The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

At the same time, Naraku realized that he was on the verge of life and death. Under the pressure of impending death, his true nature finally broke through the layers of disguise and was exposed.

"Don't push your luck!!"

With a low growl, he stared intently at Su Qi, and his remaining right arm suddenly transformed into a tentacle that pierced through the latter, who was suspended in mid-air and unable to move.

The next instant, he was struck by three Dream Bubble Slashes, and finally his expression froze. He and Su Qi, who had exhausted his spiritual energy, lost consciousness.

At that very moment, Kikyo, who had been gathering her strength and preparing for a long time, released the bowstring.

Because it was infused with as much spiritual power as possible, the fifth arrow of destruction was completely enveloped in a brilliant and dazzling spiritual light. Like a small, blazing white sun, it soared into the sky, illuminating the night sky, and shot straight toward Naraku with a fierce momentum that could annihilate everything.

Perfect timing!

At this moment, both Kagura and Naraku were deeply immersed in the illusion and could not pay attention to the outside world for the time being. Therefore, no one could stop this arrow, and the huge demon-breaking power gathered on it was enough to destroy Naraku and the other two.

However, in this battle, everyone inadvertently overlooked another person—Kanna.

While Kagura and Naraku remained silent, it was her eyes that regained their clarity first. Then, seeing the powerful Demon-Slaying Arrow approaching, she merely glanced at Kagura, paused for a moment, and then leaped out, embracing her mirror, and deliberately descended towards the blazing white miniature sun.

Because it is nothing, because it has no emotions, it is the one least affected by the illusion bubble, apart from Naraku who is blessed by the Shikon Jewel... This was completely beyond Su Qi's expectations.

The next moment, the arrow of destruction was swallowed by the mirror of the god, and the mirror immediately shattered and broke. A vast light of destruction exploded in mid-air, instantly engulfing the god who was almost within reach.

Chapter 95 BOSS's Hatred Level Increases

Am I going to die...?

Faced with death, a ripple finally stirred in Kanna's long-silent heart. Was it fear? Was it astonishment? Was it the joy of finally experiencing the reality of life? Was it the resentment of facing such a desperate situation so soon after "awakening"? Was it the liberation from Naraku's enslavement?

Having absolutely no experience with emotions, she couldn't understand it, yet she felt her empty heart being filled with something for the first time. Then... with an unusually calm feeling, she melted into the pure white light that dispelled demons, blooming like fireworks in the night sky.

boom!!

The shockwave exploded, creating turbulent air currents. Su Qi, Kagura, Naraku, and the other three nearby were all swept away and fell from the sky.

What... what's going on?!

After falling for some distance, Kagura was the first to regain consciousness, only to find that the three of them were falling together, but Kanna was nowhere to be seen.

What about Kanna?

She was puzzled, but had no time to think about it; her gaze immediately turned to Naraku's... right arm.

Has my heart been taken back? Damn it!!

When attacking Su Qi just now, Naraku transformed her right hand into a sharp tentacle, so she naturally retracted her heart. Otherwise, this would be her best chance to gain her freedom.

My heart is still inside him, so I can't let him die here!

Kagura glanced around and saw the ground getting closer and closer. Kikyo was waiting below, her body slightly shrouded in a layer of faint white light, and she drew her bowstring again. A chill ran down her spine, and she quickly unleashed more than a dozen wind blades. Then, with a thought, she controlled the wind to sweep Naraku away and once again rode her white feathers into the sky.

However, before fleeing, she hesitated for a moment, then waved her fan and sent a gust of wind towards Su Qi, who was about to crash to the ground and turn into mincemeat.

That man almost killed Naraku, so he still has some use to me, so I'll spare his life...

After glancing at Su Qi one last time, Kagura once again channeled her demonic power, creating a wind barrier around them, and swiftly flew away into the distance with Naraku's half-body.

At the same time, facing the onslaught of wind blades, Kikyo had to divert her attention to erect a barrier and deflect all the wind blades. Just as she was about to use her remaining strength to shoot Naraku again, Su Qi was enveloped by a gust of wind and landed in front of her.

At this moment, Su Qi's face was deathly pale, his lips were bluish-purple, and there was a hole in his left shoulder, a bloody mess. He looked pained and had clearly suffered a severe injury, falling into a coma. Moreover, she could see that Naraku's miasma was circulating and destroying within his body, constantly eroding his health. If it wasn't dealt with immediately, he definitely wouldn't last long before dying.

What should I do? Naraku and Kagura haven't escaped far yet, and I don't have much spiritual power left, so I can only shoot one arrow; however, with Kagura's wind barrier, I might not be able to kill Naraku.

Moreover, doing this would likely leave the remaining spiritual energy unable to even restrain the dead soul within the body, let alone expel the miasma that had already deeply penetrated Su Qi's body. Therefore... Su Qi will die.

For a moment, Kikyo was caught in a dilemma, but soon her hesitant gaze turned into determination.

She put down her bow and arrow, squatted down beside Su Qi, pressed her right hand against his chest, and the little spiritual energy she had left surged out instantly, quickly enveloping his entire body.

The purification process was unexpectedly long, because for Kikyo now, things that she could easily do in one go in the past had become extremely difficult. As the purification progressed, the faint white light on her body grew brighter and brighter—it wasn't the light of spiritual power, but the light of the dead souls that were no longer restrained and were slowly leaking out.

Fortunately, Kikyo eventually completed the purification, but her spiritual power was almost exhausted, and she collapsed onto Su Qi's body, powerless.

At that moment, a small ball of light emerged from her body and slowly rose into the night sky. Clearly, she was nearing the point of being unable to restrain the dead souls within her.

"It's not over yet... I can't fall here..."

After a while, Kikyo stubbornly stood up and struggled to drag Su Qi to a tree by the roadside to settle him down before finally sitting down against the tree and silently calling out to her shikigami in her heart.

Then, looking back at the towering flames and the still chaotic battle at Hitomi Castle, she thought of those who had died because of her and Naraku, and an immense sense of guilt gradually welled up inside her.

"Kikyo...you are such a selfish and hypocritical woman..."

Forced to gaze at the burning city, Kikyo murmured to herself, sitting silently in the darkness, savoring the bitterness of regret alone.

If Naraku hadn't been saved, would he never have been born?

……

On the other side, under the dark and endless night sky, Kagura, with Naraku in tow, fled aimlessly forward.

"Kagura, you did a great job."

Not long after, Naraku, who had been placed at the back, regained consciousness. His body was also quickly restored with the help of the Shikon Jewel, but his clothes were mostly torn to shreds, forcing him to go naked.

Tsk, this guy is really lucky...

Kagura rolled her eyes, didn't turn around, and simply said, "Naraku... Kanna... seems to be dead."

"Okay, I get it now."

Neither cold nor regretful, devoid of any emotion, his response was as indifferent as air. Clearly, Naraku cared nothing for the death of that tool, not even bothering to conceal it. After all, as long as he possessed the Shikon Jewel, he could have as many tools as he wanted.

At this moment, Naraku only had two names in his mind—Kikyo and Kenshin Shishio.

He sat naked, cross-legged in the cold wind high in the sky, feeling no chill at all. He was only thinking about why Kikyo had suddenly acted strangely, what had made her abandon saving people and even go so far as to abandon her hypocritical facade to chase after him and kill him. Finally, his gaze fell on Su Qi.

Was it because of that man? Was it because of Kenshin Shishio, the man who made Naraku so miserable, that Kikyo suddenly changed?

As Su Qi's face became clearer and more repulsive in his mind, Naraku suddenly felt a surge of displeasure, a deep displeasure. He couldn't help but furrow his brow, and his expression and eyes instantly turned cold.

Is this feeling anger and shame at the man who nearly drove me to the brink? But it doesn't seem to be that intense; rather, it's something more lingering, more viscous, more vicious, and more pervasive...

At this point in his thoughts, reason suddenly came to him, causing Naraku to stop his pursuit. But no matter what, there was only one thought he could be absolutely certain of—he wanted that man to experience the pain of being plunged into purgatory, just as Inuyasha had felt when he was betrayed by the one he loved most.

"Sword Heart, let me, Naraku, weave a net for you, a net of pain and hatred from which you can never escape for all eternity..."

Naraku murmured softly, his eyes flashing with cold light, like a venomous spider hanging in the darkness, quietly spreading its web in wait.

……

The perspective shifts back to Hitoshi Castle. After a long and arduous battle, until dawn, the castle, which had been almost completely destroyed by the monsters, finally calmed down.

Exhausted and filled with heavy hearts, Inuyasha and his companions bid farewell to the survivors and ruins. They searched the surrounding area for traces of Su Qi and Kikyo, and finally followed the Soul Worms to find the two under a tree by the roadside.

The Inuyasha arc is expected to conclude within twenty-odd chapters.

Chapter 96 Getting Shot While Lying Down

"Platycodon grandiflorus!"

Seeing that Kikyo seemed to be in bad shape, Inuyasha immediately carried Kagome on his back and rushed to the tree, asking worriedly, "How are you? Are you hurt?"

Kikyo, who had been resting with her eyes closed and receiving soul replenishment from the Soul Worms, slowly opened them, looked at him, and at Kagome who had climbed off his back, and said, "I'm fine. Inuyasha, how's the situation over there?"

"The monsters have all been eliminated and purified, but most of the house has been destroyed."

"What about people?"

Inuyasha was silent for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, "More than half of them were killed."

"Is that so..."

Kikyo remained silent for a long time, though guilt gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake, she showed no sign of it on her face. She was not the kind of woman who would display her pain on her face and expect comfort from others.

"And Kikyo, what about you? Weren't you chasing Naraku?"

"...They escaped."

After speaking calmly, she stood up and instructed the dead soul worms to entwine Su Qi's body, lifting him into the air.

"Kikyo, are you leaving?"

"There are other things that need to be done."

"Platycodon grandiflorus..."

Watching Kikyo lead Su Qi away into the distance, Inuyasha hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Can you tell me... why are you and him traveling together?"

Kikyo paused, then said calmly, "Inuyasha, you shouldn't have asked that question."

Inuyasha remained silent, while Kagome, who was practically invisible to the side, looked gloomy and felt a tightness in her chest.

"To travel together in order to kill Naraku, nothing more."

Leaving behind those words, Kikyo never looked back and gradually disappeared from their sight.

……

The next morning, in a simple house in a nearby village, Su Qi, feeling sore and weak, woke up on a mat.

"Hey, it hurts."

He sat up, looked around, and examined himself. He found that he was wrapped in white cloth from head to toe, and his mouth and nose were filled with a strong smell of medicine.

"What's going on? When did I become a mummy?"

Su Qi tried to move his body and checked himself. He found that apart from a penetrating wound in his left shoulder, he didn't have any other wounds. He just felt weak all over, as if he had just been seriously ill.

"There was no save/load, so it must have happened after the battle with Naraku. I just don't know if the save point has been refreshed..."

He frowned slightly, quickly recalling the situation from not long ago, and his face immediately darkened. "Miscalculation! I shouldn't have gambled everything back then, resulting in losing consciousness and not even being able to control my save/load points. If the situation had deteriorated further, it might have become a dead save... Tsk, when it's time to die, die. I must completely avoid this kind of mistake in the future. And if I could reload, to kill Naraku..."

Su Qi narrowed his eyes and began to review the assassination attempt on Naraku from beginning to end in his mind. He quickly concluded that it would be too difficult for him to do it alone, but since he knew that Kikyo would not be threatened by Naraku and could become a reliable partner, he would definitely succeed if he tried a few more times.

"Next, let's see if the save point has been refreshed."

He died on the spot, and when he reloaded the save file, he found that he was still lying in this simple house, looking like a mummy.

"Well, it seems like bad news. But it's still uncertain whether Naraku has been killed, so perhaps we can still have some hope."

Despite saying this, Su Qi had a vague sense of foreboding and inexplicably thought of a famous quote by a guy named Murphy: "If things can go wrong, they will."

But he quickly regained control of his emotions, stopped thinking about anything else, and focused on what he should do if the situation turned bad.