BOOM!
With a deafening crash, the panther-cat lord—Shinpo's corpse—was thrown out of the spatial passage and slammed heavily onto the open ground, sending dust billowing into the air.
Haran stood quietly beside Uchiha Retsu, watching as the body was tossed aside without the slightest change in her expression.
To her, as long as the corpse made it into the graveyard, nothing else mattered—not posture, not condition.
Retsu glanced at her calm face, growing even more confused about how demons thought.
If they didn't care, why had the four sisters insisted on reviving their lord for so long—and after failing, even risked coming here just to bury him?
But if they did care…
Then this attitude of casually dumping the body here was no different from throwing away trash.
He suddenly thought of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.
Their attitude toward their father, the Great Dog General, wasn't much different.
Respect? They fought over Tessaiga right on top of their father's corpse without a second thought.
Disrespect? Sesshomaru still punched Inuyasha for damaging their father's grave.
Demons… really were nothing like humans.
"Big sis, I'm here!"
Haran suddenly waved and shouted toward the portal as another figure appeared within it.
Tōran stepped through the passage, immediately spotting Haran—then her gaze shifted to Retsu, surprise flashing in her eyes.
"You're… Uchiha Retsu. The human who formed a contract with Natsuran."
She clearly remembered him—especially the overwhelming flames he had used before.
"Long time no see, Tōran," Retsu greeted with a smile.
"…Mm." She nodded, still puzzled.
"What are you doing here? And with Haran?"
Then her eyes narrowed slightly as realization struck.
"Haran… did you secretly form a contract with him too?"
"Yep!" Haran replied proudly, grabbing Retsu's arm.
"This time I really relied on him! I was being chased by monsters here, so I used the summoning technique Natsuran taught me—he saved me!
And we found the grave super fast!"
"You…"
Tōran glared at her for a few seconds, then sighed helplessly.
She turned to Retsu.
"Thank you. You've helped us a great deal."
"No need." Retsu waved it off, then pointed toward the corpse below, his expression turning serious.
"But your lord's body… something's wrong. There's something inside trying to come out. Is that the kind of demon Haran mentioned—born from a corpse?"
From the moment the body entered this realm, he had sensed it.
Residual energy within the corpse was frantically absorbing natural energy, gathering at the chest—growing stronger by the second.
Something was about to break free.
"Mm."
Tōran wasn't surprised at all.
"Probably the leftover power of the Shikon Jewel from the failed resurrection. It accelerated the process."
She added calmly:
"If Haran hadn't opened the passage soon, I would've forced one open and thrown the body in myself."
"…So it really is a trash disposal site."
Retsu silently complained in his mind.
No wonder Tōran had immediately dumped the body through the portal—she had clearly been in a hurry to get rid of it.
RIP—!
A harsh tearing sound suddenly rang out.
All three looked down.
The panther-cat lord's chest split open violently—
A pale skeletal claw burst out, radiating dense demonic energy.
Moments later, another claw followed.
The two claws dug into the corpse's chest, forcing something outward.
Then—
A horned skeletal demon, covered in bone spikes, began to grow out of the corpse.
Yes—grow.
Retsu saw it clearly.
The original skeleton of the corpse remained intact.
This smaller skeletal monster was like a new being sprouting from it—
Even wearing tattered armor similar to the original body.
At that moment, everything clicked.
So this was what Haran meant by "a demon born from a corpse."
Not decay.
Not transformation.
But literal growth.
A new entity sprouting from the dead body.
No wonder she said he'd understand once he saw it.
The corpse remained the corpse.
The guardian was something entirely new.
A truly bizarre sight.
Soon, the smaller skeletal Shinpo fully emerged and dropped onto the ground.
"ROAR—!"
It lifted its skull, red flames blazing in its eye sockets, locking onto the three atop the rock.
Then—
It surged forward like a white blur, scaling the rock with terrifying speed.
Retsu raised an eyebrow.
This one was far stronger than the skeletal monsters they'd encountered earlier.
Likely because it had just been born—
Still at peak strength, possibly even retaining traces of the Shikon Jewel's power.
"Hmph."
Tōran snorted coldly, clearly annoyed.
She waved her hands sharply—
A freezing gale erupted forward.
CRACK—CRACK—CRACK!
Ice spread instantly.
The climbing skeletal demon froze solid mid-motion, locked in place against the rock.
The frost continued to spread, encasing the ground and the original corpse below—
Turning everything into a frozen sculpture.
The entire area was swallowed by white frost.
Retsu glanced at the scene and understood immediately—
Tōran was still furious about being tricked by Naraku.
"Let's go. The passage will close soon," she said flatly, already flying toward the portal.
Haran turned to Retsu.
"Can you fly?"
"Nope."
"Then I'll take you—"
"No need." Retsu waved his hand.
"I'll just cancel the summoning."
"…Alright. See you!"
Haran didn't argue, waved, and followed Tōran through the portal.
The passage closed behind them.
Just as Retsu was about to leave—
CRACK!
A sharp sound echoed.
He looked down.
The frozen skeletal demon had shattered the ice.
The red flames in its eyes burned even brighter as it lunged at him again.
Retsu couldn't be bothered.
He casually pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai and stabbed it into the rock.
At the exact moment the skeleton pounced—
He canceled the summoning.
His body dissolved into white smoke.
The skeletal demon crashed through empty air, tumbled across the rock, and fell off the edge—
Landing heavily onto the frozen ground below with a brittle crack.
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