Another sleepless night, not that sleep was needed.
Afterward, claiming the demonic artifacts proved far more complex than Shinji had imagined.
The thunder horn, the reverse scale, the cat demon's paw though all were of demonic artifact quality, like Yura's comb, their natures were completely different.
Yura was both a demonic artifact and a demon, a tsukumogami with self-awareness. Even without the system, Shinji could communicate with her.
The others, however, could not.
First, the thunder horn.
The thunder beast, in life, was a materialization-level demon who had mastered lightning transformation. This horn was the essence of its lightning power.
After slaying the thunder beast, Shinji had already been able to preliminarily channel its power summoning lightning to strike Gaikimaru, then the venomous dragon, then the cat demon.
But that was just using, not possessing, and certainly not "fusion."
Just as a person can wield a sword, that doesn't mean the sword is truly theirs, nor does it mean they can make the sword part of their body.
The power in the thunder horn was violent, primal, wild.
It didn't reject Shinji after all, its master was dead, and it had no reason to reject a new user.
But it didn't welcome him either.
That lightning power was like an untamed horse. You could mount it, make it run, but it might throw off its new rider at any moment.
Shinji had tried directly channeling his demonic aura into it for fusion.
The result was arc backlash, his arm numb for most of the day.
This wasn't the horn resisting; it was just the nature of that power.
Lightning was never docile, just as fire was never cold.
That was its essence.
[Thunder Beast Horn: Affection 4]
Four affection points, still far from the thirty needed to unlock the first talent.
Shinji could only take it slowly.
Each day, he set aside time to slowly permeate his demonic aura into the thunder horn, "adapt" to that violent lightning power.
This wasn't just about taming it, but also adapting.
Letting the lightning adapt to his demonic aura, letting his demonic aura adapt to the lightning.
And then,
Talk to it.
Chat with it.
Make this hothead take his shape, become unable to leave him.
Soft persistence always worked on the irritable type.
This process was slow and tedious, but it was the only path.
Second, the venomous dragon's reverse scale.
This thing was actually harder to deal with than the thunder horn.
Because the venomous dragon's power was inherently permeating.
That toxic energy wasn't violent and outward like lightning; it was insidious, reserved, seeping into everything.
Shinji discovered this the first time he tried to channel his demonic aura into it.
The reverse scale showed no reaction.
It docilely accepted his demonic aura, docilely let that toxic power flow toward his arm.
It seemed very cooperative.
But Shinji soon sensed something wrong.
That toxicity wasn't just flowing to his arm, it was quietly seeping deeper: into his meridians, his blood, his demonic aura core.
It wasn't being absorbed by him; it was trying to assimilate him.
That was the essence of poison.
Permeate, erode, assimilate.
No consciousness needed to control it.
Even though Shinji was essentially a corpse with a bit of activity, he had to use [Blood Change] to forcibly expel that toxicity from his body. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to keep holding Kikyō at night.
Then he switched methods, instead of letting the poison adapt to him, he used his own demonic aura to envelop, break down, and absorb that toxicity bit by bit.
This was even more troublesome than dealing with the thunder horn.
Lightning was at least openly violent.
Poison was insidiously cunning and permeating.
One slip, and he'd be hit with backlash.
[Venomous Dragon Scale: Affection 2]
The affection rose even slower than the thunder horn's.
Because each fusion required extreme caution to prevent that toxicity from turning the tables.
Shinji had to be even more patient.
Finally, the cat demon's paw. This was the strangest of the three.
The thunder horn was violent, the reverse scale cunning.
The cat demon's paw?
Nothing.
No resistance. No cooperation. No reaction at all.
Shinji channeled his demonic aura into it. That power to control the dead did flow out, but it flowed very passively like turning on a faucet. Water comes out, but not because the faucet wants it to; it's because you turned it on.
The cat demon's paw didn't even have instinct.
Not from beginning to end.
The cat demon, a demon that manipulated corpses. Its very existence was about controlling the dead, like puppets.
Puppets have no instinct.
So the cat demon's paw had no instinct.
It was simply a tool.
A pure, instinct-less tool.
[Cat Demon Paw: Affection 1]
Only one point of affection, but not because it rejected Shinji.
Because it didn't even know what "liking" meant.
The strategy for this thing was completely different from the first two.
Not taming, not adapting.
But infusion.
Shinji needed to continuously channel his demonic aura into it, letting that withered paw gradually become aware of his existence.
Not needing it to like him, only needing it to get used to him.
This process was equally slow, but at least there was no risk of backlash.
Finally, Shinji made a plan for himself.
Every morning, spend an hour claiming the thunder horn, feeling the rhythm of the lightning power, letting his demonic aura blend with it.
Then spend half an hour claiming the reverse scale, using blood mist to envelop the poison, breaking it down and absorbing it bit by bit, never rushing ahead greedily.
Then in the afternoon, spend half an hour claiming the cat demon's paw, channeling demonic aura into it, letting that dead thing gradually be imprinted with his presence.
What do you call a time management master, juggling three things at once?
Shinji thought he was exactly that.
But even at this pace, the thunder horn would still take at least a month to max out affection.
The reverse scale would take two months.
The cat demon's paw nearly three months.
Of course, this was just a theoretical estimate.
Reality could be faster or slower.
No rushing.
Shinji told himself.
He had been in this world for just over half a year. He had already grown from a newly dead demon warrior to a complete Sixth Transformation.
This speed was already fast enough.
For a normal demon to reach this level would take at least decades, maybe even a century.
All he had to do now was steady progress.
Lay a solid foundation.
But Yura had her own opinion on all this.
"You're really quite greedy." The red comb's little skull turned in Shinji's robe, her tone disdainful.
"Thunder beast, venomous dragon, cat demon… what's the point of fiddling with these things all day?"
"Is it wrong?"
"Of course it's wrong!" Yura's voice was full of displeasure.
"Have you considered how I feel?"
"How do you feel?"
"I've helped you so much!" The little skull grumbled. "And now you spend all day holding those new flames, leaving me aside!"
Shinji was silent for a moment.
He wanted to say that her affection was actually rising too.
But he thought better of it, lest the affection drop though unlikely.
"So what do you want?"
"I want out!" Yura was indignant.
"How long have I been trapped here? I want sunlight! I want to brush hair! I want to—"
"Alright." Shinji cut her off. "When the time is right, I'll let you out for a while."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Hmph… it's not like I'm that expectant…"
The little skull turned away and fell silent.
But that slight posture clearly showed anticipation and excitement.
[Yura: Affection +1]
[Current Affection: 4]
Shinji looked at the prompt and shook his head helplessly.
This one was really tsundere.
During the day, he claimed demonic artifacts. At night, he accompanied Kikyō on patrols of the barrier and various other tasks.
These were rare days of leisure.
Occasionally, villagers would bring food, their gazes filled with gratitude and reverence.
Occasionally, little Kaede would come running with questions, only to be sent back with a single sentence from Kikyō.
Peaceful and comfortable.
After repelling Kidōmaru, though demons still attacked, most weren't after the Shikon Jewel. And even those who were, were only low-tier, mindless lesser demons.
The high-tier demons, or those with some rational awareness, seemed to have understood that they were not easy targets.
If you wanted the Shikon Jewel, you had to bear the cost.
But Shinji knew this peace wouldn't last.
Kidōmaru had only retreated temporarily.
The threat from Kyoto still existed.
And he was still not strong enough.
"Keep going."
He gripped the thunder horn in his hand.
Purple electric arcs jumped between his fingers.
Training continued.
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