The pentagram's light froze midair.
The winds stilled. The brilliance remained, yet lost its continuity.
Within this suspended domain, Kaguya finally caught her breath from the relentless combat.
Forbidden Art: Meikyō Shisui.
A secret celestial technique only usable by one clad in heavenly robes, with inexhaustible Spiritual Power.
Anchored by the mirror and built upon the spacetime runes scattered throughout the castle, this technique—fueled by the endless Spiritual Power of the feathered robe—erected a barrier that halted time itself.
This was the forbidden art Kaguya had stolen from the Celestial Maiden.
"Haah... Finally... finally..."
Kaguya panted heavily, her lips curling into a slow, triumphant smile as she gazed at Senhime Rin Getsu—frozen in place, yet still radiating icy nobility.
"Heh... Hahahaha!!"
At first, Kamigakari merely chuckled softly, but soon it escalated into uproarious laughter.
She laughed wildly for a while, tears streaming down her face, then threw open her arms and exclaimed:
"Finally, finally free from that damned Celestial Maiden's restraints."
"Retrieve the feathered robe, so that damned Celestial Maiden can never compete with me for control of this body again, perfectly manipulate the Dream Castle, break the seal, and descend to the human world."
"Ah!!! This exquisite feeling!"
Kaguya exhaled deeply, then lowered her head to gaze at the immobilised Senhime Rin Getsu, her eyes brimming with curiosity as she said:
"Come to think of it, I wonder where a yokai like you came from, able to traverse space freely, even positioning yourself in the liminal space between illusion and reality, where my spells couldn't anchor you."
"Among pure-blooded yokai, are there Wolf Demons like you?"
"And that Underworld gate just now, resembling a full moon... Could you be a yokai from the Underworld?"
"Never mind, it doesn't matter."
At this point, Kaguya paused, descended from the high platform, and slowly approached Senhime Rin Getsu. She raised her hand, attempting to gently caress Rin Getsu's cheek, and uttered the second half of her sentence:
"Because soon, you'll merge with me and become part of me!"
A half-yokai that devours all—this was Kaguya's true form, the most fundamental expression of her power.
This devouring seemed to be a conceptual ability, allowing Kaguya to choose whether to digest what she consumed on a spiritual or physical level, ultimately assimilating it into herself.
This was also why that Celestial Maiden from the past, despite being stronger than Kaguya, still lost to her in the end.
Deprived of the feathered robe's Spiritual Power replenishment, though the Celestial Maiden's spells were formidable, she lacked staying power. Moreover, distracted by the villagers stealing her robe, she failed to notice Kaguya, who struck first, leading to her fate of being devoured by the half-yokai.
"Speaking of which, among all the lives I've devoured, you're one of the most beautiful."
"Aside from the Celestial Maiden whose appearance I now possess, you're the fairest."
Kaguya's slender index finger traced a path along Senhime Rin Getsu's face.
Then, narrowing her eyes, she said with a smile:
"Resentful, aren't you?"
"You should still be able to feel this, right?"
Senhime Rin Getsu's eyes flickered slightly.
At this moment, Kaguya continued with a smile:
"Ending up in this state was your destined fate. After all, under my 'Meikyō Shisui', only beings not of this world retain the power to move."
"Indeed, just like a noble Celestial Maiden such as myself, hehe! Hahaha!!"
As Kaguya laughed maniacally, suddenly, a familiar male voice rang out.
"While I personally don't mind, isn't it a bit improper for you to flirt with me like this?"
The abrupt male voice left Kaguya stunned, staring blankly at the Senhime Rin Getsu before her, her mind momentarily unable to process the situation.
At this moment, only one thought occupied Kaguya's mind:
'How could this exquisitely beautiful silver-haired woman be emitting a man's voice?'
Yet just then, Senhime Rin Getsu's face began to melt!
Like ice cream under direct sunlight.
Bit by bit, Senhime Rin Getsu's face dissolved, transforming into clusters of indigo mist.
And beneath those swirling mists,
Luo Shu's handsome features emerged.
"It's you?!!"
Kaguya's eyes widened instantly, and her right hand, which had been caressing Luo Shu's cheek, immediately tried to pull back. But in the next moment, a hand seized her wrist.
At the same moment, her left hand, grasping the mirror, suddenly closed on empty air.
Immediately afterwards, a woman's voice sounded in her ear.
"A treasure mirror with the power of space-time? You've really obtained something extraordinary!"
Hearing the voice, Kaguya turned her head and saw the silver-haired girl Kuesu Jingūji standing alarmingly close.
"Why?"
Kaguya's eyes widened in disbelief:
"Why can you move freely within my mirror's Meikyō Shisui?!"
"Why indeed?"
"That's what we should be asking you."
Luo Shu chuckled lightly, half his face seemingly sinking into shadow:
"When exactly did you develop the illusion that you'd activated the mirror's Meikyō Shisui?"
As his words fell, a sound like shattering glass echoed in Kaguya's ears.
Her eyes flew open as she stared in shock at the sky now filled with swimming fish and shrimp, at the endless stone steps and ancient castle walls, stammering:
"This is... the main castle's gates?"
"How can this be... I clearly..."
Suddenly realising something, Kaguya whirled towards Luo Shu, who still held her slender wrist, screaming hysterically:
"You did this?!"
"You deceived me!!!"
"You liar, you damned liar."
Rather than refute, Luo Shu simply smiled:
"Don't shout so loudly - it only reveals the fear in your heart."
Kaguya's breath caught as if someone had grabbed her throat, rendering her speechless.
At that moment, Luo Shu released her wrist and said casually:
"Understood your reality now?"
"Me?" Kaguya's vision blurred as she saw black shackles now clamped around her wrists and ankles.
They were the same shackles she'd seen humans use on prisoners during her time living among them.
"I've... become a prisoner?"
Finally comprehending her situation, Kaguya sniffled before suddenly bursting into tears:
"Is this a dream? This must be a dream!"
"I'd already won... I'd already won!"
Luo Shu didn't respond as Sun Seto came to stand beside him. Watching the empty-handed yet utterly broken Kaguya weeping piteously, she said in her simple-minded way:
"She seems to be crying because you bullied her."
"These aren't tears of sorrow, but of joy."
Luo Shu's lips curled in malicious amusement:
"After all, battles between men and women always end in smiles, don't they?"
Just then, the real Senhime Rin Getsu approached Luo Shu. Glancing at the mutilated remains of Naraku nearby, she remarked:
"Aren't you going to make that fool over there face reality, too?"
"Shh!!"
"Rin Getsu, keep your voice down."
Luo Shu raised a finger to his lips, eyes narrowing with a smile devoid of warmth:
"Don't be so quick to shatter children's beautiful dreams."
Senhime Rin Getsu couldn't help sighing:
"Beautiful dreams?"
"Is that what we're calling torture now?"
"What a man of terrible tastes."
At that very moment, amidst Naraku's remains, a single eye quietly opened to a slit...