"Lady Hagoromo Fox, please don't underestimate him. That man is a half-demon. When he defeated Tsuchigumo just now, he didn't even use his 'Yōkaification.'Once he does, his strength will increase drastically again."
Seeing that the Hagoromo Fox seemed poised to make a move, Arakotsu—despite being tightly bound from head to toe—still loyally issued a warning.
In Arakotsu's eyes, Ren Kuroda was the very embodiment of deceit.
His surface-level combat power was completely unreliable—pure misdirection meant to fool others.
Arakotsu himself had fallen for it earlier, mistaking Ren Kuroda for a mere A-rank weakling, only to be "educated" in the cruelest possible way within minutes.
That was why, seeing the Hagoromo Fox showing the same signs of underestimation he once had, Arakotsu hurriedly spoke up. Attacking was fine—but she absolutely could not be fooled by that half-demon's apparent strength.
Because that guy was a walking cheat.
"Young Master, this is a golden opportunity!"Shouzu and Kurotabō, on the other hand, were growing excited as they watched the Hagoromo Fox's faction show hostility toward Ren Kuroda and the others.
"We came to Kyoto this time because of the Hagoromo Fox in the first place. And she hasn't fully recovered yet—her seal still isn't completely broken.If we join forces with the Kidōin faction, there's a real chance we could defeat her right here!"
Earlier, they had believed that facing both Tsuchigumo and the Hagoromo Fox would leave them caught between two overwhelming enemies—likely doomed.
Yet none of them had expected the situation to flip so drastically in such a short time.
Tsuchigumo was dead.
And the Hagoromo Fox's power clearly hadn't returned to its peak.
With the current strength of the Nura Clan, combined with the Kidōin faction, defeating the Hagoromo Fox here and now—ending this Kyoto conflict ahead of time—wasn't just a fantasy.
If it had been some other yōkai faction, the Nura Clan might have hesitated. Not every group could be trusted.
But Kidōin was different.
They weren't strangers. This wasn't their first dealing with one another.
Sure, their young master had been beaten senseless by Kidōin's leader more times than anyone cared to count—but despite that, relations between the two sides were actually quite decent.
With Ren Kuroda's strength, their young master's ability to use Demon Binding, and Kidōin's forces like the nekomata backing them up, Kurotabō genuinely believed they had a real shot against the Hagoromo Fox.
Their calculations were solid.
Unfortunately, they hadn't accounted for one thing.
After Tsuchigumo fell, Ren Kuroda—who had remained silent the entire time—finally spoke.
And with a single sentence, he shattered every plan they had.
"You must be the Hagoromo Fox," Ren Kuroda said calmly."My name is Ren Kuroda. As you can see, I'm a half-demon.I came to Kyoto with my Hundred Demons because I intended to lend you my strength. Unfortunately, your subordinates were… rather impolite. They attacked on sight, so I disciplined them on your behalf. I hope you won't take offense."
He paused, then continued with impeccable composure.
"Likewise, I hope you'll overlook my earlier transgressions and still accept my goodwill. After all, your people were rude first—and I spared their lives. I believe that's more than enough respect shown to you."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Not just the Nura Clan, but even the Hagoromo Fox and her followers froze in place.
From what they'd seen, it was obvious that this so-called Kidōin faction had a good relationship with the Nura Clan.
So why was Ren Kuroda saying this?
Why would he pledge himself to the sworn enemy of the Nurarihyon bloodline?
"Ren Kuroda… are you serious?"Nura Rikuo stared at him in disbelief."Do you even understand what kind of yōkai the Hagoromo Fox is?Even so, you're choosing to stand against us—on her side?"
Rikuo had always believed Ren Kuroda was the type of yōkai who would never willingly bow to anyone. That was why he'd assumed recruiting him into his Hundred Demons would be a long, uphill battle.
Yet now—
The man who had repeatedly rejected his offers was voluntarily offering help to the Hagoromo Fox?
Rikuo couldn't make sense of it.
Their relationship hadn't been bad. If anyone should be chosen, shouldn't it be them?
Was it… looks?
But the Nurarihyon clan had always been known as the pinnacle of good looks among yōkai!
…Then again, the Hagoromo Fox was undeniably beautiful.
And she was a woman.
Did that give her an unfair advantage?
Wait—had he been approaching this all wrong?Was Ren Kuroda actually a shameless womanizer, and the key to recruiting him was beautiful female yōkai?
"State your purpose," the Hagoromo Fox said coolly."Do you truly believe I would trust your words alone and accept your forces so easily?"
Regardless of the Nura Clan's reaction, the Hagoromo Fox remained extremely wary of Ren Kuroda's sudden declaration.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Across all her reincarnations, she had never once heard of Ren Kuroda.
That meant they were complete strangers.
She couldn't find a reason for him to help her—and given his good relationship with the Nura Clan, she was even more suspicious that this was some kind of deception.
"I think you've misunderstood," Ren Kuroda replied evenly."What I'm proposing isn't allegiance—it's cooperation. Nothing more.Our partnership lasts only until the 'Nue' within you is born. After that, we go our separate ways."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"As for my objective, it's the same as Tsuchigumo's.Though we've had friendly dealings with the Nura Clan, we were never the same faction. If our interests conflict, I won't hesitate to turn my blade against them."
The Hagoromo Fox fell silent, weighing the credibility of his words—and the cost versus benefit of accepting them.
"Lady Hagoromo Fox, I believe we should agree,"Ōdorogiri—his forehead dominated by a grotesque, blood-red eyeball—spoke up from behind her.
"This benefits us greatly. Whether his assistance is sincere or not, it's still better than driving him into the arms of the Nura Clan and the Hanakaiin family."
Ren Kuroda's stated goal matched Tsuchigumo's: Nue.
What he wanted to do with Nue—Abe no Seimei reborn—Ōdorogiri didn't know.
But one thing was clear.
Everything they had done so far was for the sake of Abe no Seimei's revival.
If Ren Kuroda was willing to help achieve that, why reject him?
Should they really refuse—only to let him join the Nura Clan and turn against them?
After a brief moment of thought, the Hagoromo Fox nodded.
She agreed.
Under her cold, threatening gaze, Arakotsu and Kidōmaru were forced to swallow their humiliation and apologize to the members of the Kidōin faction they had fought earlier.
Though the alliance was fragile and filled with distrust, their shared objective bound them together—for now.
The sudden reversal sent the Nura Clan into panic.
Kurotabō, Shouzu, and the others instinctively shifted to shield Nura Rikuo, preparing to unleash their full power at a moment's notice to carve out even a slim chance of escape for their young master.
After all, he was the last heir of the Nurarihyon bloodline.
And the situation had turned dire.
One Hagoromo Fox was already bad enough.
Who could've imagined that the Kidōin faction—whom they'd thought allies—would make such an absurd choice and side with her?
"It's surprising," Rikuo muttered,"but… it does sound like something Ren Kuroda would do."
He recalled Tsuchigumo's earlier words.
That so-called Nue was an existence of terrifying strength.
Combined with Ren Kuroda's past actions—using Gyokushō as bait to challenge Inugami Gyōbu-Danuki—this decision suddenly didn't seem all that strange.
In Rikuo's eyes, Ren Kuroda was a pure battle fanatic.
Someone who would make incomprehensible choices just to push his limits further.
Hearing this, Kurotabō and the others nearly exploded in frustration.
Their young master's sense of crisis was nonexistent.
This wasn't the time to analyze motives—they might not even make it out alive today!
"There's no need to panic," Rikuo said calmly."They aren't giving off obvious hostility. And Ren Kuroda said it himself—his relationship with the Hagoromo Fox is only cooperation.He won't help her with anything beyond the birth of Nue."
Unlike his tense subordinates, Rikuo felt strangely at ease.
In fact, he didn't sense hostility from the Hagoromo Fox at all.
If anything… there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
In truth, after Ren Kuroda joined the Hagoromo Fox's side, some of her followers suggested that now was the perfect moment to eliminate the Nura Clan.
Even without Kidōin's help, they had more than enough power to crush this fledgling Nurarihyon faction.
Yet the Hagoromo Fox refused.
Whether it was the lingering influence of the soul of Hayafuki Otome within her—or the deep obsession born from her ambitions being thwarted by the Nurarihyon four hundred years ago—
She had no intention of killing them before her goal was achieved.
She wanted the Nurarihyon clan to witness it.
To see, with their own eyes, that even after four hundred years—
Neither they, nor the Hanakaiin family, could stop the Hagoromo Fox's plan from coming to fruition.