That the wielder of the Kusanagi Sword had not died at Ibaraki Dōji's hands was, naturally, something everyone should have been happy about.
After all, Amanoin Yūdō—or rather, Ren Kuroda, wearing the Amanoin Yūdō persona—no longer represented just himself.
As the sole acknowledged wielder of a divine artifact, he had become humanity's symbol of faith and hope. At least, in the eyes of ordinary civilians in the Tokyo District, Amanoin Yūdō was nothing less than humanity's last beacon.
If the man holding the Kusanagi Sword were to die here, the shock to Tokyo would be immeasurable.
If even Amanoin Yūdō—the hero who once saved Tokyo—could be slain by yokai, then what hope would humanity have left?
There was no need to doubt it. When humans, already pushed to the brink of despair, finally grasp a single ray of light—only to see that final hope extinguished—their minds inevitably collapse into that kind of abyss.
Put simply, the officially elevated Amanoin Yūdō had become the spiritual anchor of the Tokyo District's population, a stabilizing force that held society together.
But faith was a double-edged sword.
Once it shattered, the fragile stability it upheld would crumble instantly into chaos.
So yes—the Kusanagi Sword's wielder being saved should have been cause for celebration.
And yet, not a single human present felt relieved.
On the contrary, the moment they clearly saw who the newcomer was, worry spread across their faces like a dark cloud.
Waist-length crimson hair whipped violently in the wind. From within that blood-red mane rose a pair of oni horns. Sharp fangs lined his mouth, yet his features were strikingly handsome—paired with that unmistakable, arrogant smile.
The one who had arrived was none other than their old acquaintance—
Hyakuya Oni.
The clash between Ren Kuroda and Ibaraki Dōji was still ongoing. The two seemed locked in stubborn contention, their demonic power climbing without any sign of stopping.
It wasn't until the pressure from their surging auras caused the entire snow-covered mountain to tremble violently that everyone else finally realized just how dangerous it was to remain here.
But by the time that realization struck, it was already too late.
The shockwaves that had shaken the Great Snow Mountain moments earlier triggered the collapse of the massive layers of snow that had accumulated over countless years.
And what did that mean?
Exactly—a colossal avalanche, a natural disaster in its purest form, was about to descend.
An avalanche that once required Yuki-onna's full power—augmented by the Sesshōseki—to create was now unleashed by nothing more than a single exchanged punch between Ren Kuroda and Ibaraki Dōji.
A white horizon surged downward from afar, expanding rapidly before everyone's eyes. Its speed left no room for escape.
The roaring tide of snow resembled a colossal beast with its jaws wide open, devouring everything in its path as if determined to paint the entire world white.
And standing directly in its path were Ren Kuroda and Ibaraki Dōji.
After their final exchange of demonic power, the two separated. As they faced the all-consuming white torrent, both remained eerily calm.
Ibaraki Dōji merely raised one hand slightly. His demonic power surged outward, enveloping his body. When the avalanche slammed into the barrier, it parted instantly—like rushing water crashing against solid bedrock—flowing cleanly around him to either side.
Not far away, Ren Kuroda watched the charging white beast and calmly gathered demonic power into his hand. He swung a handblade through the air.
Crimson demonic energy condensed into a blood-red slash, cutting forward with effortless smoothness—like scissors slicing through cloth—cleanly cleaving the avalanche into two.
As for everyone else present, facing a disaster on this scale was nothing like dealing with it as effortlessly as those two.
That said, everyone here was, at the very least, a superhuman—and many were powerful ones. Even against an avalanche of this magnitude, it wasn't as though they were entirely helpless.
Of course, after scrambling to survive with every trick they had, it was still entirely possible that some unlucky souls—or those simply too weak—would die in the chaos.
In any case, once the massive avalanche passed, the surrounding world was reduced to an endless expanse of white.
Very few people were still capable of moving.
Some might not have died when the avalanche struck—but being buried beneath hundreds of meters of snow was a different matter entirely.
"So you're Hyakuya Oni," Ibaraki Dōji said, studying Ren Kuroda with interest."You're a little different from what I imagined. And different from the intelligence I received as well. Not only were you not injured by the Kusanagi Sword—you're also far stronger than the rumors suggested."
During their earlier clash, once Ibaraki Dōji realized that Ren Kuroda was also of the oni race, he had instinctively held back and refrained from using his full strength.
Even so, the power Ren—now revealed as Hyakuya Oni—displayed exceeded his expectations.
According to the information Ibaraki Dōji had gathered, the severely injured Hyakuya Oni should have only been evenly matched with the Kusanagi Sword's wielder.
In other words, even at full strength, Hyakuya Oni should have been only marginally stronger than a divine artifact wielder.
It was precisely because Ibaraki Dōji had been using the Kusanagi Sword's wielder as his benchmark that Ren Kuroda's true strength now felt far beyond what the rumors had implied.
Ren's spiritual power was the weakest aspect—roughly A-rank. His normal demonic power sat at S-rank.
As for his current state—Half-Oni Transformation—he was barely able to break past the SS threshold, reaching an SS-minus level.
Achieving that level was largely thanks to the accumulated growth from his experiences in the Slippery Demon World and the Beautiful Otherworld.
Their earlier punch exchange might have looked evenly matched, but Ren knew perfectly well that Ibaraki Dōji had held back.
That wasn't surprising.
Both of them were oni. Ren didn't believe for a second that a Demon King like Ibaraki Dōji hadn't awakened fear-based abilities such as Monstrous Might and Chaotic Divinity.
Ren was only barely touching SS-minus, while Ibaraki Dōji was already solidly SS, even approaching SS-plus.
A difference like that made the imbalance completely natural.
"Who knows?" Ren replied calmly."Just because I was once injured by a divine artifact, does that mean I'm not allowed to recover—or grow stronger under pressure?"But you, on the other hand… As the supreme leader of Hokkaido's yokai, why would someone of your stature suddenly come to the Tokyo District?"Don't tell me the oni race has grown so greedy that, before fully conquering Hokkaido, you're already setting your sights on Tokyo?"
From Tsuchigumo, Ren already knew Ibaraki Dōji's apparent reason for coming—him.
But Ren was certain he'd never met Ibaraki Dōji before. The identity of "Hyakuya Oni" itself had been something he'd improvised on the spot. There shouldn't have been any prior connection.
"I have no interest in the Tokyo District," Ibaraki Dōji replied flatly."At least not until Hokkaido is completely under my control."As for why I came here specifically… you should already know. Your two female subordinates just now should have reported everything to you."
That Ibaraki Dōji had detected Tsuchigumo and Yuki-onna despite their suppressed presence didn't surprise Ren in the slightest. The gap in their power was simply too great.
What puzzled Ren was this—
If Ibaraki Dōji knew this had all been Ren's scheme, that Hair-Eating Demon and the others were internal dissidents Ren wanted eliminated… then why interfere at all?
Seeing the confusion on Ren's face, Ibaraki Dōji answered before he could ask.
"I have no interest in your internal strife among the Hyakki. I didn't want to get involved either."But I can't deny that this was the fastest way to draw you out."And just as I expected—you finally showed yourself."Honestly, if you still hadn't appeared after this, I would've had to take other measures."
He smiled faintly.
"For example—going after that Jorōgumo and Yuki-onna over there. They seem important to you."If I targeted them, do you really think you could keep hiding forever?"
Those words darkened Ren's expression immediately.
He didn't believe Ibaraki Dōji was joking. Oni were a notoriously capricious race—doing something like that would be entirely in character.
"According to the rumors, Hyakuya Oni wasn't the person I thought I was looking for," Ibaraki Dōji continued."But the traits you possess—and the demonic aura you give off—are similar to his in more than a few ways."To avoid making a mistake, I'll ask you directly."
His gaze sharpened.
"The demon blade—Kishō. Who gave it to you?"Or rather… what is your relationship with that blade's true owner?"
Hearing this, Ren felt little surprise.
Ibaraki Dōji was a Demon King of the oni race. And the yokai blood flowing through Ren's veins also originated from the oni.
If this were mere coincidence, Ren wouldn't believe it himself.
What he hadn't expected was that the reason he'd been exposed—and the reason Ibaraki Dōji had come all this way—was because of the demon blade Kishō.
To be honest, back when he was weaker, Ren had thought Kishō was impressive. But as his strength and perspective expanded, he'd come to believe his "cheap father" wasn't an ordinary oni—yet probably not some overwhelmingly powerful existence either.
After all, Kishō was only a B-rank item.
To someone like Ibaraki Dōji, a Demon King, it should've been little more than a toy.
But now, judging from Ibaraki Dōji's reaction, Ren realized that this B-rank blade represented far more than just a weapon.
"What does it matter to you where Kishō came from?" Ren said coldly."I refuse to answer any of your questions."What I do know is this—you're the ruler of Hokkaido's yokai, yet you've crossed into my territory."That alone is enough reason for me to kill you."
In truth, Ren didn't need to dig further into his own origins to reach an answer.
Within the oni race, there were only a handful of individuals important enough for Ibaraki Dōji to care this much.
And combined with the fear-based abilities Ren had awakened—Monstrous Might and Chaotic Divinity, Bottomless Drunkard, and the like—the identity of his so-called father was already painfully obvious.
But even if that were the case—so what?
Ren Kuroda acknowledged only two blood relatives in his life.
His mother.
And his sister.
As for anyone else?
He had no intention of recognizing them.
..
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