Retsu's eyes suddenly turned scarlet, three tomoe emerged, and he quickly ducked to avoid the strike of the long tongue.
At the same time, he reached out and drew the samurai sword at his waist. Wind Release Chakra instantly enveloped the blade, and with a forceful flick, it transformed into a streak of white light and was thrown out violently.
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"Squelch—"
The samurai sword grazed the Toad Demon's cheek, the Wind Release Chakra carving a deep wound that showed the bone, and dark red blood instantly gushed out.
The Toad Demon looked at the samurai sword pinned to the wall behind it with lingering fear. It turned its head, just about to open its mouth to mock him, when Retsu suddenly vanished from the spot.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
In the next second, Retsu's figure appeared behind the Toad Demon, his hand reaching back to accurately grip the hilt of the nearby samurai sword. On the blade, the Wind Release Chakra surged several times over. With a forceful twist of his wrist, he slashed down!
"Splurt—"
The Toad Demon's hideous head soared into the sky, dark red blood erupting like a fountain. Its ugly body crashed heavily to the ground, and its head rolled to the side. Under the torn bandages, a thick sense of confusion and resentment remained in its pupils.
Retsu bent down and retrieved a shard of the shikon jewel from the demon's corpse.
As the shard was removed, a large amount of demonic aura began to rapidly dissipate from the demon's corpse. A moment later, only an ordinary-looking male corpse remained on the spot; it was the possessed Lord himself.
"Damn! I forgot to collect the life force!" Retsu slapped his forehead and complained to the corpse on the ground. "It's all your fault for being too weak; you died in one hit."
He was preparing to use Earth Release to bury the corpse when his gaze was drawn to the samurai sword at the corpse's waist.
He reached out and drew it from the scabbard. A cold light flashed; the blade was incredibly sharp, and its craftsmanship was far more refined than the wandering samurai's sword he was currently using.
"It's a nice trophy." Retsu tied the new sword to his waist with satisfaction, then pressed both hands to the ground. "Earth Release Technique!"
The soil around the corpse began to churn and rise, quickly sinking the Lord's body underground and smoothing the ground over again, leaving no trace.
"Next, it's time to save those girls the demon brought here."
Retsu gathered Chakra at his feet and leaped up, moving quickly between the roofs and courtyards, heading toward the direction where he had previously sensed the girls' presence.
Soon, he arrived outside a remote room. He pushed the door open to find dozens of girls lying inside; they were the ones who had just been escorted here. All were under a Genjutsu and in a deep sleep; the demon hadn't had time to lay a hand on them yet.
He didn't wake these girls up, but instead turned and walked toward another secret room not far away.
The moment he pushed open the door, a strange, fishy-sweet scent wafted over. What met his eyes were massive, transparent spheres resembling toad eggs, sticking to each other and filling the entire room.
And inside these 'eggs' were not embryos, but women curled up.
"Are these the eggs of the Ninety-Nine Toad?" Retsu looked at the scene before him with a sigh.
Such a weak demon was actually able to harm so many innocent girls.
Ordinary people in this world haven't been eliminated by the demons everywhere thanks to the protection of human transcendents like priestesses and Shinto Priests.
He remembered the plot saying that this Toad Demon would wait for the souls of the girls inside the eggs to 'mature' before eating them.
He wasn't sure exactly what'soul maturation' meant, nor did he know how long these girls had been trapped in the eggs or if they had suffered irreversible damage. He could only save them first and see.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a 'bang,' white smoke erupted, and nine Shadow Clones identical to Retsu appeared beside him.
"Hurry up and save the people."
As soon as he finished speaking, Retsu and his Shadow Clones simultaneously drew their samurai swords and carefully sliced open those transparent egg sacs.
Most of the girls inside were pale and weak. After being pulled out, some quickly regained consciousness, while others remained in a coma.
After nearly half an hour of work, all the girls were rescued. Retsu took the conscious girls to the previous room and reapplied Genjutsu to let them sleep.
There were still many unconscious samurai in the castle. It would inevitably be chaotic when they woke up, so it was safer to let the girls sleep a bit longer.
Finally, he returned to the secret room and looked at the three girls still lying on the ground. They were still breathing and their heartbeats were normal, yet they had no reaction to anything from the outside world. Their eyes were hollow, like puppets without souls.
"It seems their souls must have already been devoured by that demon." Retsu's gaze darkened.
This was also why he had chosen to kill the Lord, even though he knew from the plot that Fire Release could be used to force the demon out of the Lord's body.
This Lord was not entirely innocent; when he was first possessed, his consciousness was clear.
Even after being possessed for so long, in the plot, he would still regain clarity for a period after being hit on the head by Inuyasha.
As a Lord, it was impossible for him not to know of the demon's existence, and he knew even better that priestesses and Shinto Priests could exorcise demons.
Yet he never thought of seeking help. Instead, he actively cooperated with the demon, capturing girls within his territory for it to devour.
Either he was greedy for the demon's power, or he was afraid of death and feared the Miko would eliminate him as well, or he was just utterly stupid.
But regardless of the reason, he had to pay the price for his actions. Otherwise, wouldn't those girls he personally sent to hell have died too unfairly?
"Kamui!"
Retsu's eyes suddenly turned into the Mangekyo Sharingan. The spatial vortex rotated rapidly, sending the three girls whose souls had been devoured into the Kamui Dimension.
"When Inuyasha and the others arrive, I'll ask Myoga if these girls can still be saved."
He took one last glance at the room full of broken egg sacs; the thick liquid was dripping down the walls, and a faint fishy-sweet scent still lingered in the air.
He turned and left the secret room, walking toward the Lord's room where he had previously slain the Toad Demon.
"Slide—"
He pushed open the door, and a pink figure came into view. Lying on the floor was a young girl wearing a pink kimono with a red Haori over it. Her features were pure and beautiful; she was the Lord's wife who had recently married in the plot. He remembered her name was Ruji.
"She's quite a beauty, a pity she's a married woman." Looking at Ruji's beautiful face as she lay on the ground, Retsu leaned over, laid her flat, and found a quilt in the room to cover her.
After doing all this, he sat down in a corner of the room, quietly waiting for Inuyasha and Kagome to arrive. He remembered that in the plot, Inuyasha and the others arrived at this castle at night, but he wasn't sure if it was tonight.
If they didn't come tonight, he planned to undo the Genjutsu and leave tomorrow morning. It was already evening, and the sky outside the window was gradually darkening. The castle was deathly silent, with only the occasional sound of insects from afar.