Such a drastic change in the battle situation made Kikyo, who was watching from the side, say solemnly, "For a black magatama of the Lunar Palace to enhance an ordinary person to this extent... it truly is a terrifying artifact."
Satsuki, who stood quietly to the side, remained silent and did not say a single word.
However, if one observed carefully, they would notice that obscure runes and strings were constantly flickering within her eyes. Hidden streams of data were flowing from Banryū into Satsuki's pupils.
The Dead Line was a product created through Satsuki's Vipralopa power, senjutsu energy, and the giant Tenseigan's understanding of space.
It was a further development of an integrated offensive and defensive capability that Satsuki had independently researched after obtaining the Truth-Seeking Orbs.
And ever since she fused senjutsu with Vipralopa power, she had already developed this ability to the level of a powerful Black Domain Buddhakṣetra.
However, the Black Domain Buddhakṣetra was not yet the final form of this ability, because within her Buddhakṣetra, aside from herself, there was nothing else.
And this black magatama of the Lunar Palace would help her perfect the internal framework of her Buddhakṣetra. After reconstructing the Buddhakṣetra based on this world, she would once again bestow creation upon all living beings.
...
Meanwhile, within a certain Onmyōryō in Kyoto, Abe no Seimei was seated behind hanging blinds, speaking to Hagorome Gitsune beside him.
"Mother, I really do not think that such a clumsy trick of killing with a borrowed blade will have any effect. And once the people of Yasaka Shrine discover it, I will immediately draw a clear line between us," Abe no Seimei said.
"Heh~ heh~ heh~, I never expected you would actually show concern for me, your mother," Hagorome Gitsune, dressed in a black formal gown, parted her cherry lips and spoke in an alluring, husky tone. "But Seimei, you have noticed that shrine maiden's special nature as well, haven't you? Are you truly not curious about her origins?"
"Everyone who has come to Kyoto these past few days is a major figure from the Shinto world. Who among them is not special? Do you expect me to be interested in every single one?" Seimei replied calmly. "If we are talking about someone special, I am actually more interested in the disciple taken in by the Ise shrine maiden. That child's talent is absolutely extraordinary. Unfortunately... she is a woman and cannot become an onmyōji."
Hagorome Gitsune shifted into a more comfortable position on her seat. "What does gender really matter? You, who have comprehended the transformations of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang, do you truly care about such things?"
Seimei fell silent.
Within the entire hall, only the faint sounds of two people's breathing could be heard.
Suddenly, half of a shikigami's body emerged from the ground. It reported to Seimei the changes that had occurred to Bankotsu and the presence of Sesshōmaru.
After listening to the report, Seimei pinched a talisman between his fingers and sealed the shikigami within it. Immediately afterward, the talisman ignited without flame and burned to ashes in Seimei's hand.
This shikigami was a tool Seimei had deployed around Kyoto specifically to monitor targets. They were basically disposable consumables, meant to prevent other beings skilled in manipulating shikigami from using them to monitor him in reverse.
"Oh my, although Sakurafubuki of Yasaka Shrine mentioned from the very beginning that the shrine maiden had a yōkai protecting her, it seems now that the relationship between the two is far from ordinary," Hagorome Gitsune said lazily.
"The ruler of the Western Lands, Sesshōmaru, known as the 'Trembling Noble Prince,' is not a yōkai who would develop feelings for humans."
"Perhaps the two of them are simply using each other..." Seimei said in a low voice. "However, I did not expect that even ordinary humans would be influenced by the Lunar Palace. What they are plotting is definitely no small matter."
"Just like the two of us?" There was a different kind of allure in Hagorome Gitsune's voice as she drew aside her curtain and walked over to Seimei's side.
"During this period, I have always wanted to go find that old man Kamo no Tadayuki and confirm what he said to that shrine maiden. Why do you always stop me?"
Seimei stopping Hagorome Gitsune from approaching Kamo no Tadayuki could be traced back to the time when Kamo no Tadayuki invited Satsuki to his residence.
After that visit from Satsuki, Kamo no Tadayuki submitted a letter to Seimei, stating that he was too old and recommending his grandson, Kamo no Yasunori, to join the Calendar Division of the Onmyōryō and take over his position.
When this news reached Hagorome Gitsune's ears, it was impossible for them not to overthink it.
Not retiring early, not retiring late, but choosing to retire precisely after that shrine maiden Satsuki visited you?
—Could there be a problem here?
She had met that black-haired, golden-eyed shrine maiden before. Although the two had not spoken, they had exchanged glances for a brief moment.
But for a reincarnated yōkai with rich experience, merely relying on that pair of eyes was enough for her to reach a conclusion—the shrine maiden Satsuki was absolutely not an ordinary person.
And Kamo no Tadayuki's actions this time further deepened her suspicions. She even had a certain intuition in her heart that this shrine maiden was very likely connected to the dream mentioned in the prophecy Kamo no Tadayuki had spoken of before.
Satsuki's attire was primarily black, while Sesshōmaru had silver hair and wore a kimono with a white base and red plum blossom patterns. Was that not entirely white? As for purple, the shikigami following at her side also matched.
Such observations made Hagorome Gitsune unable to resist forming a bold conjecture.
—"This shrine maiden is very likely connected to the Lunar Palace to some extent."
And because of this, Hagorome Gitsune hired the Seven-Man Squad who possessed the black magatama to go test the other party.
As for Abe no Seimei, although he did not explicitly express support or opposition, judging from his tacit approval, he too had begun to harbor doubts regarding the identity of this mysterious shrine maiden Satsuki.
...
Outside the city.
Bankotsu was still locked in battle with Sesshōmaru.
From the absolute disadvantage at the very beginning, to being suppressed and blasted away by Sesshōmaru after the black magatama enhanced him, to now being barely able to keep up with Sesshōmaru's speed, and even relying on his rich experience to maintain the situation from deteriorating further.
All of these changes had occurred in less than ten short minutes.
Under the amplification of the black magatama, his strength seemed to be expanding without any end.
Speed, strength, reaction, sword pressure...
At every moment, it was as if power was continuously being poured into his body. This made Bankotsu grow more excited the more he fought, and the more he fought, the more exhilarating it became.
Looking at the constantly rising clouds of smoke and dust in the distance, and listening to the endless clashes of weapons echoing by her ears, even Kikyo's expression finally grew solemn.
Within the perception of this exceptionally gifted shrine maiden, an entirely new power had actually been born within Bankotsu's body. This power was completely different from spiritual power, mana, or yōki, and the speed at which it was growing was simply unbelievable.
No one had expected that the Lunar Palace's black magatama would enhance an ordinary human to such an extent. Even Sesshōmaru was unable to secure an easy victory.
Although this was partly because Sesshōmaru was wielding the Tenseiga, which could not slay living beings, it was still enough to demonstrate just how formidable Bankotsu's current strength had become.
He had already far surpassed the limits of humanity.
Sesshōmaru's combat attitude was also quite peculiar. Aside from using a secret art at the very beginning, after discovering that Bankotsu's power was continuously increasing, he instead became unhurried.
Although the destructive power on the battlefield grew increasingly severe and the momentum of their clash became more and more immense, in reality, Sesshōmaru was deliberately holding back his own strength.
The opponent had some kind of connection with the Lunar Palace, and this growth in power was absolutely impossible to be limitless.
Last time, during his battle with Ryūkotsusei, Ryūkotsusei himself had been powerful enough that he did not display much of this kind of power. Sesshōmaru had not had much time in battle to record the scent of this force with his nose.
But this time, Sesshōmaru intended to force all of Bankotsu's power out, and then rely on his keen sense of smell to track down the Lunar Palace organization lurking in the darkness.
Boom—
The exchange between the two continued without pause. As time passed, Sesshōmaru grew more and more relaxed in battle. As a superior great yōkai, even when facing the greatly empowered Bankotsu, he still retained absolute confidence in victory.
With a casual strike, he slammed his fist into Bankotsu's chest. Although it was merely a simple punch, its power was unimaginably terrifying.
Just the pressure of the fist wind was enough to easily pulverize rocks. If he were to use his claws instead, he would possess the killing power to wipe out an entire group of soldiers in one go.
Relying on silent displacement and keen perception, Sesshōmaru could enter the gaps in Bankotsu's attacks at any time and knock him down with a single punch.
And this performance, which was almost more provocative than an actual fight, made the proud leader of the Seven-Man Squad deeply realize just how vast the gap in power between them truly was.
—Whoosh~
The sound of tearing air rang out once more. Sesshōmaru's figure changed directions several times midair, evading three consecutive slashes from Bankotsu's Banryū and a swinging punch from his left hand. He then drove another punch straight into the massive halberd's blade.
The force was so immense that even Bankotsu, already strengthened by the black magatama, could not help but cry out in pain.
Crack... crack... crack...
Bankotsu was sent flying backward, smashing through several giant trees in succession. Amidst flying soil and torn turf, he once again crashed headfirst into a nearby rice paddy.
"Damn it—puh!"
As he stood back up in the water-filled field, Bankotsu spat out a large mouthful of blood.
This was already the fifth time during the battle that he had been blasted into the rice paddies.
And Bankotsu had long since realized that the yōkai before him was deliberately using this method to demonstrate the disparity between them. The opponent was like a cat toying with a mouse, repeatedly batting him around.
Boom!
Amid towering waves of water, Bankotsu burst out of the rice paddy once again.
This time, however, he changed tactics. Instead of charging at Sesshōmaru, he rushed straight toward Satsuki, who was watching the battle from afar.
This scene was, frankly speaking, slightly beyond Sesshōmaru's expectations.
Instinctively, he prepared to use silent displacement to intercept Bankotsu. However, the reappearance of Jakotsu's blade and the accompanying explosions caused his movements to stall for a brief moment.
"I won't let you interfere with big brother!"
After a single strike, Jakotsu immediately retracted his transforming blade and slashed out once more.
"Foolish!"
Sesshōmaru merely rebuked him coldly, then immediately charged into the remaining members of the Seven-Man Squad. When facing such trash, there was no need for him to hold back at all.
As for Bankotsu rushing straight at her, Satsuki's expression remained calm, as though the ferocious figure charging toward her did not exist at all.
However, the shrine maiden Kikyo beside her was not nearly so composed.
This shrine maiden, who had just completed the virtue examination, might become an outstanding demon-hunting priestess in the future. But for now, she had only just begun her travels, and her experience and insight were still insufficient.
In the past, her battles had all been against monstrous yōkai without human forms, foes she could eliminate one by one with demon-purifying arrows.
How could she have ever seen a scene where the terrain was destroyed at every turn like this?
Moreover, the opponent was not a yōkai but a human. This identity caused Kikyo to hesitate slightly, preventing her from immediately drawing her bow and firing.
By the time she reacted, Bankotsu was already swinging Banryū right in front of them.
At that instant, she heard Satsuki beside her speak in a peculiar tone, "Although his power has greatly increased, it seems his intelligence has been affected. It is unclear whether this is an effect of individual constitution..."
At the same time, Bankotsu spun the massive Banryū and leapt down toward the two from midair. Red sword pressure and lightning entwined around the enormous blade, forming several clusters of crimson sword qi bombs that hurtled violently toward Satsuki from above.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted one after another from Satsuki's position, like a carpet bombing.
The red sword-wind lightning blasts detonated repeatedly. High-density crimson lightning spread across the ground like a curtain of light.
The move, 'Ferocious Dragon Barrage,' was extremely powerful and activated quickly, yet it failed to achieve any results.
However, Bankotsu keenly caught the sound of air being torn apart. When he focused his gaze, he realized that both Satsuki's and Kikyo's figures had vanished simultaneously.
Bankotsu was not surprised by this at all. During their previous clash at the city gates, he had already known that this shrine maiden's strength was far from ordinary.
However, he was no longer the same as before. "Can you be faster than lightning?"
Still in midair, Bankotsu pointed Banryū straight toward the sky. The massive blade once again flashed with golden light.
Above the sky, an enormous mass of black thunderclouds was summoned, spinning above Bankotsu's head like a gigantic vortex of yōki.
Zzzzzz—
Golden lightning flickered within the black clouds.
After Satsuki pulled Kikyo away with one hand, leaving the range of the previous Ferocious Dragon Barrage, she looked toward the direction of Banryū with the same indifferent expression as before.
Kikyo, however, was deeply shaken by the inhuman strength Bankotsu had displayed.
"He summoned thunderclouds? How did he even do that?"
"Take this—Dragon Lightning Flash!" Bankotsu raised the massive Banryū in his hand. Golden light shot straight into the thunderclouds above his head. "Dodge if you can, shrine maiden, but—even I don't know where the lightning will strike."
The golden light pierced through the thunderclouds overhead, then transformed into countless bolts of lightning that came crashing down head-on.
The range was so vast that it enveloped the entire area in a golden lightning domain. The raging thunderbolts, like feral beasts out of control, covered heaven and earth in an instant.
"This move... does have a bit of form to it."
Although the principle behind this technique was simple, its effect was indeed impressive.
However, for her, this disaster-like attack had countless ways to deal with it. The Dead Line Boundary, Truth-Seeking Orb defense, Tenseigan repulsive force, or using Sage Mode to absorb natural energy, energy control, status infusion: dispel...
Yet Satsuki simply stepped down with one foot.
Boom...
In an instant, an enormous force surged straight into the ground. The earth immediately split apart with countless spiderweb-like cracks. Violent tremors flipped up the crust, and the ground beneath Satsuki's foot collapsed downward as a whole, forming a reversed, rolling blanket that covered both Satsuki and the stunned Kikyo beneath massive slabs of earth.
Sheets of lightning slammed into the upturned earth. Although the explosions were thunderous and spectacular, the land itself was vast beyond measure. The ground immediately dispersed the lightning, failing to cause any effective damage at all.
"Nani!?"
Bankotsu had not expected the other party to respond in such a way, nor had he imagined that her strength could reach such an outrageous level.
—Was that shrine maiden really human?
Satsuki was, of course, not human. However, Bankotsu did not know this. A look of utter disbelief appeared on his face. Unable to comprehend Satsuki's methods and power, he fell into a state of near hysteria.
Massive lightning coiled and condensed. Under the guidance of Banryū, it formed a golden dragon-shaped mass in the sky.
Then, he released Banryū from his grasp and hurled it into the thunderclouds above.
With the addition of Banryū, the golden lightning dragon seemed to gain a soul. A dragon's roar echoed across the heavens.
ROOOOAR—
—"Can you still block this one!? Heavenly Dragon Flash!"
Bankotsu roared as he chopped downward fiercely with one hand.
In the next instant, the golden lightning dragon in the sky transformed into a judgment spear that pierced through heaven and earth, crashing straight toward the upturned land below.
Beneath the ground, terrifying power as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea surged and roared within Satsuki's body.
Bankotsu's gaze was fixed downward, yet he failed to notice that within a one-kilometer radius around them, all the clouds had already been pushed outward layer by layer by some unknowable force. The entire sky suddenly darkened, transforming into a boundless starry expanse.