"Come on!"
The Ghost Samurai's Demonic Qi surged, and its voice rang out again; demonic power circulated beneath Hikaru's feet as [Ghost Step] was activated once more.
He didn't retreat; instead, he charged directly at the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai.
But this time, his target wasn't the front.
It was the left side.
The left side with the old injury.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai clearly sensed his intention; its rusty blade swept across, cutting off his path of attack.
Hikaru didn't meet it head-on.
His body changed direction in mid-air—[Spear-Waist Transformation] made his waist and abdomen twist like a snake—as he flipped over the blade's edge.
The moment he landed, he was already standing on the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's left side.
His blade tip pointed directly at the left knee.
"Seeking death!"
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's left leg suddenly lifted, dodging the thrust, while its knee smashed directly toward Hikaru's face.
This blow hit Hikaru squarely on the chin.
His head tilted back, and a crack appeared on his demonic mask.
But his blade didn't stop.
muramasa traced an arc in the air, slicing toward the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's abdomen.
A trade-off style of fighting.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's left hand suddenly shot up, catching the blade with brute force.
The black blade cut into its palm, and blood spurted out.
But it didn't care at all; its rusty blade was raised high, hacking down toward the top of Hikaru's head!
Hikaru didn't dodge, nor did he intend to.
Because his goal had never been to win.
But rather—
To force the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's center of gravity entirely onto its left leg.
At this moment, it had just landed after lifting its left knee to kick him; its center of gravity hadn't fully stabilized, and all its weight was concentrated on that left leg with the old injury.
And its rusty blade was held high above its head in a full offensive posture, completely abandoning the protection of its left knee.
That weakness.
That old injury.
Was now completely exposed within—
Kikyo's range.
Yes, at this very moment, the Priestess had finally freed herself and raised her bow and arrow once again.
In that instant.
"Whoosh—!"
A beam of white light shot out from the Barrier.
This arrow was brighter than any before it.
The spiritual energy light wrapped around the arrow was dazzling, and the entire arrow was like a falling meteor streaking across the night sky.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's pupils contracted.
It felt the scorching aura shooting from its rear flank.
But it was too late.
Its center of gravity was entirely on its left leg, and its rusty blade was raised at its highest point.
Even if it wanted to dodge, it was completely too late.
"Puchi—!"
The Sacred Arrow pierced through its left knee.
Spiritual energy exploded at the wound, the white light burning its demonic body like a branding iron.
"Ah—!"
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai let out a heart-wrenching scream and fell to one knee.
Its left leg had lost the ability to move, and spiritual energy continued to erode from the wound, causing its Demonic Qi to become chaotic and unable to condense.
Hikaru didn't give it any chance to breathe.
That rusty blade, which had been raised high and was about to hack down, veered off course because its owner had knelt down, grazing past his shoulder and only cutting off a few strands of pale hair.
And Hikaru's muramasa had already been pulled from its palm.
Carrying grayish-black blood.
The blade flipped.
This strike used no fancy sword techniques, just the simplest thrust.
From the front, piercing through the back of the neck!
The blade tip erupted from the throat.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's body froze.
It looked down, staring at the black blade protruding from its neck.
In those dull gray eyes behind the mask, a look of confusion appeared for the first time.
"You..."
It wanted to say something, but its throat had been pierced, and it could only make muffled gurgling sounds.
Meanwhile, the arrow wound continued to release spiritual energy, which spread upward from the left knee along its meridians, burrowing into its body like a venomous snake.
When the spiritual energy reached the wound at the back of the neck—the two forces merged.
The external blade wound.
The internal spiritual energy erosion.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's body seemed to be ignited from within.