The ash monk's muffled, barrel-like voice rang out with startling clarity in the otherwise silent snow mountains. His body, wrapped in thick, rolling smoke, was impossibly conspicuous against the vast expanse of pure white snow.
Someone who dared step forward to confront Snow Maiden head-on was naturally no ordinary character.
Long before the spiritual–yokai war in the Tokyo District, the Ash Monk had already been one of the dominant figures ruling his own territory there. After the war ended, upon witnessing Hyōto's overwhelming strength firsthand, he had not been without thoughts of submitting to him outright.
Unfortunately, after that decisive battle, Hyōto—the feared Hundred-Night Demon—never showed himself again. Instead, he placed Snow Maiden forward as his spokesperson.
That alone was enough to stir widespread dissatisfaction among the yokai.
That's right—no one could deny Snow Maiden's strength. She was indeed stronger than most of the former yokai bosses of the Tokyo District. But she was still far from strong enough to command their absolute submission.
They had obeyed before because they feared the Hundred-Night Demon's power—power on par with an SS-rank Demon King.
But you? A snow woman?
Who did you think you were?
Snow Maiden might be the ruler of the Great Snow Mountain, but the Ash Monk and the others had once been kings of their own regions as well.
And now, with the steady supply of Yokai Power Crystals, it wasn't just their strength that was growing—the ambitions they thought long extinguished were being reignited alongside it.
In the Ash Monk's eyes, the Hundred-Night Demon had likely been slain already during that war, grievously wounded by the divine artifact Kusanagi Sword.
Even if he wasn't dead, he had to be on the brink of death—certainly in no condition to lead them again.
This wasn't mere wild speculation. Their seemingly reckless behavior had, in truth, been deliberate probing—constant, calculated tests.
No ruler of yokai would ever tolerate internal forces sowing division among their own Hundred Demons.
Yet despite the Ash Monk and the others blatantly crossing that taboo, Hyōto never appeared.
That silence all but confirmed their suspicions: the Hundred-Night Demon was either dead… or dying.
And without that overwhelmingly powerful presence, the remaining yokai of the Tokyo District were hardly anyone worth fearing.
Snow Maiden was an A+-rank great yokai.
But the Ash Monk and the other leaders?
They were A-rank as well.
As for heavy hitters like the Samurai Spirit, they had vanished without a trace after the war. At present, Snow Maiden was the only one left holding the reins.
One-on-one, they might not stand a chance against her.
But what if they attacked together?
Could a single A+-rank Snow Maiden really defeat five A-rank great yokai at once?
And don't bring up the idea that others might come to her aid.
Yes, there were yokai who chose blind loyalty to the Hundred-Night Demon—but most of them were weaklings he'd rescued early on. They had decent raw yokai power, sure, but little real combat experience.
The Ash Monk and his peers didn't even bother taking such rabble seriously.
"The Ash Monk's analysis is spot on. Choosing to openly rebel right now would be foolish."
A male yokai with beauty rivaling that of a woman spoke up. He held an old-fashioned tobacco pipe, stroking his own hair with a self-infatuated smile.
"We still don't know for certain whether the Hundred-Night Demon is truly dead. What we need to do is quietly build our forces in the shadows."
"And by continuously growing stronger through Yokai Power Crystals, we can bide our time—develop discreetly until we're strong enough to resist him. That's the safest course of action."
"Besides," he added lazily, "didn't Snow Maiden say it herself? As long as we accept this mission, the supply of Yokai Power Crystals afterward will be unlimited."
"Sure, I know they probably have ulterior motives. But with our current strength, what tricks could they possibly pull on us?"
"As long as the Hundred-Night Demon doesn't show himself, we're already one of the strongest yokai factions in the entire Tokyo District."
This was the Hair-Devouring Demon—Shokuhatsuki.
A yokai whose obsession with "beauty" bordered on pathological. His narcissism regarding his own appearance was taken to an extreme.
What he prized most was his silky, flowing long hair. He favored young, beautiful women as prey—or more accurately, their hair.
The more beautiful hair he consumed, the more exquisite his own became.
Shokuhatsuki was also an A-rank great yokai.
Besides him and the Ash Monk, the remaining three A-rank yokai were the Kama-Itachi Brothers.
Unlike the Kamaitachi Ren Kuroda had slain in the Shibuya District—mere afterimages or split manifestations—these were three real brothers, flesh and blood.
Even among yokai of the same type, differences in origin and legend could give rise to notable individual variations.
Beyond these five A-rank great yokai, they had also brought along several hundred underlings. Nearly all of them possessed strength at least at C-rank; D-rank yokai were now exceedingly rare.
Under the nourishment of Yokai Power Crystals, D-rank yokai had nearly vanished from among those who once followed Hyōto.
And to be fair, what Shokuhatsuki said wasn't wrong.
The overall strength of this force was already comparable to the army the Samurai Spirit had assembled before the war.
Though their numbers were smaller, their quality far surpassed that former force.
With power like this, it was no wonder Shokuhatsuki and the others felt fearless—unconcerned even if Snow Maiden planned some sort of scheme against them.
Frankly speaking, even if Snow Maiden had led other yokai to ambush them here in the snow mountains, so what?
If both sides truly went all out, as long as the Hundred-Night Demon and the Samurai Spirit stayed absent, they might not be the ones to lose.
What they didn't know was that at that very moment, high atop the snow-covered peak, two breathtakingly beautiful figures—both curvaceous, both alluring in their own distinct ways—were calmly observing their every move.
"I told you from the start," one of them said coolly. "There's no need for us to dirty our hands dealing with ungrateful trash like this. Lord Hyōto's decisions are never wrong."
Standing on the summit, Spider Princess gazed down at Shokuhatsuki, the Ash Monk, and the others. Her expression was as cold as ever, devoid of even the slightest surprise at Hyōto's arrangements.
In the eyes of a die-hard devotee like her, Lord Hyōto had always been this unfathomably far-sighted.
"I never expected that Lord Hyōto would foresee something like this before he even left," Snow Maiden murmured softly.
"And then, right after returning to this world, he immediately set everything in motion—using Spiritual Power Crystals to lure exorcists up the mountain."
"By doing that, he used human hands to purge the traitors while simultaneously weakening the exorcists of the Tokyo District… preparing everything in advance for our eventual takeover."
At first, Snow Maiden hadn't understood why Hyōto had ordered Shokuhatsuki and the others to come to the snow mountains.
But after a reminder from Spider Princess, who oversaw intelligence, everything clicked into place.
What truly shocked her was that Hyōto had anticipated all of this—even before traveling to another world.
And upon returning, he had immediately visited the auction house, igniting human greed with Spiritual Power Crystals and completing an entire web of schemes.
Such foresight and intellect could only be described as terrifying.
What was even more astonishing was that despite orchestrating such an incredible plan in advance, Lord Hyōto repeatedly claimed it was all just coincidence—that he hadn't done anything special at all.
Possessing such power and wisdom, yet remaining so humble…
Compared to him, yokai like Shokuhatsuki—who grew arrogant the moment their strength increased—were nothing more than dirt beneath the clouds.
"Snow Maiden," Spider Princess said lightly, "do you really think Lord Hyōto says those things out of mere humility?"
"If you believe that, then I'm afraid you're still not worthy of standing by his side."
As one of the very first yokai to follow Hyōto, Spider Princess considered herself the one who understood him best. Time and again, she grasped hidden intentions others failed to notice.
Snow Maiden looked at her with clear confusion, her eyes silently asking for an answer.
"Well," Spider Princess continued with a faint smile, "I know Lord Hyōto does it to put you at ease. But when a subordinate is being cared for without understanding their lord's intent… it can be rather troublesome."
"Snow Maiden, you've been responsible for managing the yokai we've gathered in the Tokyo District, haven't you?"
"And yet, as the administrator, such turmoil arose under your watch—and you couldn't find a solution. During that time, you must have felt you'd let Lord Hyōto down."
At those words, Snow Maiden lowered her head, her expression dimming.
It was true.
Though she hadn't followed Hyōto for long, her feelings for him were no weaker than Spider Princess's.
She had always taken her duties seriously, striving to fulfill every task he entrusted to her—hoping one day to become someone irreplaceable at his side.
But despite her strength, Snow Maiden lacked Spider Princess's decisiveness. She was too gentle… and she often believed herself less intelligent.
There had been a time when she genuinely doubted whether she was truly capable of handling the responsibilities Lord Hyōto had given her.
"Lord Hyōto has always been like this," Spider Princess said softly."Unmatched strength. Boundless wisdom. And yet… a heart that is tolerant and gentle."
"To keep you from blaming yourself for things not going smoothly, he put the solution in place first—then brushed it off as coincidence, even making light of himself."
"He pretends he isn't all that remarkable… but everyone knows the truth."
"As a leader, instead of punishing subordinates for their failures, he worries about whether we'll be discouraged by them."
"Isn't that almost laughable?"
"But that's exactly why… he's the Lord Hyōto we choose to follow."