No matter how fast his blade was, it could only cut the demons' bodies in half; the Demonic Qi remained in the corpses, and the resentment lingered in the blood.
That wasn't purification; that was just chopping vegetables.
As for true purification—his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the interior of the Barrier.
With every Sacred Arrow of Kikyo's that hit a demon, the demon's body would turn to ash within a white light.
Not even a fragment of bone would remain.
That was true purification.
Spiritual power would thoroughly incinerate the Demonic Qi and completely disperse the resentment, leaving everything clean without a single trace.
"That's why I need her help..."
Kobe Hikaru muttered in a low voice.
But here was the problem: he was currently standing in the middle of a demon horde, while Kikyo was inside the Barrier.
Between them lay a distance of thirty meters and an unknown number of demons.
How was he supposed to coordinate? How could he make Kikyo's arrows 'happen' to hit the demons near him?
How could he make the aftershocks of that spiritual power 'happen' to cover the targets he had slain?
There was an even more fundamental question—did Kikyo even know him?
She didn't.
As a professional demon-slaying priestess, was it possible for her to harbor goodwill toward an Oni Samurai who suddenly jumped out from a pile of demons?
Absolutely impossible!
Would she treat him as a target for attack as well?
Highly likely.
"...Forget it, there's no use thinking so much."
Kobe Hikaru gripped muramasa tightly.
To unlock the naohi, he had to complete a purification; to complete a purification, he had to borrow spiritual power.
The closest source of spiritual power was Kikyo's arrows.
So—he just needed to herd the demons into Kikyo's firing range.
No, they were already within range.
He just needed to kill conspicuously enough for Kikyo to notice him.
To let her notice that he was killing demons, not helping them.
To let her notice the light of the shikon jewel on him—at this thought, Kobe Hikaru's heart stirred.
He looked down at his chest.
The light of the shikon jewel was still there, suppressed and dimmed by the cloth wrap and his armor, but it still existed.
If he removed the covering... no.
Too risky.
That light would attract the attention of every demon; then, instead of him herding demons, the demons would be herding him.
But what if he only exposed a tiny bit?
Only for a split second?
Right at the moment he slew a demon, he would let the naohi light of the shikon jewel flicker once—just enough for Kikyo to sense it.
She was the Guardian.
She had a natural perception of the shikon jewel.
Even if it was just a split-second glimmer, she should be able to catch it.
"Let's gamble."
Kobe Hikaru made his decision, but before he could act—
Boom—!
An explosion echoed from the western ridge.
The ground trembled violently.
It was Demonic Qi.
A powerful Demonic Qi had appeared.
And it wasn't just one; there were four... coming from four different directions!
The first to appear was a One-Horned Oni.
Standing over six meters tall, its skin was deep purple, and a long, curved horn protruded from its forehead.
It leaped down from the ridge, landing behind the demon horde and smashing a massive crater into the ground. It held a spiked club made from an entire tree high in the air.
The second was a giant python.
Its body was as thick as a water vat and about fifteen meters long, covered entirely in blue-black scales, its tongue flickering in the air.
The third was a Three-Eyed Crow, its size comparable to a warhorse, its three eyes glowing with red, blue, and yellow light respectively.
The fourth—
Kobe Hikaru's instincts flared with warning again.
At the edge of the demon horde, a humanoid figure was slowly approaching.
Wearing tattered samurai armor and holding a rust-stained tachi, its face was covered by a white Hannya mask.
Judging by its appearance and posture, it was also an Oni Samurai, but stronger than Kobe Hikaru.
It was an existence that had completed at least one more transformation of the Six Transformations than Kobe Hikaru.
"Four high-level demons..."
Kobe Hikaru murmured, but he had no more time to hesitate.
These were clearly the four powerful presences that had been hiding nearby just now.
Once those four joined the fray, the situation would deteriorate instantly.
By then, Kikyo would barely be able to cope, let alone spare any attention for an Oni Samurai like him mixed in with the horde.
He had to cause a big enough commotion before they launched their attack.
To make Kikyo see him.
To make Kikyo see the shikon jewel.
To let her make a judgment.
"Go!"
Kobe Hikaru no longer hid. He burst out from the pile of corpses, muramasa swinging in a horizontal slash.
A One-eyed Demon blocking his path was sliced in two at the waist, its upper body flying off and crashing into several other demons.
He didn't stop, continuing to push forward as his blade light flashed repeatedly.
The head of a Snake-bodied Demon flew off, and the carapace of a Centipede Spirit was split open, its entrails spilling all over the ground.
Two Blue-skinned Oni were also pierced by the same strike in the process.
"What is that?"
"An Oni Samurai? He's killing our kind!"
"Kill him!"
Roars erupted as a dozen demons broke away from the main force besieging the Barrier and lunged toward him.
Perfect. This was exactly the effect Kobe Hikaru wanted.
He wanted to create chaos—the messier, the better.
Chaos so great that even Kikyo would be forced to look over.
He charged into the surging demon horde, muramasa dancing in his hand.
One strike, one life.
Occasionally two strikes, but never a third.
Demon blood splattered as Resonance with Blood was fully activated.
The blood droplets suspended in the air became his eyes, bringing the position, movement, and attack trajectory of every demon into his perception.
Dodge left, slash right, thrust forward, upward swing from behind.
He carved a bloody path through the demon horde, his armor already stained a deep purple by demon blood.
But in truth, he didn't even need to kill anymore; Kikyo had already seen it.
Inside the Barrier, before the shrine.
Kikyo's hand paused.
She was drawing her bow, the arrow tip pointed at an earth-dwelling demon at the edge of the Barrier that was trying to burrow into the ground.
But in that instant—
Her spiritual perception caught a clear signal.
She also saw it—the light of the shikon jewel.
It wasn't coming from far away.
It was nearby, right there—in the middle of the demon horde.
Kikyo's eyes widened slightly.
She abandoned her original target, her gaze quickly sweeping across the battlefield outside the Barrier.
Chaos, blood, and demons slaughtering everywhere.
But amidst that chaos, one figure was strikingly different.
He was killing demons—a demon was killing other demons.
Clad in tattered red armor, with pale disheveled hair and a crimson oni mask, he held a black tachi that glinted with a cold, eerie purple light under the moon.
And that naohi light of the shikon jewel from just now—it had emanated from him.
Yes, Kikyo could see it directly.
As the long-chosen 'Guardian'... her vision could penetrate all obstacles to see the existence of the shikon jewel.
The priestess froze for a brief moment.
Though she didn't understand the reason or the circumstances, in just a flash, she made a decision.
The bowstring was drawn to its limit.
The direction of the arrow tip changed.
It no longer pointed at the earth-burrowing demon.
Instead, it pointed toward—the demon horde near that Oni Samurai.
Toward that demon who was killing demons!
Swish—!
The Sacred Arrow was loosed, its white light cutting through the grayish-green Demonic Qi and passing through the Barrier. With a hum, it directly hit a Snake-bodied Demon that was lunging at Kobe Hikaru from the side.
Spiritual power exploded.
The Snake-bodied Demon's body burned, disintegrated, and turned to ash within the white light.
Not even a fragment of bone remained.
And the aftershock of that spiritual power—happened to cover the three Blue-skinned Oni corpses at Kobe Hikaru's feet that he had slain first.
Ash.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)