Although there was still nearly an hour before the sun would shine...
...at this moment, an idea had already formed in Kanbe Hikaru's heart; a thought had taken root.
He had made his decision.
And he took action.
Purple thunder and the crimson flesh of the demon collided frantically atop the ruins of the Tahoto.
Kanbe Hikaru's figure was so fast it was a mere afterimage; [Thunder Muscle] was pushed to its limit, and every swing of the Muramasa in his hand carried a thunderstorm powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone.
Puchi!
The blade severed the six-fingered claw the demon swung at him. The cross-section was charred black with no blood flowing out, only dark red granulation tissue writhing frantically.
"Truly... disgusting vitality."
Kanbe Hikaru cursed under his breath beneath his demon mask.
This sensation was terrible.
It was like hacking into a thick stream of mud; though it could be cut open, the sense of resistance and the subsequent rapid healing were infuriating.
Although the demon was pinned in place, its upper body remained violent.
The severed claw regrew within half a breath, becoming even thicker and covered in a layer of hard, carapace-like skin—it was adapting to Kanbe Hikaru's slashes.
This was the disgusting part of the bloodline originating from that so-called Progenitor of Demons.
Not only was it immortal, but it was also constantly evolving.
"Roar—"
The demon roared, and the massive hollow in its chest suddenly gaped open, spewing a thick black mist. It was a highly compressed Demonic Aura cannon, capable of corroding everything in its path into nothingness.
But Kanbe Hikaru did not dodge.
He didn't even block.
Because a streak of white light was faster than the black mist.
Swoosh—!
A Sacred Arrow, carrying brilliant spiritual power, pierced through the core of the black mist, exploding the moment it made contact and shredding the corrosive Demonic Qi into pieces.
The arrow, its momentum unabated, slammed straight into the demon's throat, forcefully choking back its roar.
Kikyo stood thirty steps away.
Her longbow was held level, her white top clinging to her body in the night wind, outlining the slender yet upright line of her back.
The hem of her clothes fluttered backward with the agitation of the air currents.
Her expression was as calm as water, her pitch-black eyes locked onto the demon. Every time she drew her bow, it was as smooth as flowing water, possessing a completely natural grace.
One close, one far.
One thunder, one spirit.
The cooperation between the two was seamless, pinning this centuries-old demon firmly in the center of the ruins.
Though Kanbe Hikaru was still only at the Six Transformations, he had long since surpassed ordinary demons of the Seventh or even Eighth Transformation with the same foundation. His cooperation with Kikyo had also improved significantly.
But being able to suppress it didn't mean they could kill it.
The arrow in the demon's throat was pushed out by regenerating muscle and fell to the ground.
Its wound healed without leaving even a trace of a scar.
It seemed to realize how troublesome this pair—one human and one demon—was, yet it remained unafraid.
Because it was immortal—immortal as a Youkai, and immortal as a Man-Eating Demon.
It split its wide mouth and let out a grating, mocking laugh.
However.
Right then.
"It's about time."
Kanbe Hikaru suddenly halted his offensive.
He stood three zhang in front of the demon, Muramasa pointed diagonally at the ground. The thunder wrapped around him had not extinguished; instead, it grew even more dazzling and eye-piercing.
Those crimson demon eyes stared coldly at the gargantuan creature through his mask.
He also suddenly spoke:
"Is this your limit?"
The demon was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.
It was a Great Demon that had devoured thousands of people!
"Arrogant brat—"
It roared, struggling to pull its legs out from where they were pinned by the Bone Spikes.
"Be on your way."
Kanbe Hikaru ignored its impotent fury.
He slammed his foot onto the ground.
Boom!
He didn't charge toward the demon.
Instead—he shot toward the sky.
The terrifying thrust generated by [Thunder Muscle] made him like a purple meteor, instantly taking off from the ground.
It wasn't for an attack; it seemed more like he was—fleeing?
The demon, pinned to the ground and in a state of fury, was stunned for a split second.
Then, extreme mockery erupted in its red eyes, deep within its sockets.
"Fleeing? You think you can escape to the sky?"
"Hahaha—did you think that by leaving the ground, I wouldn't be able to catch you?!"
Boom!
The ground shattered completely.
The demon's thick legs, which had just been freed from the Bone Spike restraints severed by Kanbe Hikaru and were now fully regenerated, stomped heavily onto the ground.
The ruins within a thirty-meter radius instantly collapsed into a deep pit several meters down.
Using this terrifying counterforce, that ten-foot-tall crimson massive body shot out like a cannonball, tearing through the air with a piercing sonic boom, heading straight for Kanbe Hikaru in the sky.
Although it couldn't fly,
with the demonic power of a Great Demon and the physical strength brought by its twisted bloodline, its jumping ability was enough to reach the clouds.
"Don't think of running! Leave your flesh and blood—behind!!"
The demon roared, its sharp claws tearing through the night wind as it pursued Kanbe Hikaru relentlessly.
Two figures, one purple and one gray, one in front and one behind, instantly broke through the low-altitude mist and plunged into the thick clouds.
...
Meanwhile,
on the ground.
Behind Kikyo, the two Tahoto priestesses, Momiji and Botan, looked up at the two dark shadows disappearing into the clouds, their expressions frozen.
"Did... did that monster escape?"
Botan murmured to herself, her large eyes filled with confusion: "No, he's leading that demon away... is it to protect us?"
Momiji didn't speak; her gaze was mostly fixed on Kikyo.
The priestess in white robes and red hakama wasn't looking at the sky.
Nor did she give chase.
She even withdrew her gaze and turned toward the east—the direction of the continuous mountain ranges.
At this moment, it was still pitch black there, with only a faint glimmer of light flickering; the darkness before dawn was at its deepest, and it was at least another quarter of an hour before the sun would rise.
However, Kikyo still raised her bow.
She drew it to full length.
Spiritual power condensed at the arrow's tip, but it wasn't an aggressive, bursting white light; instead, it was an extremely transparent, pure, crystal-like luster.
Swoosh—!
The arrow left the string.
But to Momiji's astonishment, this arrow wasn't aimed at the demon in the sky, nor at any target on the ground.
Instead, it was shot toward the extremely distant high altitude in the east, into that empty void.
Then came a second arrow.
A third arrow.
Each arrow was shot toward a different position, seemingly disorganized, one could even say—aimless.
"What is she doing?"
Momiji couldn't help but speak out, her tone carrying unconcealed confusion and anxiety: "That demon has already chased Kanbe Hikaru into the sky, where is she shooting? Did she miss? Or..."
Or was it that, facing such a terrifying immortal demon and seeing her 'partner' flee, even this legendary priestess had lost her composure and could only resort to such meaningless venting?
Those arrows flew into the high altitude and burst in the far distance.
There was no sound of explosion.
They simply turned into floating pale blue spots of light in the air.
Like shattered mirror fragments, they hung lonely against the night curtain, neither beautiful nor appearing to have any killing power.
"It's over..."
Botan was on the verge of tears: "That Oni Samurai named Kanbe Hikaru has been caught, and Lady Kikyo's arrows missed... if that demon comes down, we're all going to die..."
...
High above in the sky.
Cold air currents rushed against him.
Kanbe Hikaru's figure suddenly paused in the air, purple Lightning Wings unfolding behind his back as he floated above the churning sea of clouds.
Almost at the same time,
Whoosh—!
A foul wind blew in his face.
That demon broke through the clouds, grinning hideously, and used its momentum to charge right in front of Kanbe Hikaru.
"Caught you!"
It extended its six-fingered claws, reaching for Kanbe Hikaru's throat.
Kanbe Hikaru still didn't dodge.
He just quietly looked at the demon, his crimson demon mask appearing exceptionally indifferent under the thin starlight.
"Do you really think you're the hunter?"
His voice was very soft, somewhat broken by the high-altitude wind.
The demon's movements didn't stop, its claws about to touch his neck: "Enough talk! Die—"
At that very moment, Kanbe Hikaru raised his hand.
...Thunder, disperse!
The purple lightning that shot into the sky was not aimed at the demon in front of him, but still upwards, crashing into the churning black sea of clouds above.
Rumble!
The sea of clouds suddenly dispersed.
The demon's claws also froze in mid-air.
Because it felt a chill, a fear from the depths of its instincts that made its soul tremble.
That was... light.
Where did the light come from?
It was clearly still night, and the sun was clearly still below the horizon, tightly blocked by the mountains and the earth.
It subconsciously looked toward the east.
It was still pitch black there.
But its peripheral vision caught something else.
Above its head, by its side, in that extremely distant high altitude.
Those pale blue light spots formed by the arrows Kikyo had shot, which seemed to have 'missed'.
They weren't meaningless fragments.
They were—mirrors.
Lenses composed of pure spiritual power capable of refracting light.
The first mirror hung at a very high point, just over the curve of the horizon, catching that ray that was still on the other side of the earth, below the horizon, not yet shining upon the human world—
The first light of dawn.
Refraction.
The light hit the first Spiritual Mirror and was instantly redirected toward the second.
Focusing.
The second one aimed at the third.
The originally weak morning light, after being focused and amplified layer by layer through several spiritual lenses, turned into a dazzling golden line.
Descending from the heavens.
Like a sword of light stabbing down from the divine realm.
"This is..."
On the ground, Momiji's pupils shrank.
She finally understood.
Kikyo was using the sky as a chessboard and spiritual power as chess pieces to build a 'path of light' in this pitch-black night sky.
She had 'borrowed' the sun that was still below the horizon!
Using sunlight to tear apart immortality.
Could it be that sunlight is that demon's weakness?!
Yes.
This was precisely Kanbe Hikaru's plan; half an hour was too long, he couldn't afford to wait, nor did he intend to.
This was even more so the tacit cooperation between Kikyo and Kanbe Hikaru.
No words were needed; just by looking at each other's actions, they knew what the other wanted to do, perfectly in sync.
"No—!!"
High in the sky, the demon let out a shrill, miserable wail.
It wanted to flee.
It wanted to dive back under the clouds.
But it was too late.
The blood mist around Kanbe Hikaru had already quietly dispersed, turning into a huge cage that, accompanied by thunder, trapped it within.
And that 'borrowed' sunlight, purified and focused by spiritual power,
just like that,
shone upon the demon's body.
"Aaaaaagh—!"
The demon's body began to smoke.
Its crimson skin rapidly festered like it had been doused in strong acid, charring and turning into ash.
It wanted to hide, it wanted to run.
But Kikyo's spiritual light intertwined with it, forming an absolutely sealed Barrier cage.
There was no way to heaven and no door to the earth.
It could only watch helplessly as that golden pillar of light consumed it bit by bit.
"It's time to end this."
Kanbe Hikaru floated outside the pillar of light, his gray robes flapping in the morning wind.
He looked at the crumbling demon, his tone indifferent.
"Whether it's a centuries-old Great Demon or some bloodline of the Progenitor of Demons."
"Under the sun—"
"it's all just ash."
Boom!
The sunlight surged.
Above the sea of clouds, golden light radiated for miles.
Those were the shattered dark clouds, and also—the sky completely brightening up.
Seven paths of light, laid out in a single line!
-------------------------
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