"Things really are developing toward a far more troublesome direction."
In the end, Ruri merely shook her head, yet her steps remained steady and unhurried as she walked forward.
Two violent forces formed visible air currents and pressure around the two of them. In Satsuki's Tenseigan, Ruri and the Oni King of Strength appeared like two storm eyes approaching each other—neither yielding an inch.
One step... two steps... three steps...
Each step they took upon the ground felt as though it landed directly upon the hearts of the watching shrine maidens and monks.
Until the two stood only a few meters apart—so close that every detail of the other's expression could be seen clearly.
Yet, neither spoke a single word. They simply stared into each other's eyes.
Though no move had been made, the suffocating tension and pressure in the air felt like an invisible mountain pressing down upon all who watched.
And then—the battle began!
The Oni King of Strength moved first. With a simple clench of her palm, the air around her hand rippled outward like shockwaves, surging straight toward Ruri.
But Ruri, facing the attack at such close range, reacted just as swiftly. A surge of powerful yōki flowed across her folding fan as she tapped it lightly against the incoming wave.
In an instant, the overwhelming impact was neutralized.
Yet, that brief exchange was only a prelude—the true clash was just about to begin.
In the next moment, both closed the distance and collided head-on.
The air itself was crushed between them, creating chaotic vortices as the Oni King's fist shot toward Ruri. Unfazed, Ruri met her strike with her own.
The two forces—each vast and incomprehensibly strong—transmitted through their fists upon impact. Ruri's violet sleeves billowed violently, while the Oni King's golden hair whipped wildly in the wind.
"To challenge me in a contest of strength?! How courageous."
A flash of spell script gleamed across the Oni King's clenched fist, her strength surging as her fingers tightened further, aiming to blow Ruri back.
But in battle, the runes in Ruri's eyes never stopped shifting. With the aid of the Akasha Records and her immense computational power, she instantly discerned the structure of the incoming spell the moment it appeared.
In that very instant, the same runes glimmered across her own body. The Akasha Records broke down the Oni King's curse and replicated it for her own use!
The collision of strength intensified—the lingering power from their first clash hadn't even dissipated before the next impact, several times stronger, erupted between them.
The land beneath their feet undulated like soft clay under their power. Shockwaves rippled outward, each layer stronger than the last, shaking the entire mountain range of Ōeyama.
Both were forced to take several steps back.
A flicker of wicked surprise flashed in the Oni King's eyes before she tightened both palms, her five fingers extending outward into sharp demonic claws. With a sudden roar, she lunged again, every swing of her arms tearing the air like a hurricane.
Ruri dismissed her fan into motes of light, her figure twisting gracefully in the air, spinning several times as she narrowly avoided the razor-sharp claws before countering with a punch aimed straight at the Oni King's face.
Though she appeared out of range, the sheer force behind Ruri's punch was terrifying—it compressed the air into a projectile blast that exploded forward like a cannon.
The Oni King responded with cunning instinct, dipping her head slightly. Her crimson horn met the invisible projectile head-on, shattering it apart, before she reached out to seize Ruri's wrist.
At that instant, two spiraling vortices of yōki appeared in the air. From them, two enormous demonic tails shot forth—one left, one right—wrapping tightly around the Oni King's arms. The tails twisted and pulled, attempting to lock her limbs behind her back.
But even these titanic tails, capable of bending divine blades, met a foe of equal might.
The Oni King's arms might have appeared human, but the power within them was monstrous. The twin tails strained against her grip, yet failed to subdue her.
"Trying to defeat me through strength alone? How arrogant."
The Oni King—Hoshiguma Dōji—glanced at the runes flickering across the demonic tails, recognizing their mirrored structure to her own spells.
Her eyes flashed red, and half her face was suddenly covered in glowing curse marks. With a guttural growl, she yanked her arms apart—and with sheer brute force, tore both tails from the vortices that birthed them.
"Tch... what a beast."
Ruri's brows furrowed slightly. Her yōki restraints couldn't hold the opponent—this one was unlike any she had faced before.
Meanwhile, within the Four Divine Guardians' barrier, several captains of the Sakura clan instinctively gathered closer to Satsuki and Sesshōmaru.
They had already been astonished when Ruri's barrier had managed to withstand the triple slashes of the Miko of Yami. But now, witnessing a clash between powers at the very peak of this world, their attitude toward Satsuki had changed completely.
"Lady Satsuki, how much of a chance does your shikigami have of winning?"
To this question, Satsuki answered indifferently, "Do you want the truth?"
"Uh..."
Such an unexpected counterquestion left the Sakura clan sorcerer momentarily speechless.
"Just watch quietly."
Seeing the hesitation in the other's eyes, Satsuki simply waved her hand. "Don't worry. Just focus on doing what you need to do."
Then, through the link in her mind, she said to Ruri, "The opponent's data has been collected. You can go all out now."
Receiving the command, Ruri sighed inwardly. "Tch, finally done. Playing the punching bag isn't exactly fun."
In the next instant, an unprecedented surge of yōki burst forth from her body.
Even the Oni King of Strength—whose body was half-covered in curse marks—was forced to take a step back under the sheer intensity of that power.
Five colossal tails of demonic energy appeared behind Ruri, wrapping around her form until they solidified into a tangible Beast Cloak.
Immediately after, another formidable force—one resembling blazing flames—erupted from within her. The two energies, one of spiritual nature and the other demonic, merged together through Yin-Yang Sage Art, forming what looked like golden fire enveloping her entire body.
It was the result of merging the modified chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox with the altered Natural Energy absorbed through Sage Mode—a fusion known as Yōki, or Demonic Power.
When combined, they formed—
The Sage Fox Mode.
But to the system governing all worlds, it was defined simply as—
"Five-Tailed · True Mode."
Facing the completely transformed Ruri, even Hoshiguma Dōji couldn't hide her surprise. "So you've been holding back all this time?"
"Didn't you also release only half your strength?" Ruri replied calmly, her gaze falling on the curse marks covering half the Oni King's body.
"How amusing. Now this is what I call a real fight."
With a booming laugh, more runes flared to life across Hoshiguma Dōji's body, spreading from her arm to the rest of her form.
As her power was fully unleashed, even the residual waves of energy were enough to make the entire world tremble.
The ground quaked, and the surface of the Four Divine Guardians' barrier rippled as if barely able to withstand the violent wind pressure.
Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...
Each breath Hoshiguma Dōji exhaled sounded as though it echoed directly beside everyone's ears. With every beat of her pulse, it felt as if heaven and earth pulsed in unison.
Her eyes had turned completely crimson, glowing so intensely that they left afterimages in the air. The single horn atop her head stood erect, discharging arcs of violet lightning, while her once-golden hair transformed into pure white, flowing freely behind her under an unseen force.
The metal shackles she once wielded as weapons began to fracture, their surfaces splintering with cracks before shattering entirely under the immense pressure.
This was the form said to be attainable only by an Oni King who had reached the pinnacle of their domain—Oni Deification!
Beings like Sesshōmaru or Tōga, full-blooded yōkai, could release all of their demonic power to transform into their original forms—massive demon hounds of overwhelming might.
In such a state, their physical strength, yōki, and speed increased dramatically, allowing them to crush or bite through opponents with ease.
With that power alone, even Sesshōmaru—who had only just stepped into the Great Yōkai realm—could single-handedly destroy an entire nation.
Similarly, among the Oni race, there existed a state in which one could further liberate their power.
—That state was Demonic Deification.
Compared to a yōkai's transformation, achieving Demonic Deification required far harsher conditions. Not only did the user have to possess power equal to that of an Oni King, but they also needed to reach the utmost pinnacle of one specific aspect of ability. Only then could they awaken their ancestral curse scripts—and only an Oni King capable of enduring the full burden of those runes could enter complete Demonic Deification.
Once such a power appeared, the battlefield was no longer a place where shrine maidens or monks could intervene.
"No wonder…" murmured one monk near Satsuki. "Our ancestors initially succeeded in slaying two of Shuten Dōji's Oni Kings, but for centuries afterward made no progress against the remaining two. So this is why…"
Against an Oni King capable of Demonic Deification, even a deity of the Three Noble Children class like Susanoo-no-Mikoto would not dare claim certain victory—let alone mere descendants bearing traces of his diluted bloodline.
"This mission has already pushed you to your limits. Withdraw for now," Satsuki said calmly.
"Huh?"
"Your ancestors most likely perished completely during their campaign against this Oni King, which is why there are no records mentioning the opponent's ability to enter Demonic Deification," Satsuki reminded them. "You must have someone return to deliver this information. You'll also need to reevaluate the strength of the other Oni King."
"But…"
The monk hesitated, but another familiar voice interrupted, "Lady Satsuki is right."
All eyes turned toward the speaker in surprise. "Lady Yami, you're awake?!"
It was the Miko of Yami. After a period of treatment, she had finally regained consciousness.
Though she appeared largely uninjured on the surface, her body had suffered multiple internal shocks—the backlash from her own ultimate art, along with the aftereffects of being struck by Hoshiguma Dōji's overwhelming power.
"If we're to retreat, it must be now," she said firmly. "Our battle with Hoshiguma Dōji has dragged on too long. If Shuten Dōji is drawn here, none of us will escape alive."
—Shuten Dōji!
The name alone made the surrounding shrine maidens and monks tense with hatred. Their clan's centuries of tragedy all traced back to that single Oni King.
For generations, their family had thrown themselves into the pursuit of vengeance, sacrificing everything to slay Shuten Dōji. Yet now, standing before such overwhelming power, they finally understood how distant that goal truly was.
"Stop wasting time. Sesshōmaru, Ruri, and I will stay behind. The rest of you withdraw."
As Satsuki spoke, she stepped toward the center of the battlefield.
The warriors of Yasaka Shrine glanced at the three of them, uncertain, but under the firm command of Miko Yami and the two other captains, they began their swift retreat.
Their strength was already far outmatched. Whether it was spells, vajra relics, or purifying arrows, none could even pierce the oppressive air pressure surrounding that battlefield—they were dispersed before reaching their targets.
Close combat? The strongest among them, Miko Yami, couldn't even endure the aftershock of the Oni King's strikes.
This—this was the true power of Great Yōkai, the true visage of the supreme beings who stood atop this world.
As the shrine maidens withdrew, the two combatants on the battlefield had already clashed once more.
Before their eyes, there were no discernible forms left—only blinding flashes of light and deafening bursts of power.
Sesshōmaru, watching the spectacle, drew his sword, intent on joining the fight.
But Satsuki caught his arm once again.
"With your current strength, you'll only get in the way. Just watch."
As she spoke, Satsuki's Tenseigan activated, projecting an invisible field that surrounded the area, completely isolating the two combatants' shockwaves.
Then she formed another barrier around Sesshōmaru.
"Stay here. Don't move."
Sesshōmaru was never one to obediently follow orders. The moment Satsuki sealed him within the barrier, he began to release his yōki, intending to shatter it by force.
Electric arcs crackled around his body, his eyes turned crimson, his skin darkened, and a red aura began to radiate from him. The gathered demonic energy swelled violently—ready to burst through the confinement.
But with a single light tap of her finger upon the air, Satsuki infused a trace of Vipralopa energy into the barrier. Instantly, the immense yōki Sesshōmaru had accumulated was dispersed without a trace.
Without even turning her head, Satsuki rose into the air and said softly, "Don't be reckless. This barrier will protect you from the aftershocks of their battle. Use this rare opportunity to observe closely—and learn."
The moment her words fell, her body shimmered with radiant light before vanishing completely.
The dissipated energy around Sesshōmaru faded, his form returning to its normal state. Once calm again, he looked toward the direction Satsuki had disappeared—his expression faintly suggesting that he had expected this outcome all along.
But there was no time for reflection.
A thunderous explosion shook the ground, followed by a roaring shockwave that sent clouds of dust sweeping through the air, drawing Sesshōmaru's attention back to the battlefield.
His sharp senses caught it immediately—the scent of Oni blood in the air.
Within the storm of destruction, the figures of Ruri and Hoshiguma Dōji once again collided like twin comets. After hundreds of exchanges, both reappeared, their movements slowing for the first time.
Ruri's golden flame-like robes were now torn and tattered, while Hoshiguma Dōji's arms bore streaks of fresh blood.
"For the Fox Clan to produce such an anomaly as you... I imagine the one in Kyoto would be quite interested," Hoshiguma Dōji said with a grin. Behind her rose the massive shadow of her demonic form. Half-crouching, she gathered immense energy between her palms—the phantom behind her mirroring every motion.
"Sorry," Ruri replied evenly, "I'm not exactly familiar with the local foxes."
Behind her, the five tails of her True Mode spread wide. The surrounding air rippled as an enormous amount of yōki converged toward the center of her tails, releasing an awe-inspiring pressure that shook the heavens.
Several yōki vortices appeared around her, streams of natural energy surging through them and gathering into her tails. Finally, at their center, a deep violet sphere formed—semi-transparent and spiraling with terrifying speed. Within that sphere, four smaller orbs of different colors revolved rapidly.
Their gazes met.
Both revealed exhilarated smiles.
Then, without hesitation, they unleashed their ultimate techniques simultaneously.
—"Yomi Eternal Severance."
—"Planetary · Orb of Fallen Heaven."
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