"It really is astonishing," Gyūki muttered, staring at the young man before him."I honestly can't imagine how someone his age could possess strength and combat power on this level."
No one knew how many times Gyūki had already voiced this same amazement while facing Ren Kuroda.
Unlike Nurarihyon, whose body had withered under Hagoromo Gitsune's curse, Gyūki's current combat strength was almost indistinguishable from his prime.
After all, four hundred years might be an unimaginably long span for humans—but for great yokai like them, it was little more than a dozen ordinary years.
Gyūki was still in the very peak of his prime. There was no question of his strength declining. In fact, among the three of them, his raw power now even faintly surpassed that of the aged Nurarihyon.
And if their strength hadn't weakened, then there was only one explanation.
The young man standing before them had clearly held back when he fought Tsuchigumo—he hadn't shown his true power at all.
The three of them struggled bitterly against Ren, unable to gain the upper hand. Worse still, the wounds they inflicted on him were rapidly closing under the effects of his Regeneration ability.
By comparison, it was the three of them who were steadily accumulating injuries as the battle dragged on.
With brute force failing and time slipping away—and with the Nue inside the grotesque flesh sphere at the city's center continuing to mature—Nurarihyon was forced to change tactics. He attempted persuasion instead, hoping to make Ren understand just how dangerous the Nue truly was.
But Ren, who already knew the story's course far better than any of them, remained completely unmoved.
Of course he understood the danger of the Nue.
But this world's mission required him to fight it one-on-one. If the Nue didn't successfully come into being, his mission could never be completed.
"Then it can't be helped," Nurarihyon muttered grimly."I wanted to save this last bit of power for unforeseen circumstances… but if I keep holding back, things will only get worse."
At the center of the city, the embryo-like mass pulsed rhythmically, like a beating heart. With every pulse, the yokai power and malevolent aura sealed within it intensified.
Nurarihyon could already foresee the outcome.
If that thing were allowed to be born, the calamity it would unleash upon the world would far surpass even Hagoromo Gitsune four hundred years ago.
And that was the terrifying part—it hadn't even been born yet, yet the yokai power and malice it radiated already exceeded Hagoromo Gitsune at her peak.
If it were allowed to fully mature, then even if Hanakain Hidemoto were reborn, and even if Nurarihyon himself returned to his prime and joined forces with him, they still might not be enough.
Before the situation reached that absolute worst-case scenario, Nurarihyon knew he had to stake his very life.
The air grew heavy.
A terrifying surge of yokai power suddenly erupted skyward from a short figure on the battlefield. The thick, almost tangible aura instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
Because that overwhelming power was now the strongest in all of Nijō Castle.
Even Hagoromo Gitsune, after giving birth, couldn't compare to it.
Already closely watching the state of the Nue, Hagoromo Gitsune's expression twisted into fury the moment she sensed that surge of power erupting near it.
"…Damn you, Nurarihyon."
From within the towering column of yokai power, a foot clad in wooden geta stepped forward.
Then emerged a man nearly one hundred eighty centimeters tall, with dazzling golden hair, crimson eyes, a fox-fur stole draped around his neck, and a roguish, wicked smile that seemed to radiate confidence.
A devastatingly handsome man—handsome enough that even Ren felt a twinge of jealousy.
And yet, this golden-haired beauty was none other than the withered, hunched old man known moments ago as Nurarihyon.
More precisely, this was Nurarihyon as he had been four hundred years ago.
In strength, presence, and appearance alike, he surpassed the current Rikuo Nura by leagues.
After having his living liver stolen by Hagoromo Gitsune four centuries earlier, Nurarihyon had aged into the frail state seen until now.
But over the years, he had mastered a method—one that allowed him, under special circumstances, to temporarily cast off that aging and return to his prime.
However, he couldn't maintain this state for long. Unless the situation was truly dire, he would never use it.
Originally, Nurarihyon had planned to reserve this limited prime form to deal with Hagoromo Gitsune.
But now, the threat of the Nue had far exceeded his expectations—and Ren Kuroda's strength had gone far beyond what he had anticipated.
To defeat Ren, and to prevent the birth of a calamity even he found terrifying, Nurarihyon could no longer afford restraint.
"Supreme Commander… it's been a long time since I've seen you like this," Gyūki said, eyes wide with nostalgia."It almost brings me back to our days conquering Kyoto together four hundred years ago.Still… you could return to this form all along? Then why keep pretending to be a doddering old man?"
Surprisingly, it wasn't Ren who was most shocked by Nurarihyon's transformation—but Gyūki and Ichimoku, standing at his side.
They were among the very first yokai to follow Nurarihyon.
What they had sworn allegiance to back then was never the name "Nura Clan," but the man himself—the radiant, powerful Nurarihyon.
Over four centuries, watching that once-glorious figure steadily wither into frailty had left them with deeply complicated emotions.
"Hahaha! Gyūki, Ichimoku—you didn't expect this, did you?" Nurarihyon laughed heartily."But if circumstances were different, I'd honestly prefer to stay retired.Rikuo has grown now. There's no reason for an old man on his last legs to keep shouldering the burden of the Nura Clan forever."
The moment Nurarihyon reappeared in his prime, the entire Nura Clan erupted.
Many yokai stared at him with tears welling in their eyes, their morale soaring instantly to its peak.
For most of the Nura Clan, there had only ever been one true "Lord of the Hundred Demons"—
Nurarihyon at his prime.
They remembered clearly how he had risen from nothing, how he had led them step by step to the summit of the yokai world.
That man's back was burned into their memories.
Their respect for Rikuo Nura stemmed largely from his status as Nurarihyon's grandson and the clan's Young Master—nothing more.
Even Rihan Nura, the second head of the clan, had earned recognition through his own charisma and strength before assembling his personal forces.
Compared to that, Rikuo still had a long way to go.
And this was made painfully obvious by how Nurarihyon's mere appearance instantly galvanized the entire clan.
Aside from yokai like Kurotabō and Kubina, who had been recruited during Rihan's era, the vast majority of the Nura Clan's ten thousand yokai had joined during Nurarihyon's reign.
So when their Supreme Commander returned at last, in the same Kyoto, facing the same enemy—
How could they not be excited?
Four hundred years ago, their leader had guided them to victory.
This time, surely, he would do so again.
Without even lifting a finger—merely by showing his face—Nurarihyon sent the Nura Clan into a frenzy, their momentum surging like they'd been injected with pure adrenaline.
It was a testament to just how absolute his prestige and popularity within the clan truly were.
In his aged state, Nurarihyon's yokai power hovered around S-rank. Combined with the slippery, unfathomable nature of the Fear of the Nurarihyon, his actual combat power was already at the top tier of S-rank.
Now, restored to his prime, the yokai power radiating from him was firmly S-rank, just a hair's breadth away from S+—only slightly inferior to a fully unsealed Hagoromo Gitsune.
And with his body returned to youth, his physical capabilities were leagues beyond his former frail state.
S-rank yokai power, combined with the Nurarihyon's innate Fear—
The strength Nurarihyon could now unleash was unquestionably S+ level.
"Gyūki, Ichimoku—leave this kid called Ren Kuroda to me," Nurarihyon said calmly."Go and attack that sphere immediately. If it continues absorbing the yokai energy of those present and grows any further, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Because his former blade Mimigirimaru was now in Rikuo's hands, Nurarihyon held only a short sword.
Yet as he faced Ren, his handsome features showed not a trace of complacency.
Gyūki and Ichimoku had absolute faith in Nurarihyon at his peak.
After exchanging a glance, they immediately shot toward the massive flesh sphere at the battlefield's center.
They did so without the slightest hesitation—completely exposing their backs to Ren, the very opponent who had just fought all three of them to a standstill.
Faced with such blatant disregard, Ren naturally didn't hold back.
He wasn't some green-haired swordsman bound by honor—he was a yokai. There was no taboo against attacking someone's back.
He swung his blade straight toward Gyūki and Ichimoku's unguarded backs.
CLANG——!
A crisp, ringing clash of metal echoed behind them.
Yet neither Gyūki nor Ichimoku turned around.
Hearing the sound, both wore expressions of quiet understanding—
and continued charging toward their objective without a second glance.