"My Lord!!"
"The comrades in the south were attacked again."
Receiving yet another report, Moryomaru furrowed his brow.
Ever since a few days ago, as they followed Muzan-sama to relocate and capture youkai, they'd been suffering one blow after another.
"Sesshomaru and that girl's Master?"
The characters "One" and "Upper Moon" visible in his eyes, Moryomaru knew who was causing trouble.
"Hmph."
Initially he'd reported this to Muzan, but the other seemed to have reservations and was hesitant to provoke them.
'Those useless ones can be discarded.'
'Avoid that youkai called Sesshomaru for now.'
Perhaps still shaken from the sword pressure that day, Muzan hadn't deployed Moryomaru.
Even after gradually becoming a half-youkai, Muzan remained extremely cautious.
"Tracing my presence, they're getting closer step by step. If this continues, this territory will be lost too."
Capturing youkai for Muzan was his primary order, yet Sesshomaru's approach forced him to abandon several locations.
Every time they relocated, the opposition would find them before long. They simply couldn't shake them off.
At this rate, he might have to defy Muzan's orders and intercept them.
'According to the demons' reports, Sesshomaru doesn't seem to be carrying Tokijin.'
Though he didn't know the reason, this was a good opportunity for Moryomaru.
Sesshomaru without a sword was nothing to fear!
He, Moryomaru—
Would win!
...
Whoosh
"Hm?"
The trees in the forest swayed, with violent demonic wind portending something.
"A challenge?"
Even Kagura could sense that obvious invitation.
"Akame-san, do you sense any Servants?"
Seeing Sesshomaru look back, Rin understood and asked Akame.
"No."
Shaking her head, Akame gave only a simple reply.
"Come to think of it, those creatures can't appear during the day. They seem to fear sunlight."
"Hm? They really are oni then."
"There are such strange creatures."
As they slowly proceeded in that direction, the group continued chatting.
Yet Sesshomaru showed no intention of going alone.
If they encountered Naraku's Servant, he might be somewhat interested. But if it was just someone like Moryomaru, Sesshomaru didn't really feel like acting.
He could smell it—those creatures mixed with that strange scent were the so-called "demons."
Moryomaru carried exactly that kind of aura...
"That thick youkai energy?"
Suddenly raising her head, Kagura gazed forward with hesitation.
"Making no attempt to hide it..."
"Hmph."
Somewhat understanding, Sesshomaru also stopped in his tracks.
"Huh?"
Seeing Sesshomaru pause, Jaken found it strange.
"What's wrong, Jaken-sama?"
Rin looked at Jaken's confused expression and asked with a smile.
"Fool, this is obviously suspicious. Rin, be careful."
"Okay."
At that moment, the sun on the horizon gradually set and disappeared, its light fading from the land.
Whoosh!
"Eek, my chest suddenly feels cold."
After waiting a while, cold wind blew past. Jaken clutched his hat and sighed.
"!"
But the next instant, both Akame and Kagura became alert.
Beneath the pitch-black night sky, an anomaly appeared overhead.
"Hey there, long time no see, Sesshomaru."
"You're...?!"
Seeing the figure in the sky, Kagura immediately cried out in shock.
Reflected in her eyes was a creature with massive fleshy wings, clad in thick dark-green armor, with horns growing from its head.
Though its appearance had changed, Kagura could still recognize it.
That was unmistakably Moryomaru!
"Hmph, escaped from Naraku, did you? Kagura. You found quite the backer."
As if thinking of something, Moryomaru looked down at his former colleague and sneered.
"Is that inhuman, un-youkai appearance your ideal?"
Before Kagura could speak, Sesshomaru's expression didn't change as he mocked.
"Heh, Sesshomaru—even you can't beat me now. Without Tokijin, you can't even scratch my shell, let alone hurt me."
His boldness in coming wasn't because Moryomaru had lost his mind—he was certain.
Sesshomaru without a sword would surely be a tier weaker than before.
Fighting purely with youkai power? The current Moryomaru didn't fear that.
"Then try it!"
Raising his hand, Sesshomaru spoke coldly.
"Gladly! I'll devour your flesh and blood, Sesshomaru!"
Sharp flesh spikes shot down from above. Everyone below immediately scattered to dodge.
KYAAA!
Grabbed by Akame along with Jaken, quickly avoiding the attack, Rin let out a yelp.
In just an instant, she was far from where she'd been standing.
"Akame-san, don't worry about me. Go do what you want to do. That should be a very strong youkai—it'll definitely help you. If you deal with it, Sesshomaru-sama won't mind."
Looking at Akame, Rin remembered their earlier conversation and spoke up.
'Akame-san is quite eager to help fight those bad youkai.'
Despite appearing cold and silent, she had tremendous enthusiasm for battle.
And the reason for that was...
'The more Murasame kills, the more it benefits me...'
This was something Rin had learned from Akame later.
"Understood."
With a brief reply, Akame moved toward the battlefield.
She didn't want to let worthy targets for elimination escape. Though she didn't know how this struggle would turn out, strengthening herself was the safest bet.
The more enemies she slew, the more she would accumulate. When she finally unleashed that ultimate technique, it would be even stronger.
This was why Akame specifically hunted the youkai and demons that attacked humans.
Moryomaru's appearance now piqued her interest.
This was a Demon Youkai worth eliminating.
Just like Hakudoshi before—the stronger the existence, the more suitable.
"Um..."
"Please let me handle this."
Walking to Sesshomaru's rear, she spoke quite politely.
"..."
Without a word, Sesshomaru merely glanced at her, then turned and walked toward Rin.
"!"
Seeing Sesshomaru's decisive manner, Kagura found it incredible. Glancing at Rin, she confirmed that the little girl held an extremely important place in his heart.
"Where are you going?! Sesshomaru!!"
But Moryomaru wasn't having it. He dove straight down from the sky, attempting to attack.
Akame had already leaped up, raising Murasame and thrusting toward his eyes.
CLANG!
"!"
But under everyone's gaze, scales identical to the outer armor suddenly appeared around Moryomaru's eyes.
The blade tip couldn't break through the scales—it only scraped sparks before being deflected...