Seeing that her long, hook-like hair had not only failed to break through his defense but was being cleanly severed again and again, the Hook-Needle Woman let out a frightened gasp and hastily retracted her hair.
The earlier punch that had sent Tessai-ki, the Handwashing Demon, flying had led the Seven Travelers to assume that Ren Kuroda was a brute-force type of yokai, much like Tessai-ki himself. They had certainly noticed the long sword at Ren's waist—but now, witnessing his dazzling swordsmanship firsthand, they finally understood something terrifying.
This man wasn't just strong.
He was deadly with a blade.
"Attack together!"Inugami, his tongue lolling grotesquely from his mouth, barked the order with fury in his eyes."Just like Yuzhang said! We were planning to finish this fast anyway!"
As his anger surged, Inugami's head distorted violently, swelling and transforming into the massive head of a monstrous dog as he lunged straight at Ren.
At the same time, the Hook-Needle Woman moved again—this time more cautiously. She knew better now. A direct assault would only end with her hair being sliced apart once more.
Instead, she plunged her hair straight into the ground before her.
In the next instant, thick strands burst forth beneath Ren's feet like writhing seaweed. The hair twisted and hooked together, anchoring his legs firmly to the ground.
Just as Ren raised his sword to cut through the bindings—
Darkness swallowed his vision.
Sometime during the brief opening between Inugami's charge and the Hook-Needle Woman's maneuver, Night Sparrow had appeared silently behind him.
As the black feathers brushed past Ren's face, his pupils—and even the whites of his eyes—turned pitch-black.
Night Sparrow was a legendary nocturnal yokai, resembling a jet-black bird. Anyone whose body was touched by its wings would have their vision completely engulfed in darkness.
Seeing Night Sparrow succeed, a disturbingly human-like joy flickered across Inugami's face. It quickly twisted into savage delight as he snapped his jaws shut toward Ren's upper body.
The enormous canine head floated effortlessly through the air, its gaping maw wide enough to swallow a calf whole.
With his feet bound and his vision stolen, escape was impossible.
Inugami was certain—no matter how strong Ren Kuroda was, he couldn't possibly defend himself now.
Clang—!
Just as Inugami's fangs were about to tear into Ren's skull, a long blade slammed between his jaws.
Steel screamed against teeth.
Sparks flew.
Inugami's "certain kill" was stopped head-on.
The massive dog head hovered inches from Ren's face, blade wedged between its upper and lower jaws. Inugami's eyes bulged in disbelief.
"You… can still see?!"
The shock was understandable. Their coordination had been flawless. Any ordinary opponent would have panicked instantly.
But Ren's face remained calm.
Unshaken.
"How…?" Inugami snarled.
Yokai could sense demonic energy, yes—but the Hook-Needle Woman's hair and Inugami's own body both radiated it. With his sight sealed away, how had Ren pinpointed his exact position?
Ren spoke coolly.
"So what if you stole my vision? I'm a swordsman.Sight is just one of the five senses."
He tilted his head slightly, as if listening.
"I can still hear. I can still smell. And honestly… your breath is awful.I don't know how long it's been since you brushed your teeth, but I could smell you from a mile away. Finding you wasn't hard at all."
Inugami's eyes widened.
Before he could roar in rage, an overwhelming sense of danger washed over him.
"Since your breath's so bad," Ren continued, voice almost polite,"let me freshen it up for you."
His blade flashed.
"The divine wind howls—swift as the wind, devastating as the storm!"
A violent gale exploded outward.
A green, wind-laced slash tore straight into Inugami's open mouth. Before he could retreat, the blade cleaved clean through his upper and lower jaws.
The gigantic dog head split cleanly in half midair.
The force of the slash continued onward, carving through the ceiling and vanishing into the distance.
But Ren frowned.
Though blind, he knew his strike had landed.
Yet Inugami's demonic aura hadn't vanished.
He's not dead?
Indeed, the bisected dog head floated eerily in the air—no blood, no flesh.
Instead, it dissolved into a cloud of smoky resentment and streamed back into its original human body, reforming as a human head.
An Inugami was no ordinary yokai.
Born from obsession and resentment, it only resembled a dog in form. Its true nature had nothing to do with animals.
As a being forged from grudges, it could dissolve its body into pure malice at will—hence its ability to conjure a flying head.
Dogs couldn't fly. Not even dog yokai.
In essence, an Inugami was closer to a vengeful spirit than a beast.
Just moments ago, when Ren's slash struck, Inugami had instinctively converted its body into raw resentment, minimizing the damage.
Even so, the price was steep. Most of his demonic power had been consumed.
Now, Inugami glared at Ren with hatred burning in his eyes.
At the same moment, Night Sparrow, who had been waiting for an opening, realized something was terribly wrong.
Just as she tried to retreat—
Her wings were seized.
"Being blind doesn't bother me much," Ren said calmly, tightening his grip."But complete darkness is still unpleasant.And I hate the dark."
His voice hardened.
"So I'll deal with you first."
Night Sparrow had plunged countless enemies into fear with her darkness. She delighted in watching them panic, crumble, and despair.
But now—
Staring into Ren Kuroda's blackened pupils, she was the one trembling.
Why am I the one afraid…?
Feeling the monstrous strength in Ren's grip and seeing his sword rise, Night Sparrow made a brutal decision.
She bit down.
With a sickening tear, she severed her own wing and ripped herself free.
Ren felt the sudden loss of weight in his hand, momentarily stunned by her decisiveness.
Bleeding and weakened, Night Sparrow retreated rapidly. The loss of her wing drained much of her demonic power, and the darkness clouding Ren's vision dissipated.
It was a desperate gamble.
If Ren's blade had pierced her head, she would have died instantly. Unlike Inugami, she wasn't made of pure resentment.
Escape by brute force was impossible—Ren was a monster capable of crushing Tessai-ki with raw strength alone.
Between death and self-mutilation, she chose survival.
With his vision restored, Ren glanced at the torn wing still in his hand and tossed it aside with clear disdain.
Yet there was a trace of approval in his eyes as he looked toward Night Sparrow.
Good instincts, he admitted silently.
After several exchanges, Tessai-ki lay unconscious on the ground, utterly defeated by the clash of strength.
Inugami was gravely injured.Night Sparrow had exhausted her power.Only Crochet-onna remained relatively unscathed.
And Ren?
From beginning to end, he hadn't taken a single step back.
Even after facing Tessai-ki head-on and enduring the coordinated assault of the Seven Travelers, his breathing remained steady—as though the entire battle had been nothing more than a warm-up.
Just as despair crept onto the faces of the Seven Travelers and Ren prepared to finish it—
Someone tugged on his sleeve from behind.
Instinctively, Ren turned.
Standing there was a short figure whose face looked as though it had been sculpted from damp clay. His features were crude, artificial, and deeply unsettling.
"He turned around!"The Sleeve-Clad God grinned grotesquely."He looked at me! That's it—you're dead for sure!"
His misshapen face twisted in triumph.
"No matter how strong you are, you're finished now.Didn't see this coming, did you? I'm the real trump card of the Seven Travelers.Now you can't turn the tide—no matter what!"
Seeing Ren still facing backward, sleeve caught in the Sleeve-Clad God's grasp, the remaining members of the Seven Travelers finally relaxed.
They all shared the same thought.
It's over.
Ren Kuroda—who had dared to look back at the Sleeve-Clad God—
Was already dead.