Sesshomaru charged swiftly. After all, in his eyes, none of the enemies present posed any real threat to him.
This was not the arrogance of the strong, but a powerful warrior's confidence in his own strength.
On paper, Sesshomaru's assessment was correct.
The battle had already reached this point, and Inuyasha had even sacrificed his blood without regard for the consequences. Even if the Hojo Army still had some trump card left...
Even if there were human monks or the like hidden in the camp, could they really bring him down with a single fatal blow?
As long as it was not some terrifying attack capable of killing him instantly, once their final trump card was exposed...
Wouldn't the entire Hojo Army be fish on a chopping board, mine to slaughter?
And so, caught completely off guard, Sesshomaru stared with pupils contracted to pinpoints at the incoming Purifying Arrow, which really might kill him outright.
As for why one of humanity's most powerful spiritual attacks, specifically effective against demons, had appeared here...
He no longer had room to consider that.
There's still a chance!
In that fleeting instant, Sesshomaru still managed to assess the arrow Hojo Akitoshi and Kagome had fired together.
Its purifying power was genuine, and the timing of the shot was perfect.
Naturally, the arrow's speed was also impressive.
But I can block it!
A grave look flashed through his eyes as he faced the arrow flying straight toward his face, on the verge of striking him.
For once, Sesshomaru felt adrenaline surge through him. His mind was more active than ever, and every cell in his body screamed!
In an instant, he mobilized every last bit of his demonic power, staking both the renown of his father, the Great Dog General, and his own pride as Sesshomaru.
Without dodging or retreating, Sesshomaru first used his immense reserves of demonic power to clash with and wear down the Purifying Arrow hurtling toward his face.
Before the eyes of everyone present, the spiritual power originating from Kagome, from Kikyo, shone with a blazing white radiance.
That light, symbolizing all that was good in the world, met Sesshomaru's demonic power, which embodied his pride and renown.
The two forces fought fiercely, colliding endlessly and consuming one another.
Each strove to overwhelm the other, then crush it completely.
The escaping energy tore apart the ground around the point of collision, opening deep, abyssal fissures.
The light was too intense for anyone to look at directly. Everyone shut their eyes as though averting their gaze from the descent of a god.
"Is it over?"
Even as the light and tremors slowly faded, no one dared open their eyes immediately.
Everyone in the Hojo Army hoped to see Sesshomaru gone, yet feared opening their eyes only to discover that the nightmare remained.
Still, what had to be faced had to be faced. Running away might be shameful, but it was not always useful.
Someone finally took the plunge. Hojo Akitoshi was the first to open his eyes.
"This... this really is... beautiful!"
Unable to help himself, Hojo Akitoshi sighed in admiration of something beautiful, his voice rich with emotion and utterly captivating.
"What the hell?"
Hearing that, the others finally gave in to their curiosity and opened their eyes.
They were on a battlefield, facing the terrifying Great Demon Sesshomaru.
Even if that arrow had truly killed him, surely the scene could hardly be called beautiful?
"Hiss."
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath as they saw what Hojo Akitoshi had seen.
Beads of sweat had appeared on the cold, noble young lord's face, reflecting the hazy moonlight like stars.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
His slightly tilted head offered them a profile that invited endless flights of fancy, while an arrow remained clenched between Sesshomaru's teeth.
His figure, his face, the stunning beauty he presented to them-all exuded a pure allure, like a certain Quanzhen Taoist catching a bullet in his mouth.
"What a shame."
Without showing any disappointment, Hojo Akitoshi turned his head and asked Kagome quietly.
"Do you have any strength left?"
"N-no..."
Snapping out of her appreciation for that beautiful sight, Kagome instantly went pale.
She understood that once their side had exhausted every means of resistance, a one-sided slaughter would inevitably follow.
Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's elder brother standing before them, was a Great Demon with a thoroughly typical demon's mindset.
"Well done."
While Hojo Akitoshi and Kagome were speaking, Sesshomaru spat out the arrow he held in his mouth.
Watching it roll across the ground, he stepped on it.
Just now, Sesshomaru had nearly been brought down by an unexpected setback. Had the purifying power carried by the arrow not been insufficiently strong and stable...
If that purifying power had been backed by decades of cultivation!
His gaze fell on Kagome as he took a proper look at the second human on the field worthy of his attention.
Although he did not say it aloud, he understood perfectly well.
Given how specifically a Purifying Arrow countered demonic energy, he would likely have been in grave danger just now.
Even though he had blocked it, his overall condition had suffered greatly, and his strength had been drastically reduced.
"Do you have any other trump cards, Hojo Akitoshi?"
Clenching his fist and gauging how much his strength had diminished, Sesshomaru asked with his expression as unshaken as ever.
He was confident that even with his power severely depleted, he could still grant death to every human before him.
"Probably not."
Meeting Sesshomaru's cold gaze, Hojo Akitoshi drew his sword and openly admitted that their side had exhausted its trump cards.
"Everyone, before us stands Sesshomaru, a Great Demon who roams unchallenged through the Demon World."
"His father was the Great Dog General, who once ruled over all the demons of the Western Lands."
"Whether in lineage or personal strength, he is an opponent of the highest caliber."
"We may very well all die here in this battle. There is something I wish to ask you."
"Are you afraid?"
Having answered Sesshomaru's question, Hojo Akitoshi raised his sword toward the moon and loudly questioned the men behind him.
Are we afraid?
Faced with their lord's question, the many samurai of the Hojo Army exchanged glances.
It would have been impossible to say they were not afraid. Who did not fear death?
But as they looked at their lord, Hojo Akitoshi, standing at the very front, their admission of fear caught in their
throats.
Especially when they saw the girl from the countryside they had looked down upon earlier, the girl named Kagome, become the first to stand beside Hojo Akitoshi.
Then Lord Akechi Mitsuhide and more of the senior commanders stepped forward without a word.
They came to stand beside Hojo Akitoshi.
They remembered their lord Hojo Akitoshi's everyday benevolence and righteousness, and the righteous world he had described, a world they longed for!
"My Lord, please retreat for now!"
No one knew which samurai spoke first, but one after another, they stepped forward and placed themselves between Hojo Akitoshi and the enemy.
"That's right. This world can do without me, but it cannot do without Lord Hojo Akitoshi."
"The righteous world has yet to arrive. How could Lord Hojo Akitoshi fall in battle here?"
"We will hold him back. My Lord, please make certain you avenge us one day."
Speaking over one another, the samurai standing in front of Hojo Akitoshi earnestly urged him to leave for the time being.
Their eyes remained fixed resolutely on Sesshomaru, who stood motionless ahead, ready at any moment to block the enemy with their own flesh and blood.
They would buy their lord time to retreat.
To that end, they would spare nothing, even if they had to bite him with their teeth or stake their lives.
"Ha! I have no habit of buying my escape with my men's lives."
Smiling under Kagome's admiring gaze, Hojo Akitoshi parted the people blocking his path.
Sesshomaru was indeed unbeatable, but knowing that, how could he have failed to prepare?
Standing before his men and earning another wave of goodwill, Hojo Akitoshi looked toward Inuyasha off to the side.
Certainly, killing them was something Sesshomaru would be happy to do.
But compared with his own father's tomb, their insignificant lives hardly mattered.
Sesshomaru could still tell which was more important.
After Kagome's purifying power had drained his strength, the Great Dog General's favoritism would drain it again next.
After those successive blows, what would it matter how capable a fighter Sesshomaru was?
Even in such a clearly unfavorable situation, Hojo Akitoshi was still calculating inwardly.
Just how good were their chances of ending Sesshomaru's life right here?
Before you continue