cut through the flank and coordinate with Kikyō inside the barrier.
He'd harvest the small fry up close on the outside, she'd snipe the ones that slipped through from the inside.
It was the optimal solution he could think of.
And the most advantageous.
As a shrine maiden, Kikyō was, without a doubt, strong.
Very, very strong.
Her human physique might be her weak point, but those purification arrows were a threat to any demon.
With her cooperating, Shinji was confident that with his completed 'Five Changes', stalling, or even defeating this night parade, wouldn't be difficult.
This was the basis for his intervention.
He didn't think he could single-handedly turn the tide. It was more about specialization.
Right now, he just hoped that girl would understand his intent!
If she didn't, he'd have to retreat.
Could she understand?
The answer was also obvious.
Inside the barrier, in front of the shrine, the young shrine maiden in flowing white robes and long, skirt-like red hakama was the first to notice something was off about the outside. She was also the first to see that demon warrior cutting in from the edge.
It was the one from earlier today…
Was he also one of their companions?
No.
He was.... here to help her?
Didn't understand why, didn't know the reason.
But that didn't stop Kikyō from making a choice.
At the same time.
"What's that over there?"
The horned ogre's voice came from behind the mob. It had finally noticed the commotion on the flank.
"It's a demon warrior! He's killing our people!"
"Kill him!"
A dozen or so yokai broke away from the main group and lunged at Shinji.
Shinji paused mid-step.
He raised his left hand and forcefully flung the demon blood from his blade.
A dark red mist exploded, forming a perception net in front of him.
[Blood Resonance].
Through those droplets, he clearly saw every yokai's position, speed, attack trajectory.
Left, three blue-skinned goblins, clubs swinging down.
Right, two one-eyed ogres, spiked clubs sweeping in.
Behind, five centipede spirits were circling around to flank him.
Shinji didn't retreat.
He took one step forward.
Just that one step placed him exactly half a foot in front of the intersection point of the two waves of attacks from left and right.
The clubs and the spiked clubs fell almost simultaneously, but smashed into empty air.
Shinji had already slipped into the gap between the attacks of the three goblins on the left.
A flash of steel.
Kesa-giri.
The leftmost goblin's body was split from shoulder to waist.
Using the momentum of the slash, Shinji sidestepped, dodging a claw swipe from the next one, and struck back with a reverse grip.
A thrust.
The blade tip pierced the second goblin's throat.
The third goblin, terrified, turned and ran.
It didn't make it two steps.
A streak of white light shot from the barrier, humming, and pierced directly through the back of its head, spraying blood.
It was a purification arrow.
Shinji paused for a moment, then looked up towards the shrine.
Kikyō stood on the stone steps, her bow still in the position after loosing.
Her gaze met Shinji's across the distance.
Just for an instant.
Then her bowstring was drawn again, and a second arrow flew towards a spot behind Shinji.
Shinji didn't turn to look.
He didn't need to.
Through the blood mist behind him, he already knew who that arrow would hit, one of the five centipede spirits that had been circling around from behind.
That centipede spirit turned to ash.
The remaining four scattered in terror.
"She really did understand… and this coordination, not bad at all!"
Shinji muttered under his breath.
Even though they had no prior communication, their cooperation on the battlefield was surprisingly smooth.
He handled the close-quarters harvesting.
She handled the long-range finishing blows.
What he couldn't reach, she killed.
What she couldn't cover, he held down.
This feeling…
Was kind of satisfying.
In this environment, Shinji could actually try some things he wouldn't normally dare to do.
For example.
Single-handedly cutting through a hundred demons!
[Cursed Blade Muramasa: Affection +2]
[Current Affection: 74]
The battle continued.
Shinji fought more and more smoothly, the purple light on Muramasa's blade growing brighter and brighter.
Through the blood mist that permeated the battlefield, he almost had a god's-eye view. Every yokai's movement was within his prediction.
One stroke, one life.
And throughout this, the purification arrows from inside the barrier never stopped.
Kikyō's archery was terrifyingly precise, able to aim at enemies from hundreds of meters away, and every arrow hit a vital spot, every arrow was deadly.
The two of them, one long-range and one close-range, one with a bow and one with a blade, actually carved a bloody path through the yokai mob.
"Damn it! Where did that demon warrior come from?"
The horned ogre attacking the barrier could no longer sit still.
It had initially thought he was just some small fry trying to pick off scraps, not expecting him to be this strong.
What made it even angrier was that this demon warrior was actually cooperating with the shrine maiden inside the barrier!
A yokai cooperating with a human?
This was an insult!
"You!"
The horned ogre pointed at the demon warrior wearing the Hannya mask. "Go kill that traitor!"
The Hannya mask demon warrior didn't speak. It just tightened its grip on that rusted katana.
Its form vanished from the spot.
Shinji was in the middle of killing a three-eyed crow chick when he suddenly felt a dangerous aura.
Not sensed through the blood mist.
But instinct.
A demon warrior's instinct towards another demon warrior.
He sidestepped.
A blade streak passed through where he'd just been standing, leaving a deep gouge in the ground.
The Hannya mask demon warrior stood five paces away, the rusted blade in its hand still dripping blood.
Shinji's own blood.
His left shoulder had been slashed, the wound emitting faint gray smoke, traces of demonic energy erosion.
"What are you?"
The Hannya mask demon warrior spoke, its voice hoarse, like something crawling out of a grave.
"A yokai, but helping humans kill yokai?"
Shinji didn't answer.
He just tightened his grip on Muramasa, lowering his center of gravity.
This opponent was different.
Stronger than all the small fry he'd killed before.
At least a Six Changes existence.
Six Changes was the pinnacle of 'Body Transformation', possessing six mutations vastly different from normal creatures.
And he only had Five Changes.
Although having more mutations didn't always mean stronger combat ability, in most cases, it still reflected a gap.
But if it was one-on-one, Shinji would have already turned around and left.
However.
With Kikyō providing support, he naturally wouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Interesting."
The Hannya mask demon warrior raised its rusted blade, thick demonic energy erupting from it.
"I haven't met one of my kind in a long time."
"Let's see if your bones are hard enough."
It charged.
Shinji met it head-on.
The two blades clashed in mid-air.
"Clang——!"