The setting sun stretched their shadows longer and longer, extending all the way back to the small village that had just returned to tranquility.
As always, the exorcism that had just ended seemed not to have caused even a ripple.
In this world, the strong remain strong.
In this age, most 'exorcisms' were actually just this kind of dull and one-sided slaughter—or, being slaughtered.
Encountering strong enemies repeatedly like before was actually a very rare situation, an exception.
On the return journey, Kikyo walked in front.
The afterglow of the setting sun gilded her back with a warm golden outline, and the white shrine maiden top was pressed against her body by the breeze, outlining the slender yet upright lines of her back.
The red hakama swayed with her steps, occasionally clinging to her legs, revealing the long, well-proportioned curves, the hip line slightly defined.
Kanbe Hikaru followed behind, carrying the cloth bag containing the horn of the thunder beast in his hand.
His mind, however, was not on the scenery in front—at least not entirely.
Because the cloth bag in his arms was vibrating crazily.
It wasn't the occasional spark of electricity from before, but like a heart about to explode, beating extremely violently.
That restlessness was conducted through his arm to Kanbe Hikaru's whole body, and even the Demonic Qi within his body was stirred into some disorder.
[ Thunder Horn: favorability 99 ]
Continuing to rise.
Just a little bit more.
Kanbe Hikaru stopped in his tracks.
He looked down at the cloth bundle in his hand, feeling the horn inside growing alarmingly hot.
He reached out and patted it through the cloth: "Don't be in such a hurry, we're not home yet."
Buzz—!
An even more violent vibration answered him as a purple electric arc burned right through the thick canvas, coiling around Kanbe Hikaru's finger like a small snake.
There was no pain.
Instead, there was a kind of... tingling sensation, like a merging.
[horn of the thunder beast: favorability +1]
[Current favorability: 100 (At One)]
[Evaluation: Now is the time. It has completely opened itself up; no longer just lending, no longer just being controlled, it wants to pour the origin of that ancient Thunder God's descendant into you without reservation.]
Kanbe Hikaru: "?"
The red text on the panel was flashing frantically.
Kanbe Hikaru looked at the prompt, his brow furrowing slightly.
This was the middle of nowhere.
There was no village in front and no inn behind.
Although he had just cleared out a few minor demons nearby, no one could guarantee that something stronger—or even a ruthless person—wouldn't emerge from these deep mountains and old forests.
Reason told him he should suppress this restlessness and wait until they returned to the shrine in Kaede Village to perform the fusion under the protection of the Barrier.
But—
He couldn't hold it back anymore.
The Thunder Horn was no longer just vibrating; it was melting.
Purple lightning slurry seeped through the cloth bundle; the moment it dripped onto the ground, it scorched the grass beneath his feet black.
The overflowing sense of power was like a dam filled to the brim; it couldn't wait another moment.
If he didn't choose to absorb it now, this power would dissipate or even explode.
A waste.
For an Oni Samurai who grew stronger by consuming such things, this was an absolutely unforgivable waste.
The horn of the thunder beast—this fellow truly had a short fuse.
Kanbe Hikaru looked up.
Kikyo had already stopped.
She turned around, her dark eyes watching him quietly. Her gaze fell on the bundle emitting purple smoke in his hand before moving to his face.
She didn't ask.
She didn't panic.
She simply stood there, her longbow already in hand at some unknown point.
"It seems we can't wait until we get home."
Kanbe Hikaru spoke, his voice mingling with the sound of rushing wind.
The Demonic Qi within him began to boil.
"Mhm."
Kikyo replied.
"It's dangerous." Kanbe Hikaru looked into her eyes. "Once it starts, I won't be able to move, and even my senses will be cut off."
In this Sengoku Period where demons were everywhere, losing all defensive capabilities in front of a demon and surrendering one's life...
...was a major taboo.
After all, in such chaotic times, even biological brothers might stab each other in the back for profit.
But Kanbe Hikaru looked at the priestess before him.
He looked at his own reflection in the depths of those cold eyes.
He smiled.
He smiled easily, with a sense of relief.
"Kikyo."
"I'm here."
"Help me."
"Alright."
Just one word.
Crisp and decisive.
Kikyo didn't ask how long it would take or how much of a commotion it would cause.
She simply turned around to face the path they had come from, toward the mountain forest about to be swallowed by the night.
She raised her hand, a talisman held between her fingertips.
Spiritual power surged.
A pale blue Barrier rapidly expanded with the two of them at the center, enveloping an area of several dozen feet.
This wasn't a wide-range warning Barrier, but a pure, solid defensive bulwark.
Having done all this, she did not relax.
She walked to Kanbe Hikaru's side, sat cross-legged, and took the longbow from her back, resting it across her knees.
"Rest assured."
Her voice was soft, drifting into Kanbe Hikaru's ears with the evening breeze: "As long as I am alive, nothing will touch you."
Kanbe Hikaru looked at her profile.
The setting sun had completely sunk into the mountains, its final light tracing the curve of her jaw.
This was his lover.
The strongest priestess of the Sengoku Period.
With her here, this wilderness was the safest fortress.
"Then... I'll leave it all to you."
Kanbe Hikaru no longer hesitated.
He tore apart the scalding cloth bundle in his hands.
The purple horn of the thunder beast had completely liquefied, turning into a mass of lightning slurry floating in the air.
Kanbe Hikaru took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
[Sharp Body Transformation] activated at full power.
The muscles, bones, and every inch of his body began to vibrate, actively welcoming the mass of lightning slurry.
A normal fusion wouldn't require this, but the horn of the thunder beast was special; it originated from a thunder beast and was itself lightning, rather than a physical object like ordinary things.
The so-called fusion was, quite literally, a fusion.
And using Sharp Body Transformation to host it was a result of Kanbe Hikaru's careful consideration.
His Sharp Body Transformation was the initial change, a transformation of the body structure itself.
Among the Six Transformations, only it was closest to the origin of the body.
And only it was most likely to turn the violent lightning into a part of himself!
Boom—!
In that instant, Kanbe Hikaru felt as if he were embracing not just a mass of energy...
...but lightning itself.
The violent lightning exploded within him, instantly overwhelming the defenses of his internal organs.
Pain.
Extreme pain.
His consciousness plunged into darkness in an instant, leaving only instinct to maintain the operation of the [Six Transformations], attempting to digest this power capable of destroying his body.
Meanwhile, on the outside...
Kikyo watched Kanbe Hikaru's body.
His skin turned bright red in an instant, then bruised purple, as countless fine electric arcs erupted from his pores.
Beneath his originally pale skin, his muscles throbbed wildly like living things surged with electricity.
It was ghastly and terrifying.
He just sat there cross-legged on the ground, teeth clenched, without making a sound.
Kikyo's grip on her bow tightened.
She could feel the violent Demonic Qi battering the Barrier, even triggering changes in the surrounding weather.
Dark clouds began to gather in the night sky above, with the faint roll of thunder.
This commotion was too great.
Demons within a radius of several miles would be drawn here.
"Is this the path you've chosen?"
Kikyo whispered softly.
She stood up, her white robes fluttering in the wind; her red and white shrine maiden outfit was particularly striking in the night.
Her gaze swept across the dark mountain forest, where pairs of greedy bestial eyes were already lighting up.
They were trash attracted by the high concentration of Demonic Qi.
There were many of them.
But Kikyo's eyes didn't waver in the slightest.
She pulled out an arrow and notched it on the string.
Spiritual power surged, and a white light began to condense at the tip of the arrow.
Sacred Arrow.
With just one arrow, she could pulverize a demon.
"Come."
Her voice was cold as frost.
"Those who cross the line shall die."
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