Chapter 109 – Sesshomaru's Confusion: Only a Foolish Half-Demon Would Stay with Humans!
"Kirara, how did you catch a cold?"
Early the next morning, Suiko looked at Kirara, who was sneezing, and asked with some concern.
Wait a minute!
Can demons like Kirara even catch a cold?
At this, Kirara just looked at Suiko with resentment. If Suiko hadn't locked her outside all night yesterday, plus feeling a bit off lately, there's no way she'd have caught a cold!
So annoying!
"It's probably something with my body. Maybe I've been eating too well lately. I should eat a little less, or I'll get sick from being spoiled."
You're the one who's been eating too well!
Kirara took a deep breath—cats and dogs really are incompatible!
"Alright, Big Dog, stop picking on Kirara. She probably caught a cold because she had to sleep outside last night."
Exactly!
That's right!
Kirara nodded in agreement, feeling a wave of emotion. As expected of her own master, she's way more considerate than that heartless Big Dog.
"So, I really need to make a place for Kirara to stay in the future."
Hey, hey, hey!?
Aren't we supposed to be together?
Kirara stared at Suiko in disbelief. When did she lose even the right to live together? She was actually going to get her own room now. But strangely, Kirara didn't feel happy at all.
She was actually getting driven out by Big Dog!
Suiko was going to make her a new den just for Big Dog.
"By the way, I might have to go out for a while."
Suiko originally hadn't planned to go, but now that Renji had already left and she had nothing else going on, she decided she might as well check it out.
"What?"
"It's about some kind of exchange meeting—exorcists from all over the world will gather to share experiences."
Suiko tapped her chin. This meeting had always existed, but she'd never attended before. This year she was invited again, so she was considering whether or not to go.
If nothing else came up, she might go for a bit.
"There's something like that?"
A flash of doubt crossed Renji's eyes—he'd never heard of it before.
"Yeah, but I might go, or I might not. Mainly depends on whether anything happens here in the Exorcist Village."
"Alright, Suiko, I'll head out first. I'll come back to see you later."
Renji pulled Suiko into his arms, and she leaned into his shoulder, savoring this rare moment of peace.
Even though she was reluctant to let him go, Suiko knew she couldn't keep Renji from leaving at a time like this.
Watching Renji's departing figure, Suiko's feelings of longing and anxiety grew stronger. She didn't know when they would meet again.
She rubbed her stomach and secretly cheered herself on. Her belly needed to be strong—she really hoped to have a child. Even though she knew this wasn't something she or Renji could control, she was still full of anticipation for their future child.
"Kirara, let's patrol around the Exorcist Village."
Now that Renji had left, Suiko knew she shouldn't keep drowning in longing and romance. At this moment, she became the strong, brave shrine maiden once again. After being away for so many days, there seemed to be a lot of demon aura around the village.
Suiko knew she needed to act. There were simply too many demons in this era—especially with the endless wars between humans and between demons, which left corpses everywhere and spread death.
This only created even better ground for ghosts and demons. Sometimes, even humans were affected by all of this.
"Chuu!"
Kirara grew large, carrying Suiko as they soared through the air. As they took off, Suiko glanced in Renji's direction, then resolutely faced forward.
No matter what happens next, at least she'd found her own goal now!
"I told you long ago, if you'd just fused with us, none of this would have happened."
"Now she's with that dog demon, and you don't have a chance anymore!"
"What are you still hesitating for? We're already half-fused with you, and you still won't open your heart to us? You really think you can regret this now? Suiko doesn't care about whether you're a demon or not—if you're weak, you won't even get a chance to approach her!"
Inside a mountain cave.
Countless demons were whispering inside the man's mind, trying to seduce him.
They were already half-fused with the man, but his heart remained closed. He was clearly still hesitating.
But now, he was already on the verge of collapse.
He couldn't believe the pure shrine maiden would actually be together with a demon.
She was no longer pure!
His mind opened up completely, and he wanted to destroy everything. The demons, seeing this, seized the opportunity and flooded into his heart.
They'd waited a long time for this chance, and finally, they managed to corrupt this man.
He wasn't evil in the true sense.
On the contrary, he had both evil and holy sides.
And someone like him—after truly becoming a demon—would be even more terrifying than someone who was evil to begin with.
Because the holier he once was, the more evil he would become as a demon. The evil he had suppressed all this time burst out, and because Suiko was no longer what he imagined, his beliefs had completely collapsed.
In the past, he'd wanted to fuse with demons so he could get close to Suiko, but he had never truly given himself over.
He wanted to stay in control of his body, and didn't want to become a symbol of evil.
Because in his mind, as long as he could get close to Suiko, he had a chance—if even a dog demon could, why couldn't he?
So, holding on to this thought, the man had always kept part of himself separate, never fully fusing with the demons.
The demons, of course, never stopped trying to tempt him, but his will remained strong—no matter how they tried, he stayed true to himself.
But now, he didn't want to hold on anymore. It turned out Suiko wasn't like he'd imagined after all.
If he couldn't have her, he wanted to destroy everything. He wouldn't allow his perfect image of her to be stained, and he wouldn't allow anyone else to have her either.
Even if Suiko stood before him now, she couldn't compare to his memory of her as a pure, flawless figure—even she herself was now a fallen "white moonlight."
"Lord Seimei is unexpectedly powerful, that guy."
The boy observed the changes in the man, finding him even stronger than they had expected.
"Of course he's stronger, because his beliefs have collapsed. We have to thank that guy for it," Abe no Seimei said lightly, his gaze always fixed on the fusing man.
Originally, he thought that if this man could maintain even a trace of kindness in his heart, this half-demon would never be complete, never become the strongest. But there was nothing to be done—this guy's heart was simply like that.
Maybe later, Suiko might still be able to touch his heart. That was always a possibility.
But now, after the other had fallen completely into darkness, Seimei felt no further concern.
"But that dog demon isn't around these days. How should we act? We can't just use these useless demons, can we?"
Even the manufactured demons were no match for Suiko, who was now deep in love, her Four Soul Waves surging. They simply weren't enough.
Originally, before this couple existed, the boy knew Seimei wanted to use Suiko and these demons to forge the Shikon Jewel, but that was the lowest grade of material. If there was a better option, of course Seimei would choose that.
But now that Renji had left, it was no longer possible to gather everything.
"The panther tribe is no match for the dog demon clan. But before dealing with these two, we'll need to weaken them first. This demon can weaken Suiko. By then, with his love for Suiko, we can let them fight endlessly inside the Shikon Jewel for all eternity."
"As for that white-haired Renji, we can have Inu no Taisho's archenemy weaken his strength. That way, neither of them will be at their peak."
"When the time comes, in the Shikon Jewel, two pairs of lovers fighting against two deadly enemies—the Shikon Jewel will be even stronger!"
Seimei had already planned it all out, and the first step was complete. The rest just needed to follow the plan.
This world—sooner or later, he would remake it. It should never have stayed like this!
"How odd. I sensed demon aura around here before, but now I don't sense anything," Suiko muttered, looking around in confusion. Just a moment ago, she was sure she'd felt the presence of demons nearby.
But in the blink of an eye, it disappeared. She followed the trail, but aside from mountains and woods, there was nothing unusual.
She searched carefully, but found nothing. Still, a sense of foreboding crept over her, as if something was about to happen.
Unable to find anything, Suiko had no choice but to leave for now.
Not long after she left, in a cave nearby, a barrier opened and a man stepped out, looking in the direction Suiko had gone, a strange glint in his eyes.
If not for being blocked by the barrier just now, he would have dragged Suiko into the cave and finished her!
He wanted to destroy Suiko!
"Why didn't you let me out just now?" the man turned and asked Seimei indifferently.
Even though he knew this person had created him, he didn't show any sign of respect.
"It's not the right time. Right now, you're still not as strong as Suiko, and what I want hasn't arrived yet. So don't act yet—get used to your new body, gather the demons, and then move. Otherwise, you'll just fail," Seimei replied calmly, as if discussing something trivial.
He had no faith in this newly born half-demon.
This guy was still too weak—he needed to get much stronger, and there simply weren't enough demons here for Suiko to fight.
He would need to set up an array later to trap Suiko here, or else, if she left, how could he create the Shikon Jewel?
So none of this could be decided on a whim. The more critical the situation, the more everything needed to be thoroughly prepared, leaving no room for surprises.
"Heh, you can have the dog demon, but leave Suiko to me—I want to kill her myself!" The man sneered coldly. Though his words were laced with murderous intent, Seimei sensed something else.
Kill her?
Are you really capable of that?
Seimei chuckled inwardly. He wondered how this guy could even say such things. Even if he never faced his own heart, he should know he didn't really have the determination to kill Suiko, right?
What a pitiful fool.
The one he loves doesn't love him back, and instead loves someone else. This taste of unrequited love—Seimei found it very entertaining.
They would all become nourishment for the Shikon Jewel. Very soon. It was almost time.
With that, Seimei turned away, preparing to give him some "gifts." After all, he had created him—might as well make him stronger first.
"Lord Seimei, should we go to Heian-kyo to summon some more?" the boy asked.
"No, it's not time for the Hyakki Yagyō yet. It's still too soon to call those guys over. Just wait," Seimei shook his head, not even considering summoning the Hyakki Yagyō for now.
It would be hard to open Yomi at this moment anyway, and his pieces were almost ready. No need to waste them. In case of trouble, he could always summon the Hyakki Yagyō and destroy this world completely.
"Yes, Lord Seimei!" The boy said nothing more.
Elsewhere—
On the battlefield between the dog demon clan and the panther tribe, after hearing that Renji had arrived, Inu no Taisho's face showed a smile. He knew Renji would definitely come, but he wasn't in any hurry.
In fact, he thought it didn't matter much whether Renji came or not. He only mentioned it in passing. But when he heard his own son was actually with a human shrine maiden, he was beyond shocked.
That kid's done something even wilder than me.
At most, I just flirted with a human princess, and she was just an ordinary person. But Renji? That's a shrine maiden—the strongest one of this era!
His own son had actually won over such a shrine maiden. He was both delighted and a little worried.
After all, shrine maidens and demons were natural enemies. Many demons from his own clan had been killed by Suiko.
The dog demon clan wasn't made up of just dog demons—there were many vassals too.
And with Renji and Suiko together, there was bound to be dissatisfaction among the ranks.
That would make things difficult in the future. For example, Inu no Taisho wanted to leave the clan to Renji.
First, Renji was a pure-blooded demon, and he had a bit more humanity than Sesshomaru, making him suited to inherit both the clan and Tessaiga.
Sesshomaru had his own path, but his nature was too domineering and cold. Tenseiga was a better fit for him.
The not-yet-born Inuyasha would inherit Tetsusaiga, as a half-demon who needed strength to protect himself.
That was Inu no Taisho's plan, but now things were becoming unpredictable.
"Hmph, that guy came? It's a disgrace. Only foolish half-demons would stay with humans. He's just like Father—why!!?"
Sesshomaru was bewildered. He couldn't understand why a demon would choose to be with a human woman!
(End of Chapter)
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