Uchiha Kagase closed his eyes, sensing the natural energy surrounding him. Suddenly, several unfamiliar auras entered his range of perception.
One was a pure and warm spiritual energy, and another was Yokai energy—belonging to a demon—but unlike the purely demonic energy of the Yokai he had encountered before, this one emitted a distinct human aura.
"So this is a half-demon?" he realized. "No wonder many demons can immediately tell that Inuyasha is a half-demon; this demonic power mixed with a human aura is far too obvious."
He opened his eyes, stood up, and lit the oil lamp in the room. The dim yellow light dispelled the darkness. He approached Tsuyu, lightly brushing her soft lips with his fingertip. "Release."
Tsuyu's brows furrowed slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Her vision gradually came into focus. First, she saw the faint light in the room, then a pale face marked with several long cracks and a pair of gray-black eyes—an unsettling presence that did not belong to the world of the living.
"Ah—!"
A terrified scream broke the silence. Tsuyu's eyes rolled back, and she fainted again.
Uchiha Kagase was stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly. Just as he was about to wake her again, several footsteps could be heard in the distance.
Clearly, Tsuyu's scream had attracted Inuyasha and his companions. He stopped, sat back down in a corner, and waited for their arrival.
A few minutes earlier, in the night outside the castle.
Inuyasha, Kagome, Myōga, and the panicked Amari Nobunaga were sneaking into the castle under the cover of darkness.
But once they entered, they discovered that everyone—samurai, soldiers, and servants—had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Young Master Inuyasha, be careful! These people have all been hypnotized by a demonic art!" said Myōga the flea, perched on Inuyasha's shoulder, with a solemn expression.
"Miss! Miss Tsuyu! Where are you?" Amari Nobunaga was anxious, looking around and shouting loudly.
"Is it really okay to shout like that?" Kagome couldn't help but retort. "What if you attract a Yokai?"
"What is there to be afraid of?" Inuyasha looked around, his ears twitching, and said indifferently, "They're all hypnotized anyway. If we make this much noise, maybe the Yokai will come to us."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tsuyu's frightened scream suddenly echoed from deep within the castle.
"It's Miss Tsuyu's voice!" Amari Nobunaga's expression changed.
"Kagome, something's wrong—follow me!" Inuyasha's dog ears perked up. Without another word, he turned and ran in the direction of the sound.
"Hey! Inuyasha, wait for me!" Kagome quickly followed, with Amari Nobunaga right behind her. Myōga clung tightly to Inuyasha's Fire Rat robe, not daring to let go.
Turning the corner, they found themselves in front of a dimly lit room.
The door was open, and a faint yellow light shone from inside, casting a long strip of light across the corridor floor. Figures could be vaguely seen within the room.
"Be careful!" Inuyasha's nose twitched, his brows furrowed, and he drew Tessaiga from his back. "There's a strange guy in there. He has a demonic aura mixed with the smell of the dead!"
He spoke cautiously, slowly approaching the room. Kagome followed, her palms slightly sweaty as she gripped her bow and arrows.
"Come in, I have no ill intentions."
A calm male voice suddenly came from inside the room.
Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged a glance. Kagome was about to warn him, "Be careful of traps," but Inuyasha had already stepped inside.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome sighed helplessly and quickly followed him in.
As soon as she entered the room, Kagome was startled by the man sitting in the corner and hid behind Inuyasha.
The man wore a white kosode with a high, stiff collar, left open at the chest in a silent display of defiance. The garment faded into wide scarlet-red hakama, tied at the waist with a thick braided red silk cord. At his side hung a sword. Even stranger was his body.
Both the skin of his face and the surface of his clothes were covered in numerous cracks, like porcelain on the verge of shattering.
What made her hair stand on end were his eyes; the whites were gray-black, and the depths of his pupils glowed with a faint, decaying gray, appearing especially unsettling under the dim yellow light.
"Miss Tsuyu!"
Amari Nobunaga, who had entered last, immediately saw Tsuyu lying on the ground and was about to rush toward her excitedly, but Inuyasha grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.
"Don't move!" Inuyasha held Tessaiga in front of him, staring warily at Uchiha Kagase. "Who are you? The lord of this place?"
"My name is Uchiha Kagase, and I am not the lord of this place. I simply discovered that the lord was possessed by a Yokai and was ordering soldiers to kidnap girls from nearby villages, so I came to investigate."
Kagase stood up, his gaze sweeping over Inuyasha and Kagome. It was the first time he had met the two protagonists of this world.
The young man standing in front of him, with long white hair and two fluffy dog ears on his head, must be Inuyasha.
He wore his characteristic Fire Rat robe, and the long sword he held was undoubtedly Tessaiga.
Uchiha Kagase sighed to himself, thinking: "What a pity he's a male. If he were a white-haired loli with cat ears, he would be perfect." Thinking about it, he almost felt like he was describing Koneko from High School DxD.
And looking beside him, he saw a girl hiding behind Inuyasha. She had long black hair and wore a sailor uniform that was completely out of place for this era.
A long-sleeved white top paired with a green pleated skirt, fair skin, lively eyes, full of youthful vigor—she must be Kagome Higurashi, the girl from the future.
"The girl on the ground is someone I found in the room. If you recognize her, wake her up."
Uchiha Kagase pointed at Tsuyu, who was unconscious, and voluntarily stepped back a few paces, indicating that he had no ill intentions. "I have already dispelled the genjutsu that was holding her, but when she woke up earlier and saw me, she fainted again from fright."
Kagome observed his retreat. Although she remained cautious, saving Tsuyu was the top priority. She tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve. "Inuyasha, bring me the girl first."
"I got it." Hearing Kagome's words, Inuyasha didn't act childish. He warned them, "You two stay here and don't move."
Then, while keeping an eye on Uchiha Kagase, he quickly approached Tsuyu, picked her up, and immediately returned to Kagome and Amari Nobunaga.
Throughout the entire time, Uchiha Kagase simply watched silently, making no unnecessary movements.
"Miss Tsuyu! Miss Tsuyu!"
Finally seeing Tsuyu, whom he had longed for, Amari Nobunaga held the girl tightly in his arms, repeatedly calling her name in an agitated voice. At last, Tsuyu slowly opened her eyes, still somewhat dazed.
"Tsuyu!" Seeing her wake up, Amari Nobunaga exclaimed in surprise.
"Nobunaga? Why are you here?" Seeing Nobunaga in front of her, Tsuyu, who had just awakened from fainting, asked in confusion.
Suddenly, she remembered something and pulled away from Nobunaga's embrace. "I… I think I saw a Yokai! Nobunaga, did you see it too?"
"Miss Tsuyu, I am not a Yokai. I am just a passing samurai who discovered that the lord of this castle was possessed by a demon and came to exorcise it."
At that moment, a calm voice was heard. Tsuyu turned toward the direction of the voice; it was the man she had seen before, now standing not far away, looking at her.