Far away in Hokkaido, within a stronghold where the oni clans gathered, a small yokai was kneeling on the ground, both hands reverently holding a broken fragment of a blade, presenting it before a throne built entirely from stacked skulls.
Seated upon that grisly throne was a handsome, white-haired middle-aged man. Two horns rose from his head—one long, one short—and every detail of his appearance made it unmistakably clear that he, too, was an oni. And the fact that he occupied such a seat left no doubt about his extraordinary status.
He was Ibaraki Dōji, also known as the Demon of Rashōmon, one of the most renowned oni kings in history.
Countless legends surrounded him. Some even claimed that his true form was that of a seductive demon—an enchantress oni—who once disguised herself as a beautiful woman to infiltrate the home of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, only to have her arm severed by his retainer, Watanabe no Tsuna.
At this moment, Ibaraki Dōji accepted the broken blade with his left hand, the one distinct from his right. As he examined it, the longer he stared, the more a faint look of excitement crept onto his face.
"Are you certain," he asked slowly, "that this broken blade once belonged to the oni known as Hyakki Yagyō?"
If Ren Kuroda were present, he would immediately recognize the fragment in Ibaraki Dōji's hand—it was the section of Kishō that had been severed by the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
The battle had been far too frantic, and under the subtle influence of the Evil of This World, Ren had only managed to retrieve the hilt and half the blade. The remaining fragment had been left behind on the battlefield.
What he never would have imagined was that this lost portion of Kishō would, after passing through many hands, end up before Ibaraki Dōji himself.
Unlike Shuten Dōji, another oni king, Ibaraki Dōji wasn't merely a creature of brute strength. While Shuten Dōji was undeniably stronger in raw power, Ibaraki excelled in strategy and foresight.
After awakening, Ibaraki Dōji had already dispatched his subordinates to infiltrate every corner of the country. Prosperous areas like the Tokyo district were naturally among his primary targets.
As for the purpose—aside from gathering intelligence on rival factions—it was also to search for someone.
Now, it seemed his earlier decisions had been entirely correct. Though he hadn't found that person directly, this broken blade told him he was no longer far from the truth.
It was well known that although Ibaraki Dōji and Shuten Dōji were both oni kings, Ibaraki was fiercely loyal to Shuten.
Many legends spoke of their relationship, but nearly all of them placed Shuten Dōji slightly above Ibaraki—whether in status or strength.
Compared to Shuten Dōji's reckless and uninhibited personality, Ibaraki Dōji was far more calculating.
Moreover, Shuten Dōji was counted among the Three Great Demon Kings, possessing even greater demonic power.
Because of this, long before the great upheaval of heaven and earth, Shuten Dōji had awakened earlier than most oni—and had vanished from their ranks more than a decade ago.
When Ibaraki and the others finally awakened later, they were greeted with nothing but a mess—and a lord who had already disappeared without a trace.
Knowing Shuten Dōji as well as he did, Ibaraki understood all too well: his lord and closest friend was far too free-spirited and indulgent. If no one went looking for him, Shuten would never bother coming back on his own.
Though revered as the lord of the oni, Shuten Dōji was notoriously fond of alcohol and loathed restraint.
After listening to all the intelligence brought back from the Tokyo district, a puzzled expression settled on Ibaraki Dōji's face.
From the broken blade alone, he could easily identify it as Kishō, Shuten Dōji's personal weapon. Yet according to the scouts, the one wielding it was clearly not Shuten Dōji himself.
In truth, Shuten Dōji had never been particularly skilled with swords. When Kishō was forged, it was less a weapon of slaughter and more a symbol of authority.
Back then, Ibaraki had argued that as the lord of the oni, appearances mattered. Even if Shuten didn't use swords, he needed something to command from. And so the oni swordsmiths had worked through the night to forge Kishō.
Ibaraki still remembered that the swordsmith had been injured in the process—which was why the blade had left such a deep impression on him.
By all logic, a weapon that followed Shuten Dōji everywhere should never have appeared in someone else's hands.
There were only two explanations.
Either Shuten Dōji had given Kishō away…
Or he had been killed.
The latter seemed impossible.
As one of the Three Great Demon Kings, Shuten Dōji was among the strongest beings in existence. And in this era, demons were flourishing. Exorcists, weakened by centuries of peace and broken lineages, were nowhere near their ancient peak.
Even in antiquity, Shuten Dōji's defeat had only been possible because of his fatal weakness—his love of alcohol—and because Minamoto no Yorimitsu had been aided by divine sake.
Ibaraki simply couldn't believe that Shuten would fall for the same trick twice.
And setting aside schemes and deception, Ibaraki struggled to imagine anyone alive who could defeat Shuten Dōji in a straight fight.
Which meant that Kishō being in another's hands could only mean one thing—Shuten Dōji had given it to them.
Combined with the unmistakable oni traits of this "Hyakki Yagyō," Ibaraki found himself growing increasingly confused.
The number of powerful oni was limited, and he knew nearly all of them. Yet this Hyakki Yagyō possessed S+-rank demonic power, nearly plunged the entire Tokyo district into catastrophe, and should have been a well-known figure.
So why had Ibaraki never heard of him before?
And why, as an oni, did this Hyakki Yagyō refuse to return to the oni faction?
Most importantly—what was his relationship with Shuten Dōji?
What should have been a moment of excitement at finding Shuten's trail instead brought even more questions.
Still, after searching for so many years, Ibaraki had no intention of giving up now. He decided to personally travel to the Tokyo district and investigate.
Naturally, the shockwaves of the Tokyo battle weren't limited to the oni alone.
The Tengu clans of the high mountains, as well as the faction led by Hannya, had also received intelligence about the conflict.
Though their information wasn't as detailed as Ibaraki's, the emergence of "Hyakki Yagyō" and a "Divine Artifact Master" was more than enough to draw their attention.
Especially the Great Tengu.
When the age of chaos first began, he had attempted to seize humanity's major cities by force—only to be brutally taught a lesson by the Three Sacred Treasures.
Because of that, the Great Tengu was deeply wary of anything labeled a divine artifact.
An unclaimed artifact had been enough to wound him back then. Now that one had acknowledged a master, its threat level was obvious.
As for Hyakki Yagyō—by any measure, he was undeniably an oni.
Among the three great yokai factions, the oni already held a slight advantage. If someone like Hyakki Yagyō joined them, the balance would completely collapse.
Neither the Tengu nor Hannya's faction was willing to see that happen.
They still didn't know whether this newly risen Hyakki Yagyō aligned with the Hokkaido oni—but regardless, they decided to send envoys to Tokyo to investigate.
Thus, although the Tokyo battle had ended, the undercurrents beneath both the yokai and exorcist factions only grew more turbulent.
As for Ren Kuroda, the one now known as Hyakki Yagyō—
After withdrawing from the Tokyo city area, he led the yokai deep into the mountains.
The location wasn't far from Tokyo—an expanse of desolate wilderness. With little human presence, it produced almost no Fear, making it unattractive to other yokai factions.
After choosing this area as their base, Ren once again retreated behind the scenes under the pretext of recovering from his injuries.
For the time being, Yuki-onna took charge of management.
In truth, the Spider Princess or the Samurai Spirit would have been more suitable, but the Samurai Spirit had been summoned through a contract and needed to return to the Nurarihyon world.
As for the Spider Princess, she was a shikigami tied to Ren Kuroda's human identity. Until these new yokai could be fully trusted, Ren had no intention of revealing his dual identity.
Many of the yokai who had come from Tokyo felt stifled by this barren wilderness.
Without Fear to harvest, how were they supposed to grow stronger?
And if they couldn't grow stronger, how would they reclaim Tokyo and avenge themselves?
Still, these complaints never went beyond quiet grumbling.
They all knew Hyakki Yagyō had been gravely injured—and they also understood how wise his order to retreat had been.
Not long after they left, the exorcists had received reinforcements… and even brought another divine artifact.
If not for Hyakki Yagyō's foresight, they would have been completely wiped out.
So in the eyes of these yokai, choosing this place as their base surely carried a deeper meaning.
It was just that they weren't clever enough to see it yet.
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