Is the Shikon Jewel dead?
Watching the grey particles dissolve into the air, the group stood paralyzed. For a few heartbeats, the world was silent.
They had prepared for a landslide, a tectonic clash of mythic proportions. And then, Sesshomaru had simply stepped forward and erased the problem in a single, casual stroke.
It was almost too easy.
If it hadn't been for the world-shaking pressure the Jewel had radiated moments ago, they might have thought Sesshomaru had just swatted a common crow out of the sky.
"That is the power of the [Bakusaiga]..."
"The moment the blade draws blood, the destruction begins to radiate from the wound. It doesn't just halt regeneration; it devours the surrounding flesh until nothing is left."
"In that sense, it's eerily similar to that young girl's cursed blade."
Myoga, perched safely on Inuyasha's shoulder, provided the technical commentary that the stunned group needed.
"What a terrifying weapon..."
Rikuo muttered, his face feeling a little numb. Looking around at the "Otherworldly" and "Native" weapons being fielded, he realized his [Nenekirimaru] was almost quaint. His blade merely drained demonic energy; these others were actively cheating death.
Inuyasha's [Tessaiga] could swallow aura. Akame's [Murasame] carried a one-cut death curse. And now Sesshomaru possessed a blade that simply refused to let its target exist.
'Wait... it's not over. The [Wind Hole] is still open!'
"The Jewel isn't dead!!"
Miroku's shout snapped everyone back to reality. He clutched his right palm, his eyes wide with a mix of dread and pain. As long as the Naraku-borne curse remained on his hand, the source was alive.
"What?"
Inuyasha whirled around, his nose twitching.
'The demonic energy hasn't dissipated...'
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. He, too, could feel it. The grey particles weren't fading; they were vibrating, held together by a force that defied his sword's logic.
WHOOSH--!!!
Suddenly, the grey mist began to coalesce.
A body formed out of thin air. It carried the same handsome young man's face, but the silhouette had changed. Four additional arms sprouted from its sides, and a pair of tattered, grey wings unfurled from its back.
"To think you actually managed to take one of my lives!"
The Jewel spit the words through gritted teeth. It hadn't expected the [Bakusaiga] to be a "Zero-Sum" counter to its current structure.
This was the first time it had encountered the blade. In the previous duel at the summit, Sesshomaru hadn't been forced to use the blade's property to win--pure sword pressure had been enough to humiliate Kirinmaru.
By confidently trying to catch the blade with its hand, the Jewel had walked right into a buzzsaw.
"You're quite stubborn."
Sesshomaru didn't waste time on a lecture. He lunged forward, the green arc of the [Bakusaiga] descending again.
SLICE--!
The blade tore another gash across the Jewel's chest, but this time, the entity didn't shatter.
K-ZZT!
The green sparks arced, attempting to spread the destruction, but the Jewel's flesh began to bubble and churn at an impossible speed. The high-speed regeneration didn't just fight the curse; it smothered it under a deluge of new biomass.
"!"
"The [Bakusaiga] isn't working?!"
"How? It was so effective a second ago!"
Jaken and Kohaku watched from a distance, their faces etched with horror.
CLAW--!
The Jewel lashed out with a backhand strike, its claws catching Sesshomaru's shoulder. Sesshomaru spun away, his blade severing the offending arm in a single, fluid strike.
"It's useless, Sesshomaru."
"You only get to surprise me once. Your blade can no longer kill me."
The Jewel stood with arms crossed, watching as the severed limb regrew in a matter of seconds. The regeneration speed was now officially outpacing the [Bakusaiga]'s destruction rate.
"The healing speed has surpassed the sword's curse?"
Rikuo's expression turned grim. If even Sesshomaru's absolute destruction failed to stick, they were facing a target that couldn't be won over by attrition. They needed a single, overwhelming strike that exceeded the Jewel's entire capacity in one go.
"HAA!"
The Jewel flapped its grey wings, unleashing a massive, cyclonic gale of demonic pressure.
"Ngh--!"
The wind was so intense that the ancient trees on the forest edge were physically uprooted.
"Tch!"
Rikuo drove his [Nenekirimaru] into the ground, acting as an anchor. Akame and Moroha followed suit, their bodies straining against the atmospheric pressure.
"Help!"
"KAGOME--!!!"
"Mom!"
Unlike the warriors, Kagome didn't have the strength to hold her ground. The wind caught her and tossed her back toward the dark canopy of the forest.
"Hold on!"
Inuyasha jumped to clear the distance, his hand outstretched. But just as he was about to catch her, a dark, oily mass erupted from the soil beneath his feet.
"You're not going anywhere, half-breed."
A humanoid entity formed from the black sludge and delivered a crushing palm-strike to Inuyasha's chest.
BANG--!
"GAH!"
Inuyasha was sent flying in the opposite direction, his trajectory taking him clear across the clearing.
"Savor your despair, Inuyasha."
"This is the final gift Naraku left specifically for you."
The Jewel laughed from the sky, its eyes gleaming with the anticipation of the fallout. It wanted to see the look on Inuyasha's face when he realized his priestess was gone.
"Kirara!"
"We have to get Kagome!"
Sango shouted, mounting the transformed fire-cat to give chase. But before Kirara could take flight, a massive, pale hand emerged from the earth and gripped the cat's hind leg, slamming it back down.
"Don't interrupt, Exterminator."
"EEEK!!"
Jaken watched the monsters emerging from the ground and let out a squeal of terror. He brandished his [Staff of Two Heads], unleashing a stream of fire.
BOOM!
The fire washed over the monsters, but they didn't even burn. They merely absorbed the heat into their black hides.
"It's the Dragon Scale property!!"
"They're absorbing the energy!"
Shippo shouted, hopping from foot to foot in a panic.
Around the camp, black, oily "puddles" were appearing. From each one, a shadow-demon mimicking the Jewel's aura began to emerge. It was an army of clones, each carrying a fraction of the Jewel's invincible traits.
'Struggle as much as you like...'
'Your fate was decided the moment I emerged.'
The Jewel watched the chaos with a cold satisfaction. These clones were the product of Muzan's biomass manipulation--the single most "useful" trait the Jewel had harvested.
By combining the Jewel's energy, the Nurarihyon's invisibility, Naraku's malice, and Muzan's infection, they had created a monster that transcended the definition of a youkai.
"Ouch..."
Kagome climbed down from the tree where she had been snagged by her robes. She clutched her bruised arm, her breath hitching as she looked around the darkened forest.
She was thankful she had practiced the "Barrier" techniques Kikyo had taught Moroha. If she hadn't activated her spiritual shield in time, that fall would have been a lot worse than a few bruises.
'I can't be far from the camp. I need to get back!'
She tried to orient herself, but the forest felt unnaturally silent.
Rustle--
A faint sound in the tall grass made her jump. She turned and drew an arrow, her heart racing.
SWOOSH--!
The sound of a blade whistling through the air followed.
Kagome dove to the side, tumbling onto the forest floor. The bark of a nearby tree was neatly sliced in half.
"My, my. Even with the [Fuyo-Heki] masking my scent and my presence, you actually managed to dodge that?"
"How disappointing."
A figure stepped out from the shadows. He was dressed in ornate, flowing robes, a white paper crane tucked into his sash.
"You're... the one Kagura mentioned? Byakuya of the Illusions?!"
Kagome stood her ground, her spiritual energy flaring as she recognized the familiar, oily scent of Naraku's final creation.
"Correct."
"And in accordance with Naraku's final wish... I'm here to finish you."
Byakuya raised his blade. Kagome's eyes widened as she looked at the weapon.
"That sword!"
"How... how do you have that?!"
The blade in Byakuya's hand was a perfect phantom copy of Akame's [Murasame], right down to the cursed seals etched along the metal.
"This?" Byakuya asked, examining the blade with a casual interest. "I simply extracted the residue from the demons that girl killed earlier. It's a bit of a trick, but it carries the same weight."
"A one-cut killer, isn't it?"
"Let's see if your priestess blood can cleanse a curse that hasn't even touched you yet!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]