Hikaru did not rush down.
He was no fool.
With seven or eight hundred demons besieging the village, even with Kikyo's Barrier holding them back, if he were to charge down from the mountain peak with such bravado, it wouldn't be called bravery; it would be called a death wish.
Even if he had to hand over the shikon jewel, it couldn't be done like this.
Besides, he didn't plan on giving it up immediately; at the very least, he had to unlock her favorability first.
But he couldn't just wait here either.
The shikon jewel in his arms needed to be close to Kikyo to trigger the unlock verification—this was the prerequisite set by the system.
And right now, Kikyo was in the shrine at the center of the village.
He was on the mountain peak.
Between them stood seven or eight hundred demons.
"...This is a bit tricky."
Hikaru crouched behind a boulder, looking down at the chaotic battlefield below.
The demon horde's attention was entirely focused on the village's Barrier; not a single demon looked toward the mountain peak.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that the shikon jewel was still glowing.
Although he had wrapped it in several layers of cloth, the pale purple light and that unique aura continued to leak out.
If he approached from the front, those demons would definitely notice.
But if... Hikaru's gaze swept across the battlefield.
From what he could see, the demon horde's formation was not tight—to be precise, there was no formation to speak of at all.
Seven or eight hundred demons were huddled together in a mess, each fighting for themselves.
Some were attacking the Barrier, some were fighting their own kind for a better position, and some were even in corners devouring the corpses of their recently deceased companions.
Chaos.
Extreme chaos.
And within this chaos, Demonic Qi was everywhere.
A thick, murky, and overwhelming Demonic Qi.
That Demonic Qi was so dense it had almost condensed into a physical substance, like a thick layer of grey-green mist covering the entire outskirts of the village.
A normal person standing in it would probably be overcome by the stench and faint on the spot.
But for Hikaru, this was the perfect cover.
Because he was also a demon.
He also carried Demonic Qi, and in no small amount, with a quality that was incomparably pure.
In this ocean of extremely dense Demonic Qi, his own aura was like a drop of water merging into the sea.
It wouldn't attract any attention at all.
As for the aura of the shikon jewel...
Hikaru looked down at the bead in his arms.
The pale purple light was still faintly visible through the layers of cloth.
"Can you be a bit quieter?"
He whispered to the bead.
The shikon jewel did not respond.
It simply glowed quietly, showing no reaction to his request.
"...Never mind."
Hikaru sighed.
Fortunately, although the aura emitted by the shikon jewel was unique, it would be significantly diluted and masked within this ocean of intense Demonic Qi.
Those low-level demons had limited perception; as long as he didn't pull the bead out and use it like a flashlight, he shouldn't be discovered.
"Let's go."
He whispered to the muramasa at his waist.
[demon blade muramasa: Mood 'Confused', it expresses that it doesn't understand why you don't just charge in and go on a killing spree.]
"Because I don't want to die, my lady,"
Hikaru replied succinctly, lowering his body and moving down along the shadows of the hillside.
He didn't use Ghost Step; that would cause a fluctuation in demonic power, which would be easily detected at this distance.
He chose the most primitive method—walking.
Walking there on foot.
Quietly.
Like a snake.
Hikaru hugged the ground, his body almost level with the grass.
His tattered Crimson Gusoku Demon Armor was covered in mud and grass stains, which instead became the best camouflage in the twilight.
He moved along the outskirts of the demon horde, specifically choosing areas where the Demonic Qi was thickest.
The dense Demonic Qi acted like a natural Barrier, completely masking his presence.
Occasionally, a few Blue-skinned Oni ran past him, their eyes fixed intently on the Barrier ahead, not noticing the figure in the grass at their feet at all.
A One-eyed Demon even stepped on his hand.
It hurt.
But Hikaru didn't make a sound.
He just silently withdrew his hand and waited for the One-eyed Demon to run far away before continuing forward.
[demon blade muramasa: Mood 'Angry', it strongly suggests you chop off that One-eyed Demon's foot.]
"Quiet."
Hikaru said in his mind.
He continued to crawl forward.
Fifty zhang, forty zhang.
Thirty zhang.
The density of the demon horde was increasing, and he had to be even more careful.
A few times he was nearly discovered, but by relying on Resonance with Blood to sense the movements of surrounding demons in advance, he was able to adjust his route in time.
Having killed so many demons along the way, although most of the demon blood on him had been absorbed by muramasa, quite a bit still remained in the cracks of his armor.
That residual blood served as his early warning system.
Any living creature that came within three zhang of him would be detected.
Twenty zhang.
Fifteen zhang.
Hikaru could already clearly see the light of the Barrier.
A pale white glow flowed before his eyes, emitting a warm and holy aura.
That aura made his skin feel slightly hot—the natural suppression of spiritual power against demons was already starting to take effect at this distance.
But he endured it.
Ten zhang.
He lay behind a pile of demon corpses—those killed by Kikyo's Sacred Arrow, their bodies still retaining some warmth—and looked up through the gaps between the corpses toward the shrine.
Kikyo was right there.
Dressed in a white robe and red hakama, she stood atop the stone steps.
She was shooting arrows.
The bowstring was drawn, white light gathered, and an arrow was released.
A Centipede Spirit trying to climb the Barrier from the side was pierced through the head; its corpse fell, crashing into the demon horde below and triggering a wave of screams.
Kikyo's face was devoid of expression.
Those cool eyes were as calm as a deep pool.
It wasn't coldness, but a kind of almost transcendental composure.
It was as if the siege of seven or eight hundred demons was, in her eyes, just a daily chore that needed to be handled—and in fact, it truly was.
Hikaru looked at her, and a thought surfaced in his mind—
Really strong.
And also, really—
Beautiful.
No, now is not the time to think about this... damn 'turbid qi', is it affecting me again?
Hikaru took another breath of the murky Demonic Qi on the battlefield, barely managing to calm down, and withdrew his gaze.
Regardless, now was certainly not the time for appreciation.
He looked down at his chest.
The light of the shikon jewel was changing.
The pale purple glow was no longer scattering evenly but was starting to concentrate toward the front—exactly where Kikyo was located.
The bead was sensing her.
Or rather, the bead was resonating with her.
The system panel was also flashing constantly.
[Detected 'Suppressor' approaching...]
[favorability unlock condition verifying...]
[Distance has met the minimum requirement.]
[favorability unlock verification complete.]
[shikon jewel favorability can now be unlocked; please operate in a safe environment.]
That's enough.
Looking at the prompt on the panel, a glint of light flashed in Hikaru's eyes.
It worked!
Getting close to Kikyo really was useful!
He didn't even need to meet her, didn't need to fight, and didn't need to be shot full of arrows—
As long as the distance was close enough, the shikon jewel could automatically sense the existence of the Suppressor and complete the unlock verification.
"Great."
He said in his mind.
Then the system panel refreshed.
Hikaru lay behind the pile of corpses, staring at the new content appearing on the panel.
[shikon jewel]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[Current Status: Awakening]
[favorability: Unlocked]
[Current Favorability: 0 (Stranger)]
His eyes lit up.
But before he could rejoice, an additional prompt popped up at the bottom of the panel.
[Please select an unlocking direction:]
[Option 1: Purify a demon to unlock the 'naohi' favorability route]
[Option 2: Create human negative emotions to unlock the 'Magatsuhi' favorability route]
[Note: The two routes are mutually exclusive; once selected, it cannot be changed.]
Hikaru stared at these two lines, stunned for several seconds.
This was also his first time encountering such a situation... where favorability had different routes.
He naturally wouldn't forget the settings from the original work—the shikon jewel, formed from the souls of the strongest priestess Midoriko and hundreds of powerful demons hundreds of years ago, was composed of four souls: Aratama, Nigimitama, Kushimitama, and Sakimitama.
These four souls represented the four virtues of Courage, Friendship, Wisdom, and Love.
But at the same time, the demon's resentment was also sealed inside the jewel.
Those were also four souls.
They were Cowardice, Estrangement, Ignorance, and Indifference.
Good and evil, right and wrong—two forces were in eternal confrontation within the jewel.
If the holder's heart turned toward good, the jewel would lean toward 'naohi' and exert purifying power.
If the holder's heart turned toward evil, the jewel would lean toward 'Magatsuhi' and amplify demonic power.
This was the essence of the shikon jewel—it was like a mirror, reflecting the true face of the holder's heart.
"So this is actually... the system making me choose a side?"
Hikaru looked at the panel and fell into deep thought.
Option 1, purify demons, take the naohi route.
This meant he had to increase favorability by purifying demons.
It sounded a bit strange; after all, he was a demon himself. Using a demon's identity to purify his own kind... what kind of twisted operation was that? Although he had been killing demons all along, simple purification was different from extermination; the corpse had to be completely dissolved without leaving any pollution in the environment to be called purification.
He couldn't do that.
And Option 2, creating human negative emotions, taking the Magatsuhi route.
This was clearly asking him to increase favorability through evil deeds.
Killing, harming, making people suffer and fear.
This option sounded more in line with a demon's nature.
But... Hikaru frowned.
At his core, he was still human.
A person who transmigrated from modern times with basic moral concepts.
He could kill, but it was for survival and self-preservation, not for pleasure—he didn't have that kind of hobby.
He couldn't bring himself to actively harm people.
Moreover—
From a utilitarian perspective.
He was currently lying in wait, surrounded by seven or eight hundred demons, and the closest human was the strongest priestess of the Sengoku Period.
Choose Magatsuhi?
Create human negative emotions?
What was he supposed to do? Make a funny face at Kikyo and then get shot to death by an arrow?
Don't be ridiculous.
But if he chose naohi—purify a demon.
He lowered his head and looked around.
There were demons everywhere.
Living, dead, half-dead—as many as he wanted.
He could kill one easily and then use Kikyo's momentum, borrowing her arrow to achieve purification. Maybe it could actually work?
It was practically a freebie.
'So I actually have no choice at all.'
Hikaru thought to himself.
Besides, feeding the weapon with demon blood to increase favorability and gain abilities.
This was already his way of survival.
If he took the naohi route, he only needed to keep doing what he had been doing, at most trying to get closer to Kikyo; he didn't need to change much at all.
And—
He looked up, peering through the gaps in the corpses, and looked toward the Shrine direction again.
Kikyo fired another arrow; white light pierced through the murky Demonic Qi and penetrated the chest of a Bird-headed Monster.
The Bird-headed Monster's corpse fell from mid-air, hit the surface of the Barrier, and slid to the ground.
Kikyo had already started drawing the next arrow.
Her quiver was still more than half full, and her spiritual power was still abundant.
But the attrition from seven or eight hundred demons was real.
No matter how strong a priestess was, she couldn't output indefinitely—let alone Kikyo hadn't reached her peak yet. Her spiritual power might hold out, but her physical strength wouldn't, and she was still lacking in technique.
Maintaining the Barrier and shooting arrows simultaneously doubled the consumption.
Could she hold out?
Of course she could.
At least for now, it seemed so.
But if—the moment this thought crossed his mind.
Hikaru felt something strange.
It wasn't from the demon crowd in front of him, but from afar.
His body suddenly stiffened.
The instinctive warning of an Ghost Samurai toward another Ghost Samurai sounded an alarm frantically at this moment.
He turned his head and looked toward the mountain ridge to the west.
There—
Four distinct Demonic Qis were rapidly approaching.
Each one was an order of magnitude stronger than these surrounding small fry.
No, more than just one order of magnitude.
Those were—
Four high-level demons that could be called leaders.
They were racing from the western mountain ridge, their target clearly this besieged village.
More precisely—
The shikon jewel.
They must have followed the traces left by the shikon jewel all the way; the lingering aura on Hikaru's body was the best signpost.
They were just one step later than him.
And now, they had arrived.
Hikaru really wanted to curse under his breath.
Of all times, it had to be now.
He lay behind the demon corpses, holding the shikon jewel in his arms, ten zhang from Kikyo and about three hundred zhang from those four high-level demons.
A distance of three hundred zhang was just a matter of a few breaths for high-level demons.
Keep hiding?
Once those four high-level demons joined the battle, the demon crowd's offensive would multiply.
Whether Kikyo's Barrier could hold out would be hard to say.
Therefore.
"Option one."
He spoke the answer in his heart.
His hand was already gripping the hilt of muramasa.
"naohi."
Then—
He stood up from behind the pile of corpses.
The moment Hikaru stood up, the three closest Blue-skinned Oni were stunned simultaneously.
They turned their heads and saw a guy who had crawled out of the pile of dead bodies, wearing tattered red Gusoku armor.
Pale disheveled hair, a crimson oni mask, and a pair of eyes with inverted colors.
"Wha..."
The leading Blue-skinned Oni just opened its mouth.
A flash of sword light.
Its mouth was still open, but its head was no longer on its neck.
The head spun in mid-air; from the perspective of that flying head, it could still see its own body standing in place, blood gushing from the neck like a fountain.
Hikaru didn't look at the flying head.
His blade had already slashed toward the second one.
Kesa-giri.
From shoulder to waist, cut in two.
The third Blue-skinned Oni screamed and turned to run, but the tip of muramasa's blade was faster than its legs—
Thrust.
Piercing through the back of the neck.
Three Blue-skinned Oni, in less than two breaths.
[demon blade muramasa: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 73]