Kagetsu watched Kikyo teasing Jaken and had to bite back a laugh, forcing himself to keep a straight face so he wouldn't ruin her act.
"Alright, little yōkai. I can see you're quite loyal to Sesshomaru," Kikyo said, clearly amused by Jaken's desperate dogeza. A faint smile curved her lips. "Don't worry. I'll help him."
As her voice fell, she drew another arrow and smoothly raised her bow. The arrowhead pointed straight toward Sesshomaru, who was surrounded by writhing tentacles.
Her fingers loosened.
The arrow traced a graceful arc through the night sky, cutting straight into the mass of demonic limbs.
At that moment, Sesshomaru had just cut down the tentacles before him with a single stroke. His golden eyes flicked toward the growing pile of severed demon flesh beneath his feet.
He knew exactly what it meant.
A trap.
Once he was fully swallowed by that mass, he would be devoured.
But the poison coursing through his body flared again, making every movement heavier than the last. Even clearing the ground beneath him had become an impossible task.
Just as the tentacles surged in once more,
He paused.
A Sacred Arrow whistled through the air.
In an instant, it shattered the surrounding tentacles and struck the ground precisely at his feet.
Pure, radiant spiritual power spread outward, and the pile of demonic remains beneath him was reduced to dust.
"…That shrine maiden?"
Sesshomaru's gaze shifted slightly.
Taking the opportunity, he drove Tōkijin into the ground and leaned on it briefly, regulating his breathing as he circulated his demonic energy to suppress the poison.
But the tentacles were already closing in again.
He raised his sword,
Then stopped.
His eyes fell on the Sacred Arrow embedded in the ground.
After a brief hesitation, Sesshomaru reached down and pulled it free.
The moment he grasped it,
Boom!
The arrow burst apart in his hand.
A surge of pure spiritual power flooded into his body, sweeping through him like a cleansing tide.
His demonic energy, already weakened by the poison, was instantly dispersed under the purification.
For a brief moment, his body lost all strength.
Clang!
Tōkijin plunged into the ground, barely supporting him.
Yet,
Sesshomaru's eyes gleamed.
There was no anger. No resistance.
Only realization.
Because along with his demonic energy, the poison that had been festering inside him was also erased,cleansed completely by Kikyo's spiritual power.
He lifted his head slowly, locking his gaze onto Naraku.
A killing intent as sharp as ice erupted from his eyes.
Freed from the poison's restraint, fresh demonic power surged back into his body at an astonishing rate.
For a daiyōkai like Sesshomaru, restoring power was effortless.
In the blink of an eye, the weakness that had bound him vanished.
As the tentacles closed in once more,
Sesshomaru pulled Tōkijin free.
This time, he didn't retreat.
He advanced.
With a single, effortless swing, a crescent of blue blade-light tore through the air,instantly reducing everything in its path to ash.
"His power… increased?!"
Naraku's pupils shrank as he sensed the sudden change.
His gaze snapped upward toward Kikyo, his expression twisting in fury.
"Kikyo…!"
He had seen it clearly,Sesshomaru's condition had reversed the moment he touched that Sacred Arrow.
It was her power.
Her purification had eliminated the poison entirely.
"Filth. Where are you looking?"
A cold voice sounded at his side.
Naraku's heart jolted.
Sesshomaru was already in front of him.
Tōkijin descended with merciless killing intent.
"Damn it!"
Naraku reacted instantly. His grotesque body writhed, and a massive bull-headed demon burst forth to shield him.
Slash,!
The blade cleaved it apart in a single strike.
But in the next instant, the corpse exploded,
A torrent of dark miasma and inky-black poison erupted outward,the very same Gyūki venom that had nearly crippled Sesshomaru moments ago.
"…Disgusting."
A flicker of disdain crossed Sesshomaru's eyes as he withdrew, avoiding the spreading cloud.
"Sesshomaru… you cannot kill me."
Naraku's figure re-emerged from within the miasma, his smile twisted and smug.
"Naraku!"
A furious roar suddenly rang out.
Naraku stiffened and turned,
Just in time to see Inuyasha charging in, Tessaiga raised high.
"Wind Scar!"
A golden arc of destructive energy surged forward like a meteor, crashing toward Naraku.
"Hmph. Pointless."
Naraku immediately raised a barrier to protect himself.
But at the instant it formed,
Tessaiga flared crimson.
After absorbing the power of the Blood Jade Coral, it now possessed the ability to shatter barriers.
Boom,!
The golden slash slammed into the barrier,
And shattered it instantly.
"What,?!"
Naraku's eyes widened in disbelief.
Before he could react, the Wind Scar struck him head-on.
"Gah,!"
In desperation, he used the demon mass beneath him as a shield. His lower body was obliterated, while his upper half was blasted away, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Inuyasha! Don't get close,the miasma is poisoned!" Sesshomaru warned sharply.
"What?!"
Inuyasha halted mid-step, gripping Tessaiga as he watched the writhing mass below begin reconstructing Naraku's body.
"Inuyasha… how did you enter the barrier?" Naraku demanded, his gaze locked onto him.
He hadn't sensed the barrier being breached at all.
Glancing toward Kagura and Kanna, he saw them still entangled with the massive Wood Dragon, unable to interfere.
"Barrier?" Inuyasha blinked. "There was an opening leading straight inside. I thought you left it for me."
"…Damn it."
Naraku's expression darkened instantly.
"Kikyo…!"
It was obvious now,she had deliberately left an opening when breaking through earlier.
"You dare lose focus while fighting me?"
Sesshomaru's voice cut in coldly as he charged again, Tōkijin slicing forward.
"Die, Naraku."
"Like hell I'll fall behind!" Inuyasha shouted, raising Tessaiga once more. "Wind Scar!"
The blue blade-light and golden slash intertwined,
And slammed into Naraku simultaneously.
"No,! I won't die here!"
Naraku roared.
His lower body exploded again, releasing a massive surge of miasma that swallowed him whole.
"…Did we get him?" Inuyasha muttered, staring into the haze.
At that moment,
A spiraling vortex of miasma shot into the sky.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I'll be taking my leave. If you don't hurry… that little girl of yours may not last much longer~"
Naraku's mocking voice echoed from within the swirling cloud.
Reduced to only his upper body, he fled into the distance, carried by a torrent of demonic aura.
"Naraku!"
Sesshomaru gripped Tōkijin tightly, his voice filled with cold fury.
"I will kill you."
"Did you forget about me?"
Kagetsu 's voice suddenly rang out.
Inuyasha looked up sharply.
"Susanoo!"
With a low shout, a pale blue skeletal giant began to form atop the highest point of the castle. Flesh and armor rapidly layered over it, until a towering, half-bodied warrior stood fully manifested.
The Susanoo raised its arm,
And a massive longbow appeared in its grasp.
"Kikyo… lend me your power."
Inside the Susanoo, Kagetsu reached out, taking Kikyo's hand with a faint smile.
"…Alright."
Though slightly surprised, Kikyo didn't hesitate. She tightened her grip as pure spiritual power flowed steadily from her body into his.
Kagetsu felt the surge of power coursing through him, and his smile deepened.
"Let's call this…"
The Susanoo drew the bowstring.
A radiant arrow formed instantly,woven from chakra and sacred spiritual power, glowing with pure white brilliance.
"…Kikyo's Susanoo Arrow."
The arrow locked onto Naraku's fleeing form,
Its overwhelming aura of purification and destruction sealing his fate.