While Kagome and Sango were clearing out the demons in the sky, the battle between Kagura and Kōga below was also nearing its end.
Without the power of the Shikon Jewel shard to enhance him, Kōga's speed simply wasn't enough to close the distance with Kagura. The entire fight had been a one-sided struggle.
The drawn-out battle caused the wounds beneath his bandages to split open again. Blood seeped through the cloth, staining it a dark red. With both his physical strength and demonic power nearly exhausted, his movements grew slower and slower. Each attempt to dodge Kagura's attacks looked increasingly strained.
"You're incredibly persistent," Kagura said coldly, staring at the blood-soaked wolf demon who still tried to rush her like an indestructible cockroach. A trace of impatience flickered in her eyes.
Demonic power flared around her as she snapped open her folding fan and swung it violently.
In an instant, countless pale wind blades erupted outward, sealing off every direction Kōga could escape.
"Kagura!"
At that critical moment, Kagome's voice rang out from above.
A Demon-Slaying Arrow wrapped in brilliant spiritual power shot through the air like a streak of light. It tore straight through the dense storm of wind blades.
The pale blades instantly disintegrated under the arrow's purifying power. The arrow continued forward without losing momentum, the evil aura and demonic energy along its path completely purified as it shot straight toward Kagura's face.
Sensing the terrifying energy contained within the arrow, Kagura's expression changed drastically.
At the last moment, the surrounding demons hurled themselves forward to block it. Though they were instantly reduced to ash, they bought Kagura a split second to react.
She twisted aside awkwardly.
Even so, the spiritual power grazed her right arm.
Her elegant sleeve was instantly shredded, and a sharp burning pain spread across her skin.
"Damn it!"
Kagura's heart tightened. In the instant her arm flared with pain, the Shikon Jewel shard she had been holding slipped from her grasp.
"It's mine!"
Kōga's eyes flashed. Ignoring the pain of his injuries, he lunged forward toward the fallen shard, reaching out to grab it.
"Dance of the Dragon's Serpent!"
Seeing him recklessly try to snatch the shard right in front of her, Kagura's anger flared. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she swung her fan again.
Several roaring tornadoes burst forth and slammed straight into Kōga.
"Ahhh,!"
The heavily wounded wolf demon had no chance of dodging. Not only did he fail to reach the shard, he was caught directly in the tornadoes. Wind blades tore into him as he let out a piercing scream.
"Kōga!"
Hearing the cry, Kagome immediately drew her bow, preparing to fire another Demon-Slaying Arrow to save him.
"I won't let you interfere again, little girl!"
Kagura noticed instantly. With a furious shout, she swung her fan repeatedly, unleashing a barrage of wind blades toward Kagome and Sango in the air.
"Kirara, dodge!"
Sango shouted as she hurled her Hiraikotsu, smashing several of the incoming wind blades.
Kirara twisted and darted through the sky, narrowly avoiding the rest of the attacks.
But the constant evasive maneuvers made it impossible for Kagome to aim. She could only watch helplessly as Kōga continued screaming under the assault of the tornadoes.
Every time she and Sango tried to get closer to help him, Kagura commanded the surrounding demons to attack in coordination with her wind blades, repeatedly forcing them back.
Both women searched desperately for an opening, their faces tight with worry.
"Wait,no! Inuyasha!"
Just as Kagome was about to force an arrow shot despite the risk, she suddenly caught sight of a figure sprinting toward the battlefield in the distance.
It was Inuyasha.
And he was still in human form.
She leaned over Kirara's back and shouted in alarm.
"Inuyasha!"
Sango saw him as well, shock filling her face.
At that moment, the first rays of dawn broke across the horizon.
Morning light scattered the darkness of the night and shone over the battlefield.
Kagome and Sango instinctively glanced toward the sky.
The horizon had already begun to brighten.
"It's dawn," Kagome murmured, relief and worry mixing in her voice. "The new moon is ending. Inuyasha's about to turn back into a half-demon…"
Her gaze shifted back to Inuyasha, who was still running toward them in his human form.
"But before his demonic power returns… if someone sees him like this…"
Before she could finish speaking, the raging tornadoes finally began to dissipate.
Kōga's battered body collapsed onto the ground, completely powerless.
Kagura glanced at the brightening sky and understood immediately.
The night was ending.
Looking down at the gasping wolf demon at her feet, she spoke coldly.
"You're remarkably tenacious, Kōga. You've wasted enough of my time. I'll give you a proper end."
She raised her folding fan high and slashed downward.
A massive tornado made of countless wind blades descended from the sky, roaring toward Kōga's fallen body.
"Kōga!"
Without hesitation, Kagome fired an arrow.
"Useless!"
Kagura scoffed.
With a precise flick of her fan, a wind blade shot forward and struck Kagome's arrow.
Although the Demon-Slaying Arrow shattered the wind blade, it too broke apart from the impact. The tornado continued its descent unchecked.
Boom,!
The tornado slammed into the ground.
Wind blades tore through earth and stone, sending dust and debris erupting into the air and obscuring everything from view.
"Kōga!"
Kagome and Sango cried out at the same time.
Minutes passed.
The wind blades gradually faded, and the cloud of dust slowly settled.
Both women stared anxiously at the spot where Kōga had fallen.
Kagura watched as well.
"Is he finished?" she wondered.
Then her eyes widened.
As the dust cleared, Kōga's body was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a figure in a crimson Fire Rat Robe stood there.
But what truly shocked her was not that Inuyasha had saved Kōga.
It was his appearance.
Black hair.
No dog ears.
He was unmistakably human.
For a brief moment Kagura froze.
Then,A surge of demonic power erupted from the figure.
The black hair rapidly faded, transforming into flowing silver once again. Fuzzy dog ears reappeared atop his head, and his golden eyes sharpened instantly.
But that brief glimpse had already confirmed it.
She had not been mistaken.
" what's the point of picking on a beaten-up wolf like him?" Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, a confident grin spreading across his face.
Before he finished speaking, he drew Tessaiga in one swift motion, pointing the blade directly at Kagura.
"From here on out, I'm your opponent!"
"Did… Kagura see Inuyasha's human form?" Sango asked worriedly as she looked down at him.
"…I think she did," Kagome replied quietly, her eyes fixed on Inuyasha's back.
From their vantage point in the air, they had seen it clearly.
When the dust cleared, Inuyasha had definitely still been in his human form.
Kagura's mind raced.
Naraku's strange behavior the previous night suddenly resurfaced in her thoughts.
She also remembered what Kikyo had once told her:
"As a half-demon, Naraku loses his demonic power at a certain time."
And that time…
was the night of the new moon.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Inuyasha," she said slowly, "do you also lose your demonic power and become human on the night of the new moon?"
"So what if I do?" Inuyasha replied sharply, lifting Tessaiga.
"As long as I've recovered, I'll be the one who wins!"
He pointed the blade at her.
"But before I cut you down, I've got a question. Why were you looking for Kikyo?"
"Oh?" Kagura paused for a moment before a teasing smile spread across her lips.
"Kikyo didn't tell you?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"If you want to know… go ask her yourself."
Before Inuyasha could even swing Tessaiga, she pulled a feather from her hair and tossed it into the air.
A gust of wind surged upward, lifting her effortlessly.
Kagura sat down on the floating feather, which carried her swiftly into the sky.
"Damn it! Don't run!"
Inuyasha shouted furiously as he watched her retreat.
He had waited the entire night for his demonic power to return,and now his opponent was fleeing before he could even land a single strike.
His frustration boiled over.
From the sky, Kagura glanced back at him.
Then her gaze shifted to Kagome, who was kneeling beside Kōga and checking his injuries while wearing those strange clothes from another era.
"Will the ones who kill Naraku… be Inuyasha and that girl, Kagome?" she wondered.
The Demon-Slaying Arrow Kagome had fired earlier still lingered vividly in her memory. She had clearly felt the overwhelming purifying power contained within it.
Even Naraku might not survive such an attack.
"Kikyo's reincarnation…" Kagura murmured.
She remembered Naraku mentioning Kagome before,and the faint wariness in his voice when he spoke of her.
Kagura raised her hand, letting the wind slip freely through her fingers.
Her eyes shone with quiet anticipation.
"I hope… you can help me gain true freedom."