"OOOOOH!!"
Youkai energy began hemorrhaging wildly. Muzan's face twisted hideously.
This half-finished body trying to consume two great youkai's power was far too much.
Against just Moroha or Sesshomaru alone, he might have held.
But both together was deadly...
SWISH!
SWISH!!
The sound of arrows reached his ears. Only then did Muzan remember the two priestesses who'd been drawing their bows.
SQUELCH!
SQUELCH!!
Without deviation, the arrows struck the split in his chest. Spiritual power began purifying.
'This is bad!!'
At peak condition, Muzan wouldn't have feared those two arrows. But in his "collapsing" state, these were the "ferry arrows" sending him to his end.
"HAAAH!!"
Disregarding his remaining youkai power, he unleashed devastating shockwaves.
BOOM!!
"What--!"
"Tch!"
Kikyo immediately raised a barrier to protect Kagome and Moroha.
Those nearby--Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and others--were all blasted away.
"Inuyasha!"
"Dad!"
Watching Inuyasha's body slam into a distant wall, Kagome and Moroha grew worried.
"Ugh..."
"Ahh..."
Even Akame and Rikuo couldn't dodge that wide-area, omnidirectional shockwave.
Their bodies scraped across the ground, sliding some distance before stopping.
Blood trickled from their mouths--both had taken severe damage.
Cough cough...
'That destructive power was abnormal.'
Spitting out blood, Rikuo crouched on the ground. Glancing at Akame lying unconscious nearby, he knew she couldn't withstand it and had been knocked out from serious injuries.
That shockwave wasn't ordinary force. Had Rikuo not reacted quickly, that impact might have shattered his skull.
"Kikyo!!"
"Mom!"
When the chaos subsided, Kagome and Moroha finally noticed Kikyo swaying as she crouched down.
"Don't mind me... this body was never worth caring about."
"Listen--he converted all his youkai power into that shockwave. We're fine here, but Inuyasha and the others... may be severely hurt."
Struggling to finish speaking, she began to collapse.
"Kikyo!!"
Realizing what Kikyo had sacrificed, Kagome cried out.
"Beware... Nara... ku..."
Supporting her, Kagome heard her final words before losing consciousness.
"MOM!!"
"Naraku...?"
Unlike Moroha's anxiety, Kagome's expression turned somewhat fearful.
"Ahh..."
Just then, labored breathing came from the smoke ahead. Kagome and Moroha turned to look.
"Still not dead?"
Moroha drew her weapon and stood before Kikyo and Kagome, speaking in disbelief.
She and her "uncle" had poured out that much youkai power, and this guy still wasn't burst?
But as the smoke cleared, Moroha finally saw his condition.
His body was like a broken doll, riddled with holes. Though rapidly healing, his fading presence clearly showed his weakness.
"How unfortunate."
"Your methods were somewhat superior."
"But I... will never die so easily."
"Your luck has run out!"
Speaking with difficulty, Muzan took a deep breath to compose himself.
He'd been somewhat "bewitched"--imagining he could devour two great youkai's power.
Perhaps a completed body could manage it, but this half-finished one was too much.
Everything had its limits.
But fortunately, he had remedies. He just needed to release that excess youkai power.
And shake off the approaching Sacred Arrows to avoid being purified.
"Bastard..."
"Dad!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Moroha turned in pleasant surprise to see Inuyasha staggering over from afar, covered in blood.
"Don't... get too cocky."
Inuyasha looked at Muzan, forcing composure.
"Hmph, that you weren't pulped by that blast means your luck is considerable."
Muzan wasn't worried. Though his youkai power was exhausted, his regeneration ability still gave him the upper hand.
These enemies had just taken that hit--none could be unscathed.
No matter how you looked at it, victory was his.
CRACK!
A youkai whip attacked. Muzan merely tilted his head to dodge, then looked in another direction.
"Sesshomaru..."
Kagome watched Sesshomaru appear, heart heavy.
He who'd always been elegant and noble now looked "battle-scarred."
"So let's see what else you can do."
Completely unconcerned, Muzan spoke coldly.
Thud...
But just then, a landing sound rang out. Everyone looked that way.
A strange-looking man with bare upper body appeared.
"A Servant?"
"And that's the Shikon no Tama's presence..."
Kagome immediately identified the newcomer's identity with shock.
At such a moment, an unseen Servant appearing--she recalled Cu Chulainn's earlier words.
"Ah!"
"MOM!!"
"Kagome!!"
In that moment of distraction, an extending arm shot through, piercing her thigh and extracting the shard from her pocket.
Startled for a moment, Kagome endured the pain of pierced flesh, watching the shard instantly get absorbed into the opponent's arm.
"Damn it!"
Trying to sever the arm with her blade, Moroha found she could only cut part-way before it stuck.
"Ugh!"
Not bothering with Kagome's cry of pain as the arm withdrew, the Shikon no Tama focused only on that fragment.
"The final shard has finally returned."
A familiar voice appeared. Only then did everyone see Naraku floating beside the Shikon no Tama's shoulder as just a head.
"NARAKU!!"
Seeing the "enemy" appear, Inuyasha couldn't help but roar.
"Don't rush, Inuyasha."
"Rather than worrying about us, you'll have bigger troubles soon."
"Caster's threat is hardly worth mentioning in that state."
Maintaining his smile, Naraku spoke calmly to Inuyasha.
"What?"
Not understanding Naraku's meaning, Inuyasha furrowed his brow.
He knew Naraku's treacherous nature--if he dared say this, there was definitely a reason.
"What are you two planning?"
Muzan watched the two who'd appeared on their own, tone quite displeased.
When he was being besieged they hadn't helped. Now that the dust settled, they'd jumped out to scavenge?
"Planning? Naturally, to collect the Shikon no Tama shards."
Hearing Muzan's words, Naraku seemed surprised he'd even ask.
"Hmph, you--"
SQUELCH!!
Muzan was about to mock him, but barely started when he saw the Shikon no Tama's arm pierce his chest.
"!"
"?"
Everyone stared at the scene in shock.
"As I said, we're here to collect shards."
"That naturally includes the one inside you. Thanks to Inuyasha and the others wearing you down, we don't even need Command Spells now... Offer up that body and Servant power."
"Living miserably until today--"
"You've worked hard, Caster."
"NARAKUUU!!!"
A hysterical roar echoed across the sky.