"If you truly want a peaceful life, the only way is to help Kagome resolve the trouble with the shikon jewel."
Retsu stared at her, suddenly remembering the upcoming messy love triangle between her, Kagome, and Inuyasha. A malicious smile curled on his lips as he said intentionally:
"Stop staring at that Half-demon Inuyasha. He already has Kagome now. Your fate with him ended the moment you died."
"Shut up!"
Kikyo's expression instantly became bone-chillingly cold. Spiritual energy surged around her as a beam of silvery-white Demon-Slaying Power shot directly at him.
Facing Kikyo's attack, Retsu didn't dodge. Still hanging upside down from the tree branch, he calmly let the Demon-Slaying Power strike his chest.
With a soft 'bang', the Priestess's spiritual power exploded against his chest, leaving a fist-sized wound.
However, as soon as the wound appeared, white dust from all directions quickly converged. In the blink of an eye, the wound was restored to its original state without leaving a single trace.
Kikyo had long known she couldn't hurt him. She didn't linger after the attack, turning and walking away quickly.
Retsu watched her departing back and curled his lip in boredom.
He adjusted the Chakra in his feet, flipping his body as if pulled by gravity to land steadily on top of the branch. He stretched and shouted at her back:
"For the strong, things like life and death are inherently blurred. Compared to traveling through time, crossing between life and death isn't difficult at all."
Kikyo's footsteps stopped abruptly. Without turning around, she stood in place and spoke:
"Do you... actually have a way to truly resurrect?"
"Of course." Retsu grinned, his tone matter-of-fact. "I have no interest in living in this dead shell of a body forever."
"You..." Kikyo turned around sharply and opened her mouth as if to ask something, but after hesitating for a moment, she swallowed her words.
"What? Want to ask about the method of resurrection?" Retsu raised an eyebrow, teasing her on purpose.
"It's nothing." Kikyo avoided his gaze and turned to continue walking. Her voice drifted back lightly, "I am leaving this place tonight."
Retsu watched her receding figure with a smile. He wanted to see how long this proud Priestess could hold out before asking him about resurrection again.
Time flew by, and late night arrived. Perhaps because their evening argument still had her upset, Kikyo didn't call for Retsu. She packed her things alone and quietly walked out of the Village.
The night was as dark as ink. Kikyo stood silently by the riverbank outside the Village. The cold moonlight reflected off the water, making her figure look exceptionally lonely in the night.
Before long, countless pale white specks of light appeared in the air, flying toward her like fireflies.
As the lights drew closer, they were revealed to be a swarm of translucent white Soul Reapers, each clutching a cluster of soft, glowing dead souls in its claws.
The Soul Reapers circled and danced around Kikyo. She gently extended a slender finger to receive a dead soul dropped by one of them, her voice soft: "Poor souls of young girls, come with me."
As she spoke, she slowly integrated the dead soul into her clay body. This body relied on these dead souls to maintain its movement and power.
"Are you lingering in this world because you cannot ascend to heaven? Miss Priestess..."
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind. Kikyo's heart tightened; it was Master Harumi, whom she had driven away earlier.
The instant the monk spoke, a sharp whistling sound pierced the night sky!
A samurai sword shot out from the darkness like a meteor, piercing straight through Master Harumi's chest and pinning him firmly to the ground.
"Gah—!" Master Harumi spat out a mouthful of blood, his hands trembling as he grabbed the samurai sword. His eyes were filled with unbelievable terror.
"Ah!" Suddenly, dense arcs of electricity surged along the samurai sword. The current spread through the monk's body, instantly paralyzing him and leaving him unable to even scream.
"Old man, it seems you really didn't take my words seriously." Retsu's voice came from above, carrying cold killing intent. "Since you want to die so badly, shall I grant your wish?"
His figure descended from the sky, landing steadily beside the pinned Master Harumi, looking down at him.
In the darkness, his Sharingan flickered with a crimson glow like an Asura from hell, making the surrounding air turn bone-chillingly cold.
"Who's there?" Just then, a faint sound came from the bushes. Kikyo turned her head warily.
Retsu didn't care. He had already sensed the girl named Sayo from the Village hiding in the bushes, but he simply didn't bother with her.
He reached out and grabbed the hilt of the samurai sword, pulling it violently from the monk's chest. The blade dripped with warm blood.
He slowly raised the sword, aiming it at Master Harumi's neck, seemingly about to strike.
"Wait, let him go." Kikyo's voice suddenly came, stopping his movement. "A child is here."
Retsu turned to look and saw that Kikyo had already brought out Sayo, who was hiding in the bushes.
The little girl sat on the ground, looking at the bloody scene in terror. When she met Retsu's crimson Sharingan, her body shook violently. Tears welled up instantly, but she was too scared to make a sound.
Retsu laughed inwardly: This little girl is going to have nightmares for the next few days.
"Fine, for the child's sake, I'll spare his life." He nodded and put away the samurai sword.
Killing a monk was insignificant to him, but he couldn't bring himself to commit murder in front of a child.
Kikyo knelt down and gently comforted the trembling Sayo. Once the girl's emotions had somewhat stabilized, she stood up and said to Retsu, "Let's go."
"Miss Kikyo..." Just as the two turned to leave, Sayo suddenly called out to Kikyo's back, her voice thick with reluctance.
Kikyo's footsteps paused. She looked back at the little girl with a soft smile, her voice as gentle as water:
"I'm sorry for leaving you with such a terrible memory. Farewell, Sayo."
With that, she didn't linger and walked into the dark, dense forest. Retsu followed closely behind, and their figures soon vanished into the night.
On the night forest path, only the sounds of insects and footsteps accompanied them.
Retsu watched the Soul Reapers circling around Kikyo, finding these little things quite unique.
Translucent white and emitting a soft glow, they were more than a little cuter than other hideous and terrifying demons.
He couldn't help but reach out to touch one, but the Soul Reaper deftly dodged him.
Out of boredom, he looked at Kikyo walking silently ahead and recalled Sayo's appearance earlier, teasing:
"You're quite popular with children. That little girl clearly saw you controlling the Soul Reapers, yet she was still so reluctant to see you go."
As he spoke, he remarked with a sigh: "If you ever have a child in the future, you'll surely be a good mother."
Hearing this, Kikyo's body stiffened. Her footsteps paused for half a second before returning to normal as she continued walking in silence, though her aura seemed to soften slightly.
After a long while, Kikyo, walking in front, suddenly spoke. Her voice was so light it was almost scattered by the wind: "As one of the dead, my time stopped long ago. Is such a thing even possible?"
Retsu replied with a standard Uchiha-style statement: "If it can't be done, it's only because you aren't strong enough."
Kikyo didn't respond. The forest fell into silence again, save for the faint sounds of the Soul Reapers drifting about.
Retsu watched the Soul Reapers surrounding them and asked curiously, "Are these insects your tools for collecting dead souls?"
"There is very little left of the soul within me. This clay body relies on the dead souls of recently deceased young girls to maintain its movement."
Kikyo's voice came back, calm and without a ripple, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
After a pause, she changed the subject and asked, "By the way, your body... what exactly is going on with it?"
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