The Tsuchigumo's compound eye exploded, spraying dark green fluid all over Hikaru's face.
Hikaru spat out a curse, but he couldn't be bothered with that right now.
He followed through with the blade of his mass-produced famous sword, carving a half-foot-deep crack into the Tsuchigumo's head shell.
The giant beast felt the pain; its eight long legs thrashed wildly, and its two front legs swept horizontally toward him.
Amidst the whistling wind, Hikaru pushed off with his feet, his body leaping into the air and arching backward, letting the two legs graze just three inches above the tip of his nose.
Before he even landed, there was movement on his left.
It was those two conjoined big-headed ghosts, charging over while dragging iron chains.
The iron chains were swung in a wide arc and brought down, creating a sharp whistling sound as they cut through the air.
Hikaru had no leverage in mid-air, and it looked like he was about to be smashed into a meat patty—
"Bang!"
A flash of white light streaked past.
A Sacred Arrow, amidst brilliant light and a booming vibration, struck the middle of the iron chain; the immense impact caused the chain to deflect by half a foot.
Half a foot.
Just enough for Hikaru to slide past sideways.
He landed, his toes tapping the soil, and he shot toward the two big-headed ghosts like an arrow released from a bowstring.
A flash of the blade.
The head on the left flew up.
Before it could land, a second strike had already been dealt.
The one on the right flew off as well.
Two huge heads spun in the air, spraying a large amount of black blood.
[ demon blade muramasa: Favorability + 3 ]
[ Current Favorability: 82 ]
Hikaru had no time to check the panel.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the large moth flying toward Kikyo.
Its wings flapped, and phosphorescent dust fell like rain.
That stuff smoked upon contact, clearly poisonous.
"To the right!"
He shouted.
Kikyo didn't turn around, but her bowstring was drawn to its limit again, and an arrow was released.
This arrow wasn't aimed at the moth itself, but at the base of its wings.
Pfft—
The arrow pierced through.
The large moth shrieked as it lost its balance, plummeting crookedly toward the ground.
Hikaru had already arrived, his blade slashing upward from below, striking the moth's soft abdomen.
A single strike gutted it.
Its entrails spilled all over the ground.
[ demon blade muramasa Favorability + 2 ]
[ Current Favorability: 84 ]
Hikaru landed on both feet, 'panting' slightly, and felt nothing but exhilaration!
These three demons, every single one of them, could undoubtedly be called high-level.
They had all already reached the foundation of the Six Transformations, touched upon a qualitative change, and possessed bodies of unusually massive proportions.
Yet, these three high-level demons of the Six Transformations or higher were cleanly and efficiently dealt with in less than fifty breaths, without even being able to fully manifest their 'Demonic Transformation' abilities.
This was something Hikaru, fighting alone previously, could absolutely never have done.
Even relying on the features brought by the blade in his hand, he could at most only contend with one high-level demon stronger than himself, and that would require a bitter struggle!
However, in coordination with Kikyo, his results were countless times more formidable than before!
But this was just the appetizer.
More demonic shadows were surging out from the darkness.
Hikaru gripped the hilt of his blade tightly and took a deep breath.
"How many more?"
"Many."
Kikyo's voice came from behind him, still calm.
"Can you hold out?" Hikaru asked.
"I can."
"Good."
Hikaru still didn't ask anything more.
He trusted her.
Just as she trusted him.
This feeling was very strange.
They had known each other for less than ten days, she was a priestess and he was a demon, and they were supposed to be natural enemies.
But standing here, back to back—
No, that wasn't right; it was Hikaru in front, Kikyo in the back.
Coordinating with each other, yet it felt as if they had practiced for decades.