Anyway, before the old man died, he entrusted him to deliver this item to Kikyo; it was on the way.
Whether to fulfill the old man's last wish or to unlock the favorability of the shikon jewel, he had to find Kikyo.
Although it could be used directly, thinking back to the original work, neither humans nor demons who used the shikon jewel directly ended well, and they would subsequently become dependent on its power. Kobe Hikaru felt it was better to use favorability.
He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and looked at the night outside.
The Demonic Qi in the distance had dissipated.
The group of demons pursuing the old man seemed to have given up the chase.
Perhaps because they lost the target's trail.
Perhaps because they sensed that the shikon jewel had changed its location.
Regardless of the situation, he could not stay here for long.
That group of demons would come knocking sooner or later.
"A village a few mountains away..."
Kobe Hikaru recalled the old man's words.
That should be where Kikyo was.
He looked down at the system panel.
[demon blade muramasa: Current Favorability 27]
After killing his way here, the favorability had increased quite a bit.
But it was still three points short.
After all, it wasn't guaranteed that killing one demon would increase it by one point.
"No rush."
Kobe Hikaru sheathed muramasa.
"On the way to find Kikyo, I should encounter quite a few more demons."
After all, he was carrying the shikon jewel now, and its attraction to demons was probably equivalent to a piece of walking fat.
"It's perfect to grind monsters and level up while traveling."
He stepped out of the cave and disappeared into the night.
But before leaving, he still looked back at the old man's corpse.
"Rest assured."
He said.
"I will let your grandchildren know about your death."
"If there is a chance."
After speaking, he turned and left.
Moonlight spilled onto the cave entrance, stretching his shadow long.
He walked a few steps, then stopped, looking at the moon in the sky.
"Kikyo..."
He murmured.
To be honest, he didn't mind this mission.
One could even say—he was looking forward to it a bit.
Kikyo.
In the work he watched before he transmigrated, Kikyo was one of his favorite characters.
That shrine maiden dressed in white robes and red hakama, with hair like a waterfall and a cold, aloof expression, yet revealing softness and vulnerability in certain moments.
She was powerful, yet toyed with by fate, dying with regrets.
Even after being resurrected and becoming a walking corpse, she still retained that nobility and pride.
Kobe Hikaru still remembered his feelings when he saw the scene where Kikyo completely dissipated.
A lingering regret.
A deep, lingering regret.
Of course, even excluding all of the above, just based on his current experiences and knowledge, it was hard for Kobe Hikaru not to be interested in Kikyo.
After all, she was a sufficiently powerful and beautiful young woman.
And although he had transformed into a demon, Kobe Hikaru still possessed human self-awareness and perception.
And even more so, the desires and impulses known as being human.
"What if I could save her?"
This thought flashed through his mind.
But it lingered for a long time.
As for Inuyasha and the like... they should just go cool off somewhere else!
Volume 1: Chapter 6 - Spiritual Power Spreading from the Jewel, Demons Attack, Fighting to Carve a Path
The night outside the cave was very quiet, unnervingly so.
Kobe Hikaru had not walked ten steps from the cave entrance before he felt something strange.
It was the shikon jewel.
It was glowing.
The thumb-sized bead in his bosom was emitting a faint purple light through the cloth wrapping, soft but impossible to conceal.
That light pierced through the rough linen, pierced through his tattered armor, and was like a lantern in the night.
No, it was even more conspicuous than a lantern.
Because that light was mixed with a unique aura.
A mixture of spiritual power and Demonic Qi.
To humans, this aura might just be an indescribable sense of mystery.
But to demons—it was a piece of meat.
A piece of fragrant, glowing, succulent meat that would make any demon drool.
"Damn it."
Kobe Hikaru cursed under his breath.
He should have thought of this earlier.
The reason the shikon jewel was being hunted by those demons was not just because of its legend, but also because it was a massive signal source itself.
As long as it existed, and as long as it wasn't sealed, it would continuously release its aura.
Just like an eternal bonfire, attracting all the moths within a radius of dozens of miles.
"Heh—"
A low roar came from the distance.
Kobe Hikaru looked up; at the edge of the woods, countless eyes lit up in the darkness.
Red, green, yellow, purple.
Dense, like stars.
Those eyes were moving rapidly, converging toward his direction.
"Here they come again."
Kobe Hikaru pressed his left thumb against the tsuba of his sword, lowering his center of gravity.
The system panel popped up automatically.
[Detected a large number of hostile targets approaching.]
[demon blade muramasa: Mood turned to 'Excited', it conveyed a message to you: 'Time to eat again'.]
"Your attitude is quite good."
Kobe Hikaru's mouth twitched.
Before he finished speaking, the first wave of demons had already rushed out of the woods.
Leading the way were three One-eyed Demons.
They were a zhang tall, had only one huge eyeball on their heads, their skin was a rusty dark red, and each wielded a thick iron club.
"Found him!"
The leading One-eyed Demon let out an excited roar.
"The shikon jewel is on that Oni Samurai!"
"Seize it!"
The three One-eyed Demons exerted force simultaneously, the soil beneath their feet exploded, and their huge bodies pressed toward Kobe Hikaru like three mountains of flesh.
Kobe Hikaru did not retreat.
The body of an Oni Samurai did not know fear, and naturally, it would not be intimidated by this level of pressure.
He just calmly observed the enemies' movements, looking for openings.
The leader's iron club was raised the highest, exposing the gap under its armpit.
That was it.
Kobe Hikaru's Demonic Qi surged under his feet.
[Ghost Step].
His figure disappeared from where he stood.
The next moment, he appeared to the left of the leading One-eyed Demon.
Drawing his sword.
A black blade light slashed from bottom to top, precisely cutting into the exposed armpit.
Clang—!
The blade pierced through the One-eyed Demon's armpit, went all the way up, split its shoulder blade, and finally broke out from the neck.
This slash almost severed its entire left arm along with half of its body.
The One-eyed Demon's single eye widened, and before it could even scream, it crashed to the ground.
"Big Brother!"
The remaining two One-eyed Demons were stunned for a moment, then erupted into even crazier roars.
Two iron clubs smashed down from both left and right sides, forming a pincer attack.
Kobe Hikaru did not dodge.
His body tilted forward, and he slid along the ground, passing through the gap between the two iron clubs.
The iron clubs smashed into empty space, creating two large craters in the ground.
Kobe Hikaru had already appeared behind the One-eyed Demon on the right.
With a backhand slash, he stabbed into the back of its knee.
The tip of the blade pierced through, bringing out a spray of blood.
The One-eyed Demon's knee went soft, and it knelt on one leg.
Before it could react, Kobe Hikaru had already leaped onto its back, his blade cutting horizontally.
The head hit the ground.
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