Chapter 94: Thunder Transformation and Kikyo's Vigil
The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the path, reaching all the way back toward the small village that had just settled back into tranquility. As always, the exorcism that had just concluded seemed to have caused not even a ripple in the world.
In this era, the strong remained strong. Most so-called "exorcisms" were, in reality, nothing more than this: a dull, one-sided slaughter—or, on the other hand, being slaughtered. The string of encounters with powerful, challenging foes Hikaru had recently experienced was the exception, not the rule.
On the journey back, Kikyo walked ahead. The afterglow of the sunset gilded her back with a warm, golden outline. A gentle breeze pressed the white fabric of her shrine maiden's top against her body, tracing the slender yet poised lines of her spine. The red hakama swayed with her steps, occasionally clinging to her legs and revealing the long, well-proportioned curves beneath, the line of her hip subtly defined.
Hikaru followed close behind, a cloth bag containing the horn of the thunder beast clutched in his hand.
His mind, however, was not on the scenery before him—at least, not entirely. The cloth bag in his arms was vibrating with an almost frantic energy. This wasn't the occasional spark of electricity from before; it felt like a heart about to beat itself out of a chest, thrumming with extreme violence. The restlessness conducted itself up his arm and through his entire body, stirring even the Yao Qi within him into a state of mild disorder.
[Thunder Horn: Favorability 99]
It was still rising.
Just a little bit more.
Hikaru stopped in his tracks. He looked down at the cloth bundle, feeling the horn inside grow alarmingly hot. He reached out and patted it through the thick fabric. "Don't be in such a hurry. We're not home yet."
An even more violent vibration answered him. A brilliant purple arc of lightning burned straight through the thick canvas, coiling around his finger like a small, electric serpent.
There was no pain. Instead, there was a strange, tingling sensation… a feeling of merging.
[Horn of the Thunder Beast: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 100 (At One)]
[System: Now is the time. It has completely opened itself to you. It no longer wishes to be merely lent or controlled. It wants to pour the very origin of the ancient Thunder God's descendant into you, without reservation.]
Hikaru's eyes widened slightly. "?"
The red text on the system panel flashed frantically. He stared at the prompt, his brow furrowing.
They were in the middle of nowhere. There was no village ahead and no inn behind. Although he had just cleared out a few minor demons nearby, there was no guarantee that something stronger—or even a ruthless human opportunist—wouldn't emerge from the deep mountains and ancient forests.
Reason told him he should suppress this restlessness. He should wait until they returned to the shrine in Kaede Village and perform the fusion under the protection of Kikyo's barrier.
But he couldn't hold it back.
The Thunder Horn was no longer just vibrating; it was melting. A viscous, purple lightning slurry began to seep through the cloth. The moment a drop hit the ground, it scorched the grass beneath his feet black. The overflowing power was like a dam filled to its absolute limit; it couldn't wait another moment. If he didn't choose to absorb it now, this power would either dissipate or, worse, detonate.
A waste. For an Oni Samurai who grew stronger by consuming such things, this was an unforgivable waste.
The Horn of the Thunder Beast… this thing truly had a short fuse.
Hikaru looked up. Kikyo had already stopped walking.
She turned, her dark, intelligent eyes watching him quietly. Her gaze fell to the bundle emitting purple smoke in his hand before moving back to his face. She didn't ask. She didn't panic. She simply stood there, her longbow already in her hand, though he hadn't seen her move to retrieve it.
"It seems we can't wait until we get home," Hikaru said, his voice mingling with the sound of the rushing wind as the Yao Qi within him began to boil.
"It's dangerous," Hikaru stated, looking directly into her eyes. "Once this starts, I won't be able to move. Even my senses will be cut off."
In this Sengoku Period, where demons roamed freely, losing all defensive capabilities in the open wilderness was a cardinal sin. To willingly surrender one's life into the hands of another… it was the ultimate taboo. In these chaotic times, even blood brothers might stab each other in the back for a pittance.
But Hikaru looked at the priestess before him. He saw his own reflection in the depths of her cool, steady eyes.
A smile touched his lips. It was an easy, relieved expression.
"Kikyo."
"I'm here."
"Protect me."
"Alright."
Just one word. Crisp and decisive.
Kikyo didn't ask how long it would take or how much of a commotion it would cause. She simply turned to face the path they had come from, toward the mountain forest that was about to be swallowed by the night.
She raised a hand, a paper talisman held between two slender fingers. Spiritual power surged from her. A pale blue barrier of light rapidly expanded with the two of them at its center, enveloping an area of several dozen feet. This wasn't a wide-range warning barrier, but a pure, solid defensive bulwark, shimmering with consecrated energy.
Having done this, she did not relax. She walked to Hikaru's side and sat down cross-legged, taking the longbow from her back and resting it across her knees.
"Rest assured," her voice was soft, carried to his ears on the evening breeze. "As long as I am alive, nothing will touch you."
Hikaru looked at her profile. The sun had finally sunk completely behind the mountains, its last vestiges of light tracing the elegant curve of her jaw.
This was the woman he trusted with his life. The strongest priestess of the Sengoku Period.
With her here, this patch of wilderness was the safest fortress in the world.
"Then… I'll leave it all to you."
Hikaru no longer hesitated. He tore apart the scalding cloth bundle in his hands. The purple Horn of the Thunder Beast had completely liquefied, now a hovering mass of pure lightning slurry.
He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
[Sharp Body Transformation] activated at full power.
His muscles, bones, and every inch of his body began to vibrate at a high frequency, actively welcoming the mass of lightning. A normal fusion wouldn't require such a measure, but the Thunder Horn was special. It originated from a thunder beast; it was lightning, not a physical object in the conventional sense. The so-called fusion was, quite literally, a physical integration.
Using Sharp Body Transformation to host it was the result of careful consideration. His Sharp Body Transformation was the most fundamental of his abilities, a transformation of his body's very structure. Among the Six Transformations, only it was close enough to the origin of the body itself. And only it stood a chance of turning the violent, chaotic lightning into a part of him.
In that instant, as he drew the energy in, Hikaru felt as if he were embracing not just a mass of power… but lightning itself.
The violent energy exploded within him, instantly overwhelming the defenses of his internal organs.
Extreme, world-ending pain.
His consciousness plunged into darkness in an instant, leaving only raw instinct to maintain the operation of the [Six Transformations], desperately attempting to digest this power that threatened to tear his body apart.
Meanwhile, on the outside…
Kikyo watched Hikaru's body. His skin turned bright red in an instant, then a bruised, deep purple as countless fine electric arcs erupted from his pores. Beneath his pale skin, his muscles throbbed and spasmed wildly, like living things being surged with raw electricity.
The sight was ghastly, terrifying. Yet he just sat there, cross-legged on the ground, teeth clenched so hard his jaw might crack, without making a single sound.
Kikyo's grip on her bow tightened. She could feel the violent, untamed Yao Qi battering the inside of her barrier. The sheer concentration of power was even triggering a change in the surrounding weather. Dark clouds began to gather in the night sky above them, and the faint roll of distant thunder echoed through the mountains.
This commotion was far too great. Demons from miles around would be drawn here.
"Is this the path you've chosen?" Kikyo whispered softly.
She stood up, her white and red robes fluttering in the wind, a beacon of purity in the encroaching night. Her gaze swept across the dark mountain forest, where pairs of greedy, bestial eyes were already beginning to light up in the shadows. They were vermin, attracted by the high concentration of demonic energy.
There were many of them.
But Kikyo's eyes didn't waver in the slightest.
She drew an arrow and nocked it to the string. Her spiritual power surged, and a brilliant white light began to condense at the arrowhead.
A Sacred Arrow. With a single shot, she could pulverize a demon into dust.
Her voice was as cold as frost as it carried into the darkness.
"Those who cross this line shall die."
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