"Crack—!"
The grotesque crimson ghost claw tore through the air and struck Xia Lan's abdomen with perfect accuracy—only to be stopped cold by the pale-blue Susanoo armor coating her body!
The sharp talons smashed against the hardened chakra shell and shattered instantly, snapping off with a crisp sound. Not even a scratch was left behind.
Almost at the same moment—
"Boom!"
A heavy, muffled explosion rang out.
Xia Lan's blazing feline paw, wrapped in both raging flames and the sharp edge of Susanoo's chakra claws, slammed brutally into the demon's skull!
Empowered by massive chakra, her strike tore open several bone-deep gashes across the demon's face. One claw mark slashed straight through its enormous eye.
Putrid ghost blood sprayed everywhere as the eyeball was ripped apart on the spot.
"Aaaargh—!!"
Overwhelming pain made the demon let out a shrill, miserable scream. It instinctively covered its ruined eye and staggered backward again and again.
"This is…?!"
Xia Lan glanced down at the pale-blue Susanoo armor covering her body. Her pupils lit up instantly, and excitement flooded her expression.
She completely forgot about the demon in front of her.
Raising her paw, she stared at the flowing chakra light around it. A bright, thrilled grin spread uncontrollably across her face, her ears twitching with excitement.
"Retsu! This thing—this 'Susanoo'—it can be used like this?!"
Her tail tip nearly started wagging as she spoke, her voice overflowing with joy.
She knew this ability far too well.
Every time she fought Retsu before, she had been crushed by Susanoo without mercy. It was huge, absurdly strong, and ridiculously durable.
No matter how hard she attacked, it felt like hitting an immovable mountain. Even in her leopard-cat form, she had been beaten senseless.
She hated it.
Absolutely hated it.
And now—
That "invincible" power was on her body.
Just now, the demon's attack hadn't hurt her at all. Meanwhile, her own claw had easily ripped through its flesh.
In that instant, Xia Lan felt that Susanoo was simply amazing beyond words.
"Stop staring at yourself and hit it!"
Retsu's voice rang out.
Watching her admire the armor while completely ignoring the enemy, he urged her helplessly.
"Got it!"
Xia Lan snapped back to reality.
Wrapped in Susanoo from head to toe, she felt an overwhelming sense of security. Her blood boiled with excitement, and she felt invincible.
She raised her head sharply.
Her crimson beast eyes locked onto the horned, blood-red demon. A savage, excited grin curled at the corner of her mouth.
"Awooo—!"
A sharp, domineering roar tore through the air.
In the next second, she completely ignored the demon's attacks.
With explosive force in her limbs, she charged forward, leaped high, and crashed down onto its massive body!
Boom!!
Two gigantic figures slammed into the ground.
A dull thunderous impact shook the earth, sending clouds of dust into the air.
Before the demon could react—
"Pa pa pa pa pa—!"
Xia Lan's front paws turned into countless afterimages. A storm of furious "cat punches" rained down on the demon's face.
Foul ghost blood splattered like rain.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion erupted. Lightning flashed violently.
A burst of dazzling electricity detonated beneath Xia Lan, blasting her body into the air!
But thanks to the Susanoo armor, she wasn't injured at all.
Her massive leopard-cat body flipped gracefully midair. She landed steadily on all fours, claws carving long grooves into the ground as she easily absorbed the impact.
Just as she stabilized herself—
A fireball shot straight toward her landing spot!
Xia Lan swayed lightly and leaped aside.
The fireball grazed the edge of her Susanoo and exploded, scorching the ground black.
"Damn it! You cursed cat demon—how dare you injure me like this!"
The demon finally broke free from her assault.
Clutching its chest, it panted violently, its voice filled with hatred and agony.
It was now in a miserable state.
A bone-deep wound had torn open its chest, and its beating heart was faintly visible. Clearly, when it blasted Xia Lan away earlier, its own demonic technique had backfired and injured itself.
Its head was covered in claw marks, flesh torn open. Weak flames still flickered around the wounds.
One of its horns had snapped off.
Its only remaining eye glared at Xia Lan with savage hatred.
Seeing the demon's wounds rapidly regenerating under demonic energy, Kikyo's gaze sharpened.
She raised her bow, condensed spiritual power at her fingertips, and aimed at its chest, preparing to fire a purification arrow.
"Wait. No need."
A hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
Retsu appeared beside her and stopped her calmly.
"Don't kill it by accident. Let Xia Lan handle it."
Retsu had already noticed that this demon, though similar in size to Tsubaki's transformed form in the original story, was far weaker without the Shikon Jewel's enhancement.
In the original plot, that demon could tank Tessaiga and Wind Scar head-on.
This one?
It could even injure itself with its own techniques.
Purification power was especially effective against demons. If Kikyo fired, it might get instantly erased.
"You're a clone?" Kikyo asked curiously, lowering her bow.
"Yes. Shadow clone. My real body's with Xia Lan."
Retsu replied while watching the battlefield.
Xia Lan charged forward again, engaging the demon in close combat.
Relying completely on Susanoo's protection, she ignored all its techniques and went straight into another barrage of cat punches.
Her claws became countless afterimages.
Amid the demon's screams, deep wounds kept appearing across its body.
"This dumb cat…"
Retsu couldn't help complaining.
"In beast form, she fights purely on instinct. When she's human, she knows how to use techniques. Now she's forgotten everything."
Though he had armored her with Susanoo, he wasn't controlling her movements at all. He was letting her fight freely.
Kikyo watched as Xia Lan was blasted away by demonic techniques, only to rush back in excitedly the moment she landed.
She couldn't help but laugh softly, her eyes gentle.
"She really is like a child. She's completely lost in it."
Retsu could tell too.
Xia Lan's predatory instincts as a feline had been fully awakened.
She wasn't fighting anymore.
She was playing.
The demon had become her toy.
She wasn't in any hurry to defeat it. She was simply enjoying the hunt.
This one-sided "game" lasted nearly half an hour.
At first, the demon still roared furiously, counterattacked, and blasted Xia Lan away with techniques.
But later—
It could do nothing but scream in agony.
Its demonic energy was completely exhausted.
It couldn't release techniques.
It couldn't even heal itself.
All it could do was weakly raise its arms and block.
It let Xia Lan carve wound after wound into its body, releasing mechanical, miserable howls.
Like a mouse caught by a cat—
Toyed with until it was barely alive.
Honestly, even Retsu started to feel sorry for it.
For half an hour, it had been tortured like it was being slowly cut apart.
Its body was covered in claw marks, wounds down to the bone.
Foul ghost blood soaked the ground completely.
Its demonic aura had faded to the point of near extinction.
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