But in the end, Kōbe Hikaru and Kikyō, too, halted before the final threshold—though, apart from that threshold, every other intimacy of the flesh had more or less been shared.
As for that final step... it was not that he didn't want to, nor that he couldn't.
Of course he wanted to, and of course he could. It was simply that he shouldn't—that the time was not yet right.
The Kōbe Hikaru of this moment still dwelt within the Six Mutations, not yet having undergone Qualitative Transformation. Though he had gradually regained vitality, most of his body's functions were still driven by yōkai aura, sustained and filled through Blood Mutation—and in its essence it remained, after all, dead. Hollow within, the most vital five viscera and six bowels held no vitality, and there was no way for him to leave anything behind.
He felt that to truly cross that final step, he ought to do so as one who was genuinely alive—as his complete self.
Not as this corpse's body.
He also felt that the step would not be far off.
As long as he completed the accumulation of quantitative change and achieved Qualitative Transformation, with the right opportunity, he would be able to leap past the Seventh Mutation, reaching the Eighth, even the Ninth.
And once he completed the Twelfth Mutation, he would attain that step.
To make himself, thoroughly and completely, utterly and entirely, come alive again.
For Kikyō, it was the same.
She was a shrine maiden—and more than that, a traditional maiden raised in the Sengoku era, steeped in the culture of this age.
She was still very young.
And she, too, was all the more willing to respect Kōbe Hikaru's choice.
...
Afterward, the light of dawn pierced through the thin layer of clouds, spilling across the grass of the wilderness.
Dewdrops clung to the tips of the blades, trembling as if about to fall.
Kōbe Hikaru opened his eyes.
His body felt light, yet brimming with an explosive force he had never known before.
He raised his hand, palm turned upward.
Zzzt—
An exceedingly fine arc of purple lightning leapt across his fingertips, without the slightest hesitation, as though it were an extension of his own body.
The sensation was wondrous.
He lowered his head, glancing to his side.
Kikyō leaned against the trunk of a tree, her longbow resting across her knees, her eyes half-closed, her breathing even and long.
She had fallen asleep.
For a shrine maiden who remained perpetually vigilant, this was something all but impossible in the wild.
But because he was at her side—because of that nearly frenzied union of spiritual power and yōkai aura the night before—she was weary.
Still, the barrier she had laid down beforehand continued to do its work.
Kōbe Hikaru's gaze settled upon her.
Her white upper garment had grown somewhat disheveled from their earlier movements, the collar slightly open, revealing a broad expanse of skin beneath her collarbone—delicate as snow, glistening with a moist luster in the morning light.
Her red hakama wrapped her slender legs, now stretched out at ease, those smooth, undulating curves extending all the way to her waist, tracing an arc breathtaking enough to stop the heart.
Kōbe Hikaru took off his own tattered outer robe and gently draped it over her.
The motion was very light.
But Kikyō woke all the same.
Her long lashes quivered, and those jet-black eyes slowly opened. The haze of first waking dispersed in an instant, replaced by her usual coolness and wariness—but the moment she saw Kōbe Hikaru, that wariness melted into softness.
"You're awake?"
Her voice carried a faint, husky restraint of one just roused from sleep.
"Mm."
Kōbe Hikaru sat down beside her and, quite naturally, reached out to tuck back the stray hairs at her temples.
Kikyō's bright, lovely eyes gazed straight at him, and she suddenly asked, "How does it feel?"
"Strong."
Kōbe Hikaru looked at his own palm; beneath the pale skin, a network of purple veins was clearly visible. "Better than I'd expected. The Thunder Beast's power hasn't merely floated upon the surface—it has truly become a part of my body."
The him of before had used yōkai aura to drive his body.
The him of now, blessed by the thunder, was a body that was itself the very embodiment of yōkai aura. Speed, strength, reflexes—every one of them had risen by more than a single tier.
But—
It was still not enough.
Quantitative change had indeed brought about a violent shift, yet it had not yet thoroughly broken through that membrane of qualitative difference.
Qualitative Transformation was a leap in the very level of life.
It was to become wholly elementalized like the Thunder Beast, or to touch the essential change and transformation at the level of rules themselves, as Kibōmaru had.
The Kōbe Hikaru of this moment stood at an exceedingly delicate critical point.
He treated the Six Mutations as pockets, and stuffed every one of them full to bursting—especially the [Razor-Body Mutation], which, after fusing with the thunder, had already swelled to its limit.
Yet even so.
"It's still a bit short."
Kōbe Hikaru murmured to himself.
"And yet—it's only one last push at the threshold."
Kikyō keenly perceived the shift in his mood. She sat up straight, then gripped the hand of the youth beside her, their ten fingers interlocking once more.
"There's no need to rush."
She leaned her body slightly more against him, resting against his shoulder, and spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, the warmth of her breath spilling against his ear. "You've already come very far, very fast. Sometimes, too fast isn't a good thing."
Kōbe Hikaru turned his head, the tip of his nose brushing against her soft strands of hair.
"I know."
He tightened his grip on the small, slender hand of the maiden. "But I can feel it—that opportunity is right before my eyes."
"It needs just one more straw."
"A straw that could break the camel's back—or rather, one that could shatter the whole bucket and reforge it anew."
His gaze fell to the things in his bosom, within his pocket.
Dokukō's reverse scale, favourability 25.
Nekomata's claw, favourability 18.
Because he had previously focused his main efforts upon the Thunder Beast's horn, these two items, though they had made some progress, had not advanced much.
Now then.
Since the [Razor-Body Mutation] had already taken in the thunder and become the [Thunder-Sinew Razor-Body].
Then the remaining transformations ought to be put on the agenda as well.
To push every quantity to its utmost.
At that moment, qualitative change would occur of its own accord, like a flood bursting through a dike.
Dokukō's reverse scale's favourability still needed grinding—that thing was too insidious and sinister; it couldn't be devoured by force the way the Thunder Horn had been.
Kōbe Hikaru calculated in his heart.
Nekomata's claw, on the other hand, could be put on the agenda.
Just as he was thinking this, a tremor suddenly came from his bosom.
It was the red comb tucked into the front of his robe.
[Sakagami Ketsura: Favourability +2]
[Current Favourability: 25 (Somewhat Concerned)]
[It is protesting. It felt the feedback of power after the Thunder Horn was devoured, and it too wants to grow stronger—it doesn't want to be treated by you as nothing more than a massager that only vibrates.]
Kōbe Hikaru: "..."
This comb really did carry a heavy grudge.
And what was that about a massager?
Still, Sakagami Ketsura's ability was the manipulation of hair—in essence, a fusion of thread and wind.
If he could thoroughly master her ability... Kōbe Hikaru glanced at the head of glossy black hair on Kikyō behind him.
"What are you looking at?"
Kikyō seemed to sense his gaze and lifted her head slightly. Those eyes, which on ordinary days always carried a trace of aloofness, now seemed to brim with spring water, rippling with light.
"I'm looking at your hair."
Kōbe Hikaru spoke the plain truth. "It's beautiful."
"..."
Kikyō said nothing; she only gripped his hand a little tighter.
Afterward, which was to say...
"Let's head back."
Kikyō rose to her feet, straightened her clothes, and slung the longbow across her back.
Though her tone remained as placid as ever, the reddened tips of her ears betrayed her mood all the same.
By the time the two of them returned to Kaede Village, it was already midday.
Beneath the torii at the village entrance, little Kaede was kicking at pebbles, bored out of her mind.
Seeing two figures walking side by side toward her, the little girl's eyes lit up. She was about to dash forward, but her steps suddenly halted.
She had seen it.
Her elder sister walked in front, her stride steady as always, her expression calm and indifferent.
But that demon-god big brother who followed behind—his gaze clung to her sister without ever leaving.
And moreover.
Her sister's hand stretched faintly, ever so slightly, backward. Though they weren't directly holding hands, that distance, that atmosphere.
It was too close.
So close that not even the wind could slip between them.
Little Kaede sniffed.
"So sweet."
She muttered under her breath.
Before, her sister had carried only the cool scent of sandalwood and the smell of medicinal herbs.
Now, why did it feel... like there was an added cloying sweetness?
"Kaede."
Kikyō drew near and patted her little sister's head. "What are you spacing out about?"
"N-nothing!"
Kaede stuck out her tongue, her gaze circling over the two of them before finally settling on Kōbe Hikaru.
"Big brother, you seem... different."
"Oh?" Kōbe Hikaru's expression was calm as he asked, puzzled, "Stronger?"
Could it be that this little girl Kaede actually had quite the talent?
The original work hadn't shown it, though!
Of course, although Kōbe Hikaru relied on the so-called original work for much of his information, he did not place complete faith in it either.
This was, after all, a blended world.
Many things could not possibly be exactly identical to what he was familiar with.
On this point, however, Kaede shook her head.
"No."
The little girl pointed at his hair. "It feels... a bit frazzled, like you got struck by lightning."
Kōbe Hikaru: "..."
Kikyō couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
In that instant, her smiling face was like ice and snow first melting, and the sight of it made Kōbe Hikaru's heart skip a beat.
"Let's go, back home."
He said.
In this moment, growing stronger was for the sake of survival.
And survival was for the sake of protecting this ordinary, everyday life.
The threshold of Qualitative Transformation, too, lay right before his eyes.
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉