Seeking aid had never been Sesshomaru's choice—even when facing the unfathomable Lunar Palace.
Even after learning that his enemies were from the Lunar Palace, Sesshomaru had never once spoken of asking Satsuki or Ruri to avenge him.
Though Tenseiga's ultimate technique, Meidō Zangetsuha, was a formidable space-time art, Sesshomaru had only just begun mastering it. What he could unleash through sheer demonic power was not a complete full moon, but merely a crescent arc.
Even so, it bought him enough time to react.
In that instant, Sesshomaru's gaze turned icy. His left hand moved to his waist—and a dragon's roar resounded.
Shing—
Bakusaiga leapt from its sheath.
In a single breath, an immense pillar of golden-green light erupted from his body, piercing heaven and earth. The overwhelming power shot straight into the sky, as though splitting it in two.
His silver hair streamed high above him, his sleeves and robes billowing violently within the radiant golden-green brilliance. With further release of demonic power, his eyes turned a blazing crimson.
"You think that with the backing of the Lunar Palace, you can act without restraint?"
Sesshomaru held Bakusaiga horizontally before his chest—then swung it fiercely toward the lingering black flames ahead.
"Bakusaiga!"
Rumble—
In less than a tenth of a breath, the demonic power, clouds, black fire—even space itself—within a hundred-zhang radius transformed into an endless tide of golden-green light. It surged, roared, and churned like a boundless ocean, roaring amid ceaseless cutting.
In that fleeting instant, Bakusaiga's power on Sesshomaru's body seemed to become boiling liquid—spreading across the heavens, blotting out the sky, filling the vision of Kyōra and Ryūra alike as an unstoppable torrent crashing straight into the howling black flames.
The moment Bakusaiga's power manifested, the two War Gods in the sky felt an unprecedented crisis descend upon them. Every hair on their bodies stood on end.
"Heavenly Dragon Thunderbolt!"
Ryūra's eyes were bloodshot as he raised Raijinga high. Countless bolts of lightning crashed down from the clouds. The explosive roar of thunder swept across the heavens. The sky, already cleaved by Bakusaiga, groaned again under unbearable strain.
Yet when Heavenly Dragon Thunderbolt and the weakened Amaterasu's black flames—diminished by Meidō Zangetsuha—met the terrifying force of Bakusaiga once more, they failed to hold their ground.
Because this time, Sesshomaru had unleashed the full extent of his power in his giant dog form.
Driven by the full might of a supreme yōkai and fused with the attribute of Perpetuity, Bakusaiga's torrent crashed down upon Kyōra and Ryūra as though crushing ants. Within sight, the air collapsed entirely. Even the all-consuming black flames of Amaterasu were sliced into scattered embers beneath endless sword light.
However, such a colossal clash of power was equally dangerous to the inhabitants of Hōraijima below.
Amaterasu's black flames were not so easily extinguished. Scattered sparks fell from the sky like rain. When they landed upon wooden houses and tree trunks below, they immediately showed signs of reigniting.
Some humans and yōkai on the ground, unable to dodge in time, were touched by the black flames. In the blink of an eye, their bodies were engulfed and devoured. They did not even have time to scream before being burned to death.
—"Danger!"
From afar, Kanade and the celestial maiden Kaguyayo flew out from the mountain peaks. From the Mirror of Life in the celestial maiden's hands, several black spheres shot forth.
These substances, like miniature black holes, flattened in midair, forming an enormous mirror-like surface that stretched across the village and its residents. Not only did it absorb the falling black flames, but even scattered lightning and fire from above vanished upon approaching the dark expanse.
Meanwhile, Kanade drew her sword and called out to the remaining inhabitants of Hōraijima, "This place is dangerous! Everyone, take shelter in the cave within the Cauldron of Resonance!"
—"Ha! Do you think you still have time?"
From the vast lake at the center, Gōra and Jūra—who had long been hiding—burst forth from the waters. Though they had chosen a tactical retreat when facing Sesshomaru, the moment they saw an opportunity to strike at the fallen, they immediately reappeared.
Among the Four War Gods, the only one unable to assume human form was the massive [Genbu], Gōra.
Opening his enormous jaws, he condensed a colossal demonic energy sphere within his mouth—then hurled it violently toward Kanade.
Kaguyayo had to focus entirely on absorbing the scattered black flames and lightning from the sky. Though weakened, those forces remained extremely difficult to handle. If her divine arts did not inherently counter such pure energy attacks to some degree, she might not have been able to absorb the black flames imbued with their peculiar power at all.
Facing Gōra's demonic energy blast directly, Kanade fully demonstrated the resolve and responsibility of a demon-slaying shrine maiden.
She stepped forward alone, charging out from the crowd. Holding her divine sword upright before her, she formed a sword-seal with one hand and lightly tapped the blade's tip.
The demonic energy sphere tore through the air—then slammed into Kanade's body.
"Evil be dispersed!"
With a soft cry, a golden barrier appeared around her.
In the next instant, not only did the massive demonic blast fail to shatter her barrier—it was absorbed into it, becoming part of Kanade's own defense.
"What?!"
"How is that possible?"
Jūra and Gōra were stunned. They had never expected this shrine maiden not only to withstand their attack, but to absorb the demonic power they released.
This was no accident. Kanade's spiritual power was already formidable. Through years of contact with the Cauldron of Resonance, she had long comprehended a power akin to Midoriko's [Purification Power], allowing her to regulate the balance of the Shikon Jewel.
That meant even demonic power—so long as it did not exceed a certain threshold—could be transformed into her own strength. This was the very reason why Midoriko had once fought countless demons for days and nights alone.
In the end, the demons could only merge and devour one another, forming a monster whose demonic power exceeded Midoriko's absorption and evolution limit, barely achieving mutual destruction.
After converting Gōra's demonic blast into her own spiritual power and fusing it with the vast reserves she had long accumulated, Kanade's body erupted in brilliant golden light.
As immense spiritual power gathered, storm-like currents spiraled around her, whipping her shrine maiden robes and long hair into a fierce flutter.
The next second, dazzling radiance and astonishing spiritual force burst forth from her. A familiar incantation flowed from her lips.
"Light Bullet · Eight Forms · Nine Strands · Heavenly Scripture · Swift Treasure · Grand Wheel. O gray turret, draw your bow toward the distant horizon—disperse in pure brilliance."
This was the ultimate technique once wielded by the shrine maidens of Yasaka Shrine to exterminate swarms of demons—an [Esoteric Art] that even the demigods descended from Yasaka required divine possession to perform.
Yet Kanade, through her own mastery of borrowed power, could unleash it as well.
As the incantation concluded, eight radiant sigils appeared around the divine sword in her hand.
The eight starlit sigils revolved around the blade, enveloping it and forming a magnificent, towering projection of spiritual light in the shape of a colossal sword. Guided by Kanade's divine blade, it transformed into a heaven-piercing cannon of light that blasted directly toward the mountain-sized [Genbu], Gōra.
"Run!"
Such a surging strike was beyond anything the Four War Gods had ever witnessed.
The sluggish [Genbu], Gōra, had no hope of evading the incoming beam. He could only retract his true body into his turtle shell—
And collide head-on with the massive cannon of light.
BOOM!!!
"Aaaaaaaaaah———!"
In an instant, the proud, iron-hard head and shell of Genbu were blasted into fragments by the overwhelming beam. Gōra's true body, hidden within, was pierced straight through—reduced to pulverized dust by the penetrating light.
"How can this be? Gōra—the one with the strongest defense—is dead?!"
Relying on his agile movements, [Byakko] Jūra narrowly avoided the direct impact of the light cannon at the critical moment. Yet almost immediately, a sensation of being locked onto by killing intent surged through him, making the striped fur on his head stand on end.
Damn it! Does that technique have a follow-up?!
When wielded by the demigod shrine maidens of Yasaka Shrine, this technique indeed possessed a secondary transformation—an overwhelming rain of light descending afterward. Kanade's strength, however, lay in instantaneous explosive force. Her control over a sustained rain of light was inferior to those shrine maidens.
But at this moment, Hōraijima was protected by Kaguyayo's black hole.
The massive light cannon roared forward without losing momentum—only to be swallowed whole by Kaguyayo's black hole.
Then, from within that enormous void, a single black sphere separated and emerged.
Jūra's expression froze. An unprecedented sense of danger hovered before his eyes like the tip of a blade.
"Run!"
Guided by beast-like instinct, [Byakko] Jūra sensed the peril behind him. The War God Demon Jewel on his forehead erupted in white light, and his entire body transformed into a streak of white brilliance, darting left and right through the air.
Yet almost simultaneously, the space around the black hole rippled violently. From within the divine mirror's void burst forth a light cannon even more powerful than before. And that was not all—the beam split midair into countless erratic trajectories, bombarding Jūra from every direction.
Below, the mountain-sized corpse of [Genbu] Gōra—already pierced through by Kanade's beam—shuddered under the reflected rain of light. Within a few breaths, it was torn completely apart. The War God Demon Jewel on his forehead vanished in a flash of azure light.
As for Jūra, though swift, he could not escape the light of Kaguyayo's Mirror of Life. The celestial radiance shone down from above. Once it captured his figure, a five-pointed star sigil instantly formed around him, binding him in midair.
"Damn it—what is this?!"
Bound in place, Jūra had no time to break free. The surrounding light cannons converged from all directions, striking him simultaneously.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
With only a final scream before death, [Byakko] Jūra was swallowed by the endless rain of light.
...
Beneath the mirror's protection, the battle concluded in an instant.
Above it, the war only intensified.
Unlike Jūra and Gōra, Ryūra and Kyōra were clearly on another level of strength. In particular, Kyōra's Amaterasu flames proved troublesome even for Kaguyayo.
Let alone reflecting them—merely absorbing those forces with the black hole had already become exceedingly difficult. The Mirror of Life in her hands began to heat up after drawing in the scattered black flames, and faint signs of melting appeared upon its surface.
If not for the augmentation of the Robe of the Feathered Heavens, which granted Kaguyayo near-limitless power, she would not have been able to sustain such a vast mirror barrier.
Boom—
In the sky, a colossal torrent of energy erupted, as though several skyscrapers collapsed simultaneously. Heaven and earth shook. Sun and moon dimmed.
Ryūra's armor shook violently, clattering as the azure dragon scales crackled under unbearable strain. Though Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga had not yet broken fully through Kyōra's black flames to crush them outright, the savage, invisible pressure caused blood to seep from the self-proclaimed god's eyes, mouth, and nose.
"So Jūra and Gōra are dead..."
The deaths of his two companions did not bring much surprise to the leader of the Four War Gods. It seemed he had expected as much.
Yet he dared not relax even for a moment. Under the oppressive storm of Bakusaiga's golden-green particles, even Kyōra—who stood beside him—had fallen into extreme weakness from the excessive release of black flames.
In the end, Heavenly Dragon Thunderbolt, Amaterasu's flames, and Bakusaiga alike were ultimate techniques sustained by demonic power.
By virtue of their special properties, Ryūra and Kyōra might contend with Sesshomaru for a time. But once the battle dragged on, their limitation—possessing only near–great yōkai levels of demonic power—was fully exposed.
With his vast combat experience, Sesshomaru instantly sensed the weakening of their assault. Seizing that fleeting opportunity, he crossed Bakusaiga and Tenseiga in his hands.
The two demonic blades, born of the same origin, resonated under their shared power. Bakusaiga's force coiled around Tenseiga's edge.
Hummmmmm—
This time, what condensed behind Sesshomaru was no longer the phantom of an azure dragon—but the embryonic form of a divine sword.
Terrifying sword pressure trembled and distorted the surrounding space. The air itself rippled in burning waves. Cracks formed in the fabric of space under the unrestrained pressure radiating from the blade.
Even Satsuki in the distance sensed it.
She looked toward Sesshomaru with faint surprise. "That boy... he has already begun fusing demonic power with law. What astonishing talent."
"Wasn't that your intention?" Kaguya replied softly, the Rinne Sharingan emerging upon her forehead. "Still, his control isn't mature enough."
Satsuki nodded lightly. "But it is more than sufficient to deal with those two minor demons."
As they spoke, Sesshomaru's power reached its apex.
Unprecedented demonic energy surged, causing the crescent mark upon his forehead to radiate a soul-stirring glow.
The twin blades intertwined in power, cleaving the sky. Even the aftershocks caused Kaguyayo's mirror barrier below to tremble violently. Had Sesshomaru not exerted deliberate restraint, the Mirror of Life would have shattered first.
His gaze sharpened upon Kyōra and Ryūra.
Then he swung.
A vast arc of sword light carved through the sky, forming a colossal golden-green dragon phantom that lunged straight toward Kyōra.
In Kyōra's horrified eyes, his full-force Amaterasu flames could no longer withstand the newborn, surging sword pressure.
They were shattered—obliterated instantly by the dragon-shaped blade.
Ryūra's lightning fared even worse, severed from afar by the spatial fissures rippling through the air.
Even Amaterasu's flames could not erode this divine strike empowered by Perpetuity.
Under Kyōra's stunned gaze, the colossal dragon phantom pierced straight through his body without pause.
RUMBLE—
With a thunderous roar, the sword light broke through Kyōra's shield of black flames and continued on—cleaving into the infinitely distant heavens.
In an instant, the firmament trembled.
Unlike an earthquake, the trembling of the heavens signified the imminent collapse of space itself. This strike, imbued with Tenseiga's anti-world attribute, caused the entire sky to unleash a deafening roar.
Though it could not rival the world-sundering might of the Sword of Rupture, the entire space nevertheless began to churn, to rotate, to fracture beneath this blow.
It was as if the sky had become solid ground and overturned—
Or as if countless titanic beings hidden within had turned over simultaneously.
Innumeable cracks spread outward from the golden-green dragon at the center, expanding in every direction. Vast ruptures in space tore upward amid violent convulsions.
Why did Satsuki claim that Tenseiga was the strongest of the three blades?
The spectacle of heaven and earth overturning before them—was Tenseiga's answer.