Blade light and hair strands crossed in mid-air.
Kanbe Hikaru's Muramasa slashed out, the black blade energy tearing through the air and severing the dozens of hair strands coming at him.
But that was only the beginning.
More hair strands surged from the girl's head.
Not dozens, but hundreds, thousands.
Dense and blocking out the sun, like a black ocean, they swept toward Kanbe Hikaru.
"Interesting."
Kanbe Hikaru leaped backward, his blade slashing horizontally, releasing another wave of blade energy.
That blade energy tore a rift in the ocean of hair, but it was instantly filled by even more strands.
"Yura of the Hair."
The girl—or rather, the demon—stood in place, surrounded by countless pitch-black hair strands.
"That is my name, Oni Samurai."
"Remember it."
"Because it will be the last name you ever hear."
Yura of the Hair.
Kanbe Hikaru pondered the name in his mind.
But in truth, from the moment he first saw this girl-like demon, he already knew her identity.
This was a demon from the original story, a demon that controlled hair, whose true form was a 'comb' that had become a demon after being tainted by resentment and absorbing Demonic Qi.
Those hairs were not just a means of attack, but a medium for her to absorb life force.
Anyone entangled by those hairs, regardless of age or gender, would have their life drained away without realizing it.
"Yura of the Hair..."
Kanbe Hikaru's lips curled up.
"A good name."
"It's just a pity—"
He activated [Phantom Step] beneath his feet, his figure flashing like a phantom, appearing to the left of Yura of the Hair.
"You've picked the wrong opponent."
The blade struck straight for her vital points.
Yura of the Hair didn't dodge, only slightly shifting her body.
Countless hair strands wove into a barrier before her, blocking that fierce strike.
"Clang—!"
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Those hair strands were actually harder than steel.
Kanbe Hikaru frowned.
This thing was not easy to deal with.
The hair strands were not only numerous but also very tough; ordinary attacks couldn't cut them at all.
Moreover, this thing could regenerate; those that had just been severed had already grown back.
"How is it?"
Yura of the Hair's voice carried a smile: "Can you feel it?"
"Although your blade is fast, I have even more hair. Even if you can cut a thousand strands, I still have ten thousand, one hundred thousand, a million strands."
"I can keep growing them, but can you keep cutting?"
Kanbe Hikaru did not answer.
He simply leaped backward, putting some distance between them.
Then he noticed something.
On the ground.
Those severed hair strands had not disappeared.
They were wriggling.
Like living things, they were coiling toward his ankles.
Kanbe Hikaru slashed down, severing those hair strands.
But more hair strands surged in from all directions.
From the ground, from the air, from corners he couldn't see.
Like an omnipresent spiderweb, tightening little by little.
"You're trapped~"
Yura of the Hair's voice came from all directions.
"My hair doesn't just grow from my head; wherever I have been, I leave my hair behind."
"That mountain path earlier... do you think I just arrived?"
Kanbe Hikaru's heart sank.
He looked around.
Sure enough.
On the ground, on the branches, in the crevices of the rocks, those pitch-black hair strands were entangled everywhere.
Dense and thick, they covered the entire area like a spiderweb.
This was her domain.
She had prepared it long ago.
"How long have you been waiting here?"
Kanbe Hikaru asked.
"Half a day, maybe."
Yura of the Hair shrugged: "Ever since I sensed the aura of the Shikon Jewel, I have been guarding nearby."
"I thought I would have to wait a few more days, but I didn't expect you to deliver yourselves to my doorstep."
She smiled.
That smile appeared exceptionally eerie on her delicate face: "That priestess's spiritual power is very strong; I don't really want to clash with her head-on."
"But you are different."
Her gaze swept over Kanbe Hikaru.
"Oni Samurai... indeed, not weak."
"But—"
She lifted her chin, her posture carrying arrogance.
"It's not enough."
As her voice fell.
Countless hair strands tightened simultaneously.
Kanbe Hikaru's limbs were bound, and his blade was also twisted by those hair strands, leaving him unable to move.
"Get off!"
He channeled his Demonic Qi, his Oni energy erupting, trying to break free from the restraints.
But those hair strands were like they had been soaked in something; the more he struggled, the tighter they became, making it impossible to break free.
"It's useless."
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