Kobe Hikaru appeared on the left side of the Kamaitachi.
That was a blind spot—the side where it had just severed the tree roots; its body was still leaning forward from the momentum.
muramasa slashed out.
The black blade energy tore through the air, aiming straight for the Kamaitachi's waist and abdomen.
"Clang—!"
The Kamaitachi turned sideways, blocking the strike with its claws.
But Kobe Hikaru's attack did not stop.
He used the force of the blade's recoil to spin his body, and a second strike followed immediately.
This strike slashed toward the Kamaitachi's neck.
The Kamaitachi leaned back to dodge.
The third strike!
Kobe Hikaru's body twisted in mid-air, and at an almost impossible angle, he thrust the tip of the blade toward the Kamaitachi's eye socket.
Those hollow eye sockets—
Inside was a swirling airflow, the core of its control over the wind.
"Seeking death!"
The Kamaitachi was enraged, and its body suddenly expanded.
From half a zhang it restored to one zhang, and then to two zhang.
An increase in size meant dispersed power and a decrease in speed.
But at the same time, it meant—
An expanded defensive range.
It no longer dodged, but instead used its body to directly tank Kobe Hikaru's attack.
"Clang!"
Kobe Hikaru's blade struck the Kamaitachi's cheek but failed to pierce through.
That layer of grayish-white fur was harder than steel.
The Kamaitachi grinned hideously.
"Small tricks!"
Its claws swept across.
Kobe Hikaru had no time to dodge and was struck by a palm, flying out like a kite with a broken string.
He crashed through the outer wall of the shrine.
Bricks and stones shattered, and dust rose everywhere.
"Cough..."
He crawled up from the ruins, black blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.
That hit was not light.
But his eyes were still bright.
Because he saw it.
Through the blood mist permeating the battlefield, he saw the rotation trajectory of the airflow within the Kamaitachi's eye socket.
This meant—
It was about to use a big move, wasn't it?
The Kamaitachi said no more.
It simply opened its mouth.
That mouth opened wider and wider, until it almost took up the entire face.
Grayish-white airflow condensed deep in its throat, becoming thicker and denser.
That was its killing move.
It was a devastating attack that compressed all the wind to the extreme and then released it all at once.
It was enough to level the entire shrine.
But Kobe Hikaru did not retreat.
He just raised his left hand.
"Help me once more."
He said.
He wasn't speaking to the Kamaitachi.
This was still addressed to those 'friends' who were still struggling on the battlefield.
The residual roots of the old locust tree shook again; this time it wasn't just leaves, even those root fibers grew inexplicably, wrapping around the Kamaitachi's ankles like wriggling worms.
Large rocks rolled and crashed into its knees.
The last column of water from the well gushed out, turning into a water curtain that blocked the way in front of Kobe Hikaru.
The last few wooden planks from the abandoned thatched hut flew toward the Kamaitachi's eyes.
The hoe finally arrived—though it only lightly tapped the Kamaitachi's tail.
But it was enough.
The Kamaitachi was distracted.
Its attack was half a beat slow.
And within that half-beat, Kobe Hikaru had already struck.
[Bloodthirsty Madness] erupted with full force.
[Blood Transformation] turned the blood in his body into propulsion.
His speed reached its limit at this moment.
So fast that even the Kamaitachi could not catch him.
A flash of blade light.
muramasa pierced into the Kamaitachi's eye socket, into that swirling airflow.
"Awoo—!!!"
The Kamaitachi let out a sky-shaking scream of agony.
The airflow that was charging up went out of control, exploding in its throat and shattering the internal organs it had painstakingly formed through Qualitative Transformation and compression.
Kobe Hikaru withdrew his blade and retreated.
The Kamaitachi stumbled back, blood gushing from its eye socket.
That eye was ruined.
Although it wasn't dead, its combat power was reduced by at least thirty percent.
"You... you..."
The Kamaitachi's voice was filled with disbelief.
Although it didn't carefully categorize the levels of yokai like Kobe Hikaru did, it could feel the absolute gap between itself and this little yokai before it.
And yet, it had actually been harmed by this little yokai?
And it was a heavy injury at that?
This was impossible!
But the facts were right before its eyes.
Kobe Hikaru stood there, holding the still-dripping muramasa.
His body was also covered in scars, and black blood stained half of his clothes.
But he was still standing.
Compared to before, he hadn't retreated half a step.
Instead.
He had moved even further forward!
As the saying goes, when the time comes, heaven and earth work together.
At this moment, although Kobe Hikaru did not have the support of heaven and earth.
He did, however, have the support of all the 'objects' in this village.
He could still fight.
He could move forward!
Volume 1: Chapter 28 Suppressing Magatsuhi, Slaying Kamaitachi, naohi's Skyrocketing Favorability, a Talent Brought by naohi?
The Kamaitachi's screams were still echoing in the air.
It stumbled back, blood gushing from the pierced eye socket and staining its grayish-white fur red.
Kobe Hikaru did not pursue.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he couldn't.
That strike just now had almost exhausted all his strength. Although [Bloodthirsty Madness] had no side effects, it still had a cost; his limbs were weak and his vision was somewhat blurred.
"Damn it..."
The Kamaitachi's voice was full of resentment and hatred.
It stared at Kobe Hikaru, its remaining eye in the socket glowing with an eerie green light.
That was the fierce light unique to a demon beast when driven to a corner.
Kobe Hikaru gripped the hilt of the blade, forcing himself to stand upright.
He knew that the Kamaitachi would definitely launch a frantic counterattack next.
A wounded beast was the most dangerous.
Especially a high-level yokai at the Seventh Stage of Qualitative Transformation.
"You..."
The Kamaitachi opened its mouth, and airflow began to condense deep in its throat.
Even though its charge-up was interrupted and its internal organs were injured, it was still a Qualitative existence.
It still possessed the strength to crush a Physical Transformation yokai.
Kobe Hikaru took a deep breath, preparing for the final battle.
But just then—
The Kamaitachi's movements suddenly froze.
Its body suddenly sprang backward, retreating a distance of three zhang.
"Whoosh—!"
The next second.
A white light streaked past from behind Kobe Hikaru, grazing his temple and flying toward the position where the Kamaitachi had originally stood.
Sacred Arrow.
Kobe Hikaru looked back.
Kikyo was standing in front of the Shrine Hall.
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