"Naraku is getting more and more disgusting."
Uchiha Retsu frowned, his face full of disgust as he stared ahead.
At this moment, Naraku still retained a human upper body—but everything below it was a grotesque mass of stitched-together demon remains.
Twisted limbs, writhing tentacles, and mangled flesh tangled together into a chaotic, swollen monstrosity—far larger and more horrific than the body destroyed earlier by the Inner Four Symbols Seal.
It looked as if half a human torso had grown out of a mountain of demon corpses, radiating an indescribable sense of horror.
"It seems he plans to wait until Sesshomaru's poison deepens, then lure him into the core of this body and devour him completely," Kikyo said softly, her expression filled with clear disgust as she observed the mass of demon limbs covering half the castle grounds.
"Sesshomaru, where is Rin—the girl you took?"
Ignoring Naraku entirely, Sesshomaru raised his head and looked toward Kagura in the sky, his voice cold and emotionless.
"Relax. The little girl you're looking for isn't here," Naraku replied before Kagura could speak. "In a place filled with miasma like this, she'd die from the poison very quickly."
He turned toward Kikyo and Retsu, a sinister smile creeping across his face.
"As long as you kill this priestess and the man beside her for me, I'll return that girl safely."
"Heh." Sesshomaru let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with disdain.
"Although I do intend to kill that human called Uchiha Retsu… do you really think I, Sesshomaru, would obey you for the sake of a mere human child?"
The moment his words fell—
He swung Tokijin.
A condensed wave of demonic energy shot straight toward Naraku!
"Hmph. Already poisoned by Gyuuki's toxin—how much strength can you even use?" Naraku sneered, raising a thick tentacle to block the attack effortlessly.
He then turned sharply.
"Kagura. Kanna. Stop Kikyo and Uchiha Retsu."
"…Understood."
Kagura shot Naraku a deep look, a trace of unwillingness flashing in her eyes before she gritted her teeth and waved her fan.
Several sharp wind blades tore through the air toward Retsu and Kikyo.
"Ignore them."
Retsu casually summoned a Susanoo arm and swatted the wind blades away with a single motion.
At the same time, his hands flew through seals.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
Crack—!
The ground split apart as a massive wooden dragon burst forth, soaring into the air and lunging toward Kagura's feather with its jaws wide open.
"What—he's actually trying to kill me?!" Kagura's heart skipped a beat as she hurriedly maneuvered her feather to dodge.
The dragon snapped shut on empty air, the force of its jaws creating a violent gust that sent her spinning before she barely stabilized.
She glared at the towering wooden dragon coiled around the arrow tower, its head raised high and locked onto her.
"Seriously…!"
With Kagura and Kanna held at bay, Retsu turned to Kikyo.
"Let's deal with Naraku."
"Alright."
Kikyo nodded, drawing another sacred arrow.
Pure spiritual power surged into it as she pulled back the bowstring.
Whoosh—!
The arrow tore through the night sky.
Trailing a radiant white glow, it shot forward like a meteor—straight toward Naraku's head.
Naraku's expression changed instantly.
He hurriedly summoned countless tentacles to block it—
But the original owners of those limbs were weak. Against the purifying power of the sacred arrow, they collapsed instantly, turning into smoke upon contact.
Just as the arrow was about to strike—
A sharp blade of light suddenly cut in!
BOOM—!
The sacred energy collided violently with Tokijin's demonic power, the explosion blasting away nearby structures, miasma, and Naraku's limbs.
Though greatly weakened, the arrow still pierced through the explosion—
And struck Naraku's right arm, blowing it apart into fragments.
Kikyo frowned, confused, and looked toward Sesshomaru.
The one who had intercepted her attack—
Was him.
"Naraku… is my prey."
Sesshomaru stared at Naraku, his voice cold and unwavering.
The next moment, he leapt forward, raising Tokijin as he charged.
Yet every swing of his blade was visibly heavier—
The poison in his body was clearly taking effect.
"I take back what I said earlier," Kikyo muttered helplessly, gripping her bow.
"His personality really is like Inuyasha's… just as stubborn. He's clearly poisoned and can't fight properly, yet he insists on doing it himself."
"The pride of a great demon," Retsu explained with a smile.
"Not only was he threatened using someone close to him, but he was also outplayed by a half-demon. With his personality, there's no way he'd accept anything less than killing Naraku with his own hands."
"You ignorant human priestess!"
Jaken immediately waved his staff, shouting in protest.
"Even poisoned, Lord Sesshomaru is more than enough to deal with trash like Naraku!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Kikyo glanced at him—and suddenly grabbed him by the neck.
She walked to the edge of the roof and dangled him over the drop.
"How about I throw you down there so you can go find your Lord Sesshomaru?"
Jaken trembled violently as he looked at the ten-meter drop below and the thick purple miasma.
"I—I'm sorry! Beautiful and kind priestess-sama! Surely someone as merciful as you wouldn't let me fall to my death, right?!"
"Hmph. Little yokai."
Kikyo smirked mischievously and casually tossed him back onto the roof.
Then she pointed toward the battlefield.
"Your Lord Sesshomaru… looks like he's about to be caught."
Jaken's heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly looked.
Sesshomaru was already surrounded by layers of Naraku's tentacles.
He could only swing his blade desperately to fend them off—
But the power of Tokijin's slashes was weakening.
His movements were slowing.
Defeat was only a matter of time.
"Kill him, Sesshomaru!" Naraku laughed excitedly, watching as the tentacles engulfed him.
"The poison in your body will deepen as your demonic power is consumed!"
"That perfect demonic energy of yours… will soon belong to me!"
"Stop struggling and become part of me!"
Sesshomaru said nothing.
He simply clenched his teeth and continued swinging Tokijin, cutting down the incoming tentacles again and again.
Even as each movement grew heavier—
He showed no intention of retreating.
"Damn it! Lord Sesshomaru!"
Jaken panicked, running toward the edge of the roof—
Only to stop abruptly.
Looking down at the height below, his legs trembled.
He wanted to jump—
But fear rooted him in place.
"Little yokai… do you want to save Sesshomaru?"
Kikyo's voice suddenly rang out.
Jaken turned sharply, a flicker of hope igniting in his eyes.
He had already witnessed Kikyo's power—she could definitely save Sesshomaru.
"Priestess! Can you help Lord Sesshomaru?!" he begged.
Kikyo smiled faintly—though there was a hint of mischief in it.
"But just now, didn't you say I was an ignorant human priestess? That made me quite unhappy. What should I do about that?"
Jaken froze—
Then immediately dropped to the ground in a perfect prostration.
"Beautiful and kind priestess-sama! Please, I beg you—save Lord Sesshomaru!!"
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