Consciousness was fading. Vision was blurring. The Shikon no Tama knew this sensation well--
This was the scene of "death."
Thinking back, it had never personally experienced Akame's cursed blade, so it didn't know how the effect manifested.
Most of the creatures slain by this blade were Muzan's subordinates.
Thus, for the Shikon no Tama itself, this "curse poison" was unknown and unexpected.
There was indeed a chance to kill it...
It was just that Akame couldn't break through its defense before, so this "mechanism kill" couldn't trigger.
Now, with her strength vastly increased, she could ignore its hardened skin and wound it.
"Rikuo!"
"I know!"
Sensing the sluggish movements of the surrounding demon creatures, Cu Chulainn swept them away and shouted.
Rikuo nodded in response, then ran back to the previous spot and swung the pitch-black Nenekirimaru.
"[Meidou Zangetsuha]!!"
"[Meidou Zangetsuha]!!!"
The simultaneous words issued from different spaces, but both strikes landed on the exact same point.
"It's open!"
A small "crack" appeared in the Meidou. Kagome exclaimed in delight.
"Let's go!"
Seizing the opportunity, the Great Dog Demon, Kirinmaru, and Inuyasha charged through the rift.
"Ohhh!! Kagome and the others are back!"
"Huh? Kirinmaru and the Great Dog Demon too?"
"Looks like they've reconciled--great! Now we're worry-free."
Nothing was more reassuring than seeing those four together.
Jaken and Shippo finally let their pounding hearts calm down.
"Mom!"
"Moroha."
Watching her daughter rush over, Kagome embraced her soothingly.
"Looks like you all did great."
Inuyasha eyed the deflated demon creatures around them.
"Heh--holding out wasn't a problem."
"But they're harder to deal with than expected."
Inuyasha's gaze shifted to the pitch-black blade in Rikuo's hand. Totosai's unintentional addition had been an immense help.
Without "Meidou Zangetsuha," getting in wouldn't have been so easy.
"Where's the Shikon no Tama?"
The miasma hadn't dispersed; only its continuously weakening life force proved its body's death.
"It seems it really can die from attacks it can't anticipate."
"But it still hasn't vanished from the world entirely."
Everyone's gaze shifted to Akame, who was sheathing her blade, and to the anomaly before her.
"Moroha, help me purify the miasma."
"Okay."
Mother and daughter nocked arrows and fired toward the swirling center of youki.
SWISH SWISH!!
The radiance of the sacred arrows lit up the overcast sky, dispelling the lingering miasma.
"Even after all that, I still don't sense it dying."
Moroha frowned, feeling an ominous premonition.
"Purification alone won't defeat it..."
"Then what do we do?"
As they conversed, the surrounding demon creatures suddenly transformed into orbs of black light, coalescing in the sky.
BOOM!
Though this was a fabricated realm, thunder and lightning still roared across it.
"Fall back!"
"Something's coming!"
Urging the others to retreat, the Great Dog Demon and Kirinmaru stepped forward to watch.
"What is this?"
"The miasma and youki are on a completely different level than before!"
Miroku looked up at the gradually reviving presence, astonished.
He had never witnessed such an absurd youkai...
The youki emanating from it rivaled--even surpassed--the current Great Dog Demon.
"It's coming back to life!"
The pitch-black substance finally formed into a towering humanoid. Unlike its earlier flesh-and-blood form, the Shikon no Tama had transformed into a "skeleton" with spikes jutting from its back.
That terrifying visage inspired dread and panic.
The jet-black orb remained inscribed on its skeletal chest.
"I never imagined I'd be pushed this far."
A slow, cold voice emerged. Everyone recognized that tone.
"Again and again..."
"Foiling my plans time after time--human, hanyo, youkai, Servant!"
"All of you will die!"
Fury resonated. The Shikon no Tama radiated overwhelming presence.
"Bury them!"
Without hesitation, Akame attacked.
Her flashing figure tried to cut it down as before.
But this time, it didn't go so smoothly--
CRACK!
The blade was caught by its massive hand. Though it carved a small gash, the spreading marks lasted only seconds before dissipating.
"!"
Witnessing this, even Akame was momentarily stunned.
Murasame had failed?
"Die!"
Red light blazed from its eyes as the Shikon no Tama locked onto the close-range Assassin.
"Danger!!"
Rikuo saw its gaze and shouted a warning. Akame reacted instantly, pulling back.
SIZZLE!!
But the beam that shot out still grazed her leg.
"Ngh!!"
The inner side of her calf was seared--flesh simply erased wherever it touched.
As if someone had carved away the meat from her leg.
"A laser?"
Kagome and Rikuo instantly recognized that "high-tech" power.
"[Meidou Zangetsuha]!!"
"Massive Demon Fireball!!"
Before the Shikon no Tama could turn, the Great Dog Demon and Kirinmaru had already struck.
BOOM!!
Explosion and slicing took effect, yet everyone witnessed the astonishing regeneration speed.
"The moment its body is wounded, it's already healed..."
"That's way too fast?"
Whether the Meidou's slash or the fireball's blast, the wounds existed for only an instant before being fully restored.
"Hmph... this time, none of your unexpected deaths will occur!"
"But to be killed by my final form--that, too, is an honor."
Looking down at everyone, the Shikon no Tama spoke coldly.
Using its ultimate Noble Phantasm, "Demon King Demigod," was something it hadn't anticipated.
It had emerged in such a perfect body--surely it could have easily crushed Inuyasha's group.
Yet it had lost a life to the newly empowered Sesshomaru right out of the gate, then been caught by Assassin's "instant death" curse poison.
Quite literally, they'd beaten it into releasing its final Noble Phantasm.
Thinking about it filled it with shame and fury.
Good news: it had become incomparably powerful. Bad news: one more death meant true oblivion.
But remembering the "Dragon Ball" that awaited, it gradually calmed.
Losing so many lives, even being forced into the final Noble Phantasm--none of that mattered.
As long as it won.
Then it could have anything.
In this state, the Shikon no Tama was confident it could easily defeat everyone present.
It had surpassed humans. Surpassed youkai.
It was fundamentally different from these lower beings now!
The current "it" was a supreme "demigod."