"Damn."
Kobe Hikaru cursed under his breath.
[shikon no tama: naohi indicates—it wants to speak, but it can no longer do so.]
[Magatsuhi is suppressing it.]
The system panel popped up with the final notification.
Then it vanished.
Kobe Hikaru took one last look at the shikon jewel.
The white light of that orb was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The black energy regained the upper hand.
And this blackness was thicker and denser than before, almost solidifying into substance.
"Midnight has arrived."
Kikyo's voice was very calm.
She also seemed to have given up on continuing to suppress the evil power of Magatsuhi, because she couldn't hold it back... She walked to Kobe Hikaru's side and looked up at the shadow in the sky.
"The moon is at its zenith, and the yin energy is at its peak."
"At this time, Magatsuhi will overpower naohi."
"So..."
She paused.
"What follows is the true test."
Kobe Hikaru gripped the hilt of his blade.
Just as mentioned before.
The talent brought by muramasa had already fused into his body, but the blade itself was still very useful.
The sharpness bonus gained from repeatedly nurturing the blade remained.
The bloodthirsty trait also remained.
It just wouldn't speak to him for a while—after the fusion of abilities, the spirituality of the item itself would be 'weakened' for a period, waiting for recovery—the time required wasn't very long, but it wouldn't be fast either.
"It's here."
Kikyo pulled back her bowstring.
That shadow had already reached the sky above the shrine.
It wasn't a demon.
It was... a bird?
No.
Kobe Hikaru narrowed his eyes.
Those things had wings, but they weren't birds.
They were bats.
Thousands of bats, each the size of a human head, their eyes glowing with green light, revealing two fangs in their mouths.
A swarm of blood-sucking bats.
This thing wasn't strong individually, but it was overwhelming in numbers.
And they weren't the main course.
The main course was behind them.
Kobe Hikaru saw it.
At the very back of the swarm, there was a larger shadow.
That shadow's size... was at least three zhang, hanging in the air like a small hill.
"What is that?"
Kobe Hikaru asked.
Kikyo did not answer.
She simply released the bowstring.
A Sacred Arrow shot out, exploding in the air, turning into countless beams of white light, incinerating the dozen or so bats charging at the front into ash.
But that was merely a drop in the bucket for the entire swarm.
More bats dove down.
Kobe Hikaru took a deep breath.
The Demonic Qi within his body began to boil.
His blood flowed frantically through his veins, making a sound like a rushing river.
This was the trait of [Blood Transformation].
His blood was no longer ordinary blood.
"Come on."
Kobe Hikaru said in a low voice.
He raised his left hand.
A drop of blood condensed and formed in his palm.
Then it exploded.
Turning into a sky full of blood mist.
The blood mist drifted, shrouding the entire shrine within it.
Through this blood mist, Kobe Hikaru could see the position, speed, and flight path of every single bat.
This was [Resonance with Blood].
The first bat rushed in front of him.
Kobe Hikaru held his blade horizontally.
The blade slashed across, cutting the bat in two.
The second, the third, the fourth...
Blade light flashed.
Corpses fell like rain.
But there were too many bats.
He killed ten, there were still a hundred.
He killed a hundred, there were still a thousand.
And that largest shadow was getting closer and closer.
Kobe Hikaru finally saw the appearance of that thing clearly.
That was not a bat.
It was a giant...
Flying squirrel?
No.
That was...
"Kamaitachi."
It was the famous, true 'demon' of this land!
Volume 1: Chapter 24 The True High-Level Demon Kamaitachi and Magatsuhi Attempting to Escape
Kamaitachi.
Before transmigrating, Kobe Hikaru had read quite a bit of information about demons.
In legends, this thing was a demon that acted in groups of three; the first was responsible for tripping people, the second for cutting, and the third for applying medicine.
But that was just the version from folklore.
The real Kamaitachi was far more terrifying than in the legends.
Because its essence—
Was not a weasel.
It was wind.
Wind solidified into a physical form.
Kobe Hikaru looked at that shadow pressing down from the edge of the sky, his pupils contracting.
That thing's size was at least three zhang high, its body slender like a weasel, but the ends of its limbs were sharp claws curved like sickles.
Its entire body was grey-white, its fur gleaming with a cold, metallic light under the moonlight.
The most bizarre thing was its eyes.
There were no eyeballs.
Only two hollow sockets, with whistling, swirling air currents inside.
That was the color of wind.
It was the color of nothingness.
"Qualitative Transformation..."
Kobe Hikaru muttered.
Physical Transformation was the first stage, referring to the mutation of body structure.
Qualitative Transformation was the second stage, referring to changes in mass and volume.
And the essence of Qualitative Transformation was not just as simple as "getting bigger or smaller."
It was the increase or decrease of mass.
It was the increase or decrease of density.
It was reshaping the essence of one's own existence.
For ordinary demons to reach Qualitative Transformation, they needed a long period of accumulation, continuing to devour their own kind after completing Physical Transformation, using the lives of countless demons to pile up their own "quality."
But Kamaitachi was different.
Its starting point was not a biological entity.
It was wind.
Formless wind, increasing its density bit by bit by absorbing the Demonic Qi between heaven and earth.
From formless to formed.
From nothingness to substance.
This process itself was Qualitative Transformation.
In other words, this Kamaitachi before him had been destined from the moment of its birth to become a existence at the level of Qualitative Transformation.
It was a true high-level demon.
Kamaitachi let out a sharp howl.
The sound didn't resemble the roar of a beast; it was more like the wail of a gale blowing through a canyon.
Piercing.
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