give it all to miss machima

Witnessing all this, Juro-maru roared and charged at Machima, who threw away the mud in her hand and kicked him away with a powerful back kick.

Then, Machima leaped away on her hooves, stretching several hundred meters before turning back, and then kept accelerating—accelerating even faster!

At a distance of about 100 meters from the beast wolf, Machima suddenly leaped into the air—she jumped as high as several stories high, and during the brief moment of airtime, she flew dozens of meters!

A pair of forehooves, encased in bone armor, came together and burst into flames, then aimed at Juro-maru below...

"Great Wilderness - Starfall!"

With a loud "boom,"

The massive mass and kinetic energy impact created an effect on the ground comparable to a bunker buster—countless loose soil was shaken up, and a large crater was blasted into the ground.

Machima's hooves were completely embedded in the ground and were almost shattered. As for the beast wolf that she trampled, judging from the pair of charred fragments in the ground, it was now difficult to find any evidence that it had ever existed.

After a few seconds of his hooves growing back, Machima turned to look into the distance—Kagura had slipped away again, even faster than before.

Machima curled her lip slightly—if she was so weak against Naraku's two clones, it seemed that she would need to find a few more powerful dogs for this trip to the Warring States period.

Chapter 180 Traveling with Kikyo

The dust has settled.

While burning the Silver King's body, Makima used her exoskeleton and hair to weave a set of clothes that looked like a mix of high school girl and samurai elements. Then, holding Kikyo, she jumped off the still-burning wreckage and returned to the ground.

The latter seemed unsurprised that Machima was able to defeat the enemy, but was rather surprised that Machima was wearing something other than a white shirt and black suit.

"Why the change in style this time?"

"After all, a samurai and a shrine maiden are a better match."

In the distance, white dead soul insects were collecting the scattered souls and returning them to Kikyo's body, while Inuyasha and the others ran over as well.

Although the battle with Naraku's clones was earth-shattering, it actually lasted only a minute or two.

Faced with the loud and boisterous Inuyasha, Makima couldn't be bothered to listen to what he was yelling about; at that moment, her eyes were only on Kikyo.

I've missed you a bit these past few days while you've been gone.

Looking at Machima, whose eyes were practically overflowing with love and possessiveness, Kikyo couldn't help but chuckle a few times.

"Why don't you... put me down first?"

"No, I just want to hold you, the kind of holding you without ever leaving your side."

Kagome, standing to the side, watched Makima hugging Kikyo, who looked almost exactly like her, and the two of them seemed so affectionate. Recalling Makima's words from last night, Kagome felt her face burning.

This...this guy...is he serious?!

No wonder Machima Dongxue's gaze was so... intimidating last night...

Meanwhile, the victim on the other side... no, the person involved—Inuyasha, although he had never witnessed the power of the dragon, still felt inexplicably uncomfortable seeing Kikyo being held in such an ambiguous embrace.

"Hey! You! Put down the bellflower!"

Machima ignored Er Gouzi, but her three cats immediately bristled—they were already afraid Machima would punish them for not doing their job well, and now they were even more eager to prove themselves, so they immediately bared their teeth and claws at Inuyasha:

"You bastard! How dare you speak to Lady Machima like that! Are you looking for death!?"

"You stinking dog! Get out of here!"

"Watch out or I'll skin you alive!"

The latter, enraged, raised the Tessaiga: "Damn cat demon! This has nothing to do with you! Get out of my way!!"

"Alright, alright, this place doesn't seem very welcoming to us, let's go."

Makima was about to leave with Kikyo in her arms when Inuyasha naturally tried to stop her.

"Wait! Kikyo! I still have so much to say..."

"—No, Inuyasha, that's enough."

Kikyo leaned on Machima's shoulder, interrupting her.

The look in her eyes when she looked at Inuyasha was neither sad nor hateful, but rather... indifferent.

This ordinariness made Inuyasha feel a pang of heartache.

"People have to move forward. Let the past stay in the past. You have people who are more worthy of your appreciation now, and so do I."

After saying that, Kikyo stopped looking at Inuyasha and instead looked gently at Makima, their eyes meeting.

"...!?"

Inuyasha froze on the spot.

"But I—"

Kikyo gently put her arm around Machima's shoulder: "Machima, let's go."

"Ah."

Amidst the floating of the Soul Worms, Machima, carrying Kikyo and the three cats, drifted into the sky and left.

A warm breeze caressed their faces, and as far as the eye could see, there was only beautiful scenery.

Compared to growing wings and soaring through the sky, this new way of flying feels more like an immortal strolling among the clouds.

After a long while, Kikyo said softly:

"……Feel sorry."

"If you mean using me as a shield to cut off Inuyasha's hopes as soon as possible... I'm not angry, but..."

Machima wasn't angry; she just shrugged and then pointed to her lips.

"In my time, to show sincerity in an apology, you had to give someone a kiss."

"That's a lie, there's no such custom at all!"

"Just tell me, are we going to kiss or not?"

Seeing Machima acting like a rascal, Kikyo finally gave her a light peck on the cheek before turning her head away, unable to meet Machima's gaze.

The latter was satisfied and flew for a while longer before having the Dead Soul Insects find a hilltop to gently place the two of them down.

What have you been doing while I was away?

"Just wandering around, healing some villagers, and defeating some minor monsters..."

Kikyo looked towards a small village at the foot of the distant mountain, where wisps of smoke were slowly rising from the chimneys, and she could even see some villagers working in the fields.

It is truly unimaginable that five hundred years later, a giant city with a population of tens of millions would be born on this peaceful land.

But that's only in the future.

"Fifty years ago, the world was already in chaos, and now, the daimyo are fighting each other endlessly for hegemony, launching one unjust war after another. The war has left the people in distress and displaced, and demons are taking the opportunity to stir up trouble... All I can do is help some of the people I see."

Kikyo sighed—because Machima had seen this period of history, known as the Warring States period, in the future.

However, as a priestess, she had no intention of participating in or even changing history to save the world. She also knew how powerless one person's strength was in an era.

Solving the problems caused by Naraku and the Shikon Jewel is the only thing she can think of to do now, and it is also her responsibility as the Shikon Jewel priestess.

The two gazed at the tranquil village before them for a long time, until Kikyo withdrew her gaze, turned back, and looked at Machima:

"I want... to ask you to help me kill Naraku, Machima."

"..."

Machima was slightly surprised.

This was the first time she had ever seen Kikyo so determined to achieve something... Oh, not counting the time when she first woke up and tried to kill Er Gouzi.

For most of the remaining time, Kikyo was in a state of considerable confusion—her pride as a priestess, her resentment at the betrayal, her resurrection as a person who had been dead, the betrayal she had initially believed to be a setup, and the fact that her former lover had found someone new…

This change made Machima feel a sense of unease.

It wasn't that I was wary of Kikyo, but rather... worried about how things would turn out.

After consulting with several psychology masters, Machima once analyzed that Kikyo's mental journey after her resurrection can be roughly divided into four stages.

First, there's Kikyo, who, upon waking up, was only thinking about killing Er Gouzi.

Because she died with resentment and unwillingness, it was only natural that she wanted revenge after waking up.

Secondly, there's Kikyo after she learned that Naraku was behind it all.

But rather than seeking revenge against Naraku, she, being a dead person, still wanted to go to hell with Er Gouzi and die together. In the original story, Kagome interrupted her, but now it has become Makima.

The third stage is when Kikyo, in her confusion, changed her goal and decided to make "Naraku" and "Shikon Jewel" disappear from this world together.

This isn't entirely about revenge; it's more like Kikyo believes that her tragic fate stems from these two factors, and therefore she wants to end everything.

Finally, there's Kikyo after the battle at Mount Hakurei.

A series of events, including her conversation with Kagome, led Kikyo to accept the fact that she was already dead, and so at the end of the story, she chose to let go and sacrifice herself.

But this... is not what Machima wants.

Killing Naraku wasn't difficult, and even collecting the Shikon Jewel only took a little effort. The key point is...

If Naraku dies, the Shikon Jewel problem will be solved, then... what about Kikyo?

Once he has settled all his affairs, how can he convince Kikyo to stay by his side?

This is a woman who is not afraid of death at all, and even... longs for death.

If she is determined to seek final peace, Machima's only way is to control her, but that is by no means what she wants.

If I control you, I can never have the real you...

If I don't control you, you'll leave me...

Countless thoughts flashed through Machima's mind in just a few seconds, but in the end, faced with Kikyo's request, she simply continued to pretend to be carefree and smile:

"Of course, but... as for Naraku, I can't guess where his true form is hiding right now."

Kikyo nodded: "As long as he continues to try to collect the Shikon Jewel, he will eventually have to confront Inuyasha and the others."

“But… having lost two clones in succession, Naraku probably won’t show his face for a while—at least until he gets enough trump cards, he’ll probably lie low for a while… So, what are your plans during this time? How about we go back to the modern world together?”

Kikyo thought for a moment, then smiled and shook her head:

"I... I'm not really ready for life in the future..."

Under Machima's surprised gaze, she reached out her hand:

"How about... you travel with me for the next period of time?"

Chapter 181 Cherry Blossom Calamity in the Village (The Beginning of the Nioh Story)

"Cage~ Cage~"

"The caged bird~"

"When will it come out?"

Early in the morning, on a country road where the thick fog had not yet dissipated, a girl's singing voice drifted through the air. If it weren't for the rather strange lyrics, it would have been quite melodious.

Although it was somewhat sudden, almost two months had passed since Makima bid farewell to Kagome and her group and traveled aimlessly through the Sengoku period with Kikyo.

To avoid alerting the enemy and to minimize interference with Kikyo's storyline, Makima led Kikyo westward, keeping as far away from Kagome and her group as possible. In any case, Makima had secretly left a useful body at the Bone Eater's Well shrine, so she could occasionally check on Kagome's situation and the progress of the story.

After that, Makima stayed with Kikyo—partly to strengthen their relationship, and partly to search for any powerful and pleasing monsters along the way.

I figured it was just a vacation with my girlfriend, and I caught some Pokémon along the way.

Unfortunately, during those two months, Machima failed to find anything decent and didn't make a single sale.

Compared to modern times when she only encountered a litter of tanuki, there are quite a few monsters in Japan these days, but most of them are just small fry and hardly anyone can catch Machima's eye.

They were either too weak and worthless, or too ugly, which made Machima lose interest.

Looking back, the three sisters, Haru, Natsu, and Tou, can already be considered SR-rank yokai.

Therefore, as time went by and the novelty wore off, Machima began to feel a bit bored with this Warring States period journey.

Every day, she would leisurely travel, passing through villages and towns along the way, checking if there were any monsters to exorcise, or having Kikyo help some villagers brew some herbal medicine.

The only thing left for Machima to do for a while was to slay bandits, mountain thieves, and ungrateful ronin and samurai.

As Machima hummed a song and pondered how to persuade Kikyo to sleep with her tonight, a fiery red cat hopped back from ahead—it was Xia Lan, who had gone to scout ahead.

"Lady Machima, there are people ahead! They look like a group of traveling merchants."

"Oh?"