The setting sun stretched the shadows of the two figures longer and longer, extending all the way back to the small village behind them, now restored to peace.
As always, the just-completed exorcism seemed to have caused barely a ripple.
In this world, the strong remain strong.
In this age, most "exorcisms" were as dull and one-sided as this, slaughter or be slaughtered.
Encounters with formidable enemies, like those they had faced before, were the rare exceptions.
On the way back, Kikyō walked ahead.
The setting sun painted her back in warm golden hues. The white shrine maiden's robe was pressed against her body by the breeze, outlining a slender but upright back.
Her red hakama swayed with her steps, occasionally clinging to her legs, revealing long, even contours. The curve of her hip was just visible.
Shinji followed behind, carrying the cloth bundle containing the thunder beast horn.
But his mind wasn't entirely on the scenery or at least not entirely.
Because the bundle in his arms was vibrating violently.
Not the occasional small arc of electricity like before, but like a heart about to burst, pounding intensely.
That restlessness traveled up his arm, spreading through his entire body, even disturbing his demonic aura.
[Thunder Beast Horn: Affection 99]
Rising steadily.
Just a little more.
Shinji stopped.
He looked down at the bundle in his arms, feeling the horn inside had become alarmingly hot.
He patted it through the cloth. "Easy, we're not home yet."
Hum—!
In response, an even more intense vibration. A purple electric arc burned straight through the thick canvas, wrapping around Shinji's finger like a small snake.
No pain.
Instead, a tingling sensation… like merging.
[Thunder Beast Horn: Affection +1]
[Current Affection: 100 (One Body)]
[Evaluation: Now. It has completely opened itself. No longer borrowing, no longer manipulation. It wants to pour the essence of the ancient thunder god's descendant into you, without reservation.]
Shinji: "?"
Red text flashed wildly on the panel.
Shinji looked at the prompt, his brow furrowing slightly.
This was the wilderness.
No village ahead, no inn behind.
Though they had just dealt with a few minor demons nearby, who could say whether something stronger or even some dangerous person might emerge from the deep forests?
Reason told him to suppress this restlessness, to wait until they returned to Kaede Village's shrine, to fuse under the protection of the barrier.
But
He couldn't suppress it.
The thunder horn wasn't just vibrating anymore; it was melting.
Purple lightning essence seeped through the cloth, burning the grass beneath his feet to black.
The sense of overflowing power was like a dam filled to capacity, unable to wait another moment.
If he didn't absorb it now, that power would dissipate or even explode.
Waste.
For a demon warrior who lived on such sustenance, that would be unforgivable.
Shinji looked up.
Kikyō had already stopped.
She turned, her dark eyes quietly watching him. Her gaze fell on the cloth bundle emitting purple smoke in his hands, then moved to his face.
No questions.
No panic.
She just stood there, her longbow already in her hands without him noticing.
"Looks like we can't wait until we get home," Shinji said, his voice mixed with the sound of rushing wind.
His demonic aura had begun to boil.
"Yes," Kikyō replied.
"It's dangerous." Shinji looked into her eyes. "Once I start, I won't be able to move. Even my senses will be cut off."
In this era, teeming with demons, to lose all defensive ability before a demon and hand over one's life,
That was a grave taboo.
In chaotic times, even brothers might stab each other in the back for profit.
But Shinji looked at the shrine maiden before him.
At himself reflected in the depths of her cool eyes.
He smiled.
Easily, at ease.
"Kikyō."
"I'm here."
"Help me."
"Yes."
Just one word.
Short and firm.
Kikyō didn't ask how long it would take, nor how much of a commotion it would cause.
She simply turned, facing the path they had come from, facing the mountain forest about to be swallowed by night.
She raised her hand, a talisman between her fingers.
Spiritual power surged.
A pale blue barrier quickly expanded around them, covering an area several yards in diameter.
This wasn't a large-scale warning barrier, but a purely defensive wall.
Even after setting it, she didn't relax.
She walked to Shinji's side, sat down cross-legged, and laid her longbow across her lap.
"Don't worry." Her voice was soft, carried to Shinji's ears by the evening breeze. "As long as I'm alive, nothing will touch you."
Shinji looked at her profile.
The sun had completely sunk behind the mountains. The last traces of light outlined the curve of her jaw.
This was his lover.
The strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States period.
With her here, this wilderness was the safest fortress.
"Then… I leave it all to you." Shinji hesitated no longer.
He tore apart the steaming cloth bundle in his hands.
The purple thunder beast horn had completely liquefied, becoming a mass of lightning essence floating in the air.
Shinji took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
[Sharp Body Change] activated at full power.
Every muscle, every sinew, every inch of his body began to tremble, actively welcoming that mass of lightning essence.
Ordinary fusion wouldn't require this, but the thunder beast horn was special. It came from the thunder beast; it was lightning itself, not an object like ordinary things.
So-called fusion was truly fusion.
And using Sharp Body Change to carry it was Shinji's decision after careful consideration.
His Sharp Body Change was his first Change, the change of his bodily structure itself.
Among his Six Changes, only it came closest to the body's essence.
And only it had the greatest chance of turning violent lightning into part of himself.
Boom—!
In that instant, Shinji felt he wasn't embracing a mass of energy.
He was embracing lightning.
Raging thunder exploded inside him, instantly overwhelming his internal organs.
Pain.
The extreme of pain.
His consciousness plunged into darkness in an instant, leaving only instinct to maintain the Six Transformations, trying to digest this power that could destroy his body.
Outside,
Kikyō watched Shinji's body.
His skin turned red in an instant, then purple. Countless tiny electric arcs burst from his pores.
Under his usually pale skin, muscles twitched violently like electrified creatures.
Frightening and horrifying.
He sat there cross-legged, jaw clenched, not making a sound.
Kikyō's grip on her bow tightened.
She could feel that violent demonic aura battering the barrier, even stirring changes in the surrounding weather.
Dark clouds began to gather in the night sky above, thunder rumbling faintly.
This commotion was too big.
Demons within miles would be drawn to it.
"So this is the path you chose?" Kikyō murmured.
She stood, her white robes snapping in the wind. The white-and-red shrine maiden attire stood out starkly in the night.
Her gaze swept over the dark forests around them, where greedy beastly eyes had already begun to glow.
Those were the dregs drawn by the dense demonic aura.
Many of them.
But Kikyō's gaze didn't waver.
She drew an arrow and set it on the string.
Spiritual power surged. A white light began to gather at the arrowhead.
A purifying arrow.
One shot could shatter demons.
"Come." Her voice was cold as frost.
"Cross the line, and die."