— — — — — —
A flash of cold steel split the air.
Nurarihyon drew his katana in a single, fluid motion, unleashing a lightning-fast iaido strike aimed straight at Ryo's neck. The blade gleamed with lethal intent, as if it could cleave him clean in two.
At the exact same moment, light erupted overhead. A bolt of blue lightning tore down from the sky, crashing toward Ryo with explosive force.
Yasaka and Nurarihyon had moved in perfect sync. No probing, no hesitation—both went all out from the very first move.
"Not bad. Takes guts."
As the blade and lightning closed in, Ryo merely shook his head. He didn't dodge. Didn't block. He simply ignored them.
BOOM!
The next moment, the lightning erupted around Ryo, crackling and scorching… then vanished as if it had never been there.
A heartbeat later, the katana sliced across his neck with surgical precision.
Then like any Aura-Farming character, Nurarihyon appeared six meters behind Ryo, landing with barely a sound.
But then he froze, shock written all over his face.
Rumble—
A few seconds later, the thunder finally caught up.
And as it did, the katana in his hand began to crumble. Inch by inch, it disintegrated, dissolving into fine metallic dust that scattered across the ground.
"Wh…What?"
Cold sweat slid down his face.
He was certain he hadn't held back. The strike had connected. It should have cut.
And yet Ryo stood there completely unharmed… while his blade had turned to powder.
Yasaka didn't look any better. Sweat poured down her face as well.
She tapped into Kyoto's leylines, drawing a massive surge of spiritual power to fuel the lightning spell. It was meant to be a direct strike, one that should have been utterly devastating.
But it hit—and did nothing.
At that point, even a fool would understand.
This wasn't an opponent the two of them could handle.
But then… where had someone like this come from? Why had they never heard of him? And why was he targeting yokai?
Questions piled up in both their minds.
"No way…" Kuroka stood there, mouth hanging open, staring at Yasaka, who was visibly shaken.
The two leaders of yokai—joining forces—and they hadn't even managed to scratch him.
What had she summoned with that gem she stole from the Mother of Devils?
…She didn't accidentally summon the original Lucifer, did she?
"How should I put it…"
While the two yokai leaders stood frozen, not daring to move, Ryo casually stroked Kuroka's smooth back, sounding genuinely puzzled.
"I thought you'd show me the power of yokai. And that's it?"
The disappointment on his face hit like a hammer, driving straight into their chests.
"You," he went on, glancing at Yasaka, "with Yojutsu at that level—you've got wind, the easiest thing to manipulate. But instead you borrow power to force lightning? That's inefficient and wasteful."
He rolled his eyes. "You'd be better off just fighting me up close. Honestly, your figure would probably have more of an effect on me than that lightning did."
Yasaka's face flushed bright red—not from embarrassment, but pure anger.
What kind of nonsense was that supposed to be?!
Was he seriously… flirting? At a time like this?!
"And you."
Ryo turned to Nurarihyon, looking unimpressed.
"I was expecting to see… anything, really. But not the slowest iaido strike in the world."
"Honestly, that was pathetic. I'm not humiliating you—you've already done that yourself with that move."
"Sigh… I wouldn't be surprised if your next one was Seppuku."
"I...I'm..."
Nurarihyon's face twisted with frustration.
"If this is all you've got," Ryo said lightly, "you might want to step down."
"Being the leaders of yokai clearly isn't for you."
"The fox can go to my home. And you—maybe try begging. Who knows, you might actually have talent for that."
"Your concern is unnecessary," Yasaka snapped, her voice cold. "Our duties are not yours to criticize."
"Not mine to criticize?"
The voice came from right beside her ear.
Yasaka's entire body went rigid.
She turned—and saw a fist.
A fist that seemed to fill the entire world, expanding endlessly in her vision.
The sky collapsed. The air howled. Space itself trembled, as if everything was about to end.
Destruction. Oblivion.
Death rushed toward her.
One second.
Two.
Three.
More than ten seconds passed.
Yasaka stood frozen, mind blank, pupils shrunk to pinpoints, staring at the fist hovering right in front of her face.
Then—
Ryo, one arm still around Kuroka, casually patted Yasaka's shoulder with the other.
"If you can't throw a punch like that," he said earnestly, "you should really step down. A yokai without that level of strength won't survive."
"O-Okay…"
Her legs trembled uncontrollably as she answered.
A faint, unpleasant smell spread from her clothes.
Kuroka, who caught it at close range, made a complicated face, glancing awkwardly at Yasaka. She wanted to say something… but thought better of it.
'She actually got scared into wetting herself…'
'Was that punch really that terrifying? It just looked like he walked over and swung casually…'
Her thoughts were a mess, but she kept quiet out of respect.
"What did you do to Yasaka?"
Nurarihyon stared at Ryo, drenched in cold sweat.
He hadn't seen anything. One moment Ryo was there, the next he was behind Yasaka.
What kind of speed was that?
What kind of monster was this?
"Old man," Ryo said with a grin, raising an eyebrow, "wanna try it yourself?"
"I'm pretty generous to men too."
A chill ran straight down Nurarihyon's spine.
Seeing Yasaka collapsed like that, he didn't dare imagine what would happen to him.
He was weaker than her.
If she ended up like that…
"I—no, you… what do you want from us?"
In the face of overwhelming power, he chose to yield.
Ryo narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling.
"This Kyoto—no, this world—only needs one ruler of yokai. Got it?"
"…Understood."
Nurarihyon's expression turned complicated.
Sure, the strongest should lead. That made sense.
But… if that was all he wanted, couldn't he have just said so earlier?!
Yokai didn't exactly have high status in this world. If someone this strong wanted the position, they'd have welcomed him with open arms!
…Though, deep down, he knew that if Yasaka hadn't been shaken like that, he wouldn't have surrendered so easily.
But now?
That single, casual punch had broken her.
He wasn't taking any chances.
"Good."
Ryo didn't seem particularly invested in the answer. A simple acknowledgment was enough.
He casually pulled out a pocket watch. The number "2" displayed on it made him frown.
Starting at one, and subduing the yokai factions only bumped it to two? That growth rate was terrible.
Clicking his tongue, he put it away and looked at Nurarihyon.
"Then for my first order as ruler of yokai…"
"Let's go for a 'clean sweep' across Japan."
"A clean sweep?"
Nurarihyon and Kuroka froze for a moment—then their expressions changed.
"That's right."
Ryo wrapped an arm around Kuroka and spoke with rising enthusiasm.
"Fellas, the age of carving out our own territory is back!"
"Follow me! Ahead of us—there's no one who can stand in our way!"
'Who wants to follow you?!'
Tears welled up in Kuroka's eyes as she was held in place.
What do you do when a lunatic becomes the leader of yokai?
Waiting online. Urgent.
.
.
.