Chapter 25: The Cage Kikyo Set for Magatsuhi
The Kamaitachi's razor-sharp claws slashed down. A gale of blade-like air currents surged forward, aimed directly at Kikyo's unprotected back.
Kikyo did not even glance at it.
Her gaze remained locked on the escaping form of Magatsuhi, a chilling calm settled upon her features.
"Did you truly think I wasn't prepared?"
Her voice was a soft whisper, almost lost in the howling wind, yet it carried with perfect clarity to the two beings it was meant for.
Kobe Hikaru heard it.
And Magatsuhi heard it, too.
"What?" The countless faces contorting across its grotesque form all twisted into expressions of shared confusion.
Kikyo's lips parted, and a single, potent incantation flowed from them.
In that same instant, the very ground beneath Magatsuhi erupted in light.
Countless ethereal patterns blazed into existence, spreading outward to form a massive, complex array. The sigils were impossibly complex and dense, every line pulsing with a blinding white light that burned away the shadows.
"This is..." A look of pure, unadulterated terror finally broke through Magatsuhi's malevolent facade. "The Four Spirits Sealing Array?!"
Its voice cracked with disbelief. "You intend to seal me completely?! Impossible! When did you—"
Kikyo offered no answer. She simply raised a hand, and a bolt of pure spiritual power shot from her fingertips, striking the core of the array.
Boom—!
A pillar of consecrated white light erupted from the ground, spearing into the night sky. From the glowing formation, innumerable chains of light surged forth, coiling around Magatsuhi's writhing body like sacred vines.
The mass of malice struggled wildly, its many faces contorting into hideous masks of agony as it let loose an ear-splitting shriek.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"I have waited five hundred years! Five hundred years!"
"You despicable human—" its chorus of voices screamed, "You are all the same! Midoriko was the same! All of you, you do nothing but deceive me!"
But the chains of light only wound tighter, their grip absolute. Every link was inscribed with dense, powerful sealing incantations—a spiritual binding technique crafted specifically to contain the will of Magatsuhi.
Watching the scene unfold, a sudden, stark realization washed over Hikaru.
'She knew.''She knew from the very beginning.'
He understood now. She had anticipated that Magatsuhi would attempt to escape on the night of the full moon, when the Shikon Jewel's power was at its weakest. Perhaps this was a cycle—every time the jewel's guardian changed, Magatsuhi would make its bid for freedom. It was the demon's only chance. And every time before, it had been suppressed before it could succeed.
But Kikyo… she hadn't simply tried to suppress it like her predecessors.
She was waiting for it.
All her previous efforts to purify the jewel, the visible strain—it had all been an act for Magatsuhi's benefit. A performance to make it believe there was an opening. To make it lower its guard. To bait it into revealing itself completely.
And then… she would capture it all in one decisive blow.
Though her spirit was pure, Kikyo's wisdom had always been sharp as a shard of glass.
But Hikaru had no time to dwell on her cunning. The Kamaitachi's attack had arrived.
The wind howled, a storm of invisible blades poised to shred flesh from bone. At this moment, Kikyo's entire focus was consumed by the struggle to suppress Magatsuhi; she had no power left to defend her back. If that attack landed—
Countless images flashed through Hikaru's mind. The Kikyo from the story he knew. That solitary priestess, standing guard over the Shikon Jewel alone. Facing down legions of demons alone. Bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders, alone.
No one ever helped her. No one could stand by her side.
'Perhaps that was why she was so easily deceived,'he thought, a cold knot tightening in his gut.'Why she ultimately died for it.'
He also understood with sudden, chilling clarity: if he were not here tonight, Kikyo might have still managed. In fact, she almost certainly would have. But it would have cost her dearly. She would have been severely injured, forced to realize she was not invincible, and perhaps then she would have begun to long for someone to rely on…
But there are no "what ifs."
Because Kobe Hikaru was here.
Any other possibility, any other timeline, ceased to exist. It could not appear, and therefore, it did not matter.
His body moved before the thought was even complete. He had to move, even if he could rationalize it as being for his own gain.
[Ghost Step] activated.
An afterimage flickered and vanished in the air. The next moment, he materialized directly behind Kikyo, planting himself squarely in the path of the Kamaitachi's attack.
His blade slashed upward. A wave of black demonic energy tore through the air, crashing against the gale that threatened to rip everything apart.
"Clang—!"
The shriek of metal on unseen forces echoed through the clearing. A jarring numbness shot up Hikaru's arms, and the immense force of the impact sent him skidding backward. The blue flagstones beneath his feet cracked and shattered, two deep grooves gouged into the earth where he was pushed.
But he had blocked it.
The Kamaitachi's assault had been stopped.
"You…?" Kikyo's voice, tight with strain, came from just in front of him.
She did not turn back. She couldn't. Magatsuhi's struggles were growing more violent by the second, and the chains of light were groaning, threatening to snap at any moment. She had to remain completely focused.
"Focus on what you're doing," Hikaru's voice was steady, but the blade in his hand trembled—not from fear, but from the sheer strain of the force he had just endured.
The Kamaitachi's strength far exceeded his imagination. That had only been a probing attack, yet it had already re-injured his internal organs. If it unleashed its full power… he would likely be torn to shreds.
But he did not retreat.
"Leave your back to me," he said, his voice low and firm. He added, "I have a way."
Kikyo was silent for a breath. Her hands remained locked in their seal, and her spiritual power continued to pour into the array without pause. But Hikaru could feel the tension in her shoulders ease ever so slightly. The rigid stiffness that had held her body taut began to dissipate.
She trusted him.
She let go of her vigilance, her hesitation about the threat to her back vanishing completely. She trusted him more deeply than she ever had before.
[Shikon no Tama: Naohi: Favorability +3]
[Current Favorability: 26]
[It conveyed a message to you: '…Thank you.']
Hikaru ignored the system panel. He tightened his grip on his sword's hilt, his eyes fixed on the three-zhang-tall Kamaitachi looming before him.
The giant beast stared back, its eye sockets hollow and empty. There was no anger in its gaze, no disdain.
Only… confusion?
It seemed unable to comprehend why a minor demon, a mere Physical Transformation, would dare to stand before it—a being that had achieved Qualitative Transformation.
This was unreasonable. This defied the fundamental laws of demonic survival.
The weak should flee. The weak should submit. The weak should not block the path of the strong.
"...You are different from ordinary demons, are you not?" the Kamaitachi spoke, its voice like the hollow roar of a vortex, a howling wind given form. "You carry the scent of a human. You are no common yokai."
Hikaru didn't answer. He simply adjusted the angle of his blade.
And then—the Yao Qi within him began to boil.
Blood surged madly through his veins, a roaring tide of power. This was the strength of [Blood Transformation], his Sixth Transformation, the pinnacle of the physical realm.
Simultaneously, he activated the special ability inherited from the demon blade Muramasa.
[Bloodthirsty Madness].
Strength, speed, and reaction time—all surged by thirty percent. It wasn't nearly enough to bridge the chasm in power between him and the Kamaitachi, but at the very least… it was enough for him to block a few more attacks.
"Come on," Hikaru said, his voice a low growl.
There was no fear in his eyes. Only the burning light of battle.
In that moment, [Sharp Body Transformation], [Sharp Eye Transformation], [Archer Transformation], [Spear-Waist Transformation], [Shield Bone Transformation]…
And [Blood Transformation].
All Six Transformations ignited, layering over his body.
The Yao Qi surged—and a suffocating Oni Aura exploded outward!
With a series of sharp, cracking sounds, the armor covering Hikaru's body seemed to grow, expanding in an instant. It became larger, thicker, heavier. The plates grew jagged and sharp, protruding like fangs. A crimson Oni mask materialized over his face, and pale, wild hair erupted from the helm, whipping in the wind. He no longer looked like a samurai, but an Asura reborn.
Like a god, and even more so, like a demon.
This is…
"To think you could possess an Oni Aura of this quality—!?"
For the first time, the Kamaitachi's hollow voice was laced with genuine shock.
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