While the Nura Clan was immersed in celebration over their young master's transformation, trouble quietly found its way to the girls of the Kiyotsuji Strange Detective Club.
Their earlier monster-hunting expedition to the old school building had ended in complete failure. For reasons none of them could explain, everyone had suddenly fainted on the spot. The experience had been so unsettling that Kana and Saori now treated the abandoned building like a cursed zone, avoiding it at all costs.
As for Kiyotsugu, the club's resident occult fanatic, he was still unconscious. Ren Kuroda had been worried that the boy might keep struggling if he held back, so he'd struck him harder than the others. With the loudest member of the club still knocked out cold, and Kana and the others too frightened to stay near the old school building, the club activity ended far earlier than planned.
Kiyotsugu was hauled away by his friend Jiro, while Kana and the other girls declined Ren's offer to walk them home, choosing instead to head back together.
What they failed to realize was that nighttime streets were nothing like the world they knew during the day.
Walking alone at night was already dangerous for girls—but this world was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface. It was a world where demons roamed freely.
The Kiyotsuji Strange Detective Club had originally planned to meet at ten in the evening. But after everything that happened, by the time Kana and the others finally set off for home, it was already close to midnight.
This was the hour when human activity faded away—and when other things began to emerge.
Anyone still wandering the streets at this time was placing themselves in serious danger.
Kana, Saori, and the other two girls walked side by side, nervously replaying their bizarre experience in the old school building. As they talked, they gradually noticed something unsettling.
The number of pedestrians around them was thinning.
The streetlights flickered intermittently, casting long, distorted shadows across the road.
Their footsteps echoed a little too loudly.
In the past, none of them would have believed in monsters or the supernatural. But tonight's experience had been far too eerie to dismiss. Combined with the oppressive atmosphere of the empty street, their nerves tightened with every step.
"Heh—well, what do we have here?"
A greasy voice suddenly cut through the silence.
"I was just thinking of grabbing those idiots from the 'Cat Group' for a late-night snack. Didn't expect to run into some pretty ladies instead. How about it? Care to grab a drink with us?"
Just as the girls were about to quicken their pace, several young men abruptly stepped out from the shadows ahead, blocking the road.
They wore suits and ties, their hair dyed in garish colors, styled in flashy, delinquent fashions. At first glance, they didn't look bad—almost presentable.
But the malicious smiles twisting their faces made Kana's stomach drop.
Without saying a word, the girls tried to step around them.
That silent refusal only fueled the men's irritation.
These creatures usually relied on their human appearances to deceive girls who lingered outside at night, luring them to secluded places before devouring them at their leisure. Tonight, however, their usual tricks had failed.
The girls' inexperience—and fear—infuriated them.
Their patience snapped.
The members of the "Old Rat Group" tore away their human disguises, their skin peeling back as grotesque forms emerged beneath. In moments, upright, rat-faced monsters stood where the men had been, their yellowed fangs bared.
They had only bothered with human methods to save time. Since that failed, there was no need to keep playing pretend.
Even revealing their true forms, these human girls were utterly powerless.
"Shikigami—Rensen. Shikigami Integration!"
"Keikain-ryu Onmyojutsu—Yomi Funeral: Water-Wrapped Gun!"
Surrounded by rat-headed humanoids, Kana and Saori froze in panic. Regret hit them all at once—why had they refused Ren Kuroda's offer to walk them home?
But even if Ren were here…
No. These things were far beyond what an ordinary human could deal with.
As the Old Rat Group closed in, the cliché scene of a hero appearing at the last second stubbornly refused to happen.
Just as one rat demon stretched its claws toward Kana's chest—
A sharp, girlish shout rang out.
The rat demon's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, obliterated by a high-pressure torrent of water.
"Tch—damn it! There's an onmyoji nearby!"
The leader of the Old Rat Group—a blond punk with jagged piercings—whirled around, eyes blazing as he searched for the attacker.
Yokai fed on humans.
And among humans, only onmyoji could fight yokai.
The two had been mortal enemies since ancient times. Even within the human world, history was filled with legendary onmyoji who had slain powerful demons.
Sensing an onmyoji nearby immediately put the rat demons on guard.
But when the leader finally spotted her, his wariness evaporated into raucous laughter.
The onmyoji slowly approaching them was a girl—about the same age as Kana and the others.
So young.
So small.
Their sudden appearance tonight hadn't been random. The Old Rat Group had accepted a commission: capture one of Nura Rikuo's classmates and use him as leverage to force Rikuo to sign a "voluntary withdrawal from succession to the Third Supreme Commander" document.
When the attack came, the leader had briefly suspected betrayal.
But now, seeing the girl clearly, those doubts vanished.
If their backers wanted them dead, they wouldn't resort to such roundabout methods.
And judging by her age, how strong could this little onmyoji possibly be?
She even appeared to be alone.
Wasn't this practically inviting them to have their fill?
The girl was Yura Keikain, daughter of the main branch of the Keikain clan in Kyoto—praised as one of the most gifted young talents in the entire lineage.
At only thirteen years old, her spiritual power already surpassed that of most adults in her clan, allowing her to command multiple shikigami simultaneously.
Despite that overwhelming talent, Yura usually wore a half-lidded, sleepy expression. When annoyed, she puffed out her cheeks like a hamster, giving her an unexpectedly cute appearance. Her black hair swayed lightly as she walked.
The reason she was here was simple.
Though exceptionally gifted, her family believed she lacked real combat experience. Staying in Kyoto, the Keikain clan's headquarters, meant she rarely encountered ordinary yokai—let alone gained meaningful training.
So she came to Kanto.
After all, legend claimed that Nurarihyon, the supreme lord of yokai, ruled this land.
Tonight, Yura had only intended to scout the area and confirm whether Kanto was truly as infested with demons as the rumors claimed.
She found her answer almost immediately.
Yokai aura saturated the air.
And by the time she arrived, the scene had already unfolded.
"So the rumors were true," Yura said flatly, her dull eyes filled with unmistakable disdain as she looked at the rat-headed monsters. "Kanto really is crawling with troublemakers. I'll be cleaning you all up soon anyway."
Her arrogant tone instantly enraged the Old Rat Group's leader.
"Kill her!" he roared, waving his arm. "Rip that brat apart!"
Unfortunately for him, he had gravely misjudged the gap between them.
It was true that age often reflected an onmyoji's strength—experience mattered.
But he had forgotten one crucial thing.
This world also produced monsters among geniuses.
And Yura Keikain was one of them.
The goldfish-shaped Rensen shikigami transformed midair, morphing into cannon-like forms that attached themselves to Yura's hands.
As the rat demons surged forward, Yura's expression didn't change.
High-pressure water cannons erupted from her palms.
The accuracy wasn't perfect—but it didn't need to be.
Her spiritual power was overwhelming. The destructive force of her onmyojutsu was terrifying. Any rat demon struck by the torrent was instantly obliterated, regardless of where it was hit.
One by one, her enemies fell.
Watching his subordinates drop like flies, the punk leader's face darkened—then twisted into ferocity.
She was stronger than he'd expected.
But she was still alone.
No matter how powerful Rensen was, it couldn't withstand an endless swarm.
"Shikigami—Tanrō!" he shouted. "Tanrō, devour them!"
Just as he thought his numbers would overwhelm her, Yura calmly drew another talisman.
Moonlight split as a massive white wolf—two meters tall, nearly five meters long—burst forth with a thunderous roar.
The moment it appeared, it tore straight through the rat demons' formation, jaws snapping as it devoured them whole.
"A second shikigami…?! And she's this young…!"
The Old Rat Group's leader clenched his teeth, fury boiling over as his forces were slaughtered.
From the shadows nearby, Ren Kuroda watched the scene unfold, his expression complicated.
"…Hey, don't just rely on shikigami," he muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed. "At least show me some of the Keikain clan's secret onmyoji techniques so I can learn something too…"