Chapter 55: Bone Soul
Three days. It was neither a long time nor a short one, but for Kobe Hikaru, it was just right.
On the first day, he followed the burly young leader of the Demon Slayer village—a man named Matoba—on a tour of their entire settlement. The village was far larger than Hikaru had imagined. The area enclosed by the tall wooden fences was the size of three or four ordinary villages combined, containing distinct residential areas, armories, training grounds, and a workshop dedicated to processing the remains of slain demons.
The stench from that workshop was particularly pungent. Hikaru stood at the doorway, peering inside. He watched as several Demon Slayers methodically dismantled the massive skeleton of a wolf demon, preparing to forge the bones into new weapons.
"This is our trade," the burly man, Matoba, said, patting his chest with a grim sort of pride. "We kill demons, we use their parts, and we use what they leave behind to hunt the next one."
Hikaru gave a slight nod. His thoughts immediately went to Hiraikotsu; the colossal boomerang was forged from the bones of a hundred different demons. It was virtually indestructible and possessed the power to return to its wielder and shatter demonic barriers, making it an incredibly useful weapon.
On the second day, the Demon Slayers' attitude toward Hikaru began to shift. Initially, while not openly hostile, they had been wary. They would answer his questions and show him around, but always kept a careful distance. After all, he was a demon, and the faint miasma of Yao Qi clinging to him was impossible to completely suppress.
But that wariness began to melt away when they saw him helping to transport the heavy demon bone materials. He effortlessly lifted carcasses and skeletal fragments that took three of their strongest men to even budge, and he did so without so much as breaking a sweat.
Their hushed conversations changed.
"That Oni... he's got monstrous strength."
"He might be a demon, but he doesn't seem like a bad one."
"I heard he's Lady Kikyo's shikigami. If she trusts him, then he must be alright."
Hikaru tossed a huge demon femur onto the material pile with a heavy thud and clapped the bone dust from his hands. "Anymore?"
"Yes, yes!" Matoba hurriedly pointed to another section of the yard. "There's another batch over there that needs moving—"
And just like that, Hikaru became the Demon Slayer village's most efficient, unpaid laborer. By the third day, he was on familiar terms with more than half the people in the settlement. A few of the younger Demon Slayers had even started calling him 'Brother Hikaru'. The title felt a bit strange to him, but he didn't mind.
His primary objective here wasn't to make friends, anyway. It was Hiraikotsu.
...
During those three days, he made sure to set aside time to attend to the legendary weapon, which had been carefully stored in the village's main warehouse. He wiped it down, performed routine maintenance, and even spoke to it, his voice a low murmur in the quiet storeroom. He even took it out to bask in the sun. These were gestures he could only perform now that he had earned a sliver of its trust.
"You're made of bone, so a bit of sun should feel good, right?" he mused, leaning the massive Hiraikotsu against a courtyard wall, ensuring the sunlight fell evenly across its pale, yellowish surface.
[Hiraikotsu: Favorability +3]
[Current Favorability: 32 (Goodwill)]
[It finds your reasoning considerate, though it is unsure if sunbathing actually has any effect on it.]
'As long as it works,' Hikaru thought with a flicker of satisfaction.
On the first morning, its favorability had climbed to 15. By that afternoon, it broke past 30. The progress was extraordinarily fast, and the reason was simple: Hikaru had brought it home. Though the artifact projected an air of indifference, it was deeply 'homesick'.
In reality, every artifact he sought to conquer had a key—a preference to be catered to. If you hit the mark, their favorability would soar. If you missed, you were left with the slow, arduous grind.
During this time...
[Hiraikotsu's favorability has exceeded 30. First Talent Unlocked.]
[First Talent: Bone Hardening]
[Effect: You can significantly increase the hardness of your own bones for a short period. Duration is dependent on Yao Qi consumption.]
'Bone Hardening.' Hikaru studied the description on the system panel, his mind already working. It was a defensive ability. Harder bones meant a greater capacity to withstand physical blows. Combined with his existing [Shield Bone Transformation], his defensive power would reach a whole new level.
But this was clearly not the true extent of Hiraikotsu's power. He redoubled his efforts, accelerating the process.
The next afternoon, its favorability broke through 50.
[Congratulations! Hiraikotsu's favorability has exceeded 50. Second Talent Unlocked.]
[Second Talent: Bone Proliferation]
[Effect: You can induce rapid proliferation and growth of your own bones. The speed and quantity of growth are dependent on Yao Qi consumption.]
'Bone Proliferation.' This was an offensive ability. It meant he could sprout weapons like bone spurs and blades directly from his body. The concept was remarkably similar to the Shikotsumyaku of the Kaguya clan from Naruto, a memory from a world long past. A dangerous light gleamed in Hikaru's eyes.
On the evening of the third day, with only a few hours left before his scheduled duel, he found a deserted corner of the village. He placed Hiraikotsu gently on the ground and began his final sprint.
"You've been in this village for over a hundred years, haven't you?" he asked quietly.
[Hiraikotsu affirms this—even without a head to nod.]
"Then you must have seen many generations of Demon Slayers."
[Hiraikotsu indicates that yes, it has seen more than a dozen generations pass.]
"Were they all good to you?"
[Hiraikotsu is silent for a moment.]
[It tells you that some were good, and some were not. Some treated it as a mere tool, while others saw it as a partner.]
[Its last user was one of the latter.]
Hikaru didn't respond immediately. He simply reached out, his fingers tracing the smooth, cool surface of the bone. "If I get the chance," he said softly, "I'll tell your story to his grandchildren. When they're old enough, and strong enough, to lift you."
[Hiraikotsu: Favorability +5]
[Current Favorability: 82]
[It... it is a little moved.]
'Keep going.' Hikaru took a deep breath and began to tell a story of his own.
He spoke of his transmigration to this world, of how he had risen from a corpse to become an Oni Samurai, and of the path he had walked, step by bloody step, to arrive where he was today.
Hiraikotsu remained silent, but its favorability climbed steadily higher.
...
The moon rose high in the sky. Hikaru glanced at the panel.
[Current Favorability: 97]
Just three points short.
He thought for a moment, then reached into his robes and pulled out the red comb that was Yura of the Hair's true form. "Look," he said, placing the comb on the ground next to the giant boomerang. "This is a demon I recently subdued. From now on, you two will be colleagues."
[Yura of the Hair expresses her vehement protest. She has no desire to be colleagues with a pile of old bones.]
[Hiraikotsu glances at the comb.]
[It tells you that the comb's Yao Qi is impure and requires purification.]
[Yura of the Hair is now even angrier.]
A small, rare smile touched Hikaru's lips.
[Hiraikotsu: Favorability +3]
[Current Favorability: 100 (Perfect)]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked all bonds with 'Hiraikotsu'.]
[Special Ability Unlocked: Bone Soul]
[Effect: A fusion of Bone Hardening and Bone Proliferation. You can freely control the hardness, shape, and growth of your bones. You can command their 'movement', causing them to protrude from any part of your body and be freely shaped externally.]
[Hiraikotsu conveys a final message to you: 'You are a good person, even though you are not human.']
['Now, allow me to lend you my strength.']
Hikaru watched as the giant bone boomerang began to glow. A pale, yellowish-white light spilled from its surface, climbing up his outstretched arm, preparing to seep into his very skin—
And then, it stopped.
[Fusion Failed]
The light lingered on the surface of his arm for a few seconds before slowly receding back into Hiraikotsu.
[Hiraikotsu expresses its confusion. What happened? Why can't its power enter you?]
Hikaru stared at the warning on the panel, yet no panic showed on his face. He had anticipated this possibility.
The ability granted by Hiraikotsu was, without a doubt, a structural alteration of the body. It belonged to the category of Physical Transformation, not Qualitative Transformation. And he had known for three months that within the world of Physical Transformation, six was his absolute limit.
The Six Transformations corresponded to the six limbs a living organism could autonomously control. Each of his transformations was tied to a specific part of his body. Theoretically, it was impossible to simply add a seventh. This, to a certain extent, was why he only possessed six distinct abilities despite having the potential to conquer more artifacts. It wasn't a limitation of the system, but a limitation of his own body.
But—
"Who ever said one transformation can only correspond to one ability?"
Hikaru was not worried in the slightest. He had pondered this very problem long ago. Six Transformations was the limit, but the content of those transformations was not fixed. It was like how a person has two hands, but those hands have ten fingers capable of forming countless gestures. A single transformation could, in fact, accommodate multiple abilities.
The prerequisite was simple: those abilities had to be of the same type.
And as it happened, among the transformations he had already acquired, one was directly related to bone.
—Shield Bone Transformation.
It was the ability from his fifth transformation, a change that hardened his skeleton into a natural shield. And what abilities did Hiraikotsu bring? Hardening, Proliferation, and... Soul.
All of them were related to bone. All were of the same type.
"In that case," Hikaru murmured, closing his eyes, "let's proceed with a fusion."
Fusion was not simple addition; it was multiplication. It was about merging a new power into an old, existing transformation.
The yellowish-white light surged once more.
This time, it did not try to force a new channel into his body. Instead, it flowed along the existing pathways of Yao Qi within him, seeking and finding the one that belonged to [Shield Bone Transformation].
Then, the two powers began to merge. To overlap.
And to sublimate into something new.
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