Ever since Ibaraki Dōji appeared, Onikiri seemed to fall into an almost manic state. If Yamato Kuka hadn't been forcefully suppressing the blade, it likely would have leapt from its scabbard on its own long ago.
After all, the sword itself had been born because of that oni. Reacting so violently upon sensing his presence was only natural.
Yet Ibaraki Dōji merely spared Kuka a single glance before losing interest entirely, his gaze shifting instead to the other side—toward Ren Kuroda.
The wielder of Onikiri could indeed be called his fated enemy. But the current Yamato Kuka was simply too weak—so weak that Ibaraki Dōji couldn't muster even the slightest desire to fight her.
Ren, on the other hand, was different.
As the master of a divine weapon—and someone who had once driven Hyakki Yagyō back—he was far more intriguing.
"So this is the level of exorcists in the Tokyo district?" Ibaraki Dōji said lazily."They're even weaker than the ones up in Hokkaido. In that case, let me test your quality myself.Don't disappoint me too badly."
Those words were like a declaration of war.
The instant his voice fell, the Hair-Eater and the other yokai revealed savage grins and charged straight at the exorcists.
The war had erupted once more.
Though the scale of this battle didn't match the great Tokyo conflict of the past, the quality of those involved was in no way inferior.
Compared to the yokai—faces alight with excitement, fearless and bloodthirsty—the exorcists were grim and heavy-hearted.
None of them had imagined that this expedition to the snowy mountain would end like this. They hadn't encountered the anticipated Hyakki Yagyō… but instead, a far more terrifying oni—Ibaraki Dōji.
Before coming here, they had prepared extensively, all to deal with a severely injured Hyakki Yagyō.
Yet now, they hadn't even seen the wounded demon king—and instead had run straight into a monster stronger than Hyakki Yagyō at his peak.
Why would Ibaraki Dōji, ruler of Hokkaido, appear on Hyakki Yagyō's territory?
No one knew.
But both were oni. And the moment the exorcists moved to suppress the snowy mountain, Ibaraki Dōji just happened to show up.
To say this had nothing to do with Hyakki Yagyō's scheming—no one believed that for a second.
Even if Hyakki Yagyō was too badly injured to guard the Spirit Power Crystals himself, couldn't he still prevent humans from obtaining them by other means?
Some even suspected that Hyakki Yagyō had reached some kind of agreement with Ibaraki Dōji—that this demon king had come specifically to wipe them out.
After all, Spirit Power Crystals represented a potential turning point for humanity.
As a yokai, it was only natural that Ibaraki Dōji wouldn't want humans to get their hands on them.
That said, the exorcists no longer had the luxury to speculate about deals and conspiracies.
The situation they faced now was already dire beyond measure.
There were plenty of exorcist families gathered here, along with several high-grade Serum Soldiers. Holding back the ordinary yokai wasn't particularly difficult.
The Hair-Eater and the other five A-rank great yokai were each intercepted by the heads of the Kagura and Jisō families.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
On the other side of the battlefield, Ibaraki Dōji alone was holding off Ren Kuroda, Yamato Kuka, Sora Ryōsuke, the head of the Kagamori family—and the Yamato family head, acting as a top-tier support.
Not only was he not losing ground—he was faintly overpowering them.
These five were no weaklings. Every one of them possessed at least A-rank spiritual power. With the Yamato family head's layered enhancement spells, they could even unleash combat power approaching the S-rank.
And yet—even under such concentrated assault—Ibaraki Dōji looked utterly at ease.
When Kuka's Onikiri and Ryōsuke's Denta Mitsuyo slashed toward him, Ibaraki Dōji casually caught the blades with his bare hands.
As for Ren's Kusanagi Sword, Ibaraki Dōji didn't dare be so careless—after all, it was a divine weapon.
Still, the Ren present here was not his true body.
This artificial body possessed no yōki at all. Though it had been remade later at enormous cost, it was still far inferior to his true half-yokai physique.
As a result, even Ren performed only marginally better than Kuka and Ryōsuke—he too was completely suppressed.
Ibaraki Dōji's arms, though made of flesh and blood, felt like heavy forged metal. Every collision with the famed blades sent showers of sparks flying.
Slashes infused with spiritual power couldn't even break through the casual yōki barrier he raised with a flick of his hand.
The Kagamori family head continued chanting incantations nonstop.
But Ibaraki Dōji—having heard of the battle with Hyakki Yagyō—was clearly already wary of this clan, renowned for its demon-sealing techniques.
When the Kagamori family head finally released his sealing spell, Ibaraki Dōji flashed a wild, arrogant grin and extended his other arm—one that had been hidden beneath his robe.
That arm was the one Watanabe no Tsuna had severed long ago with Onikiri.
Yet instead of regenerating it, Ibaraki Dōji had spent years working with oni craftsmen to forge an even stronger demonic arm.
The arm was a deep violet-black. The moment it emerged, the surrounding air seemed to grow colder, steeped in a chilling, sinister aura.
As the arm clenched slightly, faint whispers of resentful spirits echoed through the air—like the unwilling howls of those who had died at Ibaraki Dōji's hands.
With a casual swing through empty space, a blade of compressed yōki-wind shot forward, skimming the ground straight toward the Kagamori family head.
The killing wind pressure shattered the sealing spell instantly—one blow dispersing a technique that had taken long chanting to prepare.
The attack didn't stop there.
It carved a deep trench through the ground and continued racing forward without losing momentum.
There was no doubt about it—
If that attack struck its target, the Kagamori family head—still reeling from casting his spell—would be sliced clean in half.
"The Kagamori clan, hm?" Ibaraki Dōji said mockingly."I've heard of your family's power. But I'm not Hyakki Yagyō.Strength is what the oni race prides itself on most. I won't let myself be weakened just so you can 'seal' me."
"If I want to enjoy this fight properly—then you'll have to exit the stage first."
Seeing the attack close in, Yamato Kuka and Sora Ryōsuke reacted instantly, each unleashing a powerful, spirit-infused slash.
The two massive attacks looked overwhelming—
Yet when they collided with the seemingly ordinary wind blade, they lasted only a moment before being completely crushed.
And while Kuka and Ryōsuke were busy intercepting the attack, Ibaraki Dōji himself was already moving.
He turned and charged straight toward the Yamato family head.
From Ibaraki Dōji's perspective, the Kagamori family head was troublesome due to his sealing abilities—but the Yamato family head, an exceptional support, was just as much of a problem.
Initially, Ren and the others had barely qualified as opponents worth noticing.
But under the Yamato family head's enhancement spells, those who should have been effortlessly crushed were now able to trade blows with him.
Yokai didn't rely on tricks.
What they displayed was absolute power.
They didn't use seals, blessings, or divine weapons as crutches the way humans did.
The Kagamori family was a nuisance—but the Yamato family was no less so.
If he wanted to truly enjoy the battle, then the Yamato family head had to go first.
With Kuka and Ryōsuke rushing to support the Kagamori family head, the Yamato family head was left completely exposed.
Seeing Ibaraki Dōji rushing toward him, the Yamato family head reacted instinctively, activating Shadow Evasion.
But fast as he was—
Ibaraki Dōji was faster.
The instant the Yamato family head completed his displacement, Ibaraki Dōji appeared right in front of him.
"Bakudō Number Eighty-One—Dankū!"
A transparent barrier erupted between them.
A pair of sharp oni claws smashed into it almost immediately—shattering Ren Kuroda's eighty-first kidō as if it were glass.
Dankū failed to block the attack—
But the brief delay was enough.
Ren kicked off the ground, shattering the earth beneath his feet, and arrived in front of the Yamato family head.
The Kusanagi Sword collided head-on with Ibaraki Dōji's sinister demonic arm.
Holy radiance and malevolent yōki clashed violently, sending ripples through the air.
The accumulated snow around them was blown away in a wide circle, as though crushed by an invisible force.
"So this is the power of the Kusanagi Sword's master?" Ibaraki Dōji said with mild interest."By human standards… it's respectable."
"But—this is still far from enough."
The clash didn't last long.
As one of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Kusanagi Sword's divine presence could never lose to Ibaraki Dōji's demonic arm in terms of rank.
But the problem lay with its wielder.
Ren Kuroda's level was simply too far below Ibaraki Dōji's.
Whether in yōki or physical strength, Ren—currently bound to a human-made body—could not possibly compare.
With a mocking grin, Ibaraki Dōji swung his arm.
Ren—and the Kusanagi Sword with him—were sent flying.
The truly unfortunate one was the Yamato family head behind him.
Just moments ago, seeing Ren suddenly appear to save him, the man had been genuinely moved—so much so that he had almost accepted Ren as a bargain son-in-law.
But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief—
Ren's body came crashing back at high speed.
Using him as a human cushion.
The two slammed into the ground together, carving out a massive crater in the snow.