Just as Shinobu Kochou was about to say something more, a strange sensation suddenly swept over Ryuji.
He immediately activated his Observation Haki, and could clearly sense something gathering around him.
He instantly realized—this must be the "yokai" that Shinobu had mentioned. But to his surprise, these creatures didn't seem to have physical forms.
"They're coming," he warned immediately.
Shinobu and Mai paused for a moment before quickly turning their gazes to their surroundings.
As Ryuji finished his warning, wisps of white smoke rapidly began to converge in the area. These ethereal strands rose swiftly throughout the gathering point. With his Observation Haki, he could see clearly that the white mist wasn't coming from elsewhere—
It was rising from people's bodies.
Under the influence of whatever strange force he had sensed, faint white mist emerged from Shinobu, the civilians, and others around.
But it wasn't just from them—countless tendrils of mist also rose from the ground itself. Caught in invisible gusts of wind, the mist quickly thickened into a dense fog.
Neither Shinobu nor Mai could see through the fog. Even Ryuji's Haki couldn't penetrate it, though he could feel an invisible power building with alarming intensity.
It didn't take long before something finally emerged.
"How can this be happening so early? The Night parade of hundred demons is starting already?!"
Shinobu exclaimed in shock. These white mists were the harbingers of the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons," a phenomenon that usually didn't begin until after 8 p.m.—but now it was barely 7!
Before she could say more, Ryuji felt the energy stabilize and start undergoing a more intense transformation.
The next moment, a bizarre creature resembling a spinning wheel appeared in the mist—but it wasn't a wheel in the usual sense. It was a massive circular blade.
At the center of the blade sat a grotesque little demon. Its skin was crimson, and every breath it took exhaled flames. Gripping the handles attached to the circular blade, it sat inside it, scanning its surroundings.
Pus dripped from its body, and the stench it emitted—a blend of rotting flesh and decay—instantly assaulted the noses of all three.
Blood trickled from its mouth, and the expression on its face was one of eerie, absurd glee. Its body was covered in scars from blades and weapons, and its stomach bore a strange cross-shaped carving. Even its skull had been split open, exposing a writhing brain underneath.
Its facial features weren't just asymmetrical—they defied all human logic, evoking a primal sense of horror and discomfort.
But that wasn't all.
As it moved, Ryuji and Mai noticed that the blade it rode on was adorned with agonized faces. Each of those twisted visages contorted in pain and screamed as the blade spun.
Ryuji could clearly see that as soon as the creature appeared, its blade embedded itself into the earth. Its mode of movement was just as strange—it gripped the handles of the circular blade and rolled forward by spinning rapidly.
"...A Wanyūdō?"
Mai muttered under her breath, but even that barely audible whisper caught the creature's attention.
It immediately snapped its head toward them, an excited, grotesque smile stretching across its warped face.
"You saw me! You saw me!"
It began spinning furiously, its body becoming nothing more than a blurry wheel. The creature then charged forward, defying physics as it cut through everything in its path.
Even the city wall didn't stop it. It simply rotated upward along the surface, still accelerating unnaturally.
"You saw me!!!"
Its crazed shriek grew louder and louder, and beside Ryuji, Mai began trembling. He couldn't help but sigh.
He never would've guessed—Mai was afraid of yokai?
Just a moment ago, she was all righteousness and bravery!
Ryuji himself used to fear ghosts too—but that was before. After everything he'd been through with zombies and sea kings, even something as abstract and grotesque as this didn't really faze him anymore.
After all, it's just another kind of corpse.
But Mai was a different story. She stared in horror at the approaching yokai, her earlier confidence completely shattered.
She had expected yokai to be ugly—but not this absurd or nightmarish.
And on top of that, it was so fast!
She thought about trying to block it with her fans—but quickly realized that her fans couldn't possibly withstand a blade like that.
She wanted to dodge, but her legs had gone weak.
"You're actually afraid of these yokai…"
Ryuji muttered, exasperated.
Shinobu, on the other hand, had recovered quickly. Her hand was already on the hilt of her sword. While she was surprised that Mai was scared, she judged that she could handle this kind of speed if necessary.
But she didn't have to step in.
"So ugly—why even bother showing your face?!"
With a roar, flames burst from Ryuji's sword. A torrent of fire surged toward the oncoming creature—presumably the Wanyūdō—and his blade smashed straight into the monster's rotating blade!
A sharp, metallic clash rang out as his greatsword locked with the creature's weapon. But it was useless for the demon—Ryuji's flames ignited its body in an instant.
The powerful force behind his swing redirected the creature's trajectory, even as its blade bit into his sword. Ryuji forcefully deflected it, sending the monster flying off course!
"AAAAAGHH!!"
The creature howled in pain as the fire consumed it. Yet to Ryuji's dismay, ordinary flames didn't seem to be doing much damage.
Even after crashing to the base of the city wall, the demon was still writhing—still trying to get back up.
Clearly, ordinary flames weren't completely ineffective—but expecting to kill the creature in one blow was a bit optimistic.
"Tch, troublesome as expected."
Dragonfire began to swirl around Ryuji. He swung his sword again, and a fiery slash surged toward the monster. The intense flames ignited the yokai instantly, burning so fiercely that it couldn't even scream before being reduced to ashes.
However, what surprised Ryuji was that the creature didn't completely vanish. The spinning blade it had been riding on remained—and oddly enough, it transformed into the shape of a katana!
"This sword…"
Shinobu had also noticed the blade, still burning within the dragonfire. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"That's… the cursed blade of legend—the one said to have slain ten thousand people?"
She stared at the markings on the scabbard and the engraved characters on the hilt, confirming its identity. This was the very sword enshrined in a local shrine, known as a blood-soaked relic.
"Ten thousand kills…"
Ryuji couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly. Weapons were, at their core, consumables. No matter how sharp a blade was, it dulled with time and use. Even the finest sword could become scrap metal after enough clashes.
Especially a katana, which had a tendency to break with just one wrong angle. Claiming this thing had slain ten thousand people sounded like pure fiction.
But this was a fantasy world, after all, so he decided not to complain.
"Even if it did kill ten thousand, it's still trash in the face of my flames. Just another glorified chicken. So… this thing was called a Wanyūdō, huh?"
He watched the sword slowly melting in his fire and asked curiously.
"Not exactly. That was just my guess," Mai replied a bit awkwardly. "Wanyūdō usually targets women and children. I panicked. Sorry… but I don't think that thing was Wanyūdō after all."
She looked embarrassed. Had it not been for her misidentification, they might've avoided the attack altogether.
But her fear had been genuine.
The Wanyūdō legend told of a demon who attacked women. If a woman turned her head after hearing her name called behind her, the demon would snatch her soul. If she didn't turn—yet had children—the demon would take revenge by biting off the child's legs.
It was a truly terrifying yokai.
And Mai… was the kind of woman who dreamed of being a proper wife. That type of threat hit her deeply.
"If you're not feeling up to it, you and Shinobu should fall back. I can scout these things alone."
Ryuji rolled his wrists, warming up. He wasn't bothered by Mai's fear—these monsters would terrify anyone. The difference was, he'd grown used to dealing with all kinds of monsters and demons.
Mai's experience was different. She fought martial artists—fighters who followed rules, who pulled punches. On paper, her strength far surpassed someone like Shinobu. But in a real death battle?
He had no doubt that Shinobu, who lived every day with death hanging over her, would survive.
"…I just wasn't mentally prepared, that's all."
Mai's voice trembled slightly, and even she knew it sounded weak. But she quickly showed her resolve.
In the blink of an eye, eyes sprouted across the walls surrounding them.
Each bloodshot, hateful eye stared down at them from every brick and stone. Even the ground beneath their feet was covered in glaring eyes.
And then—the city came alive.
Massive white walls, covered in eyes, sprang up from nowhere, encircling them. Above, birds that looked normal at first glance circled in the sky, along with strips of white cloth drifting like ghosts.
The once-ordinary lanterns suddenly sprouted razor-sharp teeth, and grotesque tongues, slick with blood, lolled out from their maws.
"Ah…"
Mai nearly screamed. So did Shinobu. But both quickly clapped their hands over their mouths.
It didn't matter. The moment the yokai appeared, their targets were clear—the three people still outside.
"Well, this is…"
Ryuji could feel the strange energy in the air growing denser. The more monsters appeared, the more white mist rose from people and the earth, which in turn summoned even more yokai.
Though surrounded, he could feel them still arriving in waves. And among them were some very out-of-place figures: women wearing trench coats and face masks.
Modern-looking. Classic.
They were unmistakably Kuchisake-onna—the slit-mouthed women of urban legend.
Their presence confirmed his suspicion.
"So it really is fear…"
Gripping his sword tightly, Ryuji funneled his energy outward, laying dragonfire in all directions around them, creating a protective barrier.
But this kind of defense couldn't last forever. No matter how mystical dragonfire was, it still consumed stamina and they need oxygen to breath.
That's why he'd wanted to come alone—if it were just him, there would be no need to defend, only to kill.
That was when he was at his strongest.
But now, he had to protect Shinobu and Mai—two people clearly ill-equipped to handle yokai.
"Ryuji-sama, I'm certain of it," Shinobu said, drawing her blade. "These yokai… something's wrong. They're appearing far too early."
Mai also drew the Kashu blade Ryuji had given her. Despite being terrified at first, she was still a battle-hardened fighter. Once she steeled herself, she wouldn't falter.
"Ah, that."
He wasn't surprised. He wielded the power of the 7 Days to Die world. These changes? Completely expected.
After all, these creatures came from that world.
"Well, since it's already happening, there's not much we can do. This barrier will only last a little while—once the oxygen's gone, I'll clear them all out."
He rotated his wrists again and looked around at the writhing, restless creatures with a grin forming on his lips.
When he killed the Wanyūdō earlier, he'd clearly felt an influx of World Power entering his body, revitalizing his strength.
So it wasn't a problem.
Except—there was one thing he didn't understand.
If these monsters were made of human fear and lingering thoughts, fused with that alienated World Power… then why was so much of this "fear mist" rising from the ground?
Was it stored? Or—
He stared at the earth, deep in thought.
And then, a voice cried out:
"A monster's coming!"
Instinctively, Ryuji looked up and saw it—a demonic lantern with a gaping maw, lunging at Shinobu!
She raised her sword, preparing to block and counter.
But Ryuji ignored the creature entirely. He didn't even glance at it as it collided with the dragonfire barrier and turned to ash.
No, his gaze had locked onto something else.
A woman.
She wore butterfly hairpins, looked very much like Shinobu—but her presence radiated a warm, lively gentleness.
Kanae Kocho.
She was screaming at the sight of the burning lantern demon, crying out in fear at the monsters closing in from other directions.
Unlike her sister, who—despite being afraid—stood her ground with her blade drawn, Kanae looked truly vulnerable.
But what struck Ryuji the most—Shinobu hadn't noticed her at all.
She was right beside her, yet Shinobu showed no reaction.
He slowly lowered his sword and examined Kanae carefully. Sure enough, white mist flowed from her body—just like the mist from Mai and Shinobu.
"…!"
A dark premonition crept over him.
He raised his hand—and golden light burst forth.
Kanae, who had been crouching on the ground, looked up in shock and turned toward him.
"I'm alive again?"
Her sudden appearance made Shinobu spin around, eyes wide in disbelief. Seeing her sister standing before her again, Shinobu instinctively threw her arms around her.
But Ryuji, having just confirmed her identity through his revival ability, looked grave.
"I need to ask you something, Kocho-san. Can people from the underworld see these monsters too? Or… can they be affected by them? And—tell me—is the underworld underground?"
His tone was serious. He had to know.
Kanae studied him curiously. She had mixed feelings about Ryuji—gratitude for reviving her, but resentment for using her to persuade Shinobu into marrying him.
Still, seeing the gravity in his expression, she set her thoughts aside and answered.
"I'm not sure about the underworld spirits, but… yes, the underworld is underground. As for us—souls like mine, who linger due to attachments—we don't interact with these monsters, but we feel their presence. We're still afraid. Because the ones being harmed are our loved ones."
Her voice grew firm as she placed her hands on her hips.
"After all, even the dead worry about the living. If the living aren't doing well, the dead can't rest either!"
Ryuji stared blankly at her.
And then he started cursing in his heart.
He finally understood where all that white mist was coming from.
The dead.
This world's deceased was fueling it.
Where the hell was King Yama? Where were the gods of Takamagahara?
Seriously—could someone clean this mess up?!
~~~~~~~~~~
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