Chapter Sixteen: Allow Me to Lend You a Helping Hand

The sudden turn of events left everyone present—human and demon alike—except for Akitoshi Hojo, utterly stunned. They simply could not fathom how a demon, whose body had been riddled with wounds like a sieve, could still move freely.

Yet, one could hardly blame them too harshly; after all, this was Eastern Japan. The place was unfamiliar, and so were its customs. Ninety-nine percent of the demons here were straightforward and forthright, unlike the more cunning and elaborate tricks played by demons from the eastern continent across the sea.

“Hahaha! You have the Shikon Jewel on you, don’t you!” At last, Yoru Ketsuro let out a triumphant laugh, quickly casting a sharp glance at the stunned Hojo forces.

Without wasting words, Yoru Ketsuro, who had already gathered a rough understanding of the situation by sensing through her hair before tonight’s operation, hurriedly pressed the captive—Gowther, the reincarnation of Kikyo, the prized “fat chicken”—to hand over the treasured jewel she coveted.

And once that treasure was in her grasp, her fierce gaze would once again sweep over the Hojo army. Yoru Ketsuro swore that she would make these detestable humans understand this:

I, the grand demon Yoru Ketsuro, could never be matched by mere humans like you!

“I don’t know!” Gowther, still reeling from the sudden upheaval, could hardly believe that just moments ago she had been standing beside the perfect daimyo, Akitoshi Hojo, and now she was captured by a demon.

Though this wasn’t her first time being caught by a demon, her heart pounded wildly like a frantic drumbeat. Staring into the demon’s face so close, that exquisitely beautiful yet murderous visage, Gowther’s heart felt as if bitten by venomous snakes, her chest tightening in suffocating pain, fear spreading through every fiber of her being.

Still, the young girl gritted her teeth and resolutely said no to Yoru Ketsuro.

“Hmph!” Breathing heavily, Yoru Ketsuro’s icy gaze fixed on Gowther in her grasp. To her, crushing Gowther would require no more effort than squashing an ant. Yet this human girl, already a lamb to the slaughter, still foolishly resisted.

For Yoru Ketsuro, whose entire night had been fraught with trouble, this insolence was utterly intolerable.

“Fine! I’ll kill you, then I can retrieve the Shikon Jewel from your body just the same.” Losing patience, Yoru Ketsuro decided to end things once and for all. After all, extracting the jewel from dead Gowther might even be easier than taking it from her alive.

Meanwhile, watching from afar under the night sky, Inuyasha remained unable to intervene in time. Granny Kaede was helpless. As for Mitsuhide Akechi and the others, they lacked the capability; and besides, a reckless young girl like Gowther dying was hardly worth mourning.

But...

“Where is the lord?”

Suddenly, Mitsuhide Akechi sensed something amiss. Earlier, it seemed Lord Akitoshi Hojo and Gowther had both noticed the abnormality. Then Gowther, standing beside Hojo, was captured. But where was the lord now? Why did he seem to have vanished like a ghost?

“Draw and slash!”

Just as Mitsuhide turned to search for Akitoshi Hojo, and as Yoru Ketsuro was about to strangle Gowther to death, Hojo’s figure appeared alongside the sound.

At the moment Yoru Ketsuro launched her surprise attack, Hojo first confirmed he was not the target. Knowing he could not guarantee saving Gowther in the blink of an eye, he quietly took advantage of the darkness and the demon’s tunnel vision, fully fixated on the Shikon Jewel.

Silently, he circled around and stealthily approached Yoru Ketsuro from the side.

Just before the demon strangled Gowther, Hojo swiftly drew his Muramasa blade, Sirius. With the swift, popular Eastern Japanese sword technique of drawing and slashing, he severed Yoru Ketsuro’s hand that was clutching Gowther.

“My lord!”

Mitsuhide, amazed to see Hojo appear beside Yoru Ketsuro and cut off the demon’s hand to rescue Gowther, felt a twinge of regret. Such a great opportunity—Lord Hojo, why hesitate to save her? Why not simply slay the demon with one stroke?

“What?”

Yoru Ketsuro stared wide-eyed as her hand was severed and the captured prey slipped away. Her eyes darkened with fury.

The fallen hand, however, was still under her control and flew toward Hojo, who was retreating while holding Gowther.

Did you think you had won? This body is but countless strands of hair formed into an illusion—I am the comb demon, after all. No matter how many swords or bullets you use, they are all useless!

You fail to understand this secret of mine.

The advantage lies with me!

Hojo was not unprepared for the demon’s flying hand. Mitsuhide and Inuyasha did not know the demon’s true nature, but Hojo did. As long as he did not harm the source of power hidden somewhere within that crimson head of hair—the comb itself—Yoru Ketsuro could not die!

Yet, theoretically, Hojo should not have known this fact.

Hence, with utmost caution in his eyes, while cradling Gowther, Hojo tossed several firebombs forward.

Using the flames to buy precious time while fending off Yoru Ketsuro’s multifaceted attacks, he lowered his head and asked the girl in his arms:

“You said there was a strand of hair that was different among the mass of hair—can you still see it?”

“And on this demon in front of us, can you see any other abnormalities?”

Since some things could not be spoken aloud, Hojo could only hint at what needed to be discovered, hoping she would find it!

“Ah! Oh!”

The feeling of barely escaping death was overwhelming, and under the thrill of the moment, Gowther’s fondness for Hojo surged.

Nestled in the perfect daimyo’s arms, the once dazed girl snapped to attention, her eyes wide in the night.

After some time, as Hojo employed every trick—firebombs flying, sword flashing brilliantly in the air—just barely holding off Yoru Ketsuro’s onslaught, Gowther spotted the key to turning the tide.

With a small hand, she pointed to a spot beside the demon and confidently exclaimed:

“I see it! Over there, there’s a strand of different hair!”

“It’s spreading from the distant forest, and there’s a surge of demonic energy around it!”

“Understood.”

Hojo, struggling to withstand the demon’s attack, was invigorated by this news.

At that moment, unwilling to remain mere spectators, Inuyasha and Mitsuhide surged forward.

To protect Hojo, Mitsuhide and the other samurai were ready to risk their lives without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha’s competitive spirit and pride, thoroughly provoked by the Hojo army tonight, drove him to relentlessly claw and grapple with Yoru Ketsuro.

Though beaten and bloodied, the stubborn half-demon refused to retreat.

“Damn humans, annoying half-demons!”

Entangled and unable to free herself, Yoru Ketsuro was shocked to find herself on the defensive.

“Don’t think you can win!”

As always, Yoru Ketsuro was confident in the secret she relied on for survival.

“Let’s see how long you can last—I can hold out with you for a whole day!”

“Creak!”

Just as Yoru Ketsuro maintained her confidence, a sound of metal scraping against the main thread transmitting her demonic power from her true form filled the air.

“You!”

Startled that her secret had been discovered, Yoru Ketsuro glanced sideways despite being surrounded by many strong men.

“Don’t bother! That one is different. Don’t think your enhanced blades can sever it like the others!”

Noticing Hojo still struggling with the sword and the thread, Yoru Ketsuro breathed a sigh of relief and shouted triumphantly.

“I’ll help you, Lord Hojo!”

Also realizing that Hojo’s blade could not cut that special strand of hair, Gowther summoned the flickering power inherited from Kikyo.

Then, pressing her whole body against Hojo’s back, she reached under his arms and grasped the hand holding the sword.