The Smirking Battle

Deep within the dense forest, in a wide clearing, the creature known as Naraku manipulated a massive swarm of various yokai to charge toward the target in the center. In this chaotic Sengoku era, the constant warfare had led to a proliferation of demons. These yokai, produced in bulk by the environment, generally possessed low intelligence and behaved like beasts, making them extremely easy to control. Centipedes, Okuri-inu, ghosts, Kyusu, and many other beings—some physical, some spiritual—surged forward together to crush the seemingly helpless target. However, just as they were about to tear it apart, a powerful shockwave scattered them. In the center of the impact, an orange, spherical object manifested out of thin air.

At this moment, what appeared in the clearing was a smooth, bright orange sphere about ten meters in diameter. Displayed on its surface was an expression: an exaggerated smile that held an unspeakable, deep meaning. Its curved, squinting eyes revealed a look of profound significance, and the red blushes on its cheeks invited endless associations. This entire face displayed a sense of subtext that everyone understood.

'Demonic energy... this freakish existence... Is this a yokai too? I've never seen anything like it. Where did it come from? Hmph, its appearance is laughable though.' Naraku, watching the Meme Lore yokai from a distance, spoke in confusion. As a collective of demons, he was a living encyclopedia of yokai; he knew everything about the various creatures across Japan like the back of his hand. But this bizarre entity was a first for him. On the other hand, Kagome recognized it at a single glance as a certain internet expression.

The giant Smirking Emoji dropped to the ground after its creation, landing between Kagome and the little fox.

"Destroy that ridiculous yellow yokai along with the rest! Seize the Shikon Jewel!" Naraku barked his orders. In his view, although the Smirking Emoji that had suddenly appeared was strange, it likely lacked much combat power. He believed that powerful yokai were either ferocious or majestic; true strength was something that radiated from the inside out. The appearance of this strange yokai was simply too comical. Could such a ridiculous creature actually fight?

Obeying Naraku's command, the yokai that had just been blown back regrouped and charged toward the center of the clearing once more, their target still the Shikon Jewel shards in the small bottle.

Facing the onslaught, the Smirking Emoji stood ready. Two yellow fists, shaped like spheres just like itself, appeared on its sides. The floating yellow fists of the Smirking Emoji swung out at extreme speed, shattering the skull of the lead Kyusu with a single punch, flattening its head instantly. Then, the Smirking Emoji began punching at high velocity, its round fists blurring into countless afterimages in the air. The incoming horde of demons was pummeled, their bones breaking and skulls cracking. Then, the pupils in those squinting eyes shifted upward, locking onto the enemies in the sky. Suddenly, a flash of light passed over the emoji's back, and a pair of soft, white angel wings appeared out of nowhere. Flapping these 'wings,' the Smirking Emoji took flight, charging straight at the avian yokai in the sky, scattering them all with a few punches.

With the support of the 'Angel Wings,' the Smirking Emoji's mobility increased dramatically. It zipped between the sky and the ground, rapidly eliminating the attacking demons. Within the blur of its high-speed afterimages, any yokai that dared to step forward was ruthlessly crushed. The might of the Smirking Emoji was unstoppable.

"So... so strong! Is that really an emoji? How can it be this powerful? I feel like it's even stronger than Inuyasha," Kagome couldn't help but exclaim as she watched the ridiculous creature.

Naraku's expression darkened. "If that's the case..."

As he spoke, a glint of light flashed within the darkness behind the silver baboon mask. Beside him, the previously unconscious Kagura seemed to be manipulated by some force, standing up wobbling like a marionette. Under Naraku's control, Kagura stared blankly at the Smirking Emoji. She snapped her folding fan open and waved it casually, generating a fierce storm filled with countless invisible wind blades. Simultaneously, a swarm of Saimyosho flew toward the emoji, which was already being harassed by the wind blades. These dense poisonous wasps were numerous and tiny; such enemies were difficult for the Smirking Emoji's fists to deal with. They quickly closed in to attack with their stingers. When the Smirking Emoji was stung by the Saimyosho, its expression changed, turning into a crying face with streaming tears.

'Hmph, how petty.' Naraku sneered at the change in the strange creature.

Just as he was about to press the advantage, the Smirking Emoji's expression changed yet again. This time, its originally yellow exterior suddenly turned red, and its mouth turned into a scowl. Accompanying this transformation, the air around the Smirking Emoji heated up rapidly, until flames eventually ignited out of thin air. The spreading fire instantly incinerated every Saimyosho around it.

The anger of the Smirking Emoji had transformed into raging flames. The surging heat disrupted the air pressure, causing Kagura's incoming wind blades to lose their aim and veer off target. Seizing the opportunity, the Smirking Emoji wrapped itself in the surrounding fire to form a massive fireball, shooting straight toward Naraku.

The blazing fireball approached Naraku at high speed. Naraku released his control over Kagura and jumped back two steps to avoid it. Kagura lost consciousness again and collapsed to the ground. Just as the 'Unhappy' Smirking Emoji landed, the fireball it had shot reached Naraku. In that instant, a transparent white barrier appeared out of nowhere in front of him. The fireball slammed into the barrier, causing a violent explosion that completely swallowed both the barrier and Naraku in wild flames.

When the fire dissipated, Naraku, draped in his silver-white baboon skin, remained standing in place. The transparent white barrier was still solid. In the center of that barrier, standing right in front of Naraku, was a pure white girl.

White hair, a white kimono, pale skin, and black eyes—a little girl of about twelve, looking like a delicate piece of white porcelain, stood before Naraku. Her face was expressionless, her gaze indifferent and devoid of life, just like a literal porcelain doll. In the girl's hands was a bright mirror, and the white light shimmering within it was what had constructed the barrier.

Naraku was essentially a collective of yokai. He could fuse various yokai bodies into himself, and he could also split parts of himself off to create new demons. The Kanna and Kagura before them were clones created ahead of time with the active help of the Shikon Jewel. Compared to Kagura's ability to command the wind, Kanna possessed a strange power.

"Soul... Capture..." Kanna murmured softly. A faint, ethereal aura began to leak out of the Smirking Emoji, attempting to escape from its body. Seeing this, the little fox avatar of Miketsu tilted its head and nodded, whispering softly.

'Soul absorption? In that case...'

As she spoke, Miketsu had the Smirking Emoji change back into its original yellow, meaningful smiling state and then commanded it to stop resisting. Suddenly, a massive amount of pale yellow aura was pulled from the emoji, surging into the mirror in Kanna's hands.

"It's over."

The aura was sucked into the mirror in increasing quantities. Seeing that the strange yokai's soul was being successfully drained, Naraku chuckled. However, after a moment, he realized something was wrong. Kanna's mirror was absorbing energy at full capacity, yet the Smirking Emoji continued to float there, full of vigor, without a single ill effect. Facing Kanna's drain, the emoji did nothing; its squinting, meaningful smile seemed to tell Naraku: 'Go ahead and suck, I lose if I even lift a finger to stop you.'

Seeing that expression, Naraku felt a lump in his chest. He shouted to Kanna.

"Kanna! Increase the power! Squeeze its entire soul out!"

Obeying Naraku's command, Kanna nodded silently and immediately maximized the absorption efficiency of her demonic mirror. Instantly, even more yellow aura was sucked from the Smirking Emoji into the mirror, yet it still had no effect.

'What is going on... It hasn't worked at all after all this time. Impossible. There cannot be a soul this powerful in this world,' Naraku murmured in shock. However, a crisp sound interrupted his words.

On the demonic mirror in Kanna's hands, a crack appeared out of nowhere. From beneath the crack, a yellow light began to leak out. Facing her cracking mirror, Kanna murmured silently.

"It's... full."

Suddenly, a massive amount of yellow aura erupted from the cracked mirror. All the 'soul energy' the Smirking Emoji had lost was expelled at once, scattering rapidly into the surroundings. Naraku jumped back several steps to avoid the aura, but Kanna was instantly swallowed by it. In that yellow mist, the demonic mirror fell from Kanna's hands to the ground. Her stoic, emotionless expression turned into one of dazed confusion, and her body swayed unsteadily.

"Kanna! What happened?!" Naraku asked urgently from behind his silver baboon skin. Hearing his voice, the swaying Kanna steadied herself. She turned her head toward Naraku and opened her mouth slightly.

"I'm... fine... Pfft!"

Suddenly, Kanna's cheeks puffed out as if she were about to laugh out loud, but she immediately covered her mouth with her hands. Her entire body then curled forward slightly, trembling as if she were suppressing something.

"Ha... This... Haha... What is this... Hahahaha!" Finally, Kanna couldn't hold it back any longer. She clutched her stomach and burst into a loud, hearty laugh, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. Her stoic facade collapsed instantly as she released a torrent of laughter.

Meme Lore yokai—or Secret Lore yokai—were very different from ordinary demons. They did not have souls in the conventional sense. The source of a Meme Lore yokai was the resonance of human emotions. The emotions born from that resonance were the 'soul' of the Meme Lore yokai. Therefore, the soul of every Meme Lore yokai was the specific type of emotion generated by its corresponding story or trend—be it fear, sadness, or anger. Miketsu's Meme Lore yokai were essentially the same; behind every meme lay the psychological state of the people using it. As for what kind of mindset the public was in when they typed out this 'Smirking' expression... that goes without saying. In short, Kanna was currently being eroded by the Smirking Emoji's energy. Devoid of her own feelings, she was experiencing the first emotion since her birth—a sense of 'joy,' the specific joy of the Smirking Emoji.

Seeing Kanna reduced to this state, Naraku knew she had lost her combat effectiveness. However, he was not willing to give up just yet, for he still had many yokai at his disposal. Looking at the smugly floating Smirking Emoji in the distance, Naraku once again commanded the swarm.

"All of you, attack!"

With Naraku's command, the yokai that had been idling in the forest snarled once more. Under his control, they charged at the Smirking Emoji again. Watching this scene, Miketsu murmured to herself.

'Well, I've had enough fun. Let's finish this in one go.'

"Water Gun!"

A fierce, high-pressure stream of water erupted from the Smirking Emoji's mouth. The blue torrent pierced directly through a line of charging yokai, their bodies instantly punctured. But it didn't end there. While maintaining the Water Gun stance, the Smirking Emoji began to spin in place. In an instant, the high-pressure water jet spraying from its mouth became like a sharp blade. The spinning Smirking Emoji turned into a high-speed lawn sprinkler of death, and the figure draped in the silver baboon skin likewise had most of its body sliced away by the rapidly approaching sword of water pressure.