Gravely wounded, Ren Kuroda forcibly straightened his battered body. Treating the broken demon blade Oni-Wound as if it were a priceless treasure, he carefully slid its shattered remains back into the scabbard. His right hand then pressed tightly over his left shoulder, where blood continued to seep out nonstop, while his left hand curled into a claw-like shape.
Drawing upon the pitiful scraps of yokai power still left within him, Ren Kuroda tore forward—
—and ripped the air itself apart!
The claw-shaped slash driven by yokai power shredded the surrounding atmosphere, carving five deep, savage gouges straight into the ground.
Those exorcists who had rushed in at the very front didn't even have time to process what was happening. Before they could react, their bodies were torn apart by the expanding claw slashes, ripped into bloody fragments mid-stride.
The scene was so brutally violent that it instantly stunned the exorcists who had been preparing to surge forward next.
It was only at that moment that they finally realized something terrifying.
Yes—this monster was heavily wounded.Yes—he looked like he was on the brink of death.
But damn it all, he was still an S-rank yokai.
On the Tokyo District exorcist side, aside from a handful of elites from major families, the vast majority of them were only B-rank in spiritual power.
They had just seen it with their own eyes—among the first wave of attackers were several A-rank powerhouses. Yet under Ren Kuroda's attack, there had been no meaningful difference between B-rank and A-rank at all.
Both had been torn apart just as easily.
However, after unleashing that claw strike, Ren Kuroda was dragged by the movement of his injured shoulder and suddenly coughed up another mouthful of blood. His face turned even paler than before.
And just like that, the exorcists who had been frightened into hesitation began to stir once more.
But this time, before any of them could act—
Medea, Nekomata, and the others rushed forward in unison, expressions full of urgency as they placed themselves directly in front of Ren Kuroda, shielding him tightly behind them.
With the heads of the Five Great Demon-Slaying Houses now unable to fight, the strongest remaining combatants on the field were the elder veterans of those five great families and the A-rank great yokai.
"L—Lord… no, my lord," one of them said through clenched teeth."You've already done more than enough. Leave the rest of these enemies to us."
Whether it was the warrior spirits or Medea and the others, every one of them wore an expression of barely restrained fury as they looked at Ren Kuroda's grievous injuries.
In truth, none of them had ever imagined that the invincible Lord Ren Kuroda they revered could be pushed to such a state.
When fighting alongside him earlier, the warrior spirits had thought the so-called "Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses" were nothing special. At most, the individual strength of those family heads might surpass theirs slightly—perhaps on the level of Lady Spider—but still nowhere near a match for Ren Kuroda.
Yet no one had expected that human exorcists would possess such a bottomless arsenal of methods.
In the end, they had even brought out the Three Sacred Treasures.
"You keep fighting your own opponents. Don't worry about me," Ren Kuroda said coldly."I'm not so fragile that I need you to protect me."
Pushing Medea and the others aside, Ren Kuroda glanced down at the blood staining his hands. A trace of madness crept into his expression.
Then, with wild laughter bursting from his throat—
he charged forward, not backward, plunging straight into the exorcist ranks ahead of him.
With Oni-Wound broken, Ren Kuroda abandoned the sword techniques he was best at. Instead, he adopted the most feral style of combat imaginable, tearing into his enemies with nothing but claws and fangs.
The defensive formations and protective techniques constructed by the exorcist side were nothing more than paper before Ren Kuroda in his frenzied state—ripped apart effortlessly.
The prey of moments ago now seemed to be demonstrating, in the most brutal way possible, what a true hunter really was.
It was absurd.
He was alone.He was grievously wounded.
Yet as Ren Kuroda rampaged through the battlefield, slaughtering exorcists one after another with every swipe, the hundreds of exorcists facing him felt an inexplicable chill crawl up their spines.
Blood continued to pour from the gaping hole in his left shoulder, but Ren Kuroda clearly no longer had any intention of stopping the bleeding.
The power of "All the Evils of This World" was influencing him—if only slightly.
When his yokai power had been abundant and his condition intact, Ren Kuroda had been able to suppress the negative emotions brought on by that force.
But now, after being grievously wounded by the Kusanagi Sword and with his yokai power drastically weakened, the influence of "All the Evils of This World" was inevitably seeping into his emotions.
Crimson afterimages tore through the battlefield, streaking wildly from one end to the other.
And wherever that blood-red silhouette passed, lives were harvested in droves.
Only now did the exorcist side truly understand—
Even if Ren Kuroda's body wouldn't be able to hold out much longer in such a crazed state, before he collapsed, they would likely be slaughtered almost to the last.
The idea of taking advantage of his injuries to snatch an easy victory had completely vanished.
Now, the only thing on the exorcists' minds was how to stop him—how to slow him down even a little.
A dying, rampaging S-rank yokai was far more dangerous than one in a calm, normal state.
Watching Ren Kuroda sink deeper into his frenzy, Nekomata and the others instinctively wanted to rush forward and stop him.
But they were halted by the warrior spirit standing nearby.
"Don't you see?" the warrior spirit said calmly."Lord Ren may look like he's lost all reason, but he didn't attack us just now. That means he still has his self-awareness."
"Right now, Lord Ren probably can't tolerate the idea of himself—Lord of the Hundred Demons—being so weak that he has to hide behind us. That's why he refuses to retreat."
The warrior spirit's gaze sharpened.
"And there's something even more important. Haven't you noticed? Even though Lord Ren has been slaughtering nonstop, his condition is actually improving."
Watching Ren Kuroda carve a path of carnage through the crowd, the warrior spirit seemed to instantly grasp his intent, speaking with quiet confidence.
"I see… it's the power of 'Fear,' isn't it?" Medea said, realization dawning."While slaughtering them, Ren is also collecting the 'fear' radiating from the exorcists. He's using it to stabilize his injuries—and to resist the influence of All the Evils of This World."
After the warrior spirit's explanation, Medea quickly reached the same conclusion and voiced it aloud.
"Exactly," the warrior spirit nodded."It seems our new comrade has figured it out as well. I don't know what this 'All the Evils of This World' truly is, but there's no denying it's tied to Lord Ren's current state."
"So Lord Ren is using his own method—forcing the exorcists to feel fear—in order to break free from his condition."
"And that's not all. Haven't you noticed?" the warrior spirit continued."Ever since Lord Ren rejoined the fight, our side—which was previously at a slight disadvantage—has completely crushed the enemy in terms of morale."
After hearing this, Nekomata, Shion, and the others turned their attention back to the yokai on the battlefield.
Only then did they realize just how high the yokai side's morale had become.
Unlike those A-rank great yokai who had fled earlier, Ren Kuroda, as their leader, embodied pure ferocity. Even while grievously wounded, he fought without pause—and that relentless will had directly infected the rest of the yokai faction.
In stark contrast, the exorcist side's morale was plummeting.
Because the oni yokai before them was simply too dangerous.
No one wanted to be the next one torn apart by his claws.