The final wooden spear slammed into the cliff face,
,and the thunderous barrage came to an abrupt stop.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Only the faint sound of loose stones tumbling down the cliffside remained, each tiny echo unnaturally clear in the stillness.
The towering Susanoo gradually faded away, revealing Kagetsu and Kikyo standing unharmed within.
"Is… is he dead?" Kagome asked quietly, her eyes fixed on the cliff as the dust slowly began to settle.
"He should be… right?" Kaede frowned, uncertainty creeping into her voice.
"No." Kagetsu's gaze remained locked on the smoke-shrouded crater. "He's still alive."
His hands moved swiftly through a series of seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
He inhaled deeply,then exhaled a violent gust of wind.
The gale tore across the battlefield, sweeping up gravel and grass as it slammed into the cliff, blowing away the lingering dust in an instant.
What it revealed was grotesque.
The once-smooth cliff had been blasted into a massive crater. Countless wooden spikes were embedded deep into the rock, jutting out at jagged angles like a forest of spears.
At the center,
A mass of shredded flesh writhed violently, pinned in place by the wooden spikes.
It was still alive.
"Hahaha! It's useless! You can't kill me!" Muso's upper body reformed first, his lower half rapidly regenerating as his voice rang out, thick with manic arrogance.
"Can't be killed?" Kagetsu echoed, nodding thoughtfully.
Then a dangerous smile spread across his lips.
"Good. That makes things more interesting."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to Kikyo's cheek,then looked back up at Muso, his gaze openly provocative.
"Onigumo, if you died like trash, where would the fun be?" he said lazily. "Stay right there and watch like the worthless garbage you are. You can't even move."
Muso's eyes instantly burned with fury.
Kagetsu didn't stop.
"A failure like you… sold your soul to demons, turned into that thing called Naraku, spent decades trapped,and now you've been thrown away like garbage."
His tone turned colder, sharper.
"How do you even have the nerve to keep living?"
"A piece of trash even demons despise… and you think you can take Kikyo from me?"
He gave a soft scoff.
"Well, I suppose it fits. You were scum as a human,a bandit, wasn't it? And now you're just as worthless as a demon. Truly consistent… from beginning to end."
"You bastard,!! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!"
Muso completely lost control.
His face twisted into something monstrous, veins bulging as his bloodshot eyes locked onto Kagetsu. Ignoring the agony of the spikes impaling him, he thrashed wildly, trying to tear himself free.
As his body regenerated, more grotesque limbs sprouted from his form, writhing and twisting as his demonic aura thickened to the point of suffocation.
But no matter how violently he struggled,
The wooden spikes held him fast.
"Onigumo's about to go mad with rage," Kikyo murmured, still held in Kagetsu's arms. She cast him a sideways glance, a hint of helpless amusement in her eyes.
"Kagetsu's talent for provoking people is… exceptional," Sango whispered to Kagome and Miroku, watching Muso spiral out of control.
"Embracing the woman he desires while calling him a failure…" Miroku stroked his chin solemnly. "Anyone would lose their sanity."
"…It's definitely a bit excessive," Kagome admitted with a small nod.
Just when it seemed Kagetsu couldn't push things any further, he suddenly turned to Kikyo.
"He's too noisy," he said casually. "Let's silence him."
"Use a Sacred Arrow. His heart is at the spider mark on his back. Hit that, and he's finished."
"…"
Kikyo paused, catching the glint of mischief in his eyes.
She sighed, rubbing her forehead lightly.
"I almost feel sorry for him now."
"Who told him to try and kill you back then?" Kagetsu replied without hesitation. "Go on,take your revenge."
Then, more quietly,
"…Besides, I'm jealous. Just looking at him irritates me."
A faint smile touched Kikyo's lips.
"…Very well."
She raised her bow in one smooth motion, drawing the string taut as the arrowhead aligned perfectly with Muso's writhing form.
"Kikyo!!"
Seeing her aim, Muso's aura surged violently. His voice cracked with rage,and something deeper, something desperate.
But Kikyo didn't waver.
Her fingers released.
The Sacred Arrow streaked forward like a beam of light.
At that very moment,
A blade of wind descended from above, cutting toward the arrow.
Kagura.
"Kamui."
Kagetsu's Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
A black vortex tore open in space, swallowing the wind blade whole without a trace.
The arrow flew on, unhindered.
And struck.
"Kikyo,!!!"
As the arrow pierced his heart, Muso's body froze.
He lifted his head, staring at Kikyo,still standing there, bow in hand.
His eyes were filled with despair… and hatred.
In the next instant,Light erupted.
The Sacred Arrow burst with blinding radiance, holy power surging through his entire body. His form began to disintegrate, turning to ash piece by piece.
Then,He was gone.
Scattered into the wind.
"…Damn it."
Atop the cliff, Kagura watched in silence, her expression dark. She shot Kagetsu a sharp glare,but deep within her eyes, there was the faintest trace of something else.
Relief.
With a huff, she turned, riding her feather into the distance as she followed Naraku's monstrous creation, disappearing into the horizon.
"…What a miserable way to go," Inuyasha muttered after a moment, his tone unusually subdued.
"Yeah…" Kagome nodded softly. "Humiliated… and then killed by the person he loved."
"…Hey, Inuyasha," Shippō piped up suddenly, "you like Kikyo too, right? You'd better be careful,"
Thud!
"Shippō!"
Before he could finish, Inuyasha's fist came crashing down onto his head.
"Kagome!" Shippō wailed, clutching his head as he scrambled for safety.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome said slowly, glancing at the trembling fox demon, "don't kill him."
"Ahhh!!"
That didn't help.
Shippō shrieked and bolted, tail puffed up in terror.
Kagetsu, meanwhile, swept his senses across the area, confirming that Muso's demonic aura had completely vanished.
He turned to Kikyo.
"When are you heading back? This clone has just enough chakra left to send you with Flying Thunder God. Want to go now?"
"I'll say goodbye to Kaede first," Kikyo replied after a moment's thought. "Wait for me."
Kagetsu nodded and remained where he stood.
His gaze drifted to where Muso had vanished, a thoughtful look crossing his face.
Muso had been one of Naraku's incarnations.
In the original course of events, he would have been reabsorbed.
But now… he is gone.
Killed.
What kind of impact would that have on Naraku?
One thing was certain,
Losing Onigumo's core obsession wouldn't be as simple as losing a fragment of power.
Naraku himself had once admitted he still needed Onigumo to stabilize his existence.
It made sense.
Naraku had been born from Onigumo's sacrifice. Without that core, the demons that made up his body would inevitably lose cohesion.
Something would go wrong.
Otherwise… why would he have risked facing Inuyasha just to reclaim Muso?
But Kagetsu had no intention of letting that happen.
Only by driving Naraku into a corner,
could he force him to rely even more on the power of the Shikon Jewel.