The Shikon no Tama was dead?
Watching the body dissipate into the air, everyone was momentarily stunned.
They had just been bracing for a grueling battle.
Yet Sesshomaru charged in without a word and cut the Shikon no Tama down with a single stroke?
It looked so effortless--
If not for the terrifying miasma and youki the Shikon no Tama had emitted earlier, they would have thought Sesshomaru had casually slain some insignificant lesser youkai.
"That is the power of Bakusaiga..."
"Once wounded by it, destruction spreads from the injury. Not only can the victim not regenerate, but even intact flesh is consumed."
"Quite similar to that young lady's instant-death cursed blade."
Myouga stood on Inuyasha's shoulder and began his explanation.
"What a dangerous demon blade..."
Rikuo listened, expression growing numb. Why did every one of these demon blades seem more terrifying than the last?
His Nenekirimaru was one thing--at most, it caused youkai struck by it to hemorrhage youki.
Inuyasha's Tessaiga had absorbing properties, but its lethality was plain to see.
Akame's Murasame was a single scratch and "curse poison" death.
Now Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga was sheer, unreasonable destruction.
'No--it's not over yet. The Kazaana is still here!'
"The Shikon no Tama isn't dead!"
Miroku paid no attention to anything else. Feeling his palm, he sensed the "curse" still intact and shouted aloud.
"What?"
Hearing this, Inuyasha and the others froze.
'The miasma hasn't completely dispersed...'
Though he had easily slain the Shikon no Tama, Sesshomaru frowned.
He hadn't sensed the thick youki of the Shikon no Tama vanishing entirely.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!!
At that moment, everyone witnessed flesh coalescing out of thin air.
Same face as before--but this time, the Shikon no Tama's body sprouted two extra pairs of arms and a set of gray wings.
"I never imagined you could actually kill me!"
Gritting its teeth, the Shikon no Tama hadn't anticipated losing a life to Sesshomaru.
Bakusaiga...
This demon blade was a first encounter for the Shikon no Tama.
When Sesshomaru fought Kirinmaru, he'd won using only youki-formed sword pressure, never revealing Bakusaiga's true effect.
Then, facing the Shikon no Tama's ability to absorb youki, Sesshomaru decided to simply end it with Bakusaiga directly.
The overconfident Shikon no Tama had taken an unexpected loss.
Ordinary cuts, with its high-speed regeneration, it wouldn't have cared about.
"How stubborn!"
No intention of talking, Sesshomaru raised his blade and charged in to slash again.
SQUELCH!
Its chest was sliced open once more--but this time, the Shikon no Tama didn't panic like before.
SIZZLE!
"!?"
Sesshomaru then saw it: destruction still spread from the wound, yet the Shikon no Tama forced the flesh to heal anyway.
"!"
"Bakusaiga doesn't work anymore?"
"How can that be? It was so effective just now."
Jaken and Kohaku watched from a distance, shock written on their faces.
SHRING!
SQUELCH!
The Shikon no Tama swiped with its claws. Sesshomaru swung again, severing that hand.
"Useless, Sesshomaru."
"That blade of yours can no longer kill me."
An indifferent attitude on display. Everyone watched flesh regenerate wildly from the severed stump.
"Its regeneration has outpaced Bakusaiga's destruction?"
Rikuo observed the scene, expression growing grim.
If even Sesshomaru's demon blade couldn't kill it, this would be extremely troublesome.
Because it meant without destruction exceeding Bakusaiga's, they too might be unable to slay it.
FWOOOOSH!
New arms grown, the Shikon no Tama beat its wings. A massive demonic gale swept outward.
"This is--!"
Trees were torn from their roots by the ferocious wind pressure.
"Tch!"
Plunging his blade into the ground, Rikuo braced himself. Beside him, Akame and Moroha did the same.
Yet even so, they struggled against the force.
"Kyaa!"
"KAGOME!!!!!"
"Mom!"
But unlike the three, Kagome hadn't reacted in time--she was blown away.
Drip!
Heart racing, Inuyasha spun around to chase, only to spot a black object bursting from the ground.
"Relax--you won't get another chance to see her."
Before Inuyasha could leap, the humanoid creature slammed a palm into his chest.
SMACK!
Urgh!
Tremendous force on display. Everyone watched Inuyasha fly into the sky.
"Spend your days drowning in endless regret and agony, Inuyasha."
"That is Naraku's parting gift to you."
A cold laugh. The Shikon no Tama hovered in the air, watching the scene unfold.
He could hardly wait to see Inuyasha's face when he learned of Kagome's death.
"Kirara!"
"Let's go bring Kagome back."
Sango called out, mounting the enlarged Kirara to give chase.
"Don't interfere, demon slayer."
But suddenly, a hand shot out of the ground and grabbed Kirara's hind leg, yanking her down.
"Eeek!!"
Jaken saw the youkai crawl from the earth and shrieked, aiming his Nintoujou and blasting a stream of demon fire.
BOOM!
Flames engulfed the creature's body, yet it emerged unscathed.
"It absorbed the youki!!"
"It's the dragon-scale effect!"
Shippo hopped up and down, shouting in alarm.
"The real show is just beginning--play with me a while."
At the same time, black puddles appeared across the ground, and from them rose youkai resembling the Shikon no Tama.
"Clones?"
"No--they feel more like corrupted youkai."
"Be careful. They probably all have dragon-scale properties. Avoid using your youki."
Eyes locked on the enemies before them, no one had expected the Shikon no Tama to have this ability.
'Heheh, struggle all you like...'
'Your fate is already sealed.'
As the main body, it still faced Sesshomaru--but showed no trace of panic.
These creatures were spawned using Muzan's power...
This was what it and Naraku considered Muzan's most useful trait.
Otherwise, the Shikon no Tama wouldn't have bothered absorbing him.
Shikon no Tama, Nue (Berserker), Naraku, Muzan...
Four distinct entities had merged to form its current self.
This was no mere youkai.
...
"Ow..."
Climbing down from a tree, clutching her scratched arm, Kagome was shaken by the earlier ordeal.
She was also grateful that Kikyo had taught her how to erect a barrier when training Moroha.
If she hadn't barely managed to raise one at the last moment, she'd have suffered more than just a fall.
"I couldn't have been blown too far. I need to get back quickly."
Looking around, Kagome knew she wasn't far from where they'd been.
Rustle rustle!
But just as she started to move, a faint sound in the grass made her instinctively leap aside.
SHRING!
That was the sound of a blade cutting through empty air.
Falling to the ground, Kagome finally saw who had attacked her.
"My, my--even with the Fuyouheki hiding my youki, you still dodged that."
"What a pity..."
Byakuya held a blade, gazing at Kagome as he spoke softly.
"You're... the Byakuya of Dreams that Kagura mentioned?!"
That aura belonged to Naraku--Kagome couldn't mistake it. She rose and fixed him with a stare.
"That's right--it's me."
"By Naraku's dying wish, I've come to kill you."
Raising the demon blade in his hand, Byakuya's tone was utterly calm.
"That blade!"
"How do you have it?!"
Seeing the sword held horizontally, Kagome's expression turned to horror.
"Hm? You recognized it already?"
"I simply extracted it from the traces left on the youkai that were cut."
"It belongs to that Servant called Akame. The blade's name is..."
"Murasame, isn't it?"
The blade in Byakuya's hand was none other than Akame's one-scratch-kills-all Murasame!