The light surged into his body, but not to open new channels. Instead, following the existing pathways within him, it found the route belonging to [Shield Bone Change].
Shinji could feel his bones vibrating intensely.
The vibration started from his spine, spread rapidly through his limbs, and then reached every finger and every toe. It felt like something ancient was awakening deep inside his skeleton.
Growing. Transforming.
Crack… crack… crack—
A series of crisp popping sounds rang out from within his body. The sound wasn't like normal joint movement. It sounded more like heavy machinery operating at full power.
This was the re-fusion of shield and bone, the birth of Bone Soul Change.
He could now freely control the hardness, shape, and growth direction of his own bones. They could protrude and grow from any position in his body and be freely reshaped outside of it as well.
At the same time, the hardness of his bones had increased to three times their previous level.
From now on, his bones were equivalent in toughness to demonic artifacts.
Shinji slowly opened his eyes.
Then
"!"
He almost jumped in surprise.
The first thing he saw was a pair of feet wearing wooden clogs and spotless white tabi socks. Above them were red hakama and the hem of white robes.
He looked higher.
A cool, beautiful face was looking down at him.
Shinji's heart skipped a beat.
Kikyō.
When did she arrive? He had been so absorbed in the fusion that he hadn't noticed her at all.
"You…" Shinji started.
Kikyō spoke first, her voice calm.
"You've changed."
Her dark eyes were fixed on his elbow. A small bone spur had emerged there just moments ago during the fusion.
"Your demonic aura feels different now," she said. "Heavier. Steadier. And more dangerous."
"A little gain," Shinji replied as he stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. There was no point hiding it. "I borrowed some power from this big guy."
He gestured toward Hiraikotsu beside him.
Kikyō glanced at the massive bone boomerang, then back at Shinji.
Shinji couldn't help asking, "How long have you been here?"
"A quarter of an hour," Kikyō answered calmly. "I came to tell you to rest. Then I saw you glowing all over, so I watched for a while."
"Interesting, indeed."
Shinji: "…"
Was this woman teasing him on purpose?
He had never noticed Kikyō having this kind of side before.
"So, what exactly changed in your body?" she asked.
Her gaze lingered on his arm. Something was visibly moving beneath the skin.
Shinji looked down at his hand.
He concentrated.
In the next second, a white bone spur slowly pushed out from the back of his hand. It didn't tear the skin, it emerged smoothly through the pores, as natural as a plant sprouting.
The spur was about three inches long, sharp, and gleamed coldly under the moonlight.
Kikyō's expression changed slightly.
"This is…"
Shinji focused again.
The bone spur began to transform.
It thickened from chopstick-width to thumb-width.
Then it curved into a hook.
Finally, it thinned, lengthened, and straightened into the shape of a fine needle.
The entire process took less than three breaths.
Bone Soul Change, Shinji said, retracting the bone needle back into his body. His skin remained completely intact. "A newly fused ability."
Kikyō was silent for a moment.
She looked at Shinji with a complex emotion in her eyes.
"I've never seen a demon like you before," she said softly. "Able to fuse powers from different sources… and even allow existing Chanes to keep evolving."
"What kind of existence are you, really?"
Shinji opened his mouth, then closed it again.
But Kikyō suddenly shook her head. She didn't press for an answer. It seemed she had only asked out of curiosity.
She knew everyone had their secrets.
Still, her gaze lingered on him.
"What level are you at now?" she asked.
"According to my previous classification, still at the peak Body Transformation," Shinji answered honestly. "I haven't broken through to Quality Transformation yet."
"But I'm stronger than before."
He clenched his fist.
He could feel that the power inside him was far more abundant than before.
Kikyō nodded slightly.
By now, she had more or less understood Shinji's classification system from his earlier explanations. It was much more detailed and precise than the vague "lesser demon, mid-tier demon, high-tier demon" system humans usually used.
As a shrine maiden, she was quick to accept new knowledge.
"How much stronger?" she asked.
"At least…" Shinji thought for a moment. "Four or five times stronger."
That wasn't an exaggeration.
The Bone Soul Change had brought an all-around improvement.
Defense, offense, and most importantly potential.
"From what I've felt, among demons, Sixth Change is the limit of Body Transformation," Shinji explained. "But the content of the Sixth Change can be continuously enriched."
"Like a room. The size is fixed, but you can keep adding more things inside."
Kikyō looked thoughtful.
"You mean…"
"My foundation is much more solid than that of an ordinary Sixth Change demon," Shinji said. "At the same level, a normal demon might only have six abilities. But I can have more."
"When the time comes for qualitative change…" Shinji's eyes shone. "The attributes I can carry during Quality Transformation will be far greater than those of an ordinary demon."
Kikyō looked at him for a long moment.
"You really are special, Shinji," she said quietly.
"I'm just being cautious," Shinji replied as he picked up Hiraikotsu.
The massive bone boomerang had lost its glow and now looked like an ordinary weapon.
But Shinji knew its power was still there. It simply needed time to recover.
"Time to rest, Kikyō," he said. "Tomorrow, the duel begins."
Although Kikyō was confident she could defeat Tsubaki, they still had to be wary of any tricks the other woman might have.
Kikyō nodded. She never underestimated her opponents.
But the next second, her expression suddenly changed.
Shinji froze as well.
Both of them turned their heads toward the back of the village, in the direction of the mountains.
The night was deathly quiet.
A gentle evening breeze blew in from that direction.
It carried a thick, heavy scent.
The smell of blood.
And it was very strong.
Kikyō's expression shifted.
Shinji's expression also turned serious.
"Something's wrong."
He slung Hiraikotsu onto his back and gripped Muramasa.
Kikyō already had her bow in hand.
Their eyes met.
Without another word, they both rushed toward the source of the blood scent.