Chapter 18. Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi, a strike like Infinity!

Chapter 18. Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi, a strike like Infinity!

"Why did you run into the forest?"

Raku Sou smiled faintly, his whole body radiating confidence as if everything was within his grasp. He turned to look at the black-haired girl whose cheeks were flushed, and curiously asked:

"In the city, there are agents from the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Bureau. If you had just held on a bit longer, the exorcists would have arrived. Not saying they could kill the evil spirit, but your safety would've definitely been ensured."

"That's absolutely unacceptable!"

The girl, who had been lost in youthful dreams, suddenly snapped back to reality, clenched her fists tightly, and said seriously and firmly:

"Even though I don't know why, that thing is definitely targeting me. Its only goal is me alone. If I stayed in the city just to survive, it would have caused the deaths of many innocent people."

"Even if it means you'll be cruelly killed by that monster?"

"So what!"

Kagome stood tall with righteous spirit, her eyes determined and serious.

Then her demeanor softened, her lips tightened, and she hesitated shyly.

The girl took a deep breath, steeled herself, and solemnly said to the boy:

"Raku-san, if you can't handle that monster, please leave me behind and escape on your own. Don't feel guilty because of it!"

"I, Higurashi Kagome, don't want to drag innocent people down with me."

"Don't worry. I'm confident I can handle that oversized thing."

Raku Sou smiled, and his favorability toward Kagome increased quite a bit in his heart.

A girl who held fast to justice like this—truly rare in these times when morals and virtues had collapsed.

Now that his Divine Authority Jade reserves were full, casually saving her life—why not?

Acting freely without crossing the line—that was exactly Raku Sou's way of doing things.

"…Thank you, Raku-san, for saving my life!"

The heavy stone in her heart lifted, and Kagome immediately lit up with joy. Her beautiful face filled with pure excitement, she nearly threw herself into the boy's arms again.

Raku Sou curled his lips into a slight smile, totally unbothered.

"Do you know why that evil spirit is going all out to attack you?"

"…Why is that?"

Kagome's excitement faded, her face showing some confusion.

"This goes back to the Shikon Jewel passed down in your family."

Raku Sou smiled as he explained, "Right now, it's inside your body."

"Inside… my body?!"

Kagome gasped in shock. She didn't feel any kind of foreign object inside her at all.

Right after that, the young man extended a fair hand and "stabbed" it into her lower abdomen. Under the girl's horrified and blushing gaze, he easily pulled out a round jewel, its faint purple glow radiant in the night.

"This is the Shikon Jewel. You've probably heard your grandfather tell the legend of it."

"During the Sengoku period, a powerful miko named Kikyo sacrificed herself to destroy a great youkai rampaging through the human world. After both souls died, they merged to form this Shikon Jewel."

"It's said that the Shikon Jewel can grant any wish, making it a treasure all beings desire."

"Someone carrying the Shikon Jewel, like you, is basically a gourmet delicacy in the eyes of every youkai and demon."

"However, your Shikon Jewel had its aura sealed. Normally, evil spirits and monsters wouldn't be able to detect it… It's unclear how that monster managed to sense the Shikon Jewel."

The boy casually told the story with a faint smile, unveiling all the mysteries.

Higurashi Kagome was stunned where she stood.

No way… those legends Grandpa told me… were actually true?

This thing is really a sacred treasure?

No wonder that giant spider went absolutely nuts—it looked at me like I was Tang Sanzang meat!

Just as the girl was inwardly mocking herself with false optimism, the boy casually tossed the Shikon Jewel back to her.

"Raku-san, don't you need this?"

Kagome looked down at her palm, surprised to see the Shikon Jewel returned to her perfectly intact.

"Not to the point of snatching a girl's ancestral heirloom."

Raku Sou smiled faintly and responded calmly.

To him, this item was nothing more than a marketplace knockoff of Void.

If he had it, fine. If not, whatever.

Higurashi Kagome parted her lips, about to say something—but was suddenly interrupted.

"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…!!"

The ground began to shake violently, almost knocking her off her feet.

Dust rose in thick clouds in all directions. The giant monster was raging with fury—the spider-shaped evil spirit howled madly, now only a hair's breadth away from the two. Its eight hairy black legs lifted high, poised to strike down.

"So it's here."

Raku Sou gave a faint smile and calmly drew the katana at his waist, the motion fluid and graceful, as smooth as flowing water—completed in one swift movement.

Every gesture carried an indescribable beauty.

"Sshhhk… sshhhk…"

He walked toward the monster without a hint of fear, the blade's tip scraping along the ground, producing a sharp metallic screech. His departing back was steady like Mount Tai, exuding an overwhelming sense of safety.

Unaffected by joy or fear, he gazed indifferently at flowers blooming and withering before the porch.

Unconcerned with comings and goings, letting the clouds gather and scatter across the sky.

Kagome stared blankly, her beautiful eyes glimmering with a trace of light, stunned as she watched the boy's back fade into the distance.

Then suddenly, he turned around and smiled, his tone casual and laced with a touch of flair:

"Higurashi-san, watch closely~."

"Huh?"

"This slash… is gonna be seriously cool!"

"…Okay!!"

——

In an instant.

The boy in the white coat had stepped forward, blocking the charge of the raging beast.

He tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile tinged with a sinister charm. Surging magical energy burst forth, the katana gleaming under the moonlight with a beautifully curved glow. A fierce aura swept through the air like a storm, tossing his hair wildly in the wind…

Though his mouth smiled, his eyes were cold as the Grim Reaper.

Then, he gripped the sword hilt with both hands and raised it to shoulder height, taking a striking stance.

The boy let out a faint sneer—at that moment, hundreds of Divine Authority Jade burned furiously.

"Stand proud—you're the first monster to witness the birth of the Secret Sword."

"KREEEEHHH!!"

The spider-shaped evil spirit screeched, its eyes flashing with fear, as if it could feel its life being threatened.

Its animal instincts screamed frantically—this was a danger that meant certain death!

Yet its greed for the Shikon Jewel overrode all else, driving it into even greater madness. It howled like a beast, slamming down its eight leg-like tendrils with apocalyptic force, trying desperately to ignore the instinct begging it to flee.

"Raku-san…!!"

From afar, Higurashi Kagome watched the battle, both fists clenched tight, her heart pounding like it might burst from her chest.

In the moment when everything seemed to freeze—tension so thick it stole the breath away—

—

Detached from the mortal world,Praising the yearning of those who live,Chasing the boundless path of the sword.

Age no longer counted,Face no longer the same.Training had long since become a way of life.

Day after day, never weary, steadfast in pursuit…Until the final breath slipped quietly away in the silent mountains.

――Secret Blade completed. The blade's light flashed across the void moon, seen for just a moment—then vanished.

.

.

.

"Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi."

He whispered gently. In the next instant, his hand swung the katana in a slash aimed at the colossal monster.

The blade moved like a ghost, like a white bolt of lightning tearing across the sky.

The very moment the strike was unleashed—sword arcs from parallel timelines emerged simultaneously.

One slash…

Two slashes…

Three slashes.

He had, in the same moment, unleashed three strikes from three distinct positions.

The three sword strikes stacked upon each other, utterly unavoidable, twisting the multi-dimensional space around them violently, sealing off every possible escape route for the sea spider in an instant.

"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…!!"

Before it could even let out a final scream, the monster was decapitated. Its massive body collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash, dust billowing in all directions, and then immediately shattered into countless chunks of flesh, which dissolved into glittering particles of light in the night wind.

A soft breeze swept through, resting gently in the astonished gaze of the girl watching from afar.

A-Grade evil spirit—destroyed!