If Arakuro's earlier defeat could still be blamed on momentary carelessness—on underestimating Ren Kuroda and getting caught off guard—
then this time, there was no excuse at all.
This was absolute, undeniable domination.
After their earlier exchange, Arakuro had already raised his guard to the highest level. When Ren moved, Kidōmaru had even warned him in advance.
And yet—
it was completely useless.
Ren was simply too fast.
Arakuro hadn't even had time to react before his head was kicked away like a soccer ball.
Of course, a yokai like Arakuro—born from countless skeletons steeped in battlefield resentment—wouldn't die outright just because his head was blown off. At most, it counted as severe damage.
Losing his head, even having it heavily damaged, was something Arakuro could accept. After all, as long as he and Kidōmaru joined forces, their chances of winning were still high.
What he couldn't accept—
was what he sensed at the instant his head was sent flying.
Ren's appearance had completely changed.
And more terrifying still, his yokai power had surged from A-rank to a full-fledged S-rank in a heartbeat.
Were S-rank yokai strong?
Absolutely.
But not to the point of making Arakuro feel utterly helpless. As a core officer under Hagoromo-gitsune, he'd seen plenty of yokai at that level.
And yet, no matter how unwilling he was to admit it, Arakuro had to acknowledge one thing—
the "kid" standing before them was fundamentally different from any yokai they'd encountered before.
Had there ever been an A-rank yokai who could casually beat an A+ great yokai senseless, then fight an S–-rank monster to a mutual stalemate?
No. Never.
Ren's true strength had never matched the yokai power he outwardly displayed.
And it wasn't as if Arakuro and Kidōmaru were ordinary yokai either.
They were veterans who had followed Hagoromo-gitsune into battle centuries ago. Even when facing opponents of the same rank, they maintained an exceptionally high win rate.
Yet today—
they were the ones being challenged across ranks.
What left Arakuro utterly speechless was this:
When Ren's yokai power had only been A-rank, he had already been able to fight them without falling behind. Now that his power had skyrocketed to S-rank—
did they still have any chance at all?
The battle that followed seemed to answer that question almost immediately.
Facing A-rank Ren, Kidōmaru and Arakuro had at least been able to maintain a rough balance.
But the moment Ren activated Half-Demon Transformation and his yokai power surged into S-rank territory, that balance shattered instantly.
Already injured, Kidōmaru couldn't even last dozens of exchanges against a serious Ren before being beaten into critical condition.
Only then did they truly understand—
when Ren had spoken earlier about challenging Abe no Seimei, he hadn't been boasting.
He genuinely possessed the qualifications.
The reason they had managed to fight him on even footing before was simple: Ren was also a half-demon—and until now, he had been fighting them while maintaining a human state.
"Things just got troublesome…"
From a distant rooftop, a low voice muttered in frustration.
"At first, I thought it was just a bunch of small-fry yokai trying to fish in troubled waters while Hagoromo-gitsune stirred up Kyoto. But now… that clearly isn't the case.
"Whether it was Arakuro or Kidōmaru, even if Mamiru and I teamed up, I wouldn't dare say we'd win for sure. And yet, that monster just defeated them so easily."
Just like Hagoromo-gitsune's faction, the Hanaoin family had also noticed another yokai force entering Kyoto and dispatched members to investigate.
This time, the ones sent were Hanaoin Ryūji and Mamiru—the same duo who had previously gone to the Kantō region and ambushed Nura Rikuo.
Ryūji often referred to himself as talentless, claiming his gifts were completely overshadowed by Hanaoin Yura and Mamiru. But in truth, his strength was anything but weak.
Among the younger generation of the Hanaoin family, he ranked near the very top. Combined with his cautious personality and sharp intellect, he had even managed to overwhelm Rikuo in the past.
Yet even someone like Ryūji—
after arriving nearby and witnessing Ren's battle with Kidōmaru—
instantly abandoned the idea of swooping in to reap benefits and instead turned to leave.
There was no mystery to it.
Based on the strength Ren had just displayed, Ryūji knew they stood virtually no chance. And Ren wasn't even alone—forcing an engagement would likely just mean throwing their lives away.
Besides, the objective given by the family head—reconnaissance—had already been achieved.
Though Ryūji still didn't fully understand why this group of yokai had come to Kyoto, one thing was clear from Ren's clash with Kidōmaru:
They probably weren't on the same side.
A yokai that powerful entering Kyoto would undoubtedly make the situation even more chaotic—
but the Hanaoin family was already in dire straits.
Could things really get much worse?
After analyzing the situation, Ryūji concluded that leaving Ren and his group to counterbalance Hagoromo-gitsune's forces was actually more beneficial for the Hanaoin family at present.
And so, he left with Mamiru.
Ren, after crippling and restraining Kidōmaru and Arakuro, glanced in the direction Ryūji had departed—but made no move to stop them.
Kyoto was already a tangled mess.
Ren was only assisting Hagoromo-gitsune with the birth of Abe no Seimei. Though that put him temporarily at odds with the Hanaoin family, it wasn't enough to justify tearing off all pretense.
More importantly, after subduing Kidōmaru and Arakuro, Ren suddenly realized something—
coming to this world while already injured, believing he could dominate everything with ease, had been far too optimistic.
Take Kidōmaru as an example.
Though his yokai power was only S– rank, his actual combat ability far surpassed that of ordinary S-rank yokai.
Why?
Because in addition to a yokai's innate talents, Kidōmaru had mastered human combat techniques.
Ren wasn't the only one who was special.
As for Abe no Seimei, Ren had previously estimated his yokai power to be around S+ rank.
But one thing couldn't be forgotten—
Abe no Seimei was a half-demon who had once been a legendary onmyōji.
That meant his true combat strength might vastly exceed what his yokai power level suggested.
To this day, Ren still couldn't understand how someone who could casually annihilate Tsuchigumo had been injured while fighting Nura Rikuo.
Sure, Demon Entanglement was incredibly powerful. And at the time, Rikuo had synchronized Demon Entanglement with multiple top-ranking subordinates to unleash his strongest strike.
Even so—
Ren couldn't believe that Rikuo, combined with Yuki-Onna and the others, truly possessed the power to wound Abe no Seimei.
If Abe no Seimei were really that easy to deal with, he wouldn't be remembered as the strongest half-demon in history.
If Demon Entanglement were truly that broken, then Nura Rihan—who pioneered the technique and could withstand even greater "Hundred Demons' Dominion"—would've long since been unrivaled.
In short, although Ren had crushed Arakuro and Kidōmaru after activating Half-Demon Transformation, the battle had also made one thing painfully clear:
Against the final boss, Abe no Seimei, his current odds of victory were still not high.
He needed to grow stronger—and fast.
As for how to power up in a short time?
Ren's currently abundant Prestige Points were, without question, a perfect avenue.
And that wasn't all.
Back in the main world, the second stage of the main quest—"Become the Ruler of the Tokyo District's Yokai"—had already been completed.
Ironically, the one who completed it wasn't Ren himself, but the android Ren who had been tagging along with the Countermeasures Division.
The requirements were simple:
Reach A-rank yokai power in normal state, and eliminate three A-rank yokai factions.
Since the quest didn't specify solo completion, Ren had accompanied Yamato Kuka and the others to take down the Umibōzu, then wiped out two more A-rank factions afterward.
The quest rewards had already been distributed—
Ren just hadn't claimed them yet.
The thousands of prestige points that once made him drool now barely caught his interest. He was already swimming in them.
What truly mattered to him—
was the other reward.
Another chance to awaken a Demon Clan ability.
Some might wonder why other yokai possessed fear, while Ren seemingly did not.
The truth was—
he did.
It was simply still awakening.
The Demon Clan's abilities were Ren's fear.
When he completed the first stage of "Become the Ruler of Tokyo," he had already been rewarded with the awakening of one Demon Clan ability.
That time, he obtained the rare Demon Clan power Chaotic Divine Strength.
Which meant—
it had always been one of Ren's fears.
Now, with the second stage complete, Ren could hardly wait to see what Demon Clan power he would awaken this time.
A dazzling flash of light burst before his eyes.
The four-digit prestige reward was completely ignored.
Ren's gaze was locked onto the skill list, waiting to see what new ability would appear.
Soon, a new skill name came into view—
and the moment he read it, Ren felt utterly speechless.
Skill Name: Born to DrinkSkill Rank: SSkill Description:The Demon Clan delights in alcohol and revels in battle. Fine, potent liquor can ignite the Demon Clan's fighting spirit to extreme levels.When consuming alcohol while this skill is active, the user gains multiple buffs based on the quality of the drink, increasing yokai power, strength, attack potency, and more.
Setting aside the teeth-grindingly awful name—
this was undeniably a god-tier skill.
The problem was—
Ren Kuroda didn't know how to drink alcohol at all.