Sharp.
It was as if countless blades were grinding against the eardrums.
Then, it moved.
It merely flapped its wings once.
A gale came howling toward them.
Kobe Hikaru's body was instantly blown backward, and the blue bricks beneath his feet shattered with a crackling sound.
And that was just the aftermath!
He gritted his teeth and drove muramasa into the ground to anchor himself, barely managing to steady his stance.
The swarm of bats surrounding them was scattered by the gale, many of them torn directly into shreds.
The Kamaitachi didn't even glance at them.
Its gaze had been locked on one direction from the very beginning.
The shikon jewel.
"It's coming for the jewel..."
Kobe Hikaru's heart sank.
This was the true threat of the full moon night.
Not those small-fry yokai, not the thousands of bats.
It was this Kamaitachi, a Qualitative Transformation level, seven-change entity drawn by the evil Demonic Qi of the shikon jewel.
No wonder naohi wanted to warn him.
No wonder it said the real threat hadn't arrived yet.
Just as Kobe Hikaru was about to open his mouth to warn Kikyo to be careful, he suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation coming from behind him.
That fluctuation came from the direction of the shikon jewel.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He turned his head abruptly.
He saw the shikon jewel suspended in mid-air shaking violently.
The black aura, previously suppressed by the white light, suddenly surged, gushing outward madly like a viper that had broken free from its chains.
"Hiss—"
A jet-black current of energy darted out from the jewel.
The current had a vague humanoid outline, but no facial features, only a twisted, hideous face.
Countless faces.
Superimposed upon one another.
That was Magatsuhi.
It was the collection of evil thoughts sealed within the shikon jewel.
It was the resentment of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of high-level yokai that had reached the seven-change level or higher before their deaths.
It was escaping!
"Damn it!"
Kobe Hikaru understood instantly.
The meaning of naohi's last sentence.
"Beware of me."
It wasn't talking about naohi itself.
It was talking about Magatsuhi.
The shikon jewel was two sides of the same coin; naohi and Magatsuhi coexisted within a single jewel.
naohi suppressed Magatsuhi, but Magatsuhi was also waiting for a chance to turn the tables.
And the night of the full moon, when yin energy was at its peak, was the moment Magatsuhi was at its strongest.
Coupled with the arrival of the Kamaitachi—the Demonic Qi carried by that Qualitative Transformation level yokai was enough to allow Magatsuhi's power to be liberated to a certain extent.
This was the opportunity it had been waiting for!
Taking advantage of the Kamaitachi drawing everyone's attention, taking advantage of Kikyo being forced to split her focus to deal with an external enemy.
It was going to escape!
[shikon no tama: naohi: Cannot be conquered]
[Warning: Magatsuhi is separating from the main body of the shikon jewel]
[If Magatsuhi successfully escapes, it will become an independent yokai entity]
[Danger Level: Extremely High]
The system panel popped up warnings frantically.
Kobe Hikaru watched that black current growing larger and more substantial, with only one thought in his mind.
He had to stop it!
But just as he was about to move, the Kamaitachi's second wave of attacks arrived.
This time, it wasn't flapping its wings.
It charged directly at him.
Its three-zhang-tall body turned into a gray-white afterimage, moving so fast that it was almost impossible for the naked eye to track.
Wherever it passed, the ground was plowed into a deep trench.
Kobe Hikaru didn't have time to think.
His body reacted before his consciousness did.
He raised his sword to parry.
"Clang—!"
The deafening sound of metal clashing exploded.
Kobe Hikaru's arms instantly went numb, and he flew backward like a kite with a snapped string.
He crashed through one pillar.
Then crashed through another.
Finally, he slammed into the stone wall of the shrine, creating a human-shaped indentation.
"Cough..."
He slid down from the wall, black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
His internal organs were injured.
Although he was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye, healed in just a few seconds, this was only one strike.
And the Kamaitachi clearly hadn't used its full strength.
Its target was the shikon jewel, not him.
He was just an ant blocking its path.
Kobe Hikaru propped himself up with his sword and looked toward the Kamaitachi.
The giant beast had already passed him and was charging toward Kikyo and the shikon jewel.
And the aura of Magatsuhi was growing thicker.
The black figure had completely separated from the jewel, hovering in mid-air, emitting a strange, hissing laughter.
"Finally... finally waited for it..."
Countless faces spoke at once, their voices uneven, making one's scalp tingle.
"Five hundred years... I have waited for five hundred years..."
"This time, no one can stop me!"
Kobe Hikaru gripped the hilt of his sword, the blood that had just resumed its flow boiling in his veins.
Magatsuhi.
Kamaitachi.
A pincer attack.
This was the true crisis of tonight.
And Kikyo—
He turned his head to look at the figure in white robes and red hakama.
Kikyo was still standing in place, not retreating.
Her hands were forming a seal, spiritual power circulating around her body.
But Kobe Hikaru could tell that she was struggling.
To deal with both Magatsuhi and the Kamaitachi at the same time was too difficult for anyone.
Even for the strongest miko of the Sengoku Period.
The system panel suddenly popped up a new notification.
[shikon no tama: naohi: It is struggling to convey a message, but Magatsuhi's suppression makes it unable to speak]
[It only left behind one word—]
['Believe']
Kobe Hikaru stared at this word.
Believe?
Believe in whom?
Believe in what?
He didn't have time to think.
Because the Kamaitachi had already reached Kikyo.
Whether to continue increasing his favorability with the shikon jewel, or for other reasons, he could not just stand by and watch.
Volume 1: Chapter 25: The Cage Kikyo Set for Magatsuhi... There Are No "What Ifs"
The Kamaitachi's sharp claws slashed down, the gale carrying blade-like currents of air, sweeping toward Kikyo.
Kikyo did not look at it.
Her gaze remained locked on the escaping Magatsuhi.
"Did you think I wasn't prepared?"
Her voice was very soft, so soft it was almost drowned out by the sound of the wind.
But Kobe Hikaru heard it.
Magatsuhi heard it too.
"What?"
Those countless faces simultaneously revealed expressions of confusion.
Kikyo's lips parted slightly.
An incantation was uttered from her mouth.
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