Inuyasha growled, "The Shikon No Tama belongs to me!" as he rushed forward with Kikyo in pursuit.
By the time they arrived, Kaguya and Hiroki had already fallen into the Bone-Eating Well.
Inuyasha and Kikyo stood on solid ground surrounding the well.
"Hmph, like catching fish in a barrel," Inuyasha sneered smugly, peering down from the edge of the well.
Kikyo glanced at him, lips curling slightly before drawing an arrow from the quiver on her back. She nocked it and aimed at the figures below.
"Hey you woman! Hand over the Shikon No Tama now or don't blame me for getting serious!"
His claws extended, sharp and gleaming with menace as he roared downward.
His voice echoed inside the well, but the two down below didn't even flinch.
They calmly observed what was happening inside the well.
The earth beneath their feet felt sticky and soft, with strange weeds tangled together in various forms.
The well contained no water—only broken bones scattered along its walls.
"Why isn't there any response at all?" Hiroki muttered, sensing no energy fluctuations.
Hearing this, Kaguya found herself both annoyed and amused. She replied helplessly, "If it's not responding, that means it's impossible. We should leave quickly."
Saying this, she glanced upward.
Inuyasha waited impatiently for their reply. When she gave him a calm, indifferent glance before looking away again, his temper flared. Grinding his teeth, he slashed his arm open, letting blood drip onto his claws before swinging.
[Blood Claw Jutsu]
Several crescent-shaped red blades appeared midair, flying toward the well.
Remaining completely calm, Kaguya summoned a black spatial portal and positioned it in front of her.
All the blood blades disappeared into it.
"Again?!" Inuyasha exclaimed in frustration.
Suddenly, he caught a faint scent of blood in the air.
The wind had changed direction.
Inuyasha turned his head upward.
Right above his back was another black spatial portal.
"Crap."
A chill ran through Inuyasha as he sensed danger. He immediately wrapped his arms around Kikyo and leapt away repeatedly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The very red blades he'd previously released flew out from that spatial portal.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The ground cracked beneath the force of the impact.
Had he not dodged quickly enough, he and Kikyo would have been seriously injured by his own attack.
"What kind of technique is this exactly?" Inuyasha found this extremely troublesome.
"Does anything near her get transferred somewhere else?" Kikyo also found it hard to deal with.
Inside the well, Hiroki began thinking, going through his fragmented memories.
Originally in the story, besides the Bone-Eating Well, the heroine could time travel because of the Shikon No Tama too.
The Shikon No Tama...
"Moon, let me see the Shikon No Tama," he said.
"Ever since I grabbed it, it's been unusually active," Kaguya replied, a strange expression forming on her face.
"Active?"
"It feels... alive. Like it's reaching out for something."
Kaguya nodded.
Hiroki took the Shikon No Tama from Kaguya and fell into deep thought.
In this world, many things seemed to possess their own consciousness—the Shikon No Tama did, and so did The Bone-Eating Well...
After a while, he raised the Shikon No Tama high in his hand.
"O Shikon No Tama, connect us with The Bone-Eating Well. Leave this place and transport us to another time and space."
"Huh? Do you think this will work?" Kaguya frowned with doubt.
Soon after, she suddenly felt space flowing around her. The sights within the well vanished, and her body felt as if it were floating midair.
Meanwhile, the Shikon No Tama emitted blinding light.
After much deliberation, Inuyasha and Kikyo—one human, one demon—carefully made their way toward The Bone-Eating Well once again.
"They've vanished."
Looking down into the well, Inuyasha's brows knitted tightly.
Reluctantly, he jumped into the well, sniffing carefully at the air, his voice heavy.
"The scent disappears here completely."
After thoroughly searching the area, they still couldn't find any trace of the two people. Kikyo's heart was filled with unease.
They had disappeared—and along with them, the Shikon No Tama itself.
Then, was there any point in her continuing her duties as the guardian priestess?
Penglai Island.
Mineo spent one day after another in unbearable boredom.
In contrast, Ushiki's mood could only be described as exceptionally pleasant.
Recently, he had become addicted to sting operations.
Since he wasn't constantly watching the islanders, they often found themselves believing they could escape.
However, just when they were on the verge of succeeding,
Ushiki would suddenly appear, violently beating those who tried to flee.
The residents endured internal suffering but continued trying repeatedly.
"...Lady Suzuhime, I can't take it anymore."
The young half-demon rushed into her arms sobbing loudly, bruised and battered. Suzuhime silently held them close, silently watching Ushiki vanish instantly.
She was deeply troubled, unable to understand what these two invaders truly wanted.
They hadn't killed them, nor abused them—only refused to grant them freedom.
Smiling happily, Ushiki abruptly appeared beside Hiroki.
Glancing at Hiroki's expression, then toward where the cries came from, Hiroki grew increasingly irritated by Ushiki's presence.
Not because of anything else, but simply because he loathed being near him; clearly, Ushiki might have his own hidden agenda.
Isn't my original form due to arrive soon?
"Do you think this is fun?"
"Eh? Could it be Senior feels sympathy for them?" Ushiki chuckled spontaneously.
"Let's focus on some real work. You said you'd research spiritual power and demonic energy—how's that going?"
"We've still got plenty of time anyway," Ushiki shrugged nonchalantly.
For a moment, Hiroki was momentarily at a loss for words. "As my subordinate, are you ready to make sacrifices?"
Seeing his serious expression, Ushiki stopped smiling playfully and asked, "Senior, what exactly do you mean?"
"The God Tree is growing too slowly. You must have been informed by Yoro about the most important duty of a 'Guardian'—to serve as a living sacrifice before the time comes."
"There's still plenty of time left. Isn't it way too early for that? Come on, old man, you're not trying to get rid of me already, are you?" Ushiki grinned again and said,
"Besides, we could always capture other lifeforms to nourish the God Tree. From my observation, no beings in this world surpass us in strength."
Of course, he had no intention of being the God Tree's sacrificial offering.
Without finding the perfect 'living vessel,' his power would remain mediocre at best.
Even if a proper vessel was located, the time required for Reincarnation would still be considerable.
Plus, his real mission wasn't about feeding the God Tree at all.
"Old man, the real sacrificial offering here is actually you," Ushiki mused with a grin.
Still, watching over the God Tree had indeed become super boring.
Hmm… guess I can mess around a bit first.
"I don't intend to stay in this world for long. You understand what I mean, right?" Mineo said.
"I got it," Ushiki immediately replied with a serious expression. "Don't worry, senior. I'll go look for a suitable living vessel upon which to carve the 'Kāma.' For now, let's start off with those punks..."
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