Chiyo turned, facing the evil aura still surging at the bottom of the giant pit.
Then he raised his hand.
The motion was casual, like he was brushing dust from in front of his eyes.
White light poured from his hand, spreading outward like a tide.
Wherever that light reached, the evil aura melted away in an instant, like ice and snow meeting a blazing fire.
Under the white light, the dark-green Rotten Soil gradually returned to the normal color of earth.
Under the white light, the dark-purple sky gradually returned to blue.
The Evil Spirits still clinging to life silently collapsed in the white light, without even time to scream.
All the evil aura.
All the corruption.
All the darkness.
At that moment, it was all driven away.
So cleanly it was as if it had never existed.
Kikyo stood above the giant pit, and the longbow slipped from her hand, falling to the ground with a clang.
She stared at the figure radiating white light at the bottom of the giant pit, her whole body frozen as if struck by lightning.
Her eyes reddened.
"It's you..."
Her voice was hoarse.
"Is it you?"
Chiyo turned his head and glanced at her.
That face was still blurred, impossible to see clearly.
But that gaze.
She would not mistake it.
Every time she encountered danger, she would instinctively grab the Charm at her waist.
Every time she grabbed it, she would remember the Teacher who had first guided her.
She would remember what he had said.
"Kikyo, some things simply don't need to be carried alone."
"Believe in the strength of others."
But one day, he had suddenly disappeared...
She had thought she would never see him again in this life.
She had thought the Charm he left behind was