Chapter 47: Defeating the Insect Demons

For exorcists, whether it is martial arts or arcane arts, mastering them requires long periods of diligent study, intense focus, and immense dedication in order to synthesize the techniques of predecessors and reach the pinnacle.

In theory, such a thing as instantly learning someone else's moves just by witnessing them once or twice simply does not exist in this world.

Yet, this was an inexplicable "phenomenon" currently manifesting in Hyakusuke. He had never truly interacted with the Spear Saint in any meaningful sense, nor had he received any guidance from him, let alone anything beyond their initial clash within the dream realm.

To be able to learn an opponent's technique based merely on a fleeting glance during combat was, by anyone's standards, pure fantasy.

Hyakusuke did not realize how bizarre all of this was; his mind was entirely consumed by how to defeat this ferocious fiend.

"A superior ferocious fiend, if it were truly at the peak of its strength... if all of us gathered together, we honestly wouldn't stand a single chance of winning."

However, if the ferocious fiend they encountered had just broken a seal lasting one hundred and fifty years, was reduced to the utmost extreme of weakness, was heavily injured, unable to even use the sorceries and incantations it once excelled at, and possessed fatal flaws, then it was not entirely impossible—

"On the body of the insect fiend Hōkaku, there are two fatal flaws."

The first was a damaged section of carapace on the back of its neck; targeting this vital spot with an attack would be sufficient to kill the insect fiend.

The second was that the stag beetle yōkai's visual faculty had been "severed" by a powerful warrior in the past—a slash capable of severing the five senses, which destroyed its sensory capacity to "see" objects. Although it possessed red, jade-glowing eyeballs, it was completely blind.

Yōkai could use their demonic energy to detect surrounding spiritual power, functioning much like radar to survey their surroundings. For this ferocious fiend, the lack of vision did not impact it too severely.

The problem was that because the power of that initial slash in the past was overwhelmingly strong, the range within which it could detect surrounding spiritual power was restricted to a radius of no more than ten meters, and its sensitivity had also drastically deteriorated.

It could barely detect any movement beyond a radius centered on itself, and its perceptual abilities would drop even further if the environment was complex.

Hyakusuke poured every ounce of his strength into this single spear thrust, yet the "explosion" he generated on the ground could not compare to the devastating might of the Spear Saint's technique within the dream realm.

The spear technique known as "Dust-Sweeping" was fundamentally nothing more than using a concussive blast on surface sand and dust to create a smoke screen that obstructed vision, utilizing falling gravel from the air to hinder the enemy's movements.

Yet the Spear Saint could unleash this technique with the fury of a sandstorm, kicking up a vast cloud of crushed stones and gravel that would blast outward like shrapnel from a shell, causing catastrophic damage.

Even so, his technique still created a densely concentrated "shower of rubble."

To the stag beetle yōkai Hōkaku, this felt akin to being caught in a torrential downpour, which severely disrupted its sensory perception.

"It worked."

Hyakusuke cast aside the spear in his hand. The moment he successfully executed the "Dust-Sweeping" thrust, he drew his ninja blade and surged forward.

His remaining spiritual power was running dangerously low; merely creating the explosion had consumed a third of it, and the fraction that remained was now channeled into the muscles of his thighs to maximize his sprinting speed.

Bang!

Hyakusuke kicked off the ground, surging forward as though compressed air were propelling his feet. He streaked ahead like a flying arrow, plunging into the swirling, falling dust in a mere fraction of a second.

The insect fiend Hōkaku's reaction was entirely a beat too slow. Or rather, faced with the sudden disruption of its sensory detection by the "torrential rain," it failed to react in time—right until Hyakusuke plunged into the blind spot of its perception.

He rushed straight toward the front of the insect fiend. By the time he closed the distance to within arm's reach, the creature finally realized its enemy's intent.

"Taking advantage of the moment to disrupt my perception and create chaos for a surprise attack—this is no samurai's path, this is a cowardly tactic!"

The insect fiend was enraged.

Yet, it also knew that the enemy had calculated the timing precisely.

Its long spear was broken.

The hand wielding its blade had been severed.

Its remaining weapons were limited to a close-range axe and a defensive treasure shield.

Although the treasure shield could absorb arcane arts and reflect them, all the flames it had just absorbed had already been completely discharged.

"A surprise attack calculated based on my current state?"

Even so, it adopted the most prudent and conservative tactic available on the battlefield, using its shield to guard its front and block the falling debris. At the same time, it channeled its full strength into the handle of its axe, ready to unleash an offensive at a moment's notice.

This was the insect fiend's strategy: to use the large shield in its left hand to deflect and scatter the opponent's onslaught, and then seize the opening to strike back with the axe in its right hand.

Regardless of the angle from which the enemy's attack came, it would be able to launch a timely countermeasure.

However, at that very instant, Hyakusuke made yet another move—he hurled a stone forward.

With a dull thud, the stone struck the shield.

"What?"

Out of caution, the insect fiend had angled its shield vertically and horizontally for defense, and at that exact microsecond, Hyakusuke leaped into the air.

"You're courting death."

Swinging its axe in a wide arc, the creature anticipated even the enemy's trajectory in mid-air, aiming to cleave Hyakusuke's body apart as he hung suspended.

However, the axe's attack missed entirely, hacking through empty air.

Wrong!

The enemy was gone—

In an instant, it realized its mistake, but it was already far too late.

"Thanks."

Hyakusuke vanished from mid-air, reappearing directly atop the shield as if through teleportation. He had invoked a "Talisman of Earth-Shrinking," completely ignoring the laws of time and space to vault onto the great shield. Using that momentum, he pushed off the shield to leap back into the air, executing a second instance of "Earth-Shrinking."

This time, he instantly materialized directly behind the insect fiend's neck, aiming straight for the visibly cracked carapace as he drove the tip of his blade forcefully inward.

The insect fiend let out a harrowing shriek; this was a fatal, crippling blow.

"Unbelievable... That kid Hyakusuke...!"

The elderly Matsudaira stood frozen in place, holding his naginata as he muttered in stunned disbelief.

The head of the branch family, Yariya Tomoe, also parted her lips slightly in shock.

At the same time, Tsukayoru Yakei, who had retreated to the edge of the courtyard to avoid the flames, kept her gaze locked fixedly on Hyakusuke's retreating figure.

"It worked."

Without a shred of complacency, Hyakusuke didn't even have time to retrieve his ninja blade. He mustered his remaining strength for a third Earth-Shrinking leap, utilizing the power of instantaneous movement to transport himself behind the insect fiend.

The massive beetle yōkai, pierced through its vital spot by the ninja blade, roared in fury and swung its axe backward. Hyakusuke scrambled desperately to evade the blow. His spiritual power was no longer sufficient to sustain another "Earth-Shrinking," and his physical stamina was rapidly bottoming out, leaving him with no choice but to dodge in a clumsy, undignified scramble.

His evasion was agonizingly close; he narrowly avoided being crushed by the insect fiend's dying throes.

"Vermin! You're courting death, raaaaaaah!"

Roaring with rage, the insect fiend's voice betrayed its desperate, cornered state.

Whoosh!

The axe-blade tore through the air toward him.

Hyakusuke had no time to dodge.

With a resounding *clang*, the massive axe crashed against a pair of crossed blades. Amidst a shower of metallic ringing and sparks, Yakei raised her twin swords, channeling her spiritual power to block the great axe.

The insect fiend possessed innate, monstrous superhuman strength, yet the young woman's arm-strength, reinforced by spiritual power, proved to be an absolute match for it.

"Everyone, attack together!!!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs, prompting the elderly Matsudaira and Yariya Tomoe to immediately answer her call and launch a coordinated assault.

Matsudaira roared as his naginata swept through the air in a ferocious arc, while Yariya Tomoe flung a flurry of paper talismans that transformed into blades of ice and golden arrows. The fiery bird, Bifang, also joined the fray, sweeping past the shield to slam directly into the insect fiend's face.

It was a self-sacrificial strike; the firebird dissolved into a blinding flash before detonating. The intense, searing heat vaporized the insect fiend's twin horns, shattered its head, and left the carapace on its right shoulder charred, fractured, and evaporating into ash.

Scattered flames spat outward, showering sparks onto the ground where the earth boiled and bubbled from the extreme heat.

With a sweep of Yakei's Mizu-tsuki sword, the insect fiend's right leg was severed. The creature collapsed backward in agony, spraying a copious torrent of blood from the severed stump as the detached limb rolled into the dust.

"I... I cannot fall just yet, raaaaaaah!"

It propped its body up using the shield as a crutch, but its left knee gave way under the strain, forcing it to kneel as the stump of its severed shin slammed into the earth, barely allowing it to steady its posture.

"Now is the time!"

Tsukayoru Yakei issued her command in a steady, resolute voice.

"Keep pressing the attack until it dies—until it can no longer move a muscle."

Matsudaira's naginata descended in a sweeping *kesagiri* slash, severing the arm that held the shield; a dense barrage of ice blades and golden arrows rained down relentlessly. The insect fiend shrieked in renewed agony, yet it still fought desperately to retaliate, until finally, its axe was shattered to pieces by the young woman's spiritually-infused slash.

Through seamless coordination and mutual support, the exorcists unleashed their combined might, overwhelming even a superior ferocious fiend that in former times could have swept across human armies on a battlefield.

At last, it crashed heavily to the ground.

Blood poured from every inch of its body, pooling into a crimson lake upon the earth. The insect fiend's life was officially brought to an end.

*What a pity... Although this creature was a yōkai, it was an interesting character within the narrative arc. Its only wish was to die like a true warrior upon the battlefield. In the original storyline, it was defeated honorably by the protagonist, which could be considered the fulfillment of its dying wish...*

Hyakusuke sighed inwardly.

However, had they not resorted to targeting its weak points to defeat the insect fiend Hōkaku, this battle would undoubtedly have resulted in heavy casualties.

Perhaps the protagonist Yakei could have survived through a sudden surge of latent power.

As for himself, Ayaka, old Matsudaira, and Yariya Tomoe would most likely have perished. The monks of Gokuraku-ji would have died, and his own subordinates would have been killed as well.

"That is why you simply had to die here."

Hyakusuke looked down at the gruesome remains of the insect fiend and shook his head.

"Has... Has it been defeated?"

With the insect fiend vanquished, Yakei finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Lord Hyakusuke, are you alright?"

She asked with a tone filled with concern.

"I'm fine, but my spiritual power is completely exhausted, and my stamina has hit its absolute limit."

Hyakusuke replied, his thin lips moving to produce an utterly exhausted voice.

"I doubt I can even move right now..."

Exerting the Spear Saint's technique and activating the effects of the Earth-Shrinking talisman had imposed a physical toll far beyond anything he had previously imagined.

Caught up in the desperate adrenaline of battle, he hadn't noticed his body's condition, but now that the tension had faded, he realized his stamina was spent, his muscles ached agonizingly, and his entire body felt as heavy as lead.

"It's alright, I'll help support you."

Yakei flashed a sweet smile, stepping forward to steady his swaying frame.

Hyakusuke was momentarily dazed; that was unmistakably a feminine smile—what trace of a male protagonist remained in that expression?

"Older brother!"

Ayaka came running up from behind in a panic. She had previously been sent to the rear to take shelter by old Matsudaira, but upon seeing Yakei clinging to Hyakusuke, she rushed forward in alarm.

And right at that moment—

"OOOOOOOOOOH...!"

The remains of the insect fiend, which ought to have been dead, the creature that should have collapsed in its own pool of blood, forcefully heaved its upper body upward and lunged directly toward Ayaka.

No!

This was a development that completely blindsided everyone present.

Yet, in the very next heartbeat, a silvery crescent moon sliced through the void.

The insect fiend's final charge froze mid-motion.

Then, its entire torso split apart into jagged fragments, showering a rain of blood and viscera from the severed cross-section.

"...Are you people truly this pathetic just dealing with a single enemy?"

A crisp, clear voice slowly echoed through the air.

As the light of the lunar arc faded, a man dressed in black, resembling a Buddhist monk's vestments, appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

He held a long blade in his right hand, casually flicking it to send the blood and fat clinging to the edge spraying onto the ground, leaving a curved crimson trail behind.

"Yakei, I had assumed that after spending some time with the Kurohimeshiyama family, you might have grown up a little... But it seems you are still the exact same useless wretch."

"E-Elder Brother?!"

Ayaka dropped to her knees in lingering terror. Raising her head, she stammered in disbelief, "Is it really you?"

"B-Brother Ikki."

Yakei also froze in place, her lips stiffening as she stared with vacant eyes at the man before her.

"You truly disappoint me, Tsukayoru Yakei."

Kukutsu Ikki shook his head, uttering harsh, cutting words as he slid his blade back into its scabbard.

This...

Hyakusuke was equally struck with profound astonishment.

*Kukutsu Ikki... Why on earth has the scary brother-in-law shown up as well?*