WHOOSH!
Ice and snow howled, freezing the Shikon no Tama's body—but in an instant it shattered free and swung a fist at the approaching Rikuo.
"[Goraishi]!"
CRACKLE!!
Intense electricity passed through and struck its head, but it remained completely unfazed.
Cu Chulainn wielded his spear like a staff, swinging it powerfully to strike the opponent's waist and send it flying.
'Tch, the more I use this thing, the more useless it feels.'
Looking at the Goraishi on his hand, Koga's emotions were complicated.
Despite being the Wolf Demon Tribe's sacred artifact, since its debut it had produced no noteworthy results.
But he knew the problem wasn't with the artifact—the opponents were simply too strong.
Moryomaru with his shell...
Naraku with his barrier...
And now the Shikon no Tama fused with a youkai...
Each one was utterly unreasonable.
Yet if he abandoned it, he really had no other attack methods.
Cu Chulainn at least had his spear techniques and Noble Phantasm to rely on. Without the Goraishi, all Koga had was the speed he prided himself on.
One could say the Shikon no Tama could ignore him entirely and focus on dealing with Rikuo and Cu Chulainn.
This was the most frustrating battle Koga had ever experienced.
"Master, don't be anxious. Rider and I will handle this—just focus on watching for any weaknesses."
Shaking his head, Cu Chulainn saw Koga's predicament and spoke up.
"Lancer's right. There should be flaws we can't detect."
"Since Lancer and I have to respond to his attacks, we might miss them. Please keep watch for us."
Reshaping Nenekirimaru with youkai power, Rikuo offered gentle advice as well.
Though it was said to help Koga accept the situation, it still felt somewhat awkward.
"Tch, I'll leave it to you then."
Never imagining he'd be in such a position, Koga had to accept it.
He wouldn't foolishly rush in and get himself killed over pride.
Bravery and recklessness were different.
"Hey! Let's go!"
Watching the two charge in, Koga concentrated and observed.
"Ha!"
SWISH SWISH SWISH!!
Dancing the frost-tinged blade, Rikuo continuously slashed, but every strike was blocked by the Shikon no Tama's raised hands.
Wounds that were cut closed within less than a second. The accompanying freezing power was easily dispelled.
'The blade barely cuts in before the wound seals around the gap.'
Outrageous...
That regeneration was more impressive than any youkai Koga had seen.
Even Naraku couldn't recover this quickly.
SQUELCH!
Cu Chulainn approached from the side, gripping his spear single-handed as he thrust.
The Shikon no Tama roughly caught the incoming spear with its palm. Ignoring the pierced hand, two giant hands extended from its wrists and seized Rikuo and Cu Chulainn by the throat.
"!"
"?"
The sudden transformation left both unable to escape.
"I told you—you're only wasting effort!"
The Shikon no Tama intended to kill them both, but Cu Chulainn suddenly moved his fingers.
BOOM!
SIZZLE!!
A scorching sensation came. Only then did the Shikon no Tama realize flames had ignited where it stood.
SNAP!
Seizing the opportunity, Rikuo slashed off the giant hand holding Cu Chulainn, while Cu Chulainn thrust his spear to sever the hand gripping Rikuo.
Escaping through tacit coordination, both launched attacks at the enemy before them.
SQUELCH!
STAB!
Blade and spear crossed, leaving conspicuous wounds on its body.
"Petty tricks!"
Youkai power erupted, blasting both away.
The flames were extinguished. The charred flesh and chest wounds healed as if nothing had happened.
"Tch, a guy that just won't die. The youkai world is really annoying."
Cu Chulainn stood up, tearing the severed hand from his neck as he grumbled.
"Indeed, this type of youkai is quite troublesome."
Knocking away the hand at his neck as well, Rikuo chuckled.
He truly hadn't encountered this kind of opponent before—a worthwhile experience, all things considered.
'The recovery speed was different?'
Ignoring Rikuo and Cu Chulainn's remarks, Koga had noticed something strange about the Shikon no Tama just now.
The burns Cu Chulainn had inflicted with magic and the wounds from blade and spear healed at different rates.
Blade and spear damage recovered almost instantly, but the burns took several seconds to fully heal.
Koga was certain that wasn't his imagination...
"Lancer, try another fire attack later."
"Oh? Notice something?"
Hearing this, Cu Chulainn spoke with interest. Even Rikuo turned to look.
"Could be an oversight or a weakness..."
"That would be interesting."
At that, Rikuo and Cu Chulainn charged in without hesitation.
"This time you won't escape!"
Youkai power spheres formed and bombarded forward. Rikuo and Cu Chulainn split apart.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Palms and mouth continuously fired youkai spheres. The fierce barrage kept Cu Chulainn and Rikuo on their toes.
A direct hit from those would be no light matter.
"I didn't really want to use this, but..."
"Take this!"
Waiting for the right distance, Cu Chulainn aimed his palm at the Shikon no Tama.
ROAR!!
CRACKLE!!
Massive flames erupted from the ground, completely engulfing it.
"Meaningless!"
With a roar, the flames were extinguished. This time, the scorch marks on the Shikon no Tama's body lasted only an instant before vanishing.
'The recovery speed was different again.'
Koga furrowed his brow, momentarily puzzled.
SQUELCH!
But the next moment's scene made everything click.
A phantom approached from behind the Shikon no Tama. Without it noticing, the figure swung a blade against its neck.
"Ugh!"
"You!!"
Watching the Rikuo in front dissolve into ash and scatter, the Shikon no Tama realized.
[Kyouka Suigetsu]—
The real body had already circled behind to attack!
Its head was severed, yet it remained calm.
"Watch out, Rider!"
Before even landing, Rikuo saw purple gas spewing from the severed neck.
"It's miasma!"
"Tch!"
Planting his spear into the ground, Cu Chulainn activated rune magic once more.
WHOOSH!
Intense wind pressure scattered the gas. Rikuo immediately created distance upon landing.
"So you can use magic after all?"
The head fell to the ground, eyes fixed on Cu Chulainn, the Shikon no Tama confirming its earlier suspicion.
Using its body's hands to pick up its head and reattach it to its neck, it identified who needed to die.
A Lancer who could use magic was an oddity, but the half-youkai Rider was the biggest problem.
Being able to launch attacks it couldn't detect and thus cause damage—while not lethal, it posed a potential threat.
'Attacks from its blind spot slow its recovery speed?'
Meanwhile, Koga stared at the Shikon no Tama, verifying whether his guess was correct.