Time passed, and three days flew by in an instant.
The night sky was vast and high, with the full moon hanging overhead, as big as a white plate.
The moonlight was deathly pale, shining on the shadows on the ground like ink that had just been splashed, thick and black.
Hikaru sat on the wooden couch in the guest room, without lighting a lamp.
No need to light one.
The light outside the window was somewhat blinding, yet it exuded a chill.
But that was not moonlight at all; it was the 'Qi' overflowing from the direction of the shrine, almost substantial.
Purple to the point of black, black to the point of shining.
That was the light of the shikon jewel.
It was the evil energy of 'Magatsuhi', turbid and cold—the Demonic Qi emitted by hundreds of high-level yokai hiding within.
According to what naohi revealed subsequently.
From the moment the shikon jewel was formed, inside it, the soul of the strongest shrine maiden, Midoriko, had been resisting hundreds to thousands of high-level yokai, and even resentful spirits at the level of Great Demon.
Usually, Midoriko's soul had the upper hand.
So most of the time, it was 'naohi' that was active, and most of the time, the shikon jewel appeared as a clear and bright 'white jade'.
Only when the shikon jewel fell into the hands of demons with turbid thoughts, or during the night of the full moon, when the Yin energy was scorching,
would Magatsuhi take the upper hand.
The evil energy inside it would also be released unscrupulously.
And that is this moment.
Yes, this night.
Hikaru reached out and pressed on the muramasa at his waist.
The blade was humming in its scabbard; it was like a starving wild dog smelling the scent of blood.
"Don't be impatient."
Hikaru patted the hilt.
"You'll be fed enough tonight."
He pushed the door open and went out.
The village in sight was terrifyingly quiet.
No insect chirping, no dog barking, not even the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves.
The air was like solidified glue.
Hikaru looked up.
Three feet above his head, there was a thin, transparent film of light, like a large inverted bowl, isolating the entire village—or to be precise, the hill where the shrine was located—from the outside world.
Another Barrier.
Hikaru was naturally not unfamiliar with it.
But he could also see the difference between this Barrier and the one Kikyo had used before.
It did not cover the entire village; it only covered the villagers' residences, but it specifically 'leaked' the shrine located at the core.
Compared to defense, it was more about soundproofing.
She made the village, the surroundings of the villagers' houses, become extremely quiet.
She let the people inside be unable to hear the movement outside, and unable to feel the aura outside.
That young girl wanted the villagers to have a peaceful sleep.
Then, she stood alone inside the shrine that was not protected by the Barrier.
To face all the crises alone.
"What a stubborn person."
Hikaru muttered a complaint.
He also, in the meantime, released his Demonic Qi, which transformed into dense 'Ghost Qi'.
Then, using the 'Ghost Qi', he forged armor.
Putting on the Ghost Mask!
...
Shrine platform.
The wind was strong.
The wind here was different from the one at the foot of the mountain; it carried a fishy smell, which was the scent of highly concentrated Demonic Qi.
Kikyo stood in front of the Shrine Hall.
She did not take the Kagura bell, nor did she perform any prayers.
She held that long bow in her hand, with the quiver hanging behind her waist; her white clothes and red hakama were blown by the strong wind, snapping loudly, like a paper kite that could break at any moment.
In the mid-air in front of her, that bead was floating.
Pitch black.
Ink-black Demonic Qi surged from the shikon jewel; that was Magatsuhi, a collective of grudges left behind by hundreds of powerful demons after their deaths.
They roared and struggled, trying to break through the net of spiritual power that bound them.
"Hiss—"
"Roar—"
In the darkness, countless pairs of eyes lit up.
From all directions.
On the treetops, atop the torii, behind stone lanterns, and even within the soil.
The diners attracted by the eruption of Demonic Qi had arrived.
This time, it was not a few hundred low-level demons.
Although the number was small, only about a hundred or so.
But the quality was shockingly high.
Directly ahead, a three-zhang-tall Tsuchigumo had its eight long legs planted in the ground like steel spears, its dorsal carapace glinting with a cold, metallic light.
To the left, two conjoined demons with massive heads dragged rusted iron chains in their hands, carving deep furrows into the ground with every step.
To the right, a giant moth covered in human faces flapped its wings, showering the area with phosphorescent powder that caused stones to smoke upon contact.
They were all high-level demons who had completed the 'Physical Transformation' Six Transformations, and some had even touched the threshold of 'Qualitative Transformation'.
Kikyo remained expressionless.
She drew an arrow and nocked it on the string.
The arrowhead pointed at the Tsuchigumo's compound eye.