The night wind changed.
Kikyo stood on the lookout tower of Kaede Village, her longbow hanging at her side.
She closed her eyes.
For a priestess with powerful spiritual power, eyes were sometimes redundant; the wind would bring back information from afar, and the earth would transmit vibrations to the soles of her feet.
Monks and priestesses among humans were inherently more proficient in perception than in physical strength.
So, at this moment, Kikyo truly felt it.
Before this night, she had already understood the purity of the area where Suruga Province was located to the west of Kaede Village, as if experiencing it firsthand.
The violent, restless Demonic Qi that had originally loomed there, like thunder about to explode, had completely vanished.
In its place was a new life.
It was Kanbe Hikaru's untainted Demonic Qi, turbid but without resentment.
He won.
Not only did he win, but there was also a lingering resonance of thunder in his aura.
She could feel that the nature of that power had changed.
That originally violent lightning was now actually wrapping submissively around the cold aura belonging to the Oni Samurai, like a tamed beast becoming a hunter's hound.
He had taken the Thunder Beast's power for himself.
Although she didn't know what means he used, that lightning Demonic Qi was indeed being carried by Kanbe Hikaru's Demonic Qi at his side.
And this was only the beginning.
Next was the south.
That was where the main branch of the Hojo Clan was located.
There, a Demonic Qi belonging to insects loomed.
That Demonic Qi was so pervasive that it could make one feel chest tightness even from dozens of miles away.
But now, that stench was dissipating.
In its place was a burst of explosive roaring.
Was that—Heavenly Punishment?
No.
It was Kanbe Hikaru.
Carrying the lightning power he had just obtained, he rushed a hundred miles and brought down the lightning punishment upon the head of that insect demon.
Insects fear fire, and they fear thunder even more.
Under that strike, all the cold, dampness, and corrosion were evaporated by the most masculine and positive lightning.
It was as if the world had been washed clean.
It became clear.
"The second one."
Kikyo counted.
Then to the west, there was a toxic Demonic Qi.
Finally, to the east.
The Demonic Qi was eerie and strange, carrying the smell of decay from the dead.
But this smell was perhaps the most familiar to Kanbe Hikaru.
He was an Oni Samurai, a dead man who toyed with bone and blood.
Kikyo could almost imagine the scene—Kanbe Hikaru standing before that demon, looking at those swaying corpse puppets; under that crimson ghost mask, he might reveal a stiff but very mocking smile.
Then in the next instant, blood mist would erupt, turning the tables.
The Demonic Qi in the east also disappeared.
The demonic atmosphere of the four directions was completely cleansed in one night.
This was that man's way of doing things.
No defense.
Only offense.
Extinguishing all threats at the source.
Although she hadn't gone there personally, at this moment, Kikyo seemed to truly be able to sense Kanbe Hikaru's battle.
She could sense that demon in the form of a youth, the Oni Samurai, showing his prowess.
He really is...
'Quite good, right?'
A voice suddenly echoed in Kikyo's ear, clear and pleasant, causing the priestess to slowly open her beautiful eyes, her eyelashes trembling as she looked down at the Shikon Jewel on her chest, which was emitting a faint glow.
It was naohi speaking.
Although she didn't have a system like Kanbe Hikaru's, as the guardian chosen by the Shikon Jewel, Kikyo could indeed sense the will of the naohi within the Shikon Jewel.
She nodded slightly.
She also very much agreed with naohi's words.
Regarding that Oni Samurai.
That very incredible demon who fought alongside her.
But in fact, after Kanbe Hikaru successfully subjugated the Thunder Beast, subsequent victories were already inevitable.
He held the Thunder Beast's Horn and could rely on favorability to use the lightning power within it.
So the subsequent Gakimaru, Venomous Flood Dragon, and Nekomata had to face not just Kanbe Hikaru, but also the lightning belonging to the Thunder Beast.
He could even obtain power from other demons.
As long as their corpses remained after death.
Of course, Kikyo didn't know this.
But it didn't hinder her mood.
Meanwhile, there seemed to be a very faint curve at the corner of Kikyo's mouth.
But in the next second, this curve froze.
She turned her head and looked outside the village, beyond the Barrier she had deployed.
There were originally dense crowds of low-level demons gathered there.
Wolf demons, ghosts, and a chaotic mix of Chimi-Moryo; although they couldn't break through the Barrier, they were always howling and scratching, creating irritating noise.
Kikyo had intended to wait until enough of them had gathered to deal with them all at once; although this didn't save spiritual power, it would save her relatively scarce physical strength—
But now.
It was quiet.
Deathly quiet.
Those howls, scratches, and footsteps all disappeared in an instant.
But only the sound disappeared.
Kikyo's pupils constricted slightly.
She saw it.
Outside the Barrier.
Hundreds of demons were still maintaining their attacking postures.
A wolf demon had its mouth wide open, its fangs only an inch from the Barrier, and saliva hung in mid-air, no longer dripping.
A ghost held up a bone club, its muscles tense, but it was frozen above its head, motionless.
They weren't killed.
It wasn't just that their bodies were frozen.
Rather—
The time and space of this area felt as if a terrifying power had forcibly pressed the stop button.
The wind stopped.
The leaves ceased their swaying.
Even the dust was suspended in mid-air.
This was absolutely not something those small-fry demons could achieve.
It wasn't even something the four so-called vanguards she had sensed could do.
This sense of oppression...
Kikyo tightened her grip on her longbow.
Mist began to rise.
Black mist rose from the ground, silently swallowing those motionless demons.
Amidst the churning mist, the sound of footsteps rang out.
Very slow.
And very heavy.
An aged figure slowly emerged from the depths of the black mist.
It was an old man.
He wore an old grey kimono, with a haori embroidered with dull patterns draped over it.
His hair was greyish-white, combed back meticulously.
He leaned on a long sword, its scabbard pitch-black like charred wood.
He looked like an aged noble who had stepped out of a deep palace courtyard, wielding great power.
But in this world, in this era, even nobles—most of those holding high positions and great power—were themselves merely mortals.
This man was different.
Because before him, all things seemed frozen.
And because wherever he walked, those static demons crumbled into powder.
"I have heard of your great name for a long time."
The old man stopped before the Barrier and looked up.
On that wrinkled face, a kind yet hair-raising smile appeared.
"The priestess of Musashi Province, known by the people of this time as the strongest among all priestesses."
"Kikyo."
Kikyo did not speak.
She had already recognized this person.
Or rather, this demon.
The existence whose name had been mentioned by Kanbe Hikaru before he left.
The Great Yokai who had followed Shuten-doji to ravage Kyoto at Mount Oe hundreds of years ago, once proving troublesome even for Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who guarded Heian-kyo at the time.
He was also the mastermind behind this incident.
Kidomaru.
He had arrived.
Not at the very end.
But just as Kanbe Hikaru had finished clearing the surroundings, when Kaede Village's defenses were at their weakest.
He came in person.
Kikyo raised the bow and arrow in her hand.
She saw him pause outside the Barrier and heard him speak slowly: "The thing in your hand, the Shikon Jewel..."
His gaze fell upon Kikyo, his voice aged, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat.
"This old man shall take it."
It was weathered and cold.
It sent a shiver down one's spine.
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