Chapter 11: An Unspoken Alliance
Night had fallen, swallowing the last vestiges of twilight. Shadows deepened across the blood-soaked battlefield, stretching like grasping claws. A miasma of Yao Qi bled into the air, but the barrier encircling the village held firm, a shimmering, unbreachable wall against the demonic tide.
At that moment, a series of notifications flickered across Hikaru's vision.
[Purification activity detected. Host participation confirmed.]
[Analysis: Host eliminated demons while their remains were purified by Spiritual Power. This qualifies as effective collaborative purification.]
[Naohi unlocking conditions met.]
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi affection route unlocked.]
[Current Affection: 1 (Budding)]
Hikaru stared at the panel, momentarily stunned.
What a coincidence, he thought. And... just as I'd hoped. So this is a valid method.
"So, a demon can, in fact, participate in purification... as long as he has the right partner."
Hikaru's thought was tinged with a dry amusement. His partner in question was currently standing on the stone steps ten zhang away, nocking a second arrow and drawing her bow, aiming in his direction.
The shot wasn't for him.
It was aimed three paces behind him to his right. A shaft of pure white light streaked past him, and the two one-eyed demons that had been flanking him from his blind spot, brandishing spiked clubs, disintegrated into ash. The sacred energy rippled outwards, purifying the corpse of a centipede demon Hikaru had just cut down nearby.
For some reason, however, the affection rating didn't increase this time.
Hikaru had no time to dwell on it, nor did he need to look back. Through the drifting crimson mist, he knew exactly what that arrow had struck. He also knew what it meant.
Kikyo had chosen to cooperate with him.
It wasn't a matter of trust; she didn't know him at all. But in the heat of battle, she had made the most logical judgment. This was the battlefield acumen of the Sengoku era's most powerful priestess. It had taken her only a few breaths to observe and understand a crucial fact: this Oni Samurai bore a fragment of the Shikon Jewel, and its Naohi—the benevolent aspect of the soul—was glowing.
Naohi represented good intentions, and Naohi never lied. Therefore, this demon, at least for now, was not an enemy.
On the battlefield, that was reason enough.
The third arrow whistled past five paces to his left front. A snake-bodied demon slithering through the mud to strike at his ankles was engulfed by the white light, turning to ash along with two other corpses he had just felled.
The fourth arrow shot over his head. A bird-headed monster diving from above exploded into a cloud of fine powder in mid-air.
Each arrow missed his body by a hair's breadth, striking only the demons swarming around him. Some passed so close to his ear that the wash of spiritual power felt like a wave of heat against his skin, yet it never once harmed him. As those purifying ripples spread, they cleansed the demonic corpses he left in his wake, reducing them to dust.
Slaying and purification, proceeding in perfect sync.
He was on vegetable-chopping duty.
She was clearing the plates.
"She actually understands my plan..." Hikaru muttered under his breath, the corner of his lip twitching into a slight smile beneath his mask. He hadn't even had a chance to reveal anything about the Shikon Jewel.
Despite the complete lack of communication, their battlefield cooperation was astonishingly smooth. Where his blade fell, demon corpses piled up; where her arrows landed, they turned to ash. Offense and defense, blade and bow. Two diametrically opposed forces—Yao Qi and Spiritual Power—had formed a strange and unspoken alliance.
Hikaru slashed through a charging, blue-skinned oni, then flipped his blade to sever the limbs of a nearby centipede demon. An instant later, an arrow from Kikyo purified both corpses.
He deliberately kept his combat position within ten to fifteen zhang of the barrier's edge. This distance was just inside Kikyo's optimal range, ensuring the spiritual aftershock of her arrows would cover the bodies he left behind. Any closer, and he risked being caught in the blast. Any farther, and the purification wouldn't reach.
Ten to fifteen zhang was the perfect solution.
Kikyo had clearly grasped his intent in an impossibly short time. Her arrows were almost perfectly synchronized with his kill rate—for every three or four demons he cut down, she would loose a single arrow, its spiritual power flawlessly blanketing the fallen.
As expected of Kikyo, Hikaru thought. Even if this wasn't her at her peak, her battlefield insight was already terrifyingly sharp. She didn't even need to fully open her eyes; relying on her spiritual perception alone, she could perfectly track his position, his rhythm, and the location of every corpse he created. Then, she would fire her arrow at the most opportune moment.
Not a second too early, not a second too late.
Precise and unerring.
[Demon Blade Muramasa: Affection +2]
[Current Affection: 76]
[It conveys a message to you: "It feels great to have someone helping to kill the vegetables and serve them up!"]
"Finally, you say something a normal person would," Hikaru grumbled under his breath as he swung his blade anew.
But just as he cut down his thirtieth minor demon, the four high-level demons finally made their move.
While Hikaru's side of the field was a picture of grim efficiency, the mood among the four demon leaders was anything but pleasant. It was, in a word, terrible. As demons who had undergone at least six of what Hikaru's system called "Physical Transformations," their intelligence was far beyond that of the muddled lesser demons. They could think, they could cooperate, and they could certainly curse.
Fwoosh!
Another sacred arrow flew, its light not only covering Hikaru but also drawing their attention. It exploded beside the One-Horned Oni, forcing it to scramble away to avoid being vaporized.
"What did this priestess grow up eating? She's so damn fierce!" the One-Horned Oni roared, its blue-fanged face contorted in an ugly scowl.
At the same time, it acted.
"Boom—!"
The spiked club in its hand swung forward, smashing into the surface of the barrier with a thunderous impact. Ripples of energy spread across the shimmering shield.
"Blast it open for me!" the One-Horned Oni bellowed. It knew they couldn't afford to stall. If this continued, the priestess might eventually tire, but they would be dead long before that. Only by shattering this barrier and rushing the village... could they have a chance to win. And only by getting close could they pose a real threat to her.
As if on cue, the Giant Python opened its bloody maw and spewed a cloud of viscous green poison that splattered against the side of the barrier. High above, the Three-Eyed Crow dived, its three eyes simultaneously firing beams of demonic light that slammed into the barrier's apex.
Attacking from three sides at once.
Cracks finally spiderwebbed across the spiritual shield.
The Hannya-Masked Oni Samurai seized the opportunity. It swung its rusted tachi at the largest fissure. A violent surge of Yao Qi erupted from the blade, and with a single slash, it tore the crack wider.
"It's working!" the One-Horned Oni exulted. "Keep going! Shatter the barrier!"
But inside the village, Kikyo opened her eyes. Her calm gaze swept over the cracks, showing not a hint of panic. She simply uttered a single word.
"Seal."
A fresh surge of spiritual power flowed from her palm, transforming into countless threads of pure light that shot towards the damaged sections of the barrier. Like a needle and thread, the light stitched the cracks shut, mending the shield bit by bit.
In an instant, the barrier was restored to its original state. The small opening the four demons had fought so hard to create had vanished before they could even draw another breath.
"How is that possible?!" the One-Horned Oni roared in disbelief. The four of them had attacked in concert, and they still couldn't break it? They had been fighting for so long—how could that priestess still possess such abundant spiritual power?
Kikyo's brow, however, furrowed slightly. She could feel that while her spiritual power was still plentiful, her physical stamina was beginning to deplete at an accelerated rate. Maintaining the barrier, firing arrows to purify the demon swarm, covering the mysterious Oni Samurai, and repairing the cracks—fighting on four fronts at once was beginning to take its toll, even on her.
Her rate of fire began to slow. The perfect rhythm she had established with Hikaru was disrupted.
Hikaru felt the change immediately.
"Looks like they're getting serious."
He glanced over at the four high-level demons. The One-Horned Oni, the Giant Python, and the Three-Eyed Crow were resuming their bombardment of the barrier.
But the Hannya-Masked Oni Samurai was not. It had turned its head. It had noticed the anomaly on its flank, and it had seen Hikaru.
The gazes of the two Oni Samurai met across the chaotic battlefield.
Behind the Hannya mask, a pair of ashen eyes burned with cold, murderous intent.
"You!" the One-Horned Oni finally noticed the commotion. It jabbed a clawed finger at the Hannya-masked warrior. "Go kill that traitor!"
The Hannya-Masked Oni Samurai didn't speak. It merely tightened its grip on the rust-eaten tachi in its hand. Then, its figure blurred and vanished.
At the same instant, a spike of danger shot through Hikaru. It wasn't a sensation he perceived through the blood mist. It was instinct. The instinct one Oni Samurai has for another.
He sidestepped.
A flash of steel sliced through the air where he had just been standing, carving a deep gouge into the earth.
The Hannya-Masked Oni Samurai stood five paces away, its rusty blade dripping with blood. Hikaru's blood. A gash had been torn open on his left shoulder, and faint gray smoke curled from the wound—the corrosive touch of its Yao Qi.
"A demon, yet you help humans kill other demons?" the Hannya-Masked Oni Samurai spoke, its voice as raspy and hollow as if it had just clawed its way out of a grave.
Hikaru didn't answer. He simply tightened his grip on Muramasa and lowered his center of gravity. He knew the opponent before him was different. This was no common fodder. This was an existence that had achieved at least the Sixth Transformation—the pinnacle of the "Physical Transformation" stage, a level that granted abilities vastly different from normal living beings.
He, by contrast, had only reached the Fifth Transformation. The gap was obvious.
But... with Kikyo providing support, he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by. He just didn't know if she could spare the focus right now. Those three other demons were hammering the barrier, and she was busy repairing the damage.
For a short period, at least, he would have no long-range support.
Then... I'll just have to hold out on my own.
Since he had already made his choice, there was no room for hesitation. It was just a battle. He had walked a path paved with such encounters. To live by the blade and expect absolute safety was a fool's dream.
Opportunity and danger always walked hand-in-hand.
But this time, at least, he wasn't truly alone. There was someone at his back, someone helping him.
And that was enough.
"Come on!"
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