"Tch..."
"You truly are persistent, aren't you?"
The Shikon Jewel, having compressed its monstrous bulk into a deceptively normal human guise, stood facing the Great Dog Demon. Its voice was a low, vibrating hum that set the surrounding air trembling.
"It seems your immortality isn't as absolute as you'd like me to believe," Toga replied calmly, his grip on [So'unga] steady. "That sudden disappearance of your aura earlier... that wasn't an illusion. I felt you slip into the void."
The Great Dog Demon's mind was racing. Recalling the moments he had unleashed the [Path of the Netherworld] and the [Dragon Stream Wave], he was certain of it: the Shikon Jewel had "died."
The current facade of calm was exactly that--a facade. If the Jewel were truly beyond death, it would have shown no hesitation, no flicker of the "shaken" emotion he had witnessed just moments ago.
"Hmph."
The Shikon Jewel gritted its teeth. Losing two lives in such a short span of time was a price it felt was far too steep.
'Enough. You don't need to stall him any longer.'
'Is it finished?' the Jewel projected back.
'Yes,' Naraku's voice whispered in its mind, cold and satisfied. 'Better than I anticipated. Inuyasha and his group are utterly powerless against him.'
'Even without a blade, Sesshomaru's demonic energy is a force to be reckoned with, but his options are limited. Inuyasha's [Tessaiga] is useless, and the purifying attacks of those priestesses have failed to find a killing blow. The only potential threats left are the Servants...'
The news was better than the Jewel could have hoped for. It decided it had no more reason to entertain this duel with the Great Dog Demon.
'It's a shame the evolution didn't reach its final stage... but even this "God" form is impressive.'
'Hmph. As long as he isn't a total waste, I don't care.'
With those final words, the Shikon Jewel's human shell suddenly ruptured, dissolving into thousands of distinct, fleshy meat chunks. Before Toga could strike, the pieces scattered into the wind, retreating toward the mountain summit in a swarm of malignant energy.
"What...?"
Toga's brow deeply furrowed. To choose such an abrupt, undignified escape after fighting so hard to keep him occupied was uncharacteristic.
'Inuyasha... Sesshomaru...'
'There is a massive surge of demonic and evil energy concentrated at the peak.'
The Great Dog Demon looked toward the jagged skyline. He realized now that the Jewel hadn't been blocking him; it had been "protecting" something.
Without a word, he blurred into motion, racing toward his sons.
"Aaaand they're off."
"I suppose our work here is done then."
Byakuya of the Illusions stood on his paper crane, watching the departing figures of both Toga and the Shikon Jewel. He sighed, a look of weary resignation on his face.
"Not like there's any residual energy left to siphon anyway."
Naraku had originally sent him to "harvest" whatever power the legendary dog demon left behind, hoping to use it as a countermeasure for Inuyasha's group. But Toga was far too disciplined; his energy didn't leak, and he left no traces to be exploited.
Beside him, Kanna stood silent, her mirror reflecting the distant storm clouds.
"Hey! Where did the Jewel go?!"
Koga's voice barked from the ridge below, drawing Byakuya's low, patronizing gaze.
"Isn't it obvious?" Byakuya asked, tilting his head. "It's gone to the eye of the storm. Any fool can see where the real battle is happening."
Having no interest in further conversation, the illusionist turned his crane and glided away, Kanna following behind him like a silent shadow.
"Tch!"
"Master, it sounds like some real monsters are gathering up there," Cu Chulainn noted, a wild, predatory grin stretching across his face as he looked toward the mountain.
"Let's go!"
Koga didn't need to be told twice. He knew Naraku and the Shikon Jewel were planning something catastrophic. They wouldn't have gone to such lengths to stall the Great Dog Demon otherwise.
"RAAGH!!"
Inuyasha roared, his blade sparking as he parried a volley of organic spikes that erupted from Muzan's new body. Even with the [Tessaiga]'s reinforcement, the sheer force of the impact was nearly enough to break his wrists.
"Damn it! How many of these things can he grow?!"
"Don't just stand there and take it!"
"[Adamant Barrage]!!"
Inuyasha swung his blade, launching another cascade of diamond shards.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!!
The results were the same. The diamond projectiles shattered against Muzan's reinforced skin, leaving only superficial scratches that healed before they could be seen.
"[Demonic Dragon Wave]!!"
Moroha followed up, her pink energy dragon colliding with Muzan's [Fusennou] barrier. The blast was magnificent, but Muzan emerged from the smoke completely unharmed, a mocking smirk on his lips.
'This is pathetic...'
Akame and Rikuo stood in the back, their expressions grim. As Servants, they were finding themselves unexpectedly sidelined. One held a blade that killed with a single scratch--but could not break the skin. The other held a blade that struck through illusions--but bounced off this physical fortress.
Beside them, Sesshomaru stood like a statue, his arms crossed over his chest. He hadn't made a single move since the battle began.
Two sacred arrows streaked through the air in perfect sequence, Kagome and Kikyo timing their shots to exploit a gap in Muzan's defense.
Muzan merely raised an arm, his biological armor hardening into a dense shield that absorbed the spiritual impact.
'It seems...'
"Kikyo."
"I see it, Kagome," Kikyo replied, her voice soft. "The Servant's resistance to spiritual energy is high, but it is not absolute. He is merely stalling our arrows with his own demonic density."
"But he isn't giving us an opening. We can't land a killing blow if we can't break through that armor."
Kikyo's eyes shifted across the battlefield, eventually landing on Sesshomaru.
Aside from Moroha, the Lord of the Western Lands was the only one with the raw, concentrated power capable of ending this. But there was a problem: he lacked a vessel. His own demon energy was so dense and volatile that regular swords would shatter under his touch.
Akame's blade was too specialized. Rikuo's was too refined.
There was only one blade in existence that could withstand Sesshomaru's full power while possessing the destructive capability needed to break Muzan.
The [Tessaiga].
Kagome's thoughts mirrored the priestess's. If they were to win, the brothers had to do the impossible. They had to share.
"Kikyo... can you speak to Inuyasha? I'll go to Sesshomaru."
Kikyo nodded, lowering her bow as she moved toward Inuyasha's position.
Kagome took a deep breath and sprinted toward the silent, silver-haired demon. She skidded to a halt several feet away, her chest heaving as she opened her mouth to speak, but Sesshomaru cut her off.
"Do not waste your breath on meaningless words."
He stepped past her, his gaze finally fixing on Muzan.
"拜托了!" (I'm counting on you!)
Kagome didn't need a verbal confirmation. She knew Sesshomaru's attitude better than most. He wouldn't negotiate, and he wouldn't ask. But when the time came, he would act.
"We'll help too!" Rikuo called out, looking at Akame. "We may not be able to break him, but we can certainly keep his eyes occupied."
"Understood," Akame nodded, her focus sharpening.
Individually, they were struggling. But together, they were a convergence of legends that even a God would have to fear.
"Tch!!"
"Fine! I get it already!"
Kagome looked back to see Inuyasha's face twisted in an uncharacteristically cooperative, yet deeply annoyed, grimace as he listened to Kikyo.
BOOM!!
A sudden localized explosion sent Moroha leaping back, her expression sour.
"Mom! I can't take this anymore! I'm using that!"
"That?" Kagome asked, confused.
"Let her," Kikyo said, a faint, rare smile appearing on her face.
"Hehe! I'm going to use Grandpa's power to smash him into a pulp!!"
A staggering eruption of aura exploded from Moroha, a massive shade of a Great Dog Demon looming behind her for a fraction of a second.
"Hmph. Come then. Let me see if I can drain you dry!"
Muzan sneered, his scales rippling as he prepared to absorb the coming storm.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]