Don't Be Afraid, Higokumaru Can Fly

Yae Sakura looked at the Jewel of Four Souls enshrined above them, a tiny pink crystal.

It was about the size of a marble and gave off a pink glow.

"Priestess Kikyo, this is the Jewel of Four Souls." The demon slayer clan chief pointed at the Jewel of Four Souls above and spoke with great solemnity.

"So this is the Jewel of Four Souls..."

The Jewel of Four Souls had been formed from the soul of an immensely powerful great demon created by the fusion of the priestess Midoriko, who could stand against great demons head-on, and countless demons.

Who would have thought it was such a tiny bead?

Just as the demon slayer clan chief was about to take down the Jewel of Four Souls and hand it to Kikyo, chaotic noises suddenly erupted outside.

"Demons are attacking!!"

"Quick! Stop the demons from entering the inner chamber!"

"Damn demons..."

Then, a winged serpent suddenly rushed in. Before anyone could react, it shot forward at incredible speed, bit down on the Jewel of Four Souls, and turned to flee.

"The Jewel of Four Souls!!"

The demon slayer clan chief roared in fury and drew his weapon to attack the winged serpent demon, but it was incredibly fast and frighteningly agile.

It dodged the attack in midair, swallowed the Jewel of Four Souls whole, and flew into the sky, ready to escape.

The winged serpent had been lurking here for the past two days. The demon slayers had not noticed it at all, but the powerful barrier had kept it from entering, much less stealing the Jewel of Four Souls.

But today, the barrier had finally disappeared!!

As the winged serpent was about to fly out of range, Kikyo immediately drew her bow and fired an arrow imbued with powerful purifying spiritual power.

Exorcism Arrow!

Yae Sakura instantly drew her Spirit Blade as well, sending a massive blade aura slashing toward the winged serpent in the sky.

Yet neither Kikyo's Exorcism Arrow nor Yae Sakura's sword aura struck it.

The winged serpent evaded them with astonishing speed. By the time Kikyo tried to fire a second arrow, it had already flown far away, soaring high into the sky... about to disappear into the clouds.

The attack range simply was not enough...

Yae Sakura watched the winged serpent, now no bigger than a mosquito in the distance. She had never expected its speed and agility to be so absurd. Even if she took out her guns, she might not be able to hit it now.

"Damn it!!" The demon slayer clan chief was furious that the Jewel of Four Souls had been stolen.

Kikyo could not help frowning deeply. She had only just arrived to take custody of the Jewel of Four Souls, and it had already been stolen by a demon! She bore a great deal of responsibility as well.

Unforgivable.

"Leave it to me..."

Yae Sakura looked at the winged serpent, which was about to vanish completely, and estimated what would happen if she fell from such a height. Then she realized... she probably would not die.

"Sakura, you..."

Hearing that, Kikyo was just about to ask what she meant...

When Yae Sakura suddenly set the little fox down from her head, stepped back, and drew out her spiritual power...

Flash Step!

Her entire body transformed into a streak of sword light and vanished.

When she reappeared, Yae Sakura was already high in the air, directly behind the winged serpent.

As long as Yae Sakura locked her gaze onto a target, she could appear directly behind it no matter where it was.

Even if it was far up in the sky, as long as she could see it...

"Wh... what?"

The winged serpent, which had already reached the clouds, never expected someone to suddenly appear behind it.

"Die!"

There was nothing to brace herself against in the air, so Yae Sakura grabbed the winged serpent's wing and immediately drove her Spirit Blade into its head.

If too much time passed and it digested the Jewel of Four Souls, things would become troublesome.

Time was of the essence, so Yae Sakura did not think too much about it.

However... after dealing with the winged serpent, Yae Sakura suddenly realized that she could have grabbed it and brought it down before killing it...

But it was already too late. Yae Sakura and the winged serpent's corpse began falling at the same time!

Yae Sakura glanced downward...

Mother of God, that's way too high!!

Even if she did not die, she would probably be crippled...

She had been too impulsive!

If only she could fly...

Even so, Yae Sakura calmed down. She positioned the winged serpent's corpse beneath herself, hoping her SSS-rank Valkyrie body could withstand the fall from such a height.

Though she was not very confident.

Just as Yae Sakura was thrillingly enjoying an experience even more exciting than skydiving, a voice like an angel's suddenly rang out.

"Big Sis, I'm coming!!"

A beast-eared little girl less than half a meter tall flew toward her.

"Higokumaru!!!"

Yae Sakura's eyes lit up when she saw Higokumaru... She was saved!

She could not fly, but Higokumaru could!

Wonderful... Wait, could such a tiny Higokumaru carry her?

"Big Sis, give me your hand!" Higokumaru finally flew to Yae Sakura's side.

Without hesitation, Yae Sakura tossed away the winged serpent's corpse and grabbed Higokumaru's hand.

"You're so heavy... Big Sis."

And so... Yae Sakura fell down together with Higokumaru.

As they neared the ground, Yae Sakura prepared to let go of Higokumaru's hand. They were going to fall anyway... Why drag Higokumaru down with her?

Just as Yae Sakura was about to let go, she suddenly realized that Higokumaru was still gripping her hand tightly. Then... their descent slowed considerably...

"Higokumaru..."

Looking at Higokumaru struggling to carry her, Yae Sakura was deeply moved...

Though she always called her Big Sis, Yae Sakura had not expected her to be so dependable at a critical moment.

In the end, Yae Sakura and Higokumaru both landed safely.

"Sakura, are you two all right? You scared me to death."

After a while, Kikyo and several demon slayers came over. Seeing that Yae Sakura and Higokumaru were safe and sound, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily Higokumaru was there. I'm fine." Yae Sakura held the little fox in her arms and stroked her fur.

"Oh, right. This demon swallowed the Jewel of Four Souls. Kikyo, see if you can find where it is." Yae Sakura pointed at the winged serpent's dismembered corpse nearby.

A demon that had swallowed the Jewel of Four Souls possessed the ability to continually resurrect. Since Yae Sakura was neither Kikyo nor Kagome, she could not see where in the winged serpent's corpse the Jewel of Four Souls was.

So, when it was about to resurrect, she dismembered it again.

Then she waited for Kikyo to arrive.