Purification and the Mechanical Giant

Sengoku era, Kanto region.

Inside the tall castle perched upon the ridge, within the soaring tenshu, the conversation between the priestess and the castle lord had already crossed the red line of warning. Conflict was triggered in an instant. Some were humanoid, others were beast-like, and there was a mass of twisted, revolting insectoid forms; all these yokai, either brandishing weapons or opening their maws, surged from all directions toward the seated priestess.

It seemed as though her delicate body would be torn to shreds in the next second. Seeing this scene, a faint smile appeared on the castle lord’s lips.

'Falling so easily into a trap... how careless of you, Kikyo. Within this narrow space, with so many yokai closing in at once, an archer who primarily uses a bow should be completely unable to cope.' The castle lord thought to himself. He knew Kikyo’s abilities; as an archer possessing Demon-Slaying Power, it should have been impossible for her to withstand the simultaneous close-quarters assault of so many yokai.

Facing the fierce onslaught from all sides, the priestess’s expression remained indifferent, her eyes slightly closed. She exhaled softly, remaining perfectly still until the horde was right before her eyes. Just as the blade of the leading yokai general was about to strike her, her slightly closed eyes slowly opened.

In the moment the blade was set to cleave her body, something was faster than the sword—the sharp arrow in the priestess's hand. Indeed, it was an arrow she had shaken out from her sleeve. Gripping the arrow, the priestess pierced the yokai soldier’s throat. Blood sprayed from the wound, and the yokai soldier fell backward, howling. The priestess casually snatched the blade from the falling yokai's hand, turned, and delivered a horizontal slash, cutting two centipede yokai pouncing from behind into two segments.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere. Then, the red and white figure of the priestess began to dance gracefully among the crowd of monsters. Her lithe form leaped between the fangs and claws of the horde. She dodged a wolf yokai’s bite and severed its head in the same motion; she evaded a demonic ape’s claws and pierced its heart. A slight sidestep caused two insect yokai attacking from both sides to collide and bite each other by mistake.

When the blade in her hand snapped, she took up a long-handled naginata dropped on the ground and continued her slaughter. When that too broke, she continued to seize more. During this process, she even directly tore out the tooth of a larger yokai to use as a dagger. Thus, instead of tearing the priestess apart, the horde of yokai was being harvested at high speed by her within this bloody, rhythmic dance.

Under the divine revelation of fate, no matter how critical or extreme the situation, the priestess could see the single line of counterattack. No matter how dangerous the yokai’s killing array was, under the protection of her god, any crisis would be transformed into an opportunity for victory.

Watching that figure slaughtering freely amidst the spray of blood, Naraku’s mouth hung open in shock.

'How...?'

Seizing a moment, the priestess swung a naginata in her hand. Accompanied by a burst of pinkish-purple light, the newly attacking yokai were all shattered in one go. Then, her expression turned solemn. She stepped forward and lunged with the naginata, its sharp tip aiming straight for Naraku’s heart.

Naraku was caught off guard and was run through by the polearm. Gripping the shaft of the naginata that had pierced his body, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

'Cough... Kikyo... you... aren't you a priestess who uses a bow?' Looking at the priestess holding the naginata, the impaled Naraku spoke in bewilderment. He didn't understand how the priestess before him could display such martial prowess, like a god of war. Was this the same priestess he had once easily ambushed, the one who was supposed to be weak in close combat?

'Yes, the bow is indeed my best weapon. But my Lord Deity warned me that being skilled in only one weapon is the same as revealing your weakness. My Lord Deity possesses perfect power, and as his priestess, I must take that perfection as my standard. I do not allow myself to have flaws that tarnish that perfection.'

Facing Naraku’s question, the priestess answered with a smile. She had always believed that an impeccable god should have an impeccable priestess. As she spoke, the priestess tightened her grip on the naginata once more. Immediately, Demon-Slaying Power was poured into it.

The shaft of the weapon lit up with a faint pinkish-purple glow. Because the pure Demon-Slaying Power that emitted golden light was too fierce for her ghostly body made of clay to withstand, this pinkish-purple Demon-Slaying Power was a diluted version mixed with a large amount of spiritual power impurities. Though its effectiveness was much weaker, as the Demon-Slaying Power was injected, Naraku’s flesh began to rapidly disintegrate from the wound pierced by the naginata.

Seeing the abnormality of his body, Naraku’s brow furrowed. He then began to surge his own demonic power. As Naraku's demonic energy radiated, dark patterns resembling a spider’s web rapidly spread across the ground with him as the center. These patterns began to emit a purple glow. The priestess saw at a glance that they were overflowing with dangerous demonic power.

'Another trap!' Realizing something was wrong, the priestess immediately leaped back to open the distance. At the same time, the dark patterns beneath Naraku exploded violently.

The pre-set miasma bombs detonated instantly. The intense blast surged out of the room and spread rapidly in all directions. For a moment, the entire upper level of the castle was completely destroyed in the thundering roar. The black cloud produced by the explosion of demonic power shrouded the sky above the castle.

When the black cloud gradually dispersed, the upper half of the once-tall Japanese castle had entirely disappeared. On the remaining lower platform, amidst the ruins, a figure slowly emerged.

It was a terrifying Naraku, with only a human-looking head remaining, his body entirely composed of mangled, twisted flesh. He floated in the air, the tattered flesh beneath his head writhing as it performed self-repair. The blood-stained human head looked forward with a solemn gaze into the thick black smoke that had not yet cleared.

To cope with the miasma bombs he had placed, Naraku had performed specific defensive modifications on his own body, yet the bombs had still blown him apart quite severely. However, in exchange, no living creature should have survived within the range of the explosion.

'Hmph!' Just as Naraku was about to speak, an arrow radiating pinkish-purple light broke through the thick black cloud, flying toward Naraku’s regenerating, mutilated flesh. Because his body was severely damaged and his movement restricted, the arrow struck him directly in the forehead. His entire body was carried backward, eventually pinned to a broken pillar. Naraku’s expression was full of shock.

The black cloud vanished, and the priestess’s figure appeared once more. She stood in place in an archery stance, her form enveloped in a faint, transparent pinkish-purple barrier. This was a barrier constructed by the priestess using the diluted version of Demon-Slaying Power. Since the diluted version was essentially spiritual power mixed with the original golden Demon-Slaying Power, its spiritual properties made it easier to construct jutsu-shiki and rapidly form such a defensive barrier.

Facing Naraku, who was pinned to the pillar and at the end of his rope, the priestess impassively drew a second arrow and notched it on the bowstring. She aimed at Naraku once more. This time, the arrow emitted an even more dazzling light, infused with more Demon-Slaying Power. Clearly, she intended to completely end Naraku’s existence with the next strike.

'It’s over.' Facing the scene before him, Naraku, pinned to the pillar, couldn't help but grit his teeth and speak in a cold voice.

'Are you still not going to act?'

Kikyo's archery motion was interrupted as cracks appeared on her body. From among the flying pottery shards, a fragmented jewel flew out. However, a tentacle had already snatched it up. Looking along the tentacle, she saw Naraku’s mangled form. Naraku’s pinned head was filled with absolute greed for that jewel.

'This is mine!' The jewel entered Naraku’s body. The Shikon Jewel on the priestess soon merged with the Shikon Jewel Naraku already possessed, becoming a complete whole. Immediately, the unified Shikon Jewel was stained a deep, pitch-black color.

Following this, a colossal amount of demonic power was released from the Shikon Jewel and injected into Naraku’s body. Naraku’s mangled form began to swell and grow at an incredible speed amidst its contortions. The arrow that had pinned him vanished instantly.

'Humph... hahaha... You didn't expect this, did you, Kikyo? The will of the Shikon Jewel has already chosen my side! You could never have won this battle from the very beginning. Thank you for helping me collect so many shards; now the complete Shikon Jewel belongs to me! Witness its power now!'

As he spoke, Naraku’s body began to expand rapidly at high speed, like a balloon of meat being blown up. Within Naraku, the massive demonic power continuously emerging from the Shikon Jewel quickly transformed into Naraku’s flesh, causing his size to grow at an incredible rate. The priestess, who was repairing the cracks on her body, stood in place, silently watching everything.

'This is bad! Naraku has actually swallowed the entire Shikon Jewel! The will of the Shikon Jewel is actually on Naraku's side!' Within the priestess’s consciousness, Kikyo’s voice rang out again. The priestess paused slightly before speaking indifferently.

'Is this so-called Shikon Jewel... very powerful?'

'It is definitely powerful! This is the supreme treasure that countless yokai dream of!' Kikyo continued, her voice filled with absolute gravity.

'Legend has it that the Shikon Jewel was born hundreds of years ago from the soul entanglement and the high concentration of spiritual and demonic power during the battle between the strongest priestess of that era, Midoriko, and ten thousand yokai. Therefore, you can understand the Shikon Jewel as the crystallization of the demonic power of ten thousand powerful yokai, plus the spirit of Midoriko, who was contaminated by them. That is the power of nearly twenty thousand yokai. If the demonic power of so many yokai were all released and concentrated into one entity, it is unimaginable what level it could reach. Perhaps it could even rival a god!' Kikyo spoke sternly within the priestess's mind. After hearing this, the priestess silently looked at the scene before her, watching that hideous, rapidly expanding body.

Under the continuous supply of demonic power from the Shikon Jewel, Naraku’s body had already swollen to an exaggerated degree. The bloated mass of flesh had grown larger than the entire castle. The boneless mass spilled over the castle’s platform and spread toward the surroundings. On this bloated flesh that filled the entire castle and was still growing, countless various yokai heads sprouted. These thousands of yokai heads grew from Naraku’s body like trees, lifting into the sky and staring at a single target—the priestess, who was hovering slightly in mid-air.

'Behold! This is the power of the Shikon Jewel! The souls of those yokai sealed within the jewel have now begun to be released through my body!' From the center of this mountain-high, giant mass of flesh formed by tens of thousands of powerful demonic energies, Naraku’s face spoke triumphantly to the priestess.

'This is bad... the Shikon Jewel has been completely corrupted by him. Everything is irreversible now. It’s a pity I didn't completely purify it back then.' Kikyo spoke with some regret. The priestess spoke calmly.

'Purifying it now is not too late.'

'What... purify? But it’s no longer in our hands, how can we purify it?' Kikyo asked in surprise. The priestess looked at the monstrosity before her and spoke softly.

'Hmph, what arrogance! Is this impurity something you can still purify, Kikyo? Now, experience this immense power for yourself!'

As soon as he finished speaking, the hideous, monstrous entity launched an attack. Thousands of giant yokai born from that mass of flesh pounced toward the priestess in the sky. Demonic fire, demonic ice, and demonic energy bullets rained down toward the priestess in a dense barrage. Naraku, having mastered the Shikon Jewel, unleashed a massive wave of evil at will, vowing to drown the white-clad priestess in one go.

'Surprisingly troublesome. Since it has come to this...'

Facing the terrifying onslaught of evil attacking from all directions—top, bottom, left, and right—the priestess sighed softly. Then, she began to pray. As she prayed, her red and white figure was swallowed by the torrent of spawned yokai.

'Please, grant me your presence once more.'

Light. A dazzling flash of light shot out from that multicolored torrent of yokai. Amidst a piercing, sharp hum, the torrent of yokai that had swallowed the priestess was suddenly struck by an incredibly powerful shockwave. In an instant, every yokai within that entire torrent was torn to shreds.

'What? How can she still break free!?'

From the main body of flesh, Naraku’s face looked in shock toward the center of the explosion. Then, he saw something there that he would never forget.

Beneath the overcast sky, amidst the raging demonic winds, a mechanical metal giant over ten meters tall and dark in color hovered in the sky with the help of thrusters on its back. Dark gold engravings were traced upon the dark armor. It held a long sword in its right hand and was equipped with a thick, massive cannon on its left. The priestess was currently standing upon its shoulder armor.

'This... what on earth is this thing!?'

Seeing the dark mechanical giant appear, Naraku shouted almost in shock. Even now, merged with the Shikon Jewel, he still felt an unspeakable, immense pressure.

'Purification... commences.'

Amidst the loud declaration, the dark mechanical giant began to ascend rapidly. Seeing this, Naraku immediately snapped out of it and manifested thousands of yokai to take to the air and stop it. But the dark giant simply swung its sword, crushing all the incoming monsters with a massive, radiating blade of light. It opened a giant wound on Naraku’s massive flesh body and carved a deep furrow into the earth.

Finally, the dark giant flew to the designated height. After a red glow flashed from the dark shadows within its helmet, it aimed the giant cannon equipped on its left arm toward the earth—aimed toward that incredibly twisted, massive flesh. It was forged from black-gold iron using alien technology. The maw of the massive cannon overflowed with a radiant crimson light. The brilliance of the light was like a new sun beneath the gloomy weather.

'Be thoroughly purified here, Naraku, and... the Shikon Jewel!'

In instinctive terror, Naraku began to rapidly disintegrate his own body, preparing for a narrow escape. However, it was all meaningless. As that sun-like radiant crimson brilliance struck the ground, everything was enveloped in light. Flesh was steamed dry, the demonic jewel was vaporized, and everything was destroyed in this space.