The sudden appearance of the black-robed figure left the Hair-Eater still trying to guess the stranger's identity. But behind him, several of his subordinates were already visibly irritated—and one of the yokai, thoroughly displeased, charged straight at the intruder.
Most yokai were naturally arrogant and vicious by temperament. And these weren't just any rabble—they had been planning to betray Hyakki Yagyō precisely because they believed their own strength was more than sufficient.They had always been confident in their power, to the point that some of them even dreamed of one day completely taking over the Tokyo district.
Yet this nobody-knows-where black-robed punk had popped out of nowhere and dismissed them as a bunch of rabble—his attitude cocky as hell, like he owned the place. How could that possibly be tolerated?
"Calling us rabble? Who the hell do you think you are?" the yokai sneered. "With that pitiful amount of yōki on you, I, Aka-Name, could take on ten of you alone!"
Before the Hair-Eater could even open his mouth to stop him, the hideous Aka-Name—ugly beyond words, his long tongue hanging grotesquely from his mouth—had already lunged toward the black-robed figure, whose yōki was so faint it was almost nonexistent.
"Heh. Looks like I was wrong earlier," the black-robed figure said coolly. "You're not just a bunch of rabble—you're a bunch of brainless idiots, too."
Aka-Name had barely reached the figure before him. He hadn't even managed to make his next move when a sudden, searing pain exploded in his abdomen.
Lowering his head in disbelief, he saw it—at some point unknown to him, a clawed arm had emerged from within the black robe, its sharp talons having pierced straight through his stomach.
Aka-Name wasn't particularly strong. His Fear ability was mediocre at best—after all, he was nothing more than a yokai that fed on filth and grime.But no matter how weak he was by yokai standards, he still possessed C+-rank yōki.
And yet… he'd been killed in an instant.
If it were merely a matter of instantly killing a C+-rank yokai, the Hair-Eater and Ash Monk believed they could manage that as well.
But the horror on their faces came from something else entirely.
They hadn't seen how the black-robed figure attacked—not at all.
Which meant that if it had been them charging in just now, their fate likely wouldn't have been any better than Aka-Name's.
"May I ask… who exactly are you?" the Hair-Eater said quickly, forcing himself to remain calm. "If you wish to know anything, we will answer honestly.We apologize for our subordinate's recklessness, but right now, we are surrounded by human exorcists.As fellow yokai, killing each other here only benefits those humans, doesn't it?"
The Hair-Eater had no idea who this mysterious yokai was, but judging from the way he had instantly killed Aka-Name, he knew one thing for certain—he was no match.
"Killing each other?" the black-robed figure scoffed. "You think far too highly of yourselves. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have the slightest chance to resist.That said… one thing you got right. No matter how trash-tier a yokai is, a yokai is still easier on the eyes than those sanctimonious humans."
"And you seem to be subordinates of Hyakki Yagyō," he continued casually. "I don't know which side he stands on in your little internal conflict, but as his followers, you must know quite a bit about him, don't you?"
As he spoke, the black-robed figure lifted the hood from his head, revealing a face that was androgynous yet stunningly handsome.
What shocked the Hair-Eater and the others even more was that, aside from his looks, the figure bore sharp fangs in his mouth—and two oni horns on his head, one long and one short.
A humanoid frame. Sharp fangs. Clawed hands. Oni horns upon his brow.A beautiful face paired with a wild, unrestrained grin.
This was unmistakably the appearance of a high-ranking oni.
"As you can see," the figure said calmly, "my name is Ibaraki Dōji. Like your lord Hyakki Yagyō, I am a member of the high oni race.For certain reasons, I came to the Tokyo district—to see whether Hyakki Yagyō is the one I have been searching for all along."
The moment Ibaraki Dōji removed his hood, the Hair-Eater, the Ash Monk, and every yokai present froze in place.
They couldn't not be stunned.
Compared to the once-unknown Hyakki Yagyō, Ibaraki Dōji was a legendary demon king whose name had echoed through history since ancient times.
Though he was not counted among the so-called Three Great Yokai of folklore, that didn't mean he was any weaker.Rather, it was precisely because Ibaraki Dōji, despite his immense power, had willingly followed another demon king—Shuten Dōji—that he had never taken a seat among the Three Great Yokai.
Faced with the real thing, even the proud and narcissistic Hair-Eater nearly dropped to his knees on the spot.
At the same time, overwhelming relief flooded his heart.Thank goodness they had apologized earlier.
Because Ibaraki Dōji's words hadn't been an exaggeration in the slightest—if this demon king wanted them dead, it would be nothing less than a one-sided massacre. They wouldn't have had even a shred of resistance.
As for the possibility that this man was an impostor? The Hair-Eater dismissed it instantly.
Everyone knew how terrifying Ibaraki Dōji was. No yokai would be insane enough to impersonate him just to bluff.
Besides, from the moment the hood came down, they could feel it—the aura around him had changed completely.
Staring at Ibaraki Dōji, the Hair-Eater's mind raced.
He couldn't understand why one of the strongest demon kings alive, who ruled over Hokkaido, would appear in the Tokyo district.
But judging from his words, he seemed to have come because of Hyakki Yagyō—and there was clearly some kind of connection between the two.
Which meant that their long-held belief—that Hyakki Yagyō was a lone, background-less demon—was completely wrong.
Not only did he have backing, his backing was one of the strongest yokai forces in the entire country.
Thinking it through, the Hair-Eater realized it made perfect sense. If Hyakki Yagyō were just an ordinary oni, how could his strength possibly reach such terrifying heights?
His bloodline and origins were obviously extraordinary—so it was only natural that the famed Ibaraki Dōji would personally come to the Tokyo district to find a member of his own kind.
"Lord Ibaraki Dōji," the Hair-Eater said respectfully after only a brief hesitation, "we are indeed part of Lord Hyakki Yagyō's Hundred Demons.However, due to suspicion and betrayal from certain fellow subordinates, we were set up and forced into our current predicament.We are familiar with Lord Hyakki Yagyō's affairs, but this is not the right place to discuss them.Would it be possible to first break through the humans' encirclement and leave Mount Ōyuki, and then speak at length?"
After only a moment's thought, the Hair-Eater made his decision.
He had to cling tightly to this thigh—no matter what.
Earlier, he hadn't had much confidence in breaking through the encirclement of the many exorcist families surrounding the Tokyo district.
But if Ibaraki Dōji was willing to help, everything changed.
This was a genuine demon king. His strength was no secret—SS-rank power, easily surpassing even Hyakki Yagyō.
As for whether they would be punished later because of Ibaraki Dōji's connection to Hyakki Yagyō?
The Hair-Eater wasn't worried in the slightest.
Though they had fallen out with Yuki-Onna, they had never openly declared their intention to leave Hyakki Yagyō—largely because of the issue of Yōki Crystals.
In other words, their conflict with Yuki-Onna was nothing more than an internal clash of ideals within the Hundred Demons—not outright betrayal.
At this moment, the Hair-Eater felt nothing but relief.Relief that they hadn't betrayed Hyakki Yagyō outright.
Judging from the relationship between Ibaraki Dōji and Hyakki Yagyō, they might actually have grabbed onto an unimaginably powerful lifeline.
"So this is the mysterious yokai Lord Yūto mentioned before…"Watching from afar, Spider Princess murmured softly. "To think it's actually Demon King Ibaraki Dōji.Why did he come to the Tokyo district? And why is he asking about Lord Yūto?"
Ibaraki Dōji's appearance naturally drew the attention of both Spider Princess and Snow Princess, who had been closely monitoring the situation.
When reporting to Ren Kuroda earlier, he had asked Spider Princess to investigate the mysterious yokai encountered during the subjugation of Wanyūdō.
She hadn't expected that before she even began her investigation, the target would appear here on the snowy mountain.
And judging from his words, it was clear—he had come for Lord Yūto.
The only question was: what exactly was his purpose?
An oni by race. SS-rank strength.There were only a handful of beings in the world who fit that description—and now one had appeared in the Tokyo district.
Though absolute confirmation was still lacking, Spider Princess was nearly certain that the oni powerhouse Ren had encountered before was none other than Ibaraki Dōji himself.
"Snow Princess, keep watching the situation here," Spider Princess said decisively. "I need to contact Lord Yūto immediately.Ibaraki Dōji's appearance may already be beyond his expectations. With that level of power, not only will the exorcists fail to eliminate the Hair-Eater and the other traitors… even Lord Yūto's identity as an artificial being could be exposed and endangered."
On the other side of the battlefield, after hearing the Hair-Eater's request, Ibaraki Dōji hesitated briefly—then made his decision.
Because of the broken Oni-Slayer blade he had seen before, Ibaraki Dōji believed that even if Hyakki Yagyō was not Shuten Dōji himself, the two were certainly connected in some deep way.
Since the Hair-Eater and the others were part of Hyakki Yagyō's Hundred Demons, lending them a hand posed no real problem.
Moreover, after spending so long in the Tokyo district without finding any trace of Hyakki Yagyō, this was finally a chance. He would need their help to locate him.
And according to the Hair-Eater, the mysterious master who had once repelled Hyakki Yagyō—the so-called "Miraculous Lord"—also seemed to be present here.
That alone was enough to make Ibaraki Dōji feel an itch in his claws.
Compared to most oni, including Shuten Dōji, Ibaraki Dōji was relatively rational.
But no matter how rational he was, he was still an oni at heart.
And battle—was undeniably one of his greatest loves.
Otherwise, legend would not record him challenging Watanabe no Tsuna time and time again.