"BOOOOM—!"
A massive, dull impact thundered through the air as a towering cloud of dust exploded outward.
Already grotesquely enlarged by his curse, the Jisō family head's body had swollen to an absurd scale. With his hands clasped together, his fists were no longer merely large—they were the size of actual sandbags.
Empowered by layered curses, the Jisō family head was brimming with confidence. Even when fighting the likes of the Hand-Washing Oni earlier, he had deliberately refrained from using this secret art, saving his spiritual power for this very moment.
Now, bolstered by blessings and his family's forbidden techniques, his strength alone stood unquestionably at the pinnacle of S-rank exorcists.
And this wasn't just raw power.
He had been building momentum, leaping downward with added weight. In the Jisō head's mind, even an S+–rank yokai would feel the impact if they took this blow head-on.
At this point, the five clan heads' battle plan was crystal clear.
Defeating an S+–rank demon king outright was an almost impossible task.
But if they could stall for time, allowing the Kagamori family head to stack additional seals, then once the red-haired oni's demonic power was reduced far enough, victory would finally come within reach.
Kūsu Ryōsuke had already bought them enough time for the first seal.
The Jisō family ranked no lower than the Kūsu family among the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses—there was no reason he couldn't do the same.
Moreover, in the Jisō family head's eyes, Ren had just forced back the Hiiragi family head with sword techniques. That meant he had to be in a brief lull—spent, with no follow-up power.
From the earlier exchanges with the Kūsu and Hiiragi families, it was obvious as well: this yokai excelled at blades.
A technical type.
Which meant that when it came to raw physical strength, there was no way Ren could match him.
Carrying that absolute confidence, the Jisō family head laughed wildly as he smashed both fists toward Ren's position.
And when he saw Ren actually raise a fist in response—
A look of utter disdain spread across his face.
In the Jisō head's eyes, even if Ren was an S+–rank yokai, this was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot—an act of sheer arrogance and self-destruction.
The two fists collided.
A violent shockwave tore outward, ripping across the battlefield.
But in that very instant, the confident grin frozen on the Jisō family head's face solidified completely.
Because the moment he felt the force transmitted through his arms—
His expression went blank.
The frozen expression didn't last long.
Almost immediately, the Jisō family head performed what could only be described as a masterpiece of exaggerated facial distortion.
The smug grin first stiffened unnaturally—then, as his arms bent into grotesque, impossible angles, all dignity vanished as he let out a piercing scream.
His pride—his overwhelmingly reinforced physique—had failed to gain even the slightest advantage in that clash.
And in that single instant of impact, the Jisō family head finally understood:
The opponent before him was not some technique-focused fighter.
This was a genuine, unfiltered power-type monster.
Unfortunately, by the time that realization struck, it was already far too late.
The punch he had thrown could not be withdrawn.
At the moment their arms collided, both of the Jisō family head's arms shattered. White fragments of bone jutted grotesquely through torn flesh, the sight horrifying to behold.
Despite being a clan renowned for bodily combat, not only had he failed to gain any advantage—
Both arms were completely ruined.
His body slammed face-first into the ground and was sent flying backward, skidding for hundreds of meters before finally coming to a stop.
The Jisō family head had charged in last—
And with the greatest confidence.
Yet his fate was the most tragic of all.
Only after witnessing his miserable state did the remaining clan heads finally gain a clear understanding of Ren Kuroda's true strength.
Objectively speaking, the five of them were no ordinary exorcists.
They were the reigning heads of five of the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses, each a figure of fearsome reputation.
Under the amplification of blessings and barrier fields, every one of them possessed combat power comparable to high S–rank.
And yet—
In the span of mere moments, three of them had already been injured by Ren's hand.
Meanwhile, Ren himself hadn't even taken a single step from where he originally stood.
"What… exactly is this thing?"First, he crushed the Kūsu family head with absolute swordsmanship.Then, with a single gale, he annihilated the Hiiragi family head—despite their mastery over wind-based curses.And finally, he completely overwhelmed the Jisō family head—who had reinforced himself with secret techniques and was famed for monstrous physical strength."
Standing before the Kagamori family head, the Himura family head stared at Ren—who now looked like a living demon king—with a face full of disbelief.
Originally, the plan had been simple.
The Himura family head would remain behind to protect the Kagamori family head, guarding against unexpected dangers.
Meanwhile, the Kagamori head could focus entirely on preparing various demon-sealing formations, continuously weakening Ren while the other three clan heads kept him occupied.
It had been a solid plan—arguably the safest, most resource-efficient strategy available.
What they hadn't anticipated—
What none of them had anticipated—
Was that Ren's strength so vastly exceeded their expectations that he simply did not resemble any S-rank yokai they knew.
Of their original plan, only Kūsu Ryōsuke had managed to stall Ren even briefly.
The Hiiragi and Jisō family heads had been crushed almost instantly.
Even more despair-inducing—and utterly unacceptable—was the fact that Ren seemed to be mocking them, deliberately defeating each clan using the very domain they prided themselves on most.
The Kūsu family specialized in demon-slaying through swordsmanship—Ren shattered them with an even more overwhelming slash fueled by sheer demonic power.
The Hiiragi family was famed for wind-based curses—yet Ren's summoned storm far surpassed their own.
And the most pitiful of all was the Jisō family head.
The Jisō clan existed to temper the body. Their physiques rivaled most yokai even without enhancement—let alone with secret techniques.
And yet, after a single clash, he learned what absolute suppression truly meant.
If the Kūsu and Hiiragi heads were merely injured and still capable of fighting, then the Jisō family head—
Without extensive treatment and rest—would never fight again.
His arms were likely ruined for life.
However, thanks to the precious time those three had bought, a confident smile finally spread across the Kagamori family head's face.
His second seal was complete.
Ren, who had been standing in place, immediately sensed a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy behind him.
Even as he reacted and moved from his original position, the presence clung to him—
Like a parasite fused to his bones.
"It's useless," the Kagamori family head said coldly."The first layer—Chain Seal—did more than suppress your demonic power. It also locked onto your aura itself.
"So no matter how fast you are, you cannot evade what comes next.
"Dual Seal — Azure Flame Suppression!"
Forming a different hand seal with each hand, the Kagamori family head—standing behind the Himura head—finally exhaled in relief.
He had absolute confidence in the Kagamori family's sealing arts.
The first layer, Chain Seal, carried only mild suppression, but its true purpose was target locking.
The second layer—Azure Flame Seal—was far more vicious.
It continuously burned the target's demonic power like a living fire, suppressing it far more severely than the Chain Seal ever could.
There was a reason the Kagamori family ranked third among the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses.
Their clan was genuinely powerful.
Their sealing arts were the natural nemesis of countless mighty yokai.
Though their direct combat ability might not match other clans, and though their seals required preparation time—
Given enough time and spiritual power, they could reduce even an SS–rank yokai all the way down to a C-rank minor demon.
Of course, that was only possible if the SS-rank monster could first be restrained and forced to accept the seals.
Before confronting Ren, the Kagamori family head had already anticipated the possibility that they might be unable to fully suppress him.
That was why the first seal he chose had been the Chain Seal—weak in suppression, but absolute in locking.
The first time, the enemy might fall for it out of unfamiliarity.
But he never believed a demon king of Ren's caliber would make the same mistake twice.
Fortunately—
He had gambled correctly.
Had the first seal not been the Chain Seal, Ren would have evaded the second one entirely.
Now, even though Ren had broken free of the chains at his feet and moved from his original position, his brow still furrowed.
The unsettling sensation behind him hadn't vanished.
As the Kagamori family head finished speaking, two pillars of azure flame burst into existence behind Ren.
They rapidly condensed into shapes resembling coffin nails—
And drove themselves directly into Ren's shoulder blades.
The moment the azure-flame nails pierced his back, Ren was assaulted by searing pain—
And felt his demonic power suppressed once again.
After the first seal, his power had nearly fallen from S+ to S-rank.
Now, it had fully dropped to S-rank.
Worse still, as the azure flames burned like parasites fused to his body, his demonic power continued to erode with every passing second.
"So the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses really are no pushovers…"
Ren narrowed his eyes, gaze locking onto the Kagamori family head.
"It looks like if I want to break these seals—I'll have to kill that Kagamori bastard first."