"Stop getting in my way already, damn it. I don't have time to keep playing games with you!"
Faced with the renewed pincer attack from the three family heads, Ren Kuroda's patience finally snapped.Before, he'd had the luxury to toy with them—because he trusted his own strength completely and believed the five heads of the Thirteen Yokai-Slaying Families simply weren't on his level.
But now, with two layers of seals forced onto him, Ren knew that if he kept fooling around like before, he really might end up capsizing in a ditch.
As the three closed in, Ren moved first despite being surrounded. His blade flashed, intercepting Sorasuga Ryosuke's slash head-on. Before Ryosuke could even register what had happened, Ren drove a brutal kick straight into his abdomen, sending him flying back even faster than he'd charged in.
At the same time, Ren's free hand plunged directly into the blade storm formed by the Hiiragi family head on his right.
It was like thrusting an arm into a wall of razor-sharp steel. The moment Ren's crimson claws touched the storm, sparks exploded outward in every direction.
Yet no matter how airtight the barrier of blades was, it still couldn't stop Ren's sheer, tyrannical force.
His scarlet claws tore straight through the storm. By sensing the flow of spiritual power within it, Ren effortlessly pinpointed the Hiiragi family head's true position. Before the man could react, Ren seized his head with one hand and yanked him violently out of the raging gale.
The instant his head was caught, the Hiiragi family head struggled desperately to break free. But Ren's arm was like an iron vice backed by a thousand tons of force. His fingers clamped down mercilessly, and the agony was so intense that the man nearly lost consciousness on the spot.
With his life so casually grasped by another's hand, the Hiiragi family head had never felt such suffocating humiliation.
His clan's techniques were similar to those of the kamaitachi yokai—masters of wind-based sorcery, capable of transforming themselves into cutting gales. They were famed for blinding speed and unpredictability.
Yet today, against this monster, the very ability that had never failed him before had already betrayed him twice.
Before he could even figure out how Ren had accurately dragged him out of the storm, a fresh surge of agony exploded in his skull.
The cause was simple—and terrifying.
Still gripping his head, Ren swung him forward like a club and smashed him straight into the oncoming Hikigun family head.
The Hikigun family head had been charging directly at Ren. When he saw the Hiiragi family head flying toward him, his hands froze mid-motion, talismans half-raised, unsure whether he should continue his attack.
That single moment of hesitation was all it took.
With a sickening, teeth-grinding thud, the Hiiragi family head's skull collided point-blank with the Hikigun family head's forehead.
Two renowned heads of the Thirteen Yokai-Slaying Families lost consciousness in the most absurd way imaginable.
From the moment the three family heads rushed in to block Ren, to now—one sent flying and two knocked out—it seemed like a long exchange. In reality, everything had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
After dealing with the three nuisances, Ren turned his gaze to the only one left standing: the Kagamori family head.
Without the slightest hesitation, he extended his claws and thrust straight for the man's heart.
Perhaps there was no deep personal hatred between them—but war didn't care about right or wrong. Only the final outcome mattered. Their positions were opposed, and it was kill or be killed. That was all there was to it.
Besides, Ren was no saint. He would never show mercy where none was owed.
"Five Directions, Formation of Shikigami Wings—Azure Dragon repels all weapons, White Tiger wards off calamity, Vermilion Bird silences discord, Black Tortoise repels all spirits, Yellow Dragon subdues demons.Azure Emperor of the East, Crimson Emperor of the South, White Emperor of the West, Black Emperor of the North, Yellow Emperor of the Center—Big Dipper, Three Terraces, Celestial Patterns, Five Stars—Yokai, be sealed and bound!"
Ren's claws tore through the air like a spear aimed straight at the Kagamori family head's chest. Yet the man stood there like an old monk in deep meditation, stubbornly chanting the final lines of his incantation.
Ren had no doubt whatsoever that his arm could pierce the Kagamori family head's heart. With a physique that now surpassed even ordinary oni, he could easily skewer the Jisō family head—who specialized in body-forging—let alone a seal specialist.
But at the instant Ren's arm was about to punch through his heart, the Kagamori family head suddenly opened his eyes.
Fearlessly, he raised a massive glowing sigil with both hands and slammed it into Ren's chest instead.
"Third Seal—Five-Spirit Suppression!"
This seal carried an overwhelming presence, far eclipsing the previous two.The Four Divine Beasts guarded the cardinal directions, with the qilin anchoring the center. Though it was merely a sealing art, Ren felt an intense, ominous threat radiating from it.
Unfortunately, he had no room to retreat.
And even if he were sealed again, so what? Once the Kagamori family head died, the seal would lose its anchor. Ren could simply shatter it with brute yokai power. This desperate last stand meant nothing.
Both attacks landed almost simultaneously.
As the seal struck Ren's chest, countless intricate runes spread across his upper body. The roars of the Five Divine Beasts echoed, and an intensely holy aura crushed down on his yokai power.
The so-called Five-Spirit Seal was clearly on another level from the previous two, forcibly dropping Ren's power from solid S-rank down to S-minus.
At that very moment, Ren's claw—formed into a spear-like strike—shot toward the Kagamori family head's heart…
But to Ren's surprise, when his claw made contact, it rang out with a sharp, metallic ding. A blinding golden light erupted from the man's chest.
There was no sensation of tearing flesh. Instead, a hard resistance surged up Ren's arm.
As the golden light faded, a cracking sound followed. Ren's claw finally punched through the obstruction, the remaining force detonating outward and sending the Kagamori family head flying back hundreds of meters, blood spraying from his mouth.
Though he had gravely wounded his opponent, Ren was deeply dissatisfied with the exchange.
So that was it. No wonder the man had dared to gamble his life—he'd been carrying a protective treasure, calculating that he wouldn't die from the blow.
What Ren didn't know was that, far away, the Kagamori family head struggled to sit up, staring at the completely shattered mirror he'd pulled from his chest with lingering terror on his face.
As a clan that specialized in sealing arts, using long-casting techniques without protection was extremely dangerous. Naturally, the Kagamori family didn't lack defensive spirit tools.
The mirror in his hands, now cracked like broken glass and etched with countless runes, was no ordinary artifact. It was a defensive spirit tool crafted at immense cost by the previous family head—an imitation of one of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Yata no Kagami.
According to his predecessor, it could withstand multiple attacks from an S-rank yokai without damage.
That confidence was why the Kagamori family head had dared to trade blows with Ren.
But now, looking at the shattered remains, cold fear crept up his spine. Either the old man had exaggerated the mirror's power… or the yokai they were facing, though labeled S-rank, had already surpassed that tier by far.
If he hadn't managed to apply the Five-Spirit Seal first, he didn't dare imagine what would've happened if Ren's attack had landed unrestrained.
Staring at the fragments in his hand, he knew—artifact or not, he probably would've died.
"Well… my role ends here," he muttered weakly. "I didn't think it would come to using the final measure. Still, with three seals stacked on him and such a prolonged battle… the rest should go smoothly."
Even with the spirit tool's protection, taking Ren's blow head-on left him completely unable to rise. Casting three high-grade sealing techniques had also drained his spiritual power almost dry. All he could do now was maintain the seal and hope the others carried out their plan.
After the brutal clash, the Jisō family head had both arms crippled and was out of the fight. The Hikigun and Hiiragi family heads were unconscious. The Kagamori family head remained conscious—but his power was nearly gone, and maintaining the seal left him useless in combat.
Among the five heads, only one still retained fighting capability.
Sorasuga Ryosuke.
Bare-chested, his body covered in old and fresh blade scars, Sorasuga Ryosuke stood facing Ren, eyes blazing with unyielding battle intent.
From the very beginning, the injuries he'd suffered were no lighter than the others'. But years of hardship had forged his will into steel.
More importantly, facing such a rare and formidable swordsman, he refused to fall. His body was battered, yet his fighting spirit burned brighter than ever.
"Honestly," Sorasuga Ryosuke said, "if I'd met a swordsman like you under different circumstances, I would've preferred a fair duel—no sacred weapons involved."
He slowly sheathed his beloved blade, Daitenta Mitsuyo, then drew another sword.
"But I carry too much on my shoulders now. Too many people's hopes. So… this is the only choice I have."