The following days were peaceful to the point of luxury.
Imagawa Yoshimoto had already taken the twenty-three little demons back to Suruga and, as agreed, began building shrines and temples throughout her domain.
According to messages the tanuki sent back through the blood mist, the faces of the Imagawa craftsmen ordered to build a shrine for a one-eyed little monk were quite something to see. But no one dared object. The orders of the Suruga lord, no matter how absurd they sounded, were still orders.
The Hōjō side was quiet for now. After Ujiyasu was taken away by the Takeda Red Guard, she was reportedly "escorted" back to Odawara Castle after two days in Kai, Takeda Shingen's goal was never to detain her, but to use the opportunity to pass along information about the Echigo invasion and show off her own strength.
The various powers had entered a delicate balance.
And Shinji used this rare window of time on the edge of a blade.
The cat demon's paw's affection had jumped to ninety after the Tahōtō battle. The death energy released when that centuries-old demon perished was greedily absorbed by it, like a beast starved for hundreds of years finally getting a full meal.
The last ten points were, surprisingly, simple.
No need for battlefields or death.
After being fed, the cat demon's paw finally developed a real attachment to Shinji himself.
Each day, when he channeled demonic aura into it, the withered black claw no longer remained dead silent. It would tremble slightly. When Shinji's palm approached, it would bend toward him, like a pet rubbing against a person's hand.
Three days later.
[Cat Demon's Paw: Affection +4]
[Current Affection: 94 (Attachment)]
Five days later.
[Cat Demon's Paw: Affection +3]
[Current Affection: 97 (Oneness)]
On the evening of the seventh day, Shinji sat under an old pine tree in the shrine's backyard, holding the cat demon's paw in his palm.
The surface of the claw was no longer withered. Dark green phosphorescence seeped from the tips of its claws, spreading along his fingers, like the blood vessels of a living thing growing.
[Cat Demon's Paw: Affection +3]
[Current Affection: 100 (Oneness)]
[Evaluation: It is completely yours. The centuries of accumulated death energy, the lingering consciousness of thousands of spirits, and the understanding of 'death' possessed by that ancient cat demon, all are open to you.]
[All talents unlocked.]
[First Talent: Undead Affinity- All low-tier, self-unconscious undead will show you goodwill.]
[Second Talent: Soul Summoning—Within a short time after a spirit disperses, its residual consciousness fragments can be temporarily gathered, making it briefly 'return.']
[Third Talent: Soul-Seeking·Inevitable Hand—Lock onto the target's soul. Launched attacks will ignore physical distance and obstacles, striking directly at the soul itself. Once activated, it will inevitably hit.]
Shinji looked at the last line on the panel.
Soul-seeking.
Inevitable hand.
Lock onto the soul, strike without fail.
On the face of it, as long as he could perceive the target's soul, even across mountains, walls, barriers, his attack would definitely hit. Not because it was too fast to dodge, but because it would pursue relentlessly. Because the target was not the body, but the soul. Where the soul was, the attack would be.
"With an ability like this, combined with the Bow Arm Change…"
Shinji clenched the cat demon's paw.
Dark green phosphorescence spread from the claw tips up his arm, seeping into his bones.
The fusion had begun.
Not like the violence of the thunder beast horn, no painful struggle. The fusion of the cat demon's paw was quiet, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, spreading silently.
Death energy seeped into his [Bow Arm Transformation].
That Change, which had originally only granted him extraordinary arm strength and precise control over his arms, was undergoing an essential change.
The core of Bow Arm Change was strength and accuracy. It was also the true reason he had always favored wielding a blade in combat, even without any formal sword training, he could still slay demons and enemies with a single sword.
And the core of the cat demon's paw was "death and soul."
Shinji could already foresee what their fusion would become.
The next second, he raised his arm. Black light flickered, with a soft hum, he simply flicked a finger, and a speck of dust shot out, passing through a leaf a hundred meters away.
A particle of dust, which absolutely could not exert force, could still "inevitably hit."
This was....
Spirit-Seeking Bow Arm Transformation.
Shinji settled on this name.
Two transformations had fused into one, a "change" that possessed extraordinary arm strength and control, could summon spirits for assistance, and could lock onto an enemy's soul. Once activated, it would inevitably hit.
From then on, of his Six Transformations, three had now been merged together.
Spirit-Seeking Bow Arm Transformation, Lightning-Muscle Sharp Body Transformation, Bone Soul Transformation, plus Spear Waist Transformation, Keen Eye Transformation, and Blood Transformation.
Six pockets, with three now expanded to their limits, stuffed to overflowing.
Shinji closed his eyes, feeling the power surging within him.
His physical transformation had reached its true limit; they could no longer be layered further.
The membrane of qualitative change was still there, but it was as thin as a cicada's wing.
He could feel clearly that if he was willing, if he just gave it a push, that membrane would break.
The limit of the Sixth Transformation would be completely broken at that moment.
And it wouldn't be a simple incremental increase, gaining a seventh transformation.
The three transformations that had been driven to their utmost extremes would collapse and reform all at once. Quantitative accumulation would trigger a chain-reaction evolution, Seventh Transformation, Eighth Transformation, perhaps even stepping directly into the Ninth Transformation.
But he didn't rush.
Not because he didn't want to, but because the time wasn't right.
Qualitative change required a catalyst, a strong enough stimulus to serve as that final straw.
Not forcing it oneself.
Forcing it might just result in the Seventh Transformation.
Wait.
Wait for that catalyst to appear on its own.
He opened his eyes and put away the cat demon's paw, the object was still there, but its power had already been integrated into his body.
He glanced at the other panels.
[Venomous Dragon Reverse Scale: Affection 44]
[First Talent Unlocked: Detoxification, When holding the scale, neutralize toxins within contact range.]
This talent had unlocked at thirty affection, but it was almost useless to Shinji himself.
He was a corpse, a demon warrior. Though he was now close to "revitalized," his essence remained. He was a living corpse.
Toxins didn't affect the dead, completely useless.
"At least I can help others detoxify," he thought.
Then reconsidered. How would that work? Just a touch? Or would he have to stuff the scale into their mouths?
He put that question aside for now. It wasn't like he could poison someone just to test it.
Though… that idea wasn't entirely dismissed?
[Yura: Affection 30]
[First Talent Unlocked: Hair Control, When holding Yura, you can control your own hair.]
"…Hair control?"
Shinji looked down at his own white hair.
He tried to control it. The ends of his hair lifted, then swayed slowly in the air like a snake.
"A little disgusting."
The comb in his robe vibrated.
[Yura expresses strong protest.]
"Fine, fine, not disgusting. Very beautiful."
The comb vibrated again, satisfied this time, though too tsundere to speak aloud.
Shinji set aside his stray thoughts and looked at two other key targets.
[Shikon Jewel: Affection 75]
This number had been steadily rising since he and Kikyō had confirmed their relationship.
The Shikon Jewel's affection seemed closely tied to Kikyō's state of mind, the more at peace Kikyō was, the stronger the pure spirit became, and the faster affection rose.
Now, he and Kikyō were essentially bound together. Though they hadn't yet taken the final step, it was only a matter of time.
Still, twenty-five points remained until the maximum.
No rushing.
[Sacred Tree: Affection 5]
This thousand-year-old tree remained gentle.
It had taken a month to go from zero to five.
It hadn't even unlocked its first talent.
But Shinji knew that once affinity was completed, the rewards would be the most terrifying of all the demonic artifacts—the power to connect past, present, and future, and the still-unactivated Bone-Eater's Well.
Slowly.
…
That day, that night.
The moon was high. Kaede Village slept, the barrier's spiritual light enveloping it, its pale blue glow flickering in the darkness.
Behind the shrine, even breathing could be heard.
Kōyō and Botan were staying in the side hall. Even through the paper door, one could hear Botan's bed creak as she turned.
Kaede's room was the quietest; the little girl always slept deeply.
And Shinji sat on the ridge of the shrine's main hall.
This was what he did every night before sleeping.
Kikyō didn't know—at least, he hadn't told her.
She had to maintain the barrier during the day, train, take care of Kaede, and recently, tutor Kōyō and Botan in spellcraft. She was tired enough.
Night watch was his job.
The grey-robed, pale-haired demon warrior sat cross-legged at the highest point of the roof, blood mist seeping silently from his skin, spreading thin as a cicada's wing, covering all of Kaede Village and several miles around.
This was his perception network.
Any living thing, demonic aura, or abnormal presence entering this area, he would detect immediately.
The night wind was cool.
The moon was bright.
He sat with his eyes closed, high above, like a stone statue.
Until—
At the northern edge of the mist, something unusual.
Not demonic aura.
Human presence.
But among them, something he had seen twice before.
Clean, elevated, and a purity not of this world.
Like water falling from the sky, vast and heavy.
That was…
Divine artifact power?
No, not quite.
This power was thicker than what he had felt from Kakizaki Kageie and Yamagata Masakage.
Thicker by more than one level.
It felt more like the source of the "divine artifact."
Shinji's eyes opened. His crimson demon eyes glowed eerily in the moonlight.
He looked north.
Outside the village's torii gate, moonlight filled the mountain path.
A figure was walking along that winding path toward Kaede Village.
Not fast.
Even slow.
Like taking a stroll.
Like keeping an appointment.
The moonlight fell on the figure.
White monk's robes, light white armor. A monk's veil covered her head, beneath which fell soft silver-white hair, gently swaying in the night wind, interwoven with strands of black, like highlights.
Her features were delicate, with a touch of heroic spirit. Her features weren't soft but were highly distinctive—in her brows and eyes was a profound, detached calm, like an ancient well.
Young.
Seemingly seventeen or eighteen.
But the aura naturally emanating from her was so pure, so pristine.
Even purer than Kikyō's.
At least Kikyō still had a human feel, just slightly cool.
But this visitor was almost non-human.
Not demon. Not human.
But—"god."
Shinji stood from the roof ridge.
Blood mist churned beneath him. He watched the figure draw closer.
"She's here," Shinji murmured.
Somewhat surprised, though also expected.
The girl stepped before the village and looked up slightly at the demon warrior keeping watch above.
Grey robes, pale hair, crimson demon mask.
Moonlight stretched their shadows.
One high, one low.
One long, one short.
One facing south, one facing north.