"Beyond the heavy miasma… I can still sense Naraku's presence. The same as in the castle."
Kikyo's gaze sharpened as she carefully felt the currents of energy within the cave.
"This is his doing."
"Yeah," Kagetsu replied calmly. "He's already nearby. Waiting."
His eyes flickered faintly.
"We'll move once his body fully recovers."
Their quiet exchange left Kagome and Sango staring in confusion. Before either could question them,
A violent roar erupted from deeper within the cave.
Steel clashed against claws.
And Inuyasha's furious growl echoed through the tunnel.
Kagome and Sango rushed forward instinctively.
At the end of the passage, near the cavern's inner opening, Miroku sat slumped against the stone wall. His face was deathly pale, sweat dripping from his brow. The miasma had clearly eaten away at his strength.
"Monk Miroku!" Kagome and Sango called out at once.
Miroku turned sharply, startled.
"Why are you here?!" he demanded urgently. "The miasma is too thick, leave immediately!"
"Are you alright?!" Kagome rushed to his side, unaffected by the miasma. "Where's Inuyasha?!"
"Kagome?!" Inuyasha's voice rang out from below. He glanced back toward the entrance. "Why are you here?! It's dangerous, get out!"
That moment of distraction cost him.
The grotesque demon he was battling seized the opening and slammed a massive claw into his chest.
Boom!
Inuyasha crashed hard against the ground.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried.
He rolled, sprang back to his feet, and raised Tessaiga with a feral glare. With a roar, he charged again. Blade and claw collided in a shower of sparks, metal shrieking against hardened flesh.
By now, Kikyo and Kagetsu had reached the cavern's edge, Sango, Shippō, and Kirara close behind.
They looked down.
The tunnel opened into a vast hollow within the mountain, like the throat of a dormant volcano. Moonlight poured in from a circular opening high above, casting cold silver light upon the horrific scene below.
At the centre lay a massive blood pool.
Severed limbs. Demon corpses. Rotting flesh.
The pool churned, glowing faintly crimson under the moonlight.
Inuyasha and a towering, malformed demon clashed within that sea of gore. Each impact sent waves of blood splashing several meters high.
"Sango…" Miroku gasped weakly as she supported him. "You shouldn't have come…"
His eyes shifted, then widened upon seeing Kikyo.
Before anyone could react,
Shippō and Kirara suddenly leapt downward, as if pulled by an invisible thread.
"Shippō!"
"Kirara!"
Sango and Miroku reacted instantly, grabbing them mid-motion.
"Be careful," Miroku warned, voice strained. "The Art of Kodoku has been cast here."
He shoved Shippō back into Kagome's arms.
"In this ritual, demons are forced to fight, devour one another, and fuse inside the blood pool."
His eyes fell on Inuyasha below.
"If he continues fighting inside it, he'll be corroded by the miasma… and eventually absorbed as well."
"Absorbed?!" Kagome's face paled. "Kikyo said this was Naraku's trap!"
"A trap?" Miroku nodded grimly. "Given the density of the miasma, I'd say so."
Then he froze.
The suffocating pressure he'd been enduring had vanished.
He looked up.
Kikyo stood at the cave's edge, spiritual power radiating from her like a second moon. The vast, shimmering barrier continuously purified the surrounding corruption.
"Lady Kikyo…" Miroku said softly, awed. "Thank you."
Maintaining such a large-scale purification was no small feat. Yet she showed no sign of strain.
Kikyo did not acknowledge him.
Her eyes locked onto Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha," she called coldly. "Stop being a fool. Get out of there. Now."
The familiar voice struck him like lightning.
"Kikyo…?"
He faltered.
The demon did not.
Its claw slammed into his back with crushing force.
Boom!
Inuyasha flew through the air and smashed into the rock wall. Stone cracked; debris rained down.
Watching from above, Kagetsu couldn't help thinking,
This mutt really treats everyone equally.
Kagome shouts? Slapped into the ground.
Kikyo calls his name? Smashed into a cliff.
His strength might be average… but his durability was remarkable.
Kikyo ignored Inuyasha entirely.
The moment he was knocked clear of the blood pool, she moved.
She drew her bow in one fluid motion, an arrow already knocked.
"Kagetsu," she said without turning, "be ready. Don't let it escape. I'm breaking the seal."
"Understood."
Chakra erupted beneath Kagetsu's feet in a burst of pale blue light.
He leapt.
The demon below had just turned toward Inuyasha again, completely unaware of the threat descending from above.
Midair, Kagetsu, gathered chakra into his right leg.
With a piercing whistle,
Boom!
His kick crashed down onto the demon's skull.
Bone shattered. Foul blood sprayed outward.
The monster's massive body was driven straight into the blood pool, sending a towering crimson wave surging outward.
Using the recoil, Kagetsu flipped and landed against the vertical cliff wall. Chakra adhered to his soles, allowing him to run across the stone as though it were flat ground.
He reached Inuyasha in seconds.
Grabbing him by the collar like an unruly pup, he bounded upward in rapid succession and returned to the cavern entrance.
He tossed Inuyasha unceremoniously onto the ground.
"Done."
Kikyo nodded.
She pulled the bowstring back to its limit.
Instead of aiming downward,
She aimed at the circular opening above.
At something unseen.
The sacred arrow blazed white.
Release.
The arrow shot upward like a streak of starlight and struck an invisible barrier.
Bang!
The explosion shattered the concealed seal instantly.
The compressed miasma within the cave surged upward like a geyser, forming a violent column of black energy.
Everyone braced themselves as the wind howled through the cavern, clothes whipping wildly in the gale.
With a thunderous roar, the opening above split wider.
The entire mass of miasma, the corrupted blood pool, and even the partially regenerated demon were swept upward into the night sky, ripped from the cave and scattered into the darkness.
Silence fell.
With the seal broken and the Kodoku ritual dispelled, clarity returned to Inuyasha's eyes.
He sprang up and rushed toward Kikyo.
"Kikyo! What the hell are you doing?!"
"No time for explanations," she replied coldly. Every moment wasted meant Naraku might finish reconstructing his body and slip away again.
She turned to Kagetsu.
"Kagetsu. It's your turn."
"No problem."
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
Chakra flared beneath his feet.
In a flash, he shot upward along the rock face like lightning, carrying Kikyo toward the mountain's summit and whatever awaited them above.