Seeing Naraku remain silent, Kikyo—still seated on Blackmaru's back—lifted her chin slightly, her eyes full of disdain.
"A rat in the gutter should stay quietly in its hole."
With that, she no longer paid him any attention. She turned Blackmaru around, leaving her completely unguarded back to him as she rode away.
Naraku's face twisted the moment he saw the contempt in her eyes. For an instant, it reminded him of that man—Uchiha Retsu—and his expression became ferocious.
His hand suddenly transformed into a monstrous black claw.
He stepped forward, preparing to attack again.
"AAH—!!"
A sudden explosion of pain burst from his chest, and Naraku screamed.
He looked down in shock.
The wound Kikyo had sliced earlier had reopened. Deep within the cut, pure shrine maiden spiritual power clung stubbornly to the flesh, continuously purifying the demonic energy within his body.
Even more strangely, this spiritual power was different from any shrine maiden power he had encountered before. It felt almost alive.
No matter how much demonic energy he mobilized to resist it, he could only weaken a tiny portion of it, while his own demonic aura was rapidly purified, bringing excruciating pain.
What terrified him most was another discovery—
If he stopped resisting, the spiritual power would actively devour his demonic energy, slowly restoring and even strengthening itself.
"This is the gift I prepared for you," Kikyo's calm voice drifted back from the distance. "I hope you like it."
Naraku raised his head with an ugly expression, glaring at her retreating figure.
"Kikyo! You woman!!" he roared through clenched teeth.
Hearing the furious shout behind her, Kikyo's lips curved into a faint smile.
When she had cut Naraku earlier, the blade had already been coated with a new power she had recently mastered—
A force Retsu called Sage Spiritual Power.
Now, within Kikyo's body existed not only her original shrine maiden spiritual power, but also the sage power she had gained through training.
Over the past months, she and Retsu had discovered that this sage power could grant humans lifespans comparable to demons, nourish the body, and enhance strength and speed.
However, the enhancement was far weaker than the dramatic amplification of Retsu's Sage Mode.
Because of that, Kikyo had repeatedly tried to imitate Retsu's senjutsu chakra, attempting to merge natural energy with her spiritual power to create her own form of sage technique.
But every attempt had failed.
Just as she was about to give up, Retsu reminded her of something.
Senjutsu chakra was fundamentally the fusion of physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy.
Her spiritual power, derived purely from the soul, might be insufficient on its own.
A third type of energy was needed.
So she tried adding sage power into the mix.
Unexpectedly, it worked.
The result was a new energy they called Sage Spiritual Power.
Although it couldn't drastically enhance the body like senjutsu chakra, it possessed an incredibly powerful purification effect against demons.
Its most remarkable trait was stability.
Once it attached itself to demonic energy, it bound to it firmly, constantly absorbing both demonic energy and surrounding natural energy to strengthen itself while continuously purifying the corruption.
Kikyo was extremely satisfied with this power.
But it had an obvious flaw.
Like senjutsu chakra, it couldn't be stored in the body for long periods. It had to be fused on the spot—and doing so was extremely difficult.
The tiny amount of Sage Spiritual Power she had coated onto her blade earlier had been slowly formed from the moment she sensed Naraku's presence.
Even by the time she fired her first arrow, she had barely managed to gather enough energy for a single attack.
That was why she abandoned the safer option of shooting another sacred arrow and instead chose the far more dangerous close-range strike—
Just to guarantee a direct hit.
Judging from Naraku's reaction now, the effect of Sage Spiritual Power had exceeded her expectations.
"Did he leave?"
Kikyo glanced back once she sensed Naraku's demonic aura vanish.
A trace of seriousness flashed through her eyes.
"For Naraku to suddenly appear and attack me like this… he must have had a purpose. I should hurry to Inuyasha and Kagome and see what's happening."
With that thought, she patted Blackmaru gently.
"Blackmaru, faster."
Blackmaru let out a low growl and accelerated instantly, racing toward Kaede's village.
At the same time Kikyo was traveling, she had no idea that Kagome had already returned to the modern era through the Bone-Eater's Well.
Outside Kaede's village, a fierce battle had broken out.
An unexpected visitor had been intercepted at the village entrance by Inuyasha.
"Bastard! Die!"
Inuyasha roared as Tessaiga sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, slashing toward the man who called himself Musō, one of Naraku's incarnations.
Clang!
A clear metallic sound rang out.
Musō's arm suddenly stretched and transformed into a grotesque demonic tentacle, blocking Tessaiga's strike.
With a sudden surge of force, he flung Inuyasha away.
"This power… not bad at all," Musō said excitedly, staring at his transformed arm with greedy delight.
He looked toward the staggering Inuyasha and revealed a vicious grin.
His tentacle shot forward like a venomous serpent.
"Hiraikotsu!"
At the critical moment when Inuyasha barely dodged, Sango seized the opening and hurled her giant boomerang at Musō.
But Musō reacted instantly.
With a casual flick of his tentacle, he knocked Hiraikotsu flying.
"He's strong. Everyone, be careful!" Miroku warned seriously while gripping his staff tightly.
"Yeah… he really is Naraku's incarnation," Sango muttered helplessly as she watched her weapon get knocked away.
"It's nothing!"
Inuyasha roared defiantly and leapt into the air.
Tessaiga rose high above his head, demonic power surging through the blade as violent currents of wind formed around it.
He swung down toward Musō with full force.
"Slash—!"
But in that instant, Musō's demonic tentacle blurred into motion.
Before Inuyasha could react, it pierced straight through his chest and neck.
"AAAGH—!"
Inuyasha screamed as his body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Inuyasha!"
Sango and Miroku shouted in alarm, their faces full of worry.
"Damn it…"
Inuyasha coughed up blood as he struggled to stand.
At the last moment, he had barely avoided his vital organs. His half-demon body quickly slowed the bleeding, preventing a fatal wound.
Seeing that he was still alive, Sango and Miroku finally let out a breath of relief.
"Inuyasha!"
Just then, Kagome's voice rang out from the distance.
Startled, Inuyasha turned his head.
Kagome was running toward them, carrying a massive backpack on her back.
"Sorry! I'm late!" she shouted as she ran, still unaware of how dangerous the situation was.
"Don't come any closer, Kagome!!"
Inuyasha and Shippō both shouted urgently.
Meanwhile, Musō had already noticed Kagome.
His expression suddenly froze.
In his mind, the faint image of a shrine maiden appeared.
Staring at Kagome's face, he murmured unconsciously,
"That woman… who was that shrine maiden just now?"
"That guy's one of Naraku's incarnations! Stay behind me!" Inuyasha shouted to Kagome, not noticing Musō's strange reaction.
"…Okay!"
Kagome finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
She quickly pulled Shippō with her and retreated behind Inuyasha, staring warily at Musō.
To Read 60+ advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146