Inside was hell.
A true lightning hell.
Shinji's consciousness felt as if it were immersed in a sea of purple fire. The lightning essence that had merged into his body was not as docile as he had anticipated. Instead, like an enraged beast, it rampaged through his sinews and muscles.
The thunder beast horn was the essence of a materialization-level demon.
And Shinji's body, though having undergone six transformations, was still fundamentally within the realm of physical transformation.
To cause qualitative change through quantitative change, he first had to withstand the crushing pressure of quality.
[Sharp Body Change] worked frantically.
Muscle fibers broke and re-formed, trying to contain and assimilate the lightning.
But the lightning was too fierce.
The muscles would barely adapt before being torn apart by electric arcs, turning to charred fragments, only to be forcibly repaired by demonic aura and torn apart again.
Destruction, regeneration.
Regeneration, destruction.
This tug-of-war played out in every inch of Shinji's body, every fiber of his being.
Externally, a painful grunt escaped Shinji's throat.
His body began to undergo even more horrifying changes.
The muscles in his limbs swelled and contracted uncontrollably. Under his skin, countless snakes seemed to writhe. Purple electric arcs traveled along the contours of his bones.
Crackle.
Pop.
A series of dull sounds came from within him.
His bones were vibrating.
Not just his bones.
His entire body.
The lightning power was forcibly reshaping his physical structure.
The essence of Sharp Body Change was the change of bodily structure, making the body more suited for combat, tougher, more flexible.
Now, lightning was about to completely rewrite this body.
Bones and flesh trembled and howled under the baptism of lightning.
In that process, the bones shook like thunder, like roars.
And the echoes… were like tigers and leopards, like thunder!
Every heartbeat driven by demonic aura was accompanied by a clap of thunder.
Every breath simulated by demonic aura spat out purple electric sparks.
This transformation was fundamental, and extremely dangerous.
Without intervention, this power would eventually burn through his remaining flesh, shatter his bones, and turn him into a charred corpse.
Balance was needed.
Something had to neutralize this violent, yang-natured lightning.
Shinji's consciousness struggled in chaos. He tried to use his ghostly energy to suppress it, but ghostly energy was murky and sinister. Confronted with lightning, it was like pouring oil on a fire; it only flared up worse.
But strangely,
At that moment, Shinji's heart grew calm.
He believed he would be fine.
He believed in himself.
And he believed in the shrine maiden outside, who belonged to him.
In reality.
Inside the barrier.
The glow of spiritual power had not faded.
Kikyō lowered her bow.
Dozens of demon corpses lay in the darkness around her. The remaining dregs, cowed by her purifying arrows, could only prowl in the distance, not daring to cross the line.
But her expression remained grave.
She knew the threat now was not outside.
But inside.
Kikyō turned to look at Shinji, sitting cross-legged on the ground.
His condition was dire.
Really dire.
His originally pale face was now covered in purple cracks, like a piece of porcelain about to shatter. His skin was alarmingly hot, even distorting the air around him.
Kikyō could clearly hear the roaring within him, as if a storm were raging inside that slender body.
"He's losing control." Kikyō's judgment was undoubtedly correct.
The turbid energy was too strong, and it was extreme lightning-attribute demonic aura. His physical vessel could no longer contain it.
He needed pure energy.
Extremely pure spiritual power, to calm that violent lightning and repair his shattered body.
And here, besides her, no one else could do it.
Without hesitation,
Kikyō stepped forward and knelt before Shinji.
The white-and-red shrine maiden sat before him, her long, glossy black hair gently swaying in the night breeze. Her dark eyes looked down, focused.
She reached out to touch his cheek, but as her fingertips drew near, a purple electric arc pushed them away.
The repelling force was strong.
Ordinary touch couldn't transmit spiritual power.
She needed to be more direct.
She needed to go deeper.
Kikyō looked at Shinji's closed eyes, at his body's instinctive twitching from pain, at his features that, despite everything, remained oddly calm.
The girl's cheeks flushed faintly. Her pale cherry lips pressed together, looking especially captivating in the lightning's glow.
But the shyness lasted only a moment.
Hesitation… was absent entirely.
The next second, she leaned down.
Her hands cradled Shinji's face, ignoring the electric arcs that stung her skin.
And then, she kissed him.
Soft lips met.
Shinji's lips were hot and dry.
Kikyō's lips were cool and moist.
The moment they touched, Kikyō's spiritual power poured out like a river bursting its banks.
Not the aggressive purifying power she usually used in battle, but the gentlest, purest purifying spirit, refined through her utmost control.
She parted his lips.
Her tongue slipped in, seeking his, sliding against it in a slow, deliberate dance.
Spiritual power flowed through their joined mouths—warm, wet, intimate, pouring instantly into the erupting volcano inside him.
Shinji's world of consciousness suddenly saw rain.
White rain.
Gentle, cool, embracing everything.
That violent purple lightning fire, upon meeting the white rain, quieted instantly, like a raging child meeting its mother.
They began to fuse.
Spiritual power wrapped around the lightning. The lightning tempered the spiritual power. Together, they merged into the trembling body.
Yin and yang harmonized.
Purity and turbidity coexisted.
The tearing pain receded like a tide, replaced by an unprecedented sense of ease.
Power.
True power was taking root within him.
He could feel his body undergoing an essential change
Every muscle fiber began to contain lightning.
Every inch of skin began to faintly glow with thunderlight.
Sharp Body Change was evolving.
Shinji's eyes snapped open.
Before him were a pair of dark eyes, inches away.
And that familiar, delicate, clear face.
Her eyes were closed, her long lashes trembling slightly, her cheeks flushed. She was focusing all her energy on channeling power into him.
Her pale cherry lips were pressed firmly against his, tongue moving slowly, deeply, as if she were pouring her very soul into him.
Her breathing was ragged, warm against his mouth.
And besides that…
Shinji was momentarily stunned.
He felt it.
That softness.
That moisture.
The slick heat of her tongue sliding against his.
The faint taste of her, clean, like morning dew and wildflowers.
Kikyō seemed to sense his awakening. She slowly opened her eyes, her long lashes fluttering, a hint of panic in her gaze.
Before this, though it had happened more than once,
It had only been a light touch, never deep.
This was the first time it had gone deep.
The first time they had merged so completely.
Kikyō was still shy.
She tried to pull back.
Their lips parted with a soft, wet sound, a thin silver thread of saliva connecting them for a brief moment before it broke.
"You…" Kikyō's voice was slightly hoarse. Her usually cool face was red as the evening sky.
She wanted to explain that it was to save him, to balance the spiritual power.
But before she could speak,
A hand had already found her waist. Slender, yet soft and delicate.
Shinji didn't give her a chance to retreat.
Another flame seemed to have ignited within his newly calmed body.
A fire hotter than lightning.
"It's not over yet," he murmured, voice rough.
And then, he kissed her again.
This time, not for anything else.
A response.
So that Kikyō wouldn't feel this was something shameful, if it was, then they would be shameful together.
He deepened the kiss immediately, tongue sliding into her mouth, tasting her fully, claiming her with the same intensity she had just given him.
Kikyō's body stiffened for an instant, then softened completely.
The longbow in her hand slipped onto the grass.
Her hands unconsciously climbed to Shinji's shoulders, clutching his collar, pulling him closer.
Her plain white hair-tie came loose, and a cascade of glossy black hair fell, spreading between them like a dark silk curtain.
Shinji's hand slid further beneath the fabric of her robe, thumb brushing the underside of her breast.
Kikyō gasped, a soft, needy sound that went straight through him. She arched into the touch, her own fingers digging into his shoulders as she kissed him harder, tongue tangling with his in a dance that left them both trembling.
He gave her breast a gentle grope, feeling the soft, warm weight fill his palm. Kikyō moaned into his mouth, the sound vibrating against his tongue higher, breathier than before.
Her nipple hardened instantly under the thin layer of her dudou, pressing against his hand like a silent plea. He circled it slowly with his thumb, teasing, and she shivered hard, breaking the kiss to bury her face in his neck with a shaky whimper.
"Ah… Shinji…" Her voice was barely a whisper, laced with embarrassment and desire.
He kissed along her jaw, down the column of her throat, leaving wet, open-mouthed trails that made her tremble.
When he reached the swell of her breast, he pushed the loosened robe further aside, exposing more of her pale skin. The simple white dudou she wore beneath was already damp with sweat, clinging to her modest curves and offering teasing glimpses of the soft, full swell beneath.
Shinji traced the bare skin above the dudou with his fingertips, feather-light, watching her reaction. Kikyō's breath hitched, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
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He leaned in and pressed a deep, lingering kiss to the valley between her breasts, tongue flicking out to taste the salt on her skin. She moaned louder this time, hands flying to his hair, pulling him closer.
He moved lower, kissing and nipping along the edge of the dudou, leaving faint red marks that might fade by morning but burned beautifully now.
"Ah... Ah...Ahh..."
Each kiss drew another soft cry from her, nails digging into his back through his robe as her body arched instinctively toward his mouth.
Slowly, reverently, he tugged the dudou down, revealing her breasts fully. They were modest but perfectly round shaped, pale and flushed, crowned with dusky brown nipples that had tightened into stiff peaks. The large, soft areolas made them look even more inviting in the dim light filtering through the barrier.
"You are so beautiful, Kikyō," Shinji murmured, voice rough with reverence and hunger.
He latched onto her left nipple, sucking hard. Kikyō cried out sharply, back bowing as pleasure shot through her.
"Ahhhh…!"
Her hands tightened in his hair, pulling him closer, pressing his face into the soft mound of her breast.
She was burning, every nerve alight, her body trembling uncontrollably as he sucked and licked, tongue swirling around the sensitive peak before giving it a gentle bite. The contrast between his cool mouth and her heated skin made her whimper helplessly.
Shinji switched to the other breast, giving it the same devoted attention, sucking deeply while his hand kneaded the one he had just left.
Kikyō's moans grew louder, breathier, her hips shifting restlessly against him. Sweat glistened on her collarbone and between her breasts, making her skin glow in the faint moonlight that pierced the barrier.
He continued worshipping her chest with slow, deliberate kisses and sucks, alternating between gentle and intense, until her nipples were swollen and glistening with saliva. When he finally pulled back, a thin string of saliva connected his lips to her breast for a moment before it broke.
Kikyō was panting, eyes half-lidded and glassy, cheeks burning crimson. Her hair was a wild mess around her shoulders, and her body trembled with every breath.
"Shinji…" she whispered, voice hoarse and full of raw emotion. "I… I feel…"
He kissed her again, slow and deep, swallowing her words and her moans as their bodies pressed together once more.
The barrier held firm around them, the wilderness silent except for the distant sounds of the night and the soft, intimate noises they made together.
Compared to becoming stronger,
This moment was clearly more important.
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Read advance chapters on [email protected]/Lost_moon