Kobe Hikaru panted—though an Oni Samurai didn't need to breathe, the rapid consumption of demonic power made his body instinctively perform the action.
In this brief gap, through the blood mist drifting over the battlefield, he began to carefully observe every detail of the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai.
The effect of [Resonance with Blood] was still ongoing.
Every drop of blood scattered on the ground or floating in the air served as his eyes.
Every rhythm of the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's breathing—though Oni Samurai don't breathe, the intake and output of Demonic Qi followed a similar pattern—every muscle contraction, and every shift in center of gravity was clearly seen by him.
Its left knee had an old injury.
The movement there was slightly stiffer than in other parts.
It wasn't obvious; without observing from multiple angles simultaneously through the blood mist, it would have been nearly impossible to discover.
But Kobe Hikaru had discovered it.
This was also normal.
Oni Samurai were demons formed from powerful warriors whose obsessions clung to their armor or corpses after death.
Most of them carried 'wounds'.
Wounds from the battles where they died!
Kobe Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly.
There was a way.
But knowing the weakness wasn't enough.
With his current strength, even knowing the weakness, it would be hard to deliver a killing blow in one strike.
Materialization Rank—no, this guy was at Six Transformations and hadn't yet broken through to Qualitative Transformation, but he was already standing at the peak of Physical Transformation; its defensive power was still no joke.
He needed an opportunity.
An opportunity sufficient to break the deadlock.
And this opportunity—
"Buzz—"
The shikon jewel in his bosom suddenly vibrated.
[shikon no tama: naohi conveyed a message to you:'She is about to be free.']
naohi would actually remind him?
And...
Kobe Hikaru's heart stirred.
Kikyo?
His gaze swept past the shoulder of the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai, taking a quick look toward the Barrier.
Those three high-level demons—the One-Horned Oni, the Giant Python, and the Three-Eyed Crow—were still battering the Barrier.
But the cracks on the Barrier had already been repaired.
Kikyo stood on the stone steps, her left hand maintaining the Barrier's hand seal, while her right...
Had already gripped her bow.
She was waiting.
Waiting for the right moment.
Waiting for Kobe Hikaru to create that moment.
"Understood."
Kobe Hikaru took a deep breath—or rather, his demonic power took a deep breath.
He knew what to do.
He didn't need to win alone; he only needed to create an opening.
To expose that Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's weakness.
Expose it to the Priestess Kikyo, who was about to be free, so that even while multitasking, she could still land a hit with a single arrow.
And then—
He would deliver the final blow, and she would purify it.
All in one go.
That would be enough!
Volume 1: Chapter 13 Repelling the Demons, Facing Kikyo (Revised)
"Come on!"
The Oni Samurai's Demonic Qi surged, and its voice rang out again; demonic power circulated beneath Kobe Hikaru's feet as [Ghost Step] was activated once more.
He didn't retreat; instead, he charged directly at the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai.
But this time, his target wasn't the front.
It was the left side.
The left side with the old injury.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai clearly sensed his intention; its rusty blade swept across, cutting off his path of attack.
Kobe Hikaru didn't meet it head-on.
His body changed direction in mid-air—[Spear-Waist Transformation] made his waist and abdomen twist like a snake—as he flipped over the blade's edge.
The moment he landed, he was already standing on the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's left side.
His blade tip pointed directly at the left knee.
"Seeking death!"
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's left leg suddenly lifted, dodging the thrust, while its knee smashed directly toward Kobe Hikaru's face.
This blow hit Kobe Hikaru squarely on the chin.
His head tilted back, and a crack appeared on his demonic mask.
But his blade didn't stop.
muramasa traced an arc in the air, slicing toward the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's abdomen.
A trade-off style of fighting.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's left hand suddenly shot up, catching the blade with brute force.
The black blade cut into its palm, and blood spurted out.
But it didn't care at all; its rusty blade was raised high, hacking down toward the top of Kobe Hikaru's head!
Kobe Hikaru didn't dodge, nor did he intend to.
Because his goal had never been to win.
But rather—
To force the Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's center of gravity entirely onto its left leg.
At this moment, it had just landed after lifting its left knee to kick him; its center of gravity hadn't fully stabilized, and all its weight was concentrated on that left leg with the old injury.
And its rusty blade was held high above its head in a full offensive posture, completely abandoning the protection of its left knee.
That weakness.
That old injury.
Was now completely exposed within—
Kikyo's range.
Yes, at this very moment, the Priestess had finally freed herself and raised her bow and arrow once again.
In that instant.
"Whoosh—!"
A beam of white light shot out from the Barrier.
This arrow was brighter than any before it.
The spiritual energy light wrapped around the arrow was dazzling, and the entire arrow was like a falling meteor streaking across the night sky.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's pupils contracted.
It felt the scorching aura shooting from its rear flank.
But it was too late.
Its center of gravity was entirely on its left leg, and its rusty blade was raised at its highest point.
Even if it wanted to dodge, it was completely too late.
"Puchi—!"
The Sacred Arrow pierced through its left knee.
Spiritual energy exploded at the wound, the white light burning its demonic body like a branding iron.
"Ah—!"
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai let out a heart-wrenching scream and fell to one knee.
Its left leg had lost the ability to move, and spiritual energy continued to erode from the wound, causing its Demonic Qi to become chaotic and unable to condense.
Kobe Hikaru didn't give it any chance to breathe.
That rusty blade, which had been raised high and was about to hack down, veered off course because its owner had knelt down, grazing past his shoulder and only cutting off a few strands of pale hair.
And Kobe Hikaru's muramasa had already been pulled from its palm.
Carrying grayish-black blood.
The blade flipped.
This strike used no fancy sword techniques, just the simplest thrust.
From the front, piercing through the back of the neck!
The blade tip erupted from the throat.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's body froze.
It looked down, staring at the black blade protruding from its neck.
In those dull gray eyes behind the mask, a look of confusion appeared for the first time.
"You..."
It wanted to say something, but its throat had been pierced, and it could only make muffled gurgling sounds.
Meanwhile, the arrow wound continued to release spiritual energy, which spread upward from the left knee along its meridians, burrowing into its body like a venomous snake.
When the spiritual energy reached the wound at the back of the neck—the two forces merged.
The external blade wound.
The internal spiritual energy erosion.
The Hannya Mask Oni Samurai's body seemed to be ignited from within.
White light overflowed from its every pore; light burst from its eye sockets, the corners of its mouth, and even between its fingers.
The Hannya mask began to crack.
Cracks spread from the forehead to the chin, and pieces peeled off one by one.
The face beneath the mask—it was also the face of a dead man, pale, withered, and bearing the scars of sword wounds from when he died in battle.
It looked at Kobe Hikaru.
Kobe Hikaru also looked at it.
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