"Alright, let's place these items here."
Kikyo looked at the neatly arranged offerings on the shrine altar and nodded with satisfaction, a gentle smile appearing on her lips.
At the moment, the small shrine shelf before them displayed several items.
At the very top rested the cracked Mirror of Life. Beneath it lay the thin, translucent Heavenly Feather Robe.
Below those were the golden diamond-shaped hairpin, and the Buddha's Stone Bowl—which had been returned to Yuzuki earlier, only for her to bring it back as an offering.
"As long as you're happy with it."
Uchiha Retsu stood beside her with his arms folded, speaking casually.
After returning to the shrine, the two had first settled Yuzuki in Kikyo Village at the foot of the mountain. Once back in the main hall, they began examining the spoils from their recent battle.
After asking Kikyo's opinion, they ultimately decided to enshrine the items in the shrine.
Although Retsu felt it was a bit wasteful to simply worship such powerful artifacts without using them, he realized there was no immediate use for them anyway.
Besides, Kikyo said the shrine's barrier would gradually nourish and stabilize the objects, so they handled them according to her wishes.
Retsu had still taken the time to study them a little.
The Heavenly Feather Robe contained nearly solidified natural energy.
He suspected it was actually the core of the celestial maiden's power. In the original story, it could heal Kagome's wounds—but that was likely just a minor effect from the immortal celestial maiden's power leaking outward.
No wonder Kaguya in the story needed to reclaim the Heavenly Feather Robe before she could use the Meikyō Shisui technique.
Without the enormous energy from the robe, she wouldn't have had enough power to cast such a large-scale time-freezing spell on her own.
He also learned that performing Meikyō Shisui wasn't easy.
Not only did it require the immense energy of the Heavenly Feather Robe, it also needed five treasures representing the five elements:
Dragon's Head Jewel
Penglai Jade Branch
Buddha's Stone Bowl
Swallow's Cowrie Shell
Fire-Rat Robe
These artifacts symbolized metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
And since the technique was originally a power Kaguya gained after devouring the celestial maiden, it meant only beings with celestial lineage could truly wield it.
All of this information came from a rather "friendly conversation" he had with Kaguya inside the sealing space—after forcing the answers out of her.
As for Kaguya herself, she was currently nothing more than a mass of demonic mist, tightly bound by the branches of the giant tree at the center of the sealed space.
Although her physical body had been destroyed, the power she gained from devouring the celestial maiden had not completely vanished.
If she managed to devour a new body, she could still barely use the celestial techniques again.
The Mirror of Life was also quite interesting.
Aside from firing beams of light, the mirror contained a hidden mirror world.
In the original story, the Dream Castle existed at the center of that world. Surrounding it was a lake, and beneath the water lurked a six-headed serpent.
That same serpent had once attacked Inuyasha under Kaguya's control before being defeated by Inuyasha and Kikyo together.
Its true role was likely that of a guardian protecting the Dream Castle.
Using his Sage power, Retsu could observe the scenery within that mirror world, but he couldn't find a way to open a passage inside.
Even when he questioned Kaguya, she couldn't explain the method clearly.
After devouring the celestial maiden, she had simply gained the instinctive ability to control the Mirror of Life. She could open the passage to the Dream Castle and even project that world into reality under a full moon.
Since he couldn't figure out the mechanism, Retsu eventually gave up trying.
Still, when he saw the six-headed serpent inside the mirror world, he finally understood something.
Back when he fought Kaguya earlier, that serpent from the original story never appeared.
The reason was simple—Kaguya had encountered Retsu and was quickly destroyed by Kikyo before she could summon it.
The Mirror of Life had fallen and been picked up by Retsu before she even had the chance.
Thinking about it, Kaguya had truly lost in the most miserable way possible.
It was basically like getting locked down by a full combo in a team fight—never even getting the chance to use her ultimate skill.
"Kikyo… aren't you forgetting something?"
Watching Kikyo finish setting up the protective barrier around the altar and bow respectfully in prayer, Retsu suddenly spoke with a teasing tone.
"Hm?"
Kikyo lifted her head and looked at him in confusion. After thinking for a moment, she blinked innocently.
"What is it?"
Retsu stepped closer with a faint smile.
"At the River God festival, you promised me something."
Kikyo froze for a moment before her cheeks flushed red.
"You… mean now?" she asked softly, glancing around the empty main hall with embarrassment. "Could we… do it tonight instead?"
She had almost forgotten about it. The incident with Kaguya had delayed everything, but clearly Retsu had not forgotten at all.
The Kagura Dance was a sacred ritual dance performed by shrine maidens.
Although she had learned it long ago, as a combat shrine maiden constantly fighting demons, she had rarely performed it in front of others.
Just imagining dancing in front of him made her cheeks burn.
"I want to see it now," Retsu said with a mischievous grin, staring straight at her.
Seeing how serious he looked, Kikyo knew she couldn't escape it this time. She was just about to agree—
"Kikyo-sama!"
A villager's urgent voice suddenly called from outside.
Kikyo instantly sighed in relief and gave Retsu a sly smile.
"A villager is looking for me. I'll go see what's wrong."
She hurried toward the door.
But as she passed him, she suddenly stopped, leaned in, and quickly kissed his cheek.
"I'll definitely dance for you tonight."
Before he could respond, she ran out of the hall.
Retsu chuckled softly.
Even if he couldn't see it immediately, Kikyo had promised—so he would simply look forward to the night.
In the end, Retsu got his wish.
Under the quiet night sky, the shrine courtyard was bathed in gentle moonlight.
Silver light spilled across the open ground covered with fallen leaves.
Kikyo stood there in her shrine maiden robes, holding Kagura bells as she began to dance.
Her movements were slightly rusty, yet carried a sacred elegance and gentle beauty.
The bells chimed softly, and her sleeves fluttered with each graceful motion.
Retsu watched without blinking.
But after only a short while, Kikyo noticed his burning gaze and blushed deeply.
Embarrassed beyond endurance, she dropped the bells and ran away, leaving him alone in the courtyard, smiling as he replayed the beautiful scene in his mind.
"And you're still laughing!"
Standing nearby, Kikyo noticed the smile on his lips and instantly guessed what he was thinking.
Her cheeks flushed again as she lightly punched him twice.
"Focus on the real task! Stop daydreaming!"
Just seeing that expression told her he was recalling last night's dance.
Since learning the Kagura Dance, she had almost never performed it in front of anyone.
Last night, under Retsu's intense gaze, she had forced herself to finish the dance while fighting back her embarrassment—before fleeing straight back to her room.
"Alright, alright."
Retsu finally stopped teasing her and focused his mind.
His consciousness entered the Inner Four Symbols Seal within his body as he carefully opened a small gap.
In the next instant, a black sealing pattern resembling the Eight Trigrams Seal appeared across his body and spread outward.
Several Four Symbols sealing formations manifested in the air.
Splash!
Large amounts of shattered demon limbs poured out from the seal and piled up in the center of the courtyard.
A thick demonic aura instantly filled the air.
But just as the evil energy was about to spread beyond the courtyard—
The ground suddenly lit up with brilliant white patterns.
A purification barrier rose instantly, forming a hemispherical dome that sealed Retsu and the demon remains inside, completely containing the demonic energy.
"Kikyo, you can start now!"
After confirming all the limbs had been expelled, Retsu closed the seal and called out.
"Alright!"
Kikyo nodded and immediately poured her pure shrine maiden spiritual power into the formation beneath her feet.
The next moment, sacred white light surged through the barrier.
Under the force of purification, the demonic aura on the severed limbs melted away like snow under sunlight.
In the end, all that remained was a lifeless pile of demon carcasses.
These limbs were fragments left behind when Naraku had detonated his body earlier.
Retsu felt it was too dangerous to keep them sealed together with Kaguya.
After all, Kaguya possessed devouring abilities.
If she somehow absorbed Naraku's demonic energy and grew stronger, it might cause serious trouble.
So he and Kikyo had prepared this purification barrier in advance—to remove these remnants from the seal and cleanse them completely.
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