Chapter 55: The Power of the Shrine Maiden

  "Do you want to become stronger?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the human girl he had just rescued, but what he didn't expect was that she would stick with Sesshomaru as soon as she arrived in the West. He also didn't think that his cold and icy son would have someone who liked him, let alone a human. But this was also a good thing, after all, Sesshomaru had someone to accompany him now...

  "Alright."

  "Tell me the reason, why do you want to become stronger." The canine general couldn't fathom why this human little girl wanted to become stronger. Was it because she feared the yōkai like other humans?

  "I want to protect what I like." The dog general who resembled Kirisame Marisa by six-tenths stared and said his own thoughts.

  The words of this person made Inuyasha recall his determination to protect Kagome for the rest of his life.

  "Old man, I've heard that among humans, only shrine maidens and magicians possess special powers." Myōga jumped up and down on Inugami's shoulder.

  “...flea.” I stared at the thing jumping around on Inugami's shoulder, and upon closer inspection, it had white fluffy hair with some bald spots, a round head and eyes, no nose but a mouth like a mosquito. It was also wearing something that looked like traditional Japanese clothing - you could tell at a glance that it was a yokai, unlike the big yokai like Inugami who needed to use their powers to be recognizable. But then again, there's no rule that says yokai can't wear clothes, they're civilized creatures too.

  "The most important thing for a shrine maiden is spiritual power and magic, followed by archery. Let me give you a bow and arrow to practice with first."

  "Old man, aren't you going to visit your wife?" Ming Jia jumped up and down on the shoulder of the Dog Great General, secretly swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Ah, too bad, this human girl's blood is so delicious, but I couldn't drink it, or else my old life would be forfeit to Satsuki. Alas, let's hurry along.

  Ming Jia finished speaking, and the Dog General's face changed. He transformed into a giant dog and flew away on clouds. As I watched the direction he left in, I realized that the flea Ming Jia was talking about wasn't Killua's mother, Chiwa, but rather Inuyasha's future mother, Izayoi. Looks like the Dog General is going to cheat on his wife again, truly a dog who has been lonely for hundreds of years.

  …………

  ………

  Carrying the bow and arrow obtained from the servant, I arrived at the courtyard. It might not be called a courtyard because it was no different from the back garden of the Chinese imperial palace. The water flowing in from outside the city converged into a small river about 20 zhang long, with elegant and refined lotus flowers blooming on its calm surface. The water quality was clear and transparent, and the fish swimming in the river could be counted. A small bridge made of red wood spanned the small river, surrounded by a natural maze of flowers and trees, which only those familiar with this place could navigate out of, unless they were demons or monsters that could fly out directly.

  I put on the thumb ring given to me by my servant to prevent my thumb from being cut by the bowstring, then I pulled open the bowstring on the bow rack and aimed at a big tree in front of me, grasped the force well and shot it out.

  A whizzing sound passed by my ear, and the arrow flew towards a large tree in front of me. What was strange was that the arrow was wrapped in a faint pink color around it. After that, it disappeared into the tree. I walked towards the big tree with my sleeves raised, but the arrow didn't just simply disappear into the tree. There were also black scorch marks around the tree.

  "It's strange, why are there burn marks? Clearly, there weren't any just now." I muttered to myself, tilting my head. The reason I'm being cautious is because of my current identity as a human, which can't use special abilities. In this era, the only weapons available are swords and knives, and also due to mere curiosity.

  "...This is the power of a shrine maiden among the humble humans." A voice came from beside my ear, and then a slender and pale hand appeared. If I didn't look closely, I would have thought it was a woman's hand. The hand with sharp poisonous claws grasped the arrow stuck in the tree, and the originally intact arrow melted away at a speed visible to the naked eye. This is the skill of Dokkasen, taught by Kikka, Killshamen's mother - Poisonous Flower Claw, extremely toxic and beautiful.

  "Ah, Little Killer is back." Looking up at the expressionless Sesshomaru, he now had the image of a noble young master who was feared by the youkai outside, who couldn't even escape upon seeing him.

  When I first started calling him "Little Kill", it was just to see his expression, unfortunately, he only slightly furrowed his brow and said with an unpleasant gaze (You're lucky to be alive after seeing this expression, the others who have seen it are all dead). To ease the atmosphere, I said that way of calling sounds more intimate, he didn't say anything, so I took it as a default, actually, at first, I wanted to call him "Little Maruko".

  "Huh? Did Koro just say that the arrow I shot had the power of a shrine maiden?" If that's what he meant, then it makes sense. The 'Shrine Maiden's Power' mentioned in God's text message was referring to this after all.

  "Ah, this level of power isn't even enough to kill those insignificant monsters." Kishibe Rohan glanced indifferently at the tree injured by the arrow.

  "You always like to strike people, I'll be even more ruthless." I pouted and stared at him discontentedly.

  "I'm going to make a trip to the Western Country, want to come?" Sesshomaru's voice was flat and more of a statement than a question, but his eyes held a warmth that couldn't be ignored. (It seems Sesshomaru is indeed a lolicon, as Kagura successfully captured his heart with her six-year-old appearance and innocent personality before Rin did).

  "Want to, of course want to." Nodded desperately, because Inugami had set up a barrier in the castle, nothing could get in except for the youkai and humans within the castle. If he didn't go out and play soon, all he'd be able to do is stay in the garden and count ants.

  "...this time won't be forgotten again."

  "No, I won't."