By spreading terror and keeping the humans in their territory on edge day and night, that massive, condensed sense of dread would transform into the demon's source of power, forming a force field known as 'Fear'.
The essence of Fear was similar to faith in a god, except the former stemmed from negativity while the latter embraced positive aspirations.
Demons could rely on the power of 'Fear' to briefly enhance themselves. Although it was only temporary and could only be maintained as long as the people's terror persisted, it was a shortcut compared to the lifelong process of absorbing Demonic Qi or fighting their own kind for food.
No wonder.
This toad was being treated as a 'God'.
Although it was only at the fifth transformation, with the blessing of 'Fear' in this poisonous marsh it had cultivated for months, its strength was comparable to an ordinary high-level demon of the Seventh Transformation.
In this poisonous marsh, this toad was the sovereign.
"Gua—!"
A strange cry like muffled thunder suddenly exploded.
From within the yellow-green toxic mist, a crimson whip suddenly shot out. It was as fast as lightning, heading straight for Kikyo's face.
It was a tongue.
Kikyo didn't dodge, nor did she even blink.
She simply raised her hand.
Boing.
The bowstring vibrated.
The Sacred Arrow, wrapped in white light, shot out and struck the tip of the tongue dead center.
With a "sizzle" sound, like a branding iron on raw meat, white smoke billowed. The tongue snapped back instantly, and a piercing, miserable howl echoed from the toxic mist.
However, the surrounding quagmire became even more frenzied.
The mud churned, transforming into countless black hands that grabbed at the pair's legs and waists.
"Troublesome."
Hikaru severed three mud hands with a single slash. He activated [Blood Transformation] beneath his feet, his blood flowing like mercury as he forcibly broke free from the restraints and leaped onto the top of the Torii gate.
He saw it clearly now.
This toad was indeed only at the level of the fifth transformation.
Physical Transformation level five meant its body structure had undergone five types of mutations; it hadn't yet reached the threshold of Materialization.
But this toxic mist and quagmire were too cheap.
As long as the people in this village still feared it, this 'Fear' would flow endlessly, and the quagmire would never run dry.
Although Kikyo's spiritual power was formidable and vast, that kind of purification also required consumption. It wasn't worth it to wear themselves out against this toad in a home field filled with filth.
There was only one choice left then.
Force it out of its territory!
"Kikyo!"
Hikaru shouted: "Cover me!"
Kikyo didn't ask what he was doing. With a flick of her wrist, she fired three arrows in rapid succession. The white light fell like rain, piercing through countless hands of black mud.
Hikaru stared at the lamps on both sides of the shrine.
The lamp oil was animal fat offered by the villagers from their meager savings. It was kept in vats and left burning year-round to pray for the god's anger to subside.
What a fine fuel.
"Let me borrow some fire."
Hikaru's figure was like lightning as he pivoted in mid-air, kicking over the large oil vat on the left.
Splash.
The fat spilled out, flowing down the steps and into the churning toxic marsh.
He wasn't finished yet.
He kicked over the one on the right as well.
Two vats of oil covered more than half of the courtyard.
The toad seemed to sense something was wrong. Countless poison spikes sprouted from the quagmire to intercept him, but Kikyo's arrows were faster than it. Each one pinned itself down right in front of Hikaru's landing points, clearing a path of pure land.
Hikaru landed, his blade tip picking up a still-burning lamp wick.
With a flick of his wrist.
The sparks fell into the oil.
Boom—!
Flames soared into the sky.
This was no ordinary fire.
The miasma and swamp gas that had accumulated in the toxic marsh for who knows how many years ignited instantly upon contact with the fire. With the oil aiding the blaze, the entire shrine instantly became a giant furnace.
"Guaaaaa—!"
This time the scream was much clearer, carrying a heart-wrenching quality.
The toxic mist was dispersed by the heat wave, and the quagmire was baked dry until it cracked.
The 'God' that had been hiding in the shadows finally couldn't stay hidden any longer.
A bloated black shadow crashed through the wooden wall of the Shrine Hall, stumbling out while covered in fire.
Inside the shrine, the giant toad hadn't seemed so obvious, but now that it was exposed outside, its sheer size was startling.
It was a hideous monster as large as an ox, its body covered in pustules!
Its skin was thick and oozing venom, and its lashing tongue was covered in wriggling barbs. Its leg muscles were knotted with bulging veins like snakes slithering beneath, and its back was humped like a closed flower bud, yet it continuously spewed toxic mist from the center.
Its eyes were located on the top of its head, but they were densely packed—all compound eyes.
It was earth-shatteringly ugly.
At this moment, the pustules on its body crackled from the heat of the fire. The venom was scorched dry before it could even flow out. It rolled on the ground in pain, its 'Divine' dignity rolling away into nothingness.
At the foot of the mountain, the firelight illuminated half the village.
It rolled through the equally muddy marshland outside the shrine, letting out a roar like a wild beast.
It was manic and even more furious—
It saw the priestess standing on a boulder outside the shrine, dressed in white robes and red hakama, her longbow raised.
And it saw the 'Ghost Samurai' who had finally forced it out, smiling suddenly.
His long blade swept upward.
His voice boomed.
"People of this village, wake up!"
"Help me slay this demon!"
His fire was clearly not just to drive the toad out of the shrine.
It was also to illuminate its existence.
To light up the people in the village.
To let everyone know the true face of the so-called 'God' they spoke of!
To light the fire, so that all people, all living beings, would know!
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