It had to be said—Ren Kuroda's current pose, standing there with both hands lifting a star, was absurdly cool.
So cool, in fact, that ever since a moment ago, his System notifications hadn't stopped ringing."Prestige acquired.""Prestige acquired."Over and over again.
And it wasn't just yokai prestige either—mixed in were no small number of human prestige points.
Which meant that it wasn't only the yokai who were now worshipping him. Even the Hanakaiin onmyōji, after witnessing Ren Kuroda cleave a star in two and then hold one aloft with his bare hands, were feeling genuine awe.
Of course—where some rejoiced, others fumed.
Seeing Ren Kuroda actually catch the falling planetoid, the survivors around him erupted into cheers.
But there was one person whose mood could not have been darker.
Abe no Seimei.
The man who had once looked down on everyone from on high now wore a face livid with rage. Watching Ren Kuroda dismantle his attacks one after another—and seeing the yokai begin to rally around him—Seimei's brow furrowed deeply.
His attacks not only failed to kill the enemy, they boosted the enemy's popularity instead.
How the hell was he supposed to tolerate that?
It became increasingly clear to Seimei that if he wanted to reclaim his position as the ultimate final boss of this world, Ren Kuroda was the single greatest obstacle.
The power he displayed.The ambition he radiated.And above all—the unmistakable evil aura he had revealed earlier.
All of it made Seimei feel his "big bad overlord" status slipping away.
And so, to preserve his throne and remain the most dazzling existence in the world, Abe no Seimei raised his head toward the sky once more—
This time, going all in.
Although he was only borrowing the power of the stars rather than directly controlling them, that didn't mean the cost was small.
The trajectories of celestial bodies were fixed. Seimei couldn't truly command the stars themselves. What he did was rely on his immense knowledge to locate stars whose orbits were easier to interfere with—then forcibly alter their paths using his own demonic power.
Even so, just as he himself had said earlier—
No matter how powerful a lifeform was, before the vast and endless cosmos, it was still nothing more than a grain of sand in the ocean.
And that included Abe no Seimei himself.
To challenge the will of the heavens with mortal power was inherently impossible. Even borrowing such power placed an enormous burden on him.
The first two planetoids had already drained him heavily. If he dragged down a third and still failed to kill Ren Kuroda, then this battle would be effectively lost.
Meanwhile, deep underground—
Ren Kuroda stood more than a hundred meters below the surface, one hand holding up the massive meteor, the other clenched into a fist as he repeatedly smashed into it, breaking chunks off to reduce its size.
Even without impact velocity, a meteor of that scale was so heavy it left him barely able to move.
Boom—boom—boom—boom!
Each punch landed with a deep, muffled thud. Cracks spiderwebbed across the meteor's surface as rocks continuously fell away.
Ren Kuroda was just getting into the rhythm of his impromptu "meteor demolition job" when a massive disturbance rippled through the ground again—
Followed by frantic shouts from Cat-Mata and the others.
"Lord Ren Kuroda, watch out! That guy—Abe no Seimei—has dragged down another planetoid!""And this one's more than twice the size of the last two!"
At the bottom of the crater, Ren Kuroda's face instantly went dark.
He started internally unleashing a storm of curses.
When Seimei first dragged down a star, Ren Kuroda had already figured it out—Astronomical Manipulation was powerful, but its consumption was utterly insane.
After forcibly altering the trajectories of two planetoids in succession, Seimei's demonic power had been visibly plummeting.
Ren Kuroda had assumed Seimei would keep some power in reserve to escape—after all, that's exactly what he did in the original plot.
But reality completely blindsided him.
Seimei had clearly gone full tunnel-vision.
The bastard had burned every last drop of demonic power just to redirect a third planetoid.
What is this, Meteor Combo Mode?!Is this Abe no Seimei or f**ing Madara Uchiha?!*
The first planetoid—Ren Kuroda shattered it with Shinyo and the sword spirit's power.The second—he barely tanked it by overloading [Monstrous Strength].
So what about the third?
And according to Cat-Mata, this one was twice the size of the second?!
High above, Seimei's demonic power fluctuated wildly. After forcibly altering the third star's trajectory, backlash hit him hard—his aura dropped below S-rank, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
In truth, Seimei hadn't completely lost his mind.
Originally, he had planned to retreat to Hell, recover fully, then return to settle things with Ren Kuroda.
But with Rashōmon destroyed, he could no longer return.
That left only one option.
A desperate gamble.
Even though he suffered severe backlash, the third planetoid still bent to his will.
And Seimei had seen Ren Kuroda's condition clearly—blocking two stars had already pushed him to his limits. Against a third, he believed Ren Kuroda stood no chance.
Once the largest planetoid fell—
No one here would survive.
Victory would belong to Abe no Seimei alone.
A meteor far larger than the second descended from the heavens.
At this point, everyone present had gone numb.
In a single day, they had faced death again and again—each time clawing their way back from the brink, only to be swallowed by despair once more before they could even celebrate.
Cat-Mata stared at the falling meteor, then glanced at the violently trembling crater below.
She clenched her teeth—
And sprinted straight toward the meteor's impact point.
"Cat-Mata, what are you doing?!"Hook-Needle Woman was the first to notice. "That's not something you can stop! Charging in like that is suicide!"
"I know I'm weak compared to Lord Ren Kuroda," Cat-Mata shouted without slowing."But so what?!
"We're Lord Ren Kuroda's Hyakki Yagyō! If everything is left to him alone, then what's the point of our existence?!
"Standing here means death. Fighting means death. If the outcome's the same—Then I'd rather die protecting him!"
Hook-Needle Woman's warning failed to stop her.
And Cat-Mata's words struck deep—piercing straight into the hearts of the warrior spirits.
Hand-Wash Demon and the Samurai Spirit exchanged glances.
Then they smiled.
And charged forward together.
"Hahaha! To think a Cat-Mata would have more backbone than us oni!"Hand-Wash Demon roared. "She's right! As Lord Ren Kuroda's Hyakki Yagyō, we swear to die guarding our lord!"
"Cat-Mata-dono truly deserves the honor of being our lord's earliest follower,"the Samurai Spirit declared solemnly."Her loyalty humbles us. Allow me to share in this duty of protecting our master!"
"Tch… you idiots really leave me no choice,"Hook-Needle Woman sighed, then smirked."If our lord dies, there's no point in us living anyway. Fine—let's go crazy together!"
"A once-in-a-lifetime chance for glory!"the Amanojaku cackled."If we make it back alive, Lord Ren Kuroda better promote me!"
With a single sentence from Cat-Mata, most of the Kidōin yokai surged forward together—fearless, united, and charging toward the same destination.
They were Ren Kuroda's Hyakki Yagyō.The yokai of the Kidōin.
They had risen from nothing, reaching their current strength solely through their lord's favor.
They weren't fearless.
But for him, they were willing to offer everything.
Amid the despair and confusion gripping the barrier, this surge of high-spirited, suicidal resolve stood out starkly—impossible to ignore.
Even Nura Rikuo's grandfather, Nura Nurarihyon, turned to look at his grandson.
"It's no wonder you've chosen him as your goal," Nurarihyon said quietly."Not just his strength—but his charisma. Even I have to admit defeat there.
"Rikuo… look carefully. What moves the Kidōin to act like this is something called bonds."
Rikuo stared at the charging yokai, lost in thought.
Seeing his words sink in, Nurarihyon didn't interrupt him.
Instead, the old boss waved his hand and rallied the Nura Clan, charging after the Kidōin toward the third falling star.
As the founding leader of the Nura Clan and the supreme commander of the Kantō yokai alliance, Nurarihyon's authority remained absolute—even in old age.
Under his call, the yokai surged forward, gathering together and launching their charge toward the descending meteor.
Your life belongs to you alone.
Cat-Mata's words hadn't just awakened the Kidōin—others were shaken awake as well.
Standing still meant death.Fighting meant death.
If that was the case—
Why not gamble on that sliver of hope?