"Hey!"
Pinned to the ground, Cu Chulainn let out an annoyed complaint.
"Ugh... it's you?"
Sensing the person beneath him, Rikuo glanced at him and rose.
"That's my line! Why are you here?!"
Standing up, Cu Chulainn glared and shouted. The sudden appearance from the sky had given him quite the fright.
"Ran into a troublesome foe and fought with it."
Turning to look ahead, a muscular man covered in sword wounds had appeared.
"?"
"Oh, a Servant I haven't seen before. Looks interesting."
Glancing at that figure, Cu Chulainn could sense the malevolent aura emanating from the opponent.
This guy... didn't seem simple.
"Lancer, is it?"
"I'd like to settle accounts for how you treated me last time."
The wounds began healing. The Shikon no Tama's gaze turned hostile.
"So you didn't die after all. What a bunch of troublesome people."
Cu Chulainn recalled the scene of taking a direct Noble Phantasm hit in that enclosed space and scratched his head with frustration.
'What's going on? Nenekirimaru clearly wounded him, but...'
Frowning, Rikuo hadn't expected the Shikon no Tama to resolve Nenekirimaru's damage so easily.
"I see—it really has become sentient. The Shikon no Tama."
This was Koga's first time seeing the thing in this state. No wonder Naraku's youkai power had been much weaker than before—the Shikon no Tama had split off to go solo.
"You claim to grant wishes, yet you're still chasing Dragon Balls?"
Staying alert, Koga asked a crucial question.
"Heh... Do you think I need to answer that?"
Hearing this, the Shikon no Tama's lips curled, appearing completely indifferent.
"Could it be that you can't actually do it—is that why?"
But Koga's next words made it very displeased.
Even without showing emotion on its face, the plummeting temperature conveyed the danger.
"As expected—you yourself are the biggest fraud! If you could really grant wishes, you would've teamed up with Naraku to chase the final shard in Kagome's hands long ago. You wouldn't even need to fight us—you could just wish for the Dragon Balls yourself and win."
Realizing he'd guessed correctly, Koga sneered.
"No wonder all those great youkai looked down on you... You really can only deceive the young and ignorant like us."
"You... worthless jewel."
Thinking back, all of this had originated from the Shikon no Tama's trouble.
Forget bringing happiness—the world was basically filled with disasters it had caused.
Humans and youkai alike—none had escaped being harmed by this thing.
If it truly had the power to grant wishes, how could things have gotten this bad?
SWISH!
"!"
The figure suddenly flashing toward him made Koga's heart jump.
WHOOSH!
SWISH!
SQUELCH!
A blade and spear swinging from left and right severed the arm heading straight for Koga's forehead.
SLAM!
"What's wrong? Someone hit a nerve with the truth and you're lashing out? That's rather ungraceful."
Spinning the butt of his spear to send it flying, Cu Chulainn mocked the opponent whose demeanor had changed drastically.
"Lancer and Rider, huh? Let's just take out this disgusting thing right here."
"I have no objections..."
"Heh, easier said than done."
The three stood together facing the enemy ahead, united in thought.
"Tch, you people think you can kill me?"
Wearing a contemptuous expression, the Shikon no Tama didn't take these three seriously at all.
Neither Rider nor Lancer possessed the power to kill it anymore.
"In the end, it's just futile effort. I'll make you understand that!"
...
"[Crimson Dragon Wave]!!"
"Huh?"
Confidently swinging her blade to unleash her signature move, Moroha was shocked to see the crimson dragon get absorbed upon contacting the enemy's body.
"It can absorb youkai power? These guys are getting more and more annoying!"
Moroha glared at the Demon Youkai blocking her path with displeasure.
"[Wind Scar]!!!"
"Eh? Even Grandpa's youkai power gets absorbed?"
But when the Great Dog Demon swung Tessaiga and his [Wind Scar] was also absorbed, Moroha was astonished.
"Urgh! Aaaahhh!!"
But the next moment, she watched those pained, twisted faces as their bodies exploded like fireworks.
"Those are dragonkin scales. Their race has the ability to absorb youkai power. It seems someone deliberately granted these scales to these youkai."
Hearing the Great Dog Demon's explanation, Moroha understood.
"But there seem to be limits. Even if they can absorb your youkai power, Grandpa, their bodies can't handle it."
Moroha gazed at the corpses dissipating in the air and remarked.
"Because the individuals are too weak. Their bodies can't contain youkai power at my level. Force-absorbing it leads to that outcome."
Sheathing Tessaiga, the Great Dog Demon was well aware of the dragonkin's weakness.
"But who's doing all this? These youkai are clearly completely different from the ones before."
Kohaku was particularly worried now. Before, he could at least kill some small-fry youkai, but against these, he was helpless.
The scales brought not only the ability to absorb youkai power, but also exceptional physical defense.
Thinking about how these youkai could keep multiplying was truly terrifying.
"They still fear the sun... Hardly any traces during daytime. That must also be a price they pay."
Kikyo leaned against a tree, observing the retreating auras as she spoke gravely.
Though she strongly suspected Naraku was behind this, this technique shouldn't be something Naraku possessed.
Otherwise, if he had this ability to enhance youkai, Naraku would have used it long ago.
"Regardless, continuing forward will eventually reveal who's behind this."
The Great Dog Demon gazed in a certain direction, having already come to a conclusion.
With Sesshomaru pursuing from that side and them circling from here, they would eventually encounter the mastermind.
But at that moment...
"Hm?"
Noticing something, the Great Dog Demon drew Tenseiga and swung.
"[Meido Zangetsuha]!"
The dark crescent moon blocked the incoming black Meido, then transformed into a massive full-moon Meido that swallowed everything nearby.
"As I thought—it's you..."
Following the voice, everyone looked over to see a youkai hovering in mid-air, holding a staff, dressed in black, wearing a half-mask.
"Shinigami-oni."
Identifying the arrival, the Great Dog Demon was not surprised.
He was the one who had used Tessaiga to steal this opponent's ability to use Meido.
He'd thought they'd never cross paths again, yet here they were.
"Hmph, the information that guy gave was correct. I never expected you to still be alive."
Shinigami-oni looked at the Great Dog Demon, his expression filled with rage.
'That guy?'
Noticing the suspicious wording, Kohaku froze momentarily.
Growing agitated, Shinigami-oni swung his arm and pointed at the Great Dog Demon, shouting.
"I've waited a long time for this day, Great Dog Demon!"
"I don't know why you're still alive, but..."
"This humiliation! I WILL repay it!"