Two blades collided in mid-air.
Sparks flew in all directions.
One was a mass-produced version of the famous blade muramasa, while the other looked covered in rust, but the result was—Hikaru, holding the muramasa, was shaken back three steps, his palms numbed by the impact.
The power gap was too large.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's Six Transformations were not for show; every transformation caused a qualitative leap in a yokai's basic attributes.
And clearly, at least two of the opponent's transformations were manifested in strength enhancement—otherwise, Hikaru, who possessed the 'Archer Transformation' and similarly boosted arm strength, wouldn't have been unable to block it.
In a battle between the same type of yokai, even a difference of a single transformation resulted in a world of difference in actual combat power.
"Is this all you've got?"
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's voice came from behind the mask, laced with obvious mockery. "To think you dared to sneak in here; you really have a death wish."
It swung its blade again.
This strike was faster and heavier than the last.
Hikaru barely managed to parry, his arms shaken to the point of near-dislocation.
His body flew backward, his feet skidding several meters across the ground before he could barely stabilize himself.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai gave a cold laugh, and its figure suddenly vanished.
So fast!
This wasn't pure speed, but the propulsion generated by an instantaneous burst of leg muscle—this guy's legs clearly had a transformation as well.
Hikaru's pupils constricted as his [Sharp Eye Transformation], obtained from a max-affinity dagger, frantically tracked the afterimages in the air.
The left!
He instinctively raised his blade to block.
But—the next second.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's sword-swinging arm suddenly let out a crisp "crack," the wrist joint snapping out of place and then visibly stretching and surging forward!
The arm, which was originally of normal length, actually grew by three feet out of thin air!
Cartilage extension.
This sudden extension caused its attack range to instantly exceed Hikaru's predictions.
The long blade bypassed the muramasa's parry line, lashing toward Hikaru's ribs like a venomous snake.
"Shit!"
Hikaru gritted his teeth and activated [Spear-Waist Transformation], his upper body folding backward in a posture absolutely impossible for a human.
Extremely strong, extremely resilient, bending like a flexible spear shaft.
*Sshhh—*
The rusty blade grazed his breastplate. The moment that seemingly hard, tattered armor touched the turbid energy on the blade, it hissed and smoked like it had been splashed with concentrated acid, rapidly rotting and softening.
A piercing pain shot through him.
Hikaru rolled to the side in disarray, kneeling on one leg.
A scorched, black scar had appeared on his chest.
[demon blade muramasa: Mood 'Terrified.' It says there's poisonous gas on that rusty blade that will dull it; it doesn't want to touch that thing!]
"Shut up, I don't want to touch it either."
Hikaru spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
It was yokai blood; unlike the red of humans, it appeared a murky grayish-black.
He quickly organized the information he had gathered from these few exchanges—
At least two transformations in the arms, causing a surge in strength.
One transformation in the legs, providing incredible speed.
A poison transformation from body to blood, corroding on contact.
A bone transformation that extends the body, making the attack range unpredictable.
And those eyes; light occasionally flashed in the ashen pupils, clearly another transformation.
Six Transformations.
It was almost a perfect counter to his Five Transformations.
What was even more troublesome was that Kikyo couldn't spare any help right now.
From the direction of the distant Barrier, three loud booms echoed in succession.
The One-Horned Oni's spiked club, the giant python's poisonous mist, and the Three-Eyed Crow's demonic light attacked simultaneously, and cracks appeared in the Barrier once more.
Kikyo was putting everything into the repairs.
Her spiritual power was still abundant, but her physical strength was being consumed at an accelerated rate—repairing the Barrier, purifying with arrows, and covering Hikaru; fighting on three fronts was already her limit.
Now, with the addition of the three high-level yokai's frantic attacks, she simply couldn't spare a hand to help over here.
Hikaru knew this.
So he didn't count on Kikyo's support.
In this battle at least, he could only rely on himself.
"Interesting."
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai raised its rusty blade, and a thick Demonic Qi erupted from the blade's surface.
"It's been a long time since I've encountered one of my own kind."
"Let me see if your bones are hard enough."
It charged forward.
Hikaru met the charge.
Not because he was confident he would win.
But because he had no way to retreat.
If he retreated, the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai would turn to attack the Barrier.
If four high-level yokai attacked together, the Barrier would absolutely not hold.
He had to keep this one pinned down here.
Even if it was only for fifteen minutes.
To buy time for Kikyo.
*Clang—!*
The two blades collided again.
Hikaru was shaken back five steps, grayish-black blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
But he stabilized his stance and raised the muramasa again.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai pursued him, its rusty blade sweeping horizontally.
Hikaru didn't block—he knew that meeting it head-on would only make him exhaust himself faster.
[Ghost Step].
His figure vanished, reappearing at the enemy's right rear.
The blade tip lunged out, aimed at the lower back.
"Tricks."
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai didn't even look back; it slapped its left hand backward, the arm extending again and lashing toward Hikaru's face like a whip.
Hikaru tilted his head back to avoid the whip-like strike, his [Spear-Waist Transformation] allowing his upper body to fold at an incredible angle once more.
But his thrust also missed its mark.
The two pulled apart, facing each other once again.
Hikaru panted—though an Ghost Samurai didn't need to breathe, the rapid consumption of demonic power made his body instinctively perform the action.
In this brief gap, through the blood mist drifting over the battlefield, he began to carefully observe every detail of the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai.
The effect of [Resonance with Blood] was still ongoing.
Every drop of blood scattered on the ground or floating in the air served as his eyes.
Every rhythm of the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's breathing—though Ghost Samurai don't breathe, the intake and output of Demonic Qi followed a similar pattern—every muscle contraction, and every shift in center of gravity was clearly seen by him.
Its left knee had an old injury.
The movement there was slightly stiffer than in other parts.
It wasn't obvious; without observing from multiple angles simultaneously through the blood mist, it would have been nearly impossible to discover.
But Hikaru had discovered it.
This was also normal.
Ghost Samurai were demons formed from powerful warriors whose obsessions clung to their armor or corpses after death.
Most of them carried 'wounds'.
Wounds from the battles where they died!
Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly.
There was a way.
But knowing the weakness wasn't enough.
With his current strength, even knowing the weakness, it would be hard to deliver a killing blow in one strike.
Materialization Rank—no, this guy was at Six Transformations and hadn't yet broken through to Qualitative Transformation, but he was already standing at the peak of Physical Transformation; its defensive power was still no joke.
He needed an opportunity.
An opportunity sufficient to break the deadlock.
And this opportunity—
"Buzz—"
The shikon jewel in his bosom suddenly vibrated.
[shikon no tama: naohi conveyed a message to you:'She is about to be free.']
naohi would actually remind him?
And...
Hikaru's heart stirred.
Kikyo?
His gaze swept past the shoulder of the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai, taking a quick look toward the Barrier.
Those three high-level demons—the One-Horned Oni, the Giant Python, and the Three-Eyed Crow—were still battering the Barrier.
But the cracks on the Barrier had already been repaired.
Kikyo stood on the stone steps, her left hand maintaining the Barrier's hand seal, while her right...
Had already gripped her bow.
She was waiting.
Waiting for the right moment.
Waiting for Hikaru to create that moment.
"Understood."
Hikaru took a deep breath—or rather, his demonic power took a deep breath.
He knew what to do.
He didn't need to win alone; he only needed to create an opening.
To expose that Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's weakness.
Expose it to the Priestess Kikyo, who was about to be free, so that even while multitasking, she could still land a hit with a single arrow.
And then—
He would deliver the final blow, and she would purify it.
All in one go.
That would be enough!