"Such overwhelming demonic power… such terrifying presence. Is this, too, one of the 'Fears' you possess?"
Purple lightning erupted like newly sprouting violet flora, tearing violently through the earth's surface before spreading outward in all directions.
In that same instant, Ren Kuroda's immense yōki flooded the surroundings, as if proclaiming to everyone present that not only was he still alive—but that his strength remained terrifyingly intact.
Yet at the very center of it all, the colossal Tsuchigumo—already sensing that Ren Kuroda's killing intent had locked onto him—showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he threw his head back and burst into raucous laughter.
This feeling—this pressure, like standing on the brink between life and death—was something Tsuchigumo hadn't experienced in countless years.
To put it simply, he was bored.
With his overwhelming strength and his absurdly long lifespan, very few things in this world could still stir his blood. Even back then, when Hanakaiin Hidemoto had confronted him, the onmyōji had only managed to seal him away—not kill him. That alone spoke volumes about how powerful Tsuchigumo truly was.
And now, even though he could clearly feel Ren Kuroda's yōki pinning him in place, even though his massive body made dodging nearly impossible, Tsuchigumo had no intention of avoiding the attack.
After all, Ren Kuroda had taken his earlier strike head-on.
If Ren Kuroda could do that, then Tsuchigumo believed he could do the same.
And if he couldn't even withstand an attack of this level, then what right did he have to demand that his opponent reveal even greater power?
"Tsutigumo… is going to lose," someone muttered quietly.
Among the yōkai of the Kidōin faction, the bound and power-sealed Kidōmaru stared at the familiar violet lightning and calmly predicted the outcome.
He knew that technique all too well.
He himself had fallen to that very same move before. Though it had ended in mutual destruction at the time, Ren Kuroda's yōki back then had been far inferior to his own—meaning that, in truth, Kidōmaru had been the one who lost.
Nearby, Arakotsu—whose body was already half shattered—wore an equally grim expression as he watched Ren Kuroda's display of power.
Unlike the others, he and Kidōmaru both knew something crucial.
The Ren Kuroda now fighting Tsuchigumo still hadn't gone all out.
As a half-demon, Ren Kuroda could undergo full yōkai transformation. And once that happened, both his combat power and yōki would skyrocket explosively. If that were combined with this strange "Fear" that allowed him to grow stronger simply by drinking…
Arakotsu couldn't help but wonder whether even the Hagoromo Fox herself could still defeat him.
"Let the fury of the Flesh-Touching Divine Thunder surge—Let the might of the Thunder Star, Lucun, descend!Move like thunder—Lucun!"
After rampaging wildly for several seconds, the violet lightning abruptly converged into a single point. Tsuchigumo could feel it clearly now—the deathly sense of crisis surging up from the ground beneath his feet.
BOOOOOOM—!
A colossal pillar of purple lightning shot upward like a spear piercing the heavens, blasting through the earth from below and surging straight into the sky.
Its target was Tsuchigumo's lower jaw.
If it hit, the violent lightning would tear straight through his jaw and obliterate his entire head.
Earlier, when Tsuchigumo's crushing blow had left him with no room to evade, Ren Kuroda had indeed blocked the attack.
What he used was none other than the Endless Wine Gourd.
According to the system's description, the Endless Wine Gourd not only produced limitless fine liquor, but also possessed defensive and flight capabilities. And during that moment, Ren Kuroda had used it exactly as described.
Reality proved that the system hadn't exaggerated in the slightest.
As an SS-rank item, the Endless Wine Gourd's defense was absurdly solid. Even after taking Tsuchigumo's full-powered strike head-on, it showed not a single crack. Ren Kuroda himself, sheltered behind it, had only suffered minor impact damage.
That said, the sheer force of the blow had still smashed both Ren Kuroda and the gourd straight into the ground.
Now, before everyone's eyes, the raging violet lightning surged skyward toward the massive Tsuchigumo.
Tsuchigumo's body was enormous—but the pure lightning pillar was no smaller.
Facing the oncoming divine thunder, Tsuchigumo abandoned all caution and unleashed his strongest yōki. Using all four arms, he stacked his palms together, layer upon layer, attempting to block Ren Kuroda's attack head-on.
But even with his incredibly resilient body and overwhelming yōki reinforcement, the first palm was pierced as easily as paper.
The lightning barely lost any power.
Tsuchigumo was ruthless even toward himself. His palm had been punched clean through, yet his expression didn't change in the slightest. He simply poured even more yōki into his arms.
One palm fell.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Lightning, by nature, possessed terrifying speed and penetration. The moment Tsuchigumo chose to defend this way, the outcome had already been decided.
After all four of his palms were pierced, the power of Move Like Thunder had weakened considerably—but Tsuchigumo no longer had any defense left.
Though the violet lightning was no longer as ferocious as when it first burst from the earth, after breaking through every layer of resistance, it still transformed into a lethal purple arrow—
—and pierced straight through Tsuchigumo's lower jaw, obliterating his head.
BOOOOOOM—!
With a thunderous crash, Tsuchigumo's massive body collapsed.
The yōkai whom Hanakaiin Hidemoto had once labeled "an absolute encounter taboo" had been defeated—cleanly—in a one-on-one duel.
And the one who defeated him was an unheard-of young man.
Not someone from the Hagoromo Fox's faction. Not a member of the Nura Clan. Not even from the Hanakaiin family.
After Tsuchigumo fell, the yōki Ren Kuroda had forcibly elevated through Alcohol Is Life vanished like a receding tide. After unleashing Move Like Thunder, his aura rapidly returned to its previous, stable state.
Even Ren Kuroda himself hadn't expected that attack to be so devastating.
After all, even with Alcohol Is Life, his yōki had still been inferior to Tsuchigumo's. And Tsuchigumo's body was far tougher than Kidōmaru's. Ren Kuroda had originally thought that at best, the move would severely wound him.
Instead, it killed him outright.
This Ghost Clan "Fear" didn't just boost yōki—it seemed, like a blade spirit, to grant terrifying amplification to techniques themselves.
As the enhancement fully faded, Ren Kuroda's yōki dropped back to A-rank—roughly equivalent to the current Nura Rikuo.
Yet as the handsome young man stood there calmly, none of the yōkai present dared to look down on him anymore.
Because this seemingly harmless youth had just defeated the great yōkai Tsuchigumo in a direct duel.
Oodokuro had said someone like this merely "warranted attention."
To hell with that—this was someone you needed to fear.
In all of Kyoto, the number of beings who could confidently claim victory over Tsuchigumo could probably be counted on one hand—and the Hagoromo Fox was one of them.
If Ren Kuroda could kill Tsuchigumo, didn't that mean he possessed power rivaling hers?
"Lady Onee-sama… what should we do now?"The childlike yōkai Kyokotsu asked softly, clutching a skull in her arms as she looked up at the Hagoromo Fox."The one who arrived with us should be that annoying Nurarihyon, right? This should've been a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity… but now someone like this has appeared. We don't even know what his relationship with the Nura Clan is."
As the Hagoromo Fox's most fanatical devotee, Kyokotsu would willingly die if it meant fulfilling her mistress's wishes—even knowing how dangerous Ren Kuroda was.
Seeing Ren Kuroda defeat Tsuchigumo head-on, and realizing that both Arakotsu and Kidōmaru had been captured alive, the Hagoromo Fox's expression darkened.
"What is there to fear?" one of the yōkai behind her scoffed."Didn't you see? The moment he defeated Tsuchigumo, his yōki dropped straight down to A-rank. He must've used some kind of secret technique or restricted ability. There's no way he can use it again anytime soon.We've ruled Kyoto for generations—are we really going to be scared off by some greenhorn brat?"
Behind the Hagoromo Fox, some yōkai were wary of Ren Kuroda, while others were openly dismissive.
Especially with Ren Kuroda now only radiating A-rank yōki, many of these powerful veterans didn't consider him much of a threat.
The Hagoromo Fox—dressed in a black sailor-style uniform, her appearance that of a high school girl—hesitated briefly.
Then she made her decision.
Because after witnessing Ren Kuroda's strength, she felt fear.
She had waited countless years for today's opportunity. And Ren Kuroda's personal power—along with the yōkai forces he commanded—was already enough to tip the balance of the final battle.
If he aligned himself with the Nura Clan or the Hanakaiin family, her plans would face far greater resistance.
To prevent the situation from spiraling into the worst possible outcome, the Hagoromo Fox resolved to eliminate this hidden danger with her own hands.
And just as her followers had said, she believed Ren Kuroda must have relied on a temporary power boost to defeat Tsuchigumo.
Otherwise, his aura wouldn't have faded so quickly.
And if that were the case—
Then there was no better moment than now to erase this unstable variable once and for all.
..
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