What they had thought was just a toy seal in the hands of a little girl had revealed its true form—
A gigantic stone monster.
Then what about the "ordinary maid," Kumohime?
Could she also be… something else entirely?
Nurikabe felt utterly aggrieved. By all rights, he was now a B–rank, the undisputed strongest Nurikabe—yet within the household, his status was still rock-bottom.
The young lady liked to bully him, and since she was Lord Ren's most beloved little sister, Nurikabe found it perfectly reasonable. He didn't even dare complain.
As for Kumohime…
Well, fine. She was stronger than him. Her ordering him around was, regrettably, also reasonable.
Left with no way to vent his frustration on either of them, Nurikabe could only redirect his anger toward others.
In the past, he had truly been the lowest-ranking member of the household. But ever since Lord Ren brought back those four big dumb brutes, Nurikabe had at least clawed his way up to middle management.
Raising his fan-sized palm, Nurikabe slammed it heavily against the floor.
Boom!
The room shook violently.
From the shadows scattered around the villa, four figures emerged—each with crimson skin, protruding fangs, short horns atop their heads, and bloated bellies.
Four Red Oni.
"You four will take point and clear the path ahead," Nurikabe said solemnly."I'll bring up the rear. Remember—letting you serve as the vanguard is the organization's way of testing you. This is senior-level care. A show of faith, so that you can stand on your own in the future."
He couldn't afford to provoke Kumohime, but bullying the newly arrived Red Oni?
That, Nurikabe had zero issues with.
Behind him, Ruki listened to his long-winded, earnest speech to the Red Oni and couldn't help but curl her lips in disdain.
Nurikabe was obviously afraid of dying and didn't dare walk at the front where he'd get beaten the hardest—yet he still dressed it up in such pretty words.
Even worse, these four Red Oni were clearly the textbook definition of muscle-brained.
They actually believed Nurikabe's nonsense.
Not only that—they were visibly excited by how much "Senior Nurikabe" valued them, pounding their chests enthusiastically and shouting their confidence.
It was as if anyone who dared steal the vanguard position from the Red Oni brothers would instantly become their mortal enemy.
First, an ordinary stone seal turned into a towering stone yokai. Now four ferocious Red Oni had emerged from the shadows.
The people in the room were completely stunned, rendered speechless by the constantly escalating situation.
But soon, the noblewomen and young ladies snapped back to their senses.
With Nurikabe and the Red Oni here, maybe—just maybe—they could actually make it out alive.
And all of these suddenly appearing yokai were acting under the maid's command.
That maid listened to Yami.
Which meant whether they lived or died… depended entirely on Yami's attitude.
Once they realized this, the women's demeanor toward Yami flipped a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
They swarmed her with concern, showering her with kindness, repeatedly promising that if they survived, they would repay her kindness no matter the cost.
As for Jingū Saori, Yami's close friend, she stared at her as if seeing her for the first time and whispered in disbelief,
"Didn't you say you only had a son and a daughter?And just now—you said that aside from your son, your family was all here?"
Yami froze briefly at the question, then replied in a slightly airheaded tone, her index finger resting against her lips.
"That's right. Ruki, Kumohime, Nurikabe—they're all my family.As for my son… well, I suppose you could say he's an onmyōji."
Her innocent delivery sent waves of pure ecstasy through the room.
If yokai truly existed… then onmyōji must be real as well!
If Yami's son came to rescue them, wouldn't survival be guaranteed?
"Give it up," Kumohime said coldly, shattering their hopes without mercy."Lord Ren has important matters to attend to. He won't come save people who have nothing to do with him.As for Madam and Lady Ruki, protecting them and getting out safely is trivial for us. There's no need for Lord Ren to come personally."
She had seen right through their thoughts.
"Kumohime," Yami asked hesitantly, "aside from me and Ruki… can we take others with us?"
Yami knew very well that the more people they brought, the greater the burden on Kumohime and the others.
But when it came to Jingū Saori—who had always treated her sincerely as a friend—Yami simply couldn't abandon her to die.
"If that is Madam Yami's wish, then there is naturally no problem," Kumohime replied calmly."Since she is Madam's friend, I will ensure her absolute safety."
Kumohime had already sent countless spiders to scout ahead.
Though the number of yokai outside was large, most were around C- or D-rank.
Against enemies of that level, Kumohime wouldn't even need to lift a finger—Nurikabe and the Red Oni could carve a path through them with ease.
And strictly speaking, Lady Ruki didn't even count as someone who needed protection.
She had beaten a B–rank Yatsuchi to death with her bare hands. C-rank yokai couldn't withstand even a few of her tiny punches.
As for Jingū Saori—she had been defending Madam Yami from the very beginning. She was a sensible human.
Even if Yami hadn't asked, Kumohime had already planned to take her along.
Once Jingū Saori was confirmed to be on the escape list, the other noblewomen panicked.
Their families had already abandoned them. Staying here meant certain death.
Now that a chance to survive had finally appeared, how could they give it up?
Faced with life and death, dignity and elegance no longer mattered. The women burst into tears, crying and begging Yami to take them along as well.
Yami was just an ordinary human—and a kind one at that.
Watching everyone plead, her heart twisted painfully.
They had no grudges against one another. There were many children here too—some of whom had been playing happily with Ruki just moments ago.
To abandon them…
Yet Yami also understood that every additional person increased the pressure on Nurikabe and the others.
So despite the desperate pleas, she remained silent.
In the end, it was Kumohime who couldn't bear to see Yami suffer any longer.
She finally spoke: anyone who wanted to follow could do so at their own risk—but aside from Jingū Saori, she would not deliberately protect anyone else.
Logically speaking, with their strength, saving everyone here would have been easy.
But why should she?
These people had looked down on Madam Yami earlier. Now, with death looming, they suddenly remembered how to cling to connections.
Where were they before?
After the formation was decided, the group immediately began their breakout.
Ordinarily, the thick-skinned and highly durable Nurikabe would have been the best choice to lead.
Unfortunately, the Red Oni brothers had been so pumped full of Nurikabe's motivational nonsense that they refused to let anyone else take the lead.
Even Kumohime had no way to reason with these four idiots.
Thankfully, although they weren't as tough as Nurikabe, the Red Oni were still remarkably durable.
Standing shoulder to shoulder at the front, each wielding massive spiked clubs, the four brothers unleashed wild, chaotic swings at anything that dared approach.
The first yokai that charged in didn't even understand what was happening before it was smashed into a puddle of meat.
The Red Oni cleared the path.
Nurikabe guarded the rear.
And Kumohime blended into the middle of the group, her gaze never leaving Yami and Ruki.
Compared to the bloody chaos at the front, Nurikabe's rear position was eerily calm.
With his B–rank yokai aura radiating outward, C- and D-rank yokai didn't even dare come close.
The powerful aura the yokai had sensed earlier outside the villa—it had all come from Nurikabe.
Like Ren Kuroda, Kumohime possessed the ability to suppress her aura.
The yokai had no idea there was an even stronger B-rank great yokai among the group.
As a mutated Jorōgumo, Kumohime could already fight B-rank yokai when she was only B–rank herself.
Now that her power had truly reached B-rank, she even had a strong chance against B+–rank enemies.
The Red Oni were hard to deal with. Nurikabe was untouchable.
Naturally, the yokai chose the weakest point—
The middle of the group.
As grotesque yokai charged toward them, the so-called socialites completely lost their composure, screaming in terror.
At that moment, Kumohime finally stepped forward.
A terrifying wave of yokai power erupted from her body.
Several strands of spider silk shot from her fingertips, instantly slicing apart the yokai attempting to ambush them.
Creatures that bullets could barely scratch were cut apart like cucumbers under a cleaver.
Of course, amid the chaos, Kumohime would occasionally "slip up."
A few people were "accidentally" grabbed by yokai.
Coincidentally—very coincidentally—
Every single one of those victims had been among the ones who had mocked Yami earlier.
Once the people who deserved to die were more or less gone, Kumohime stopped holding back.
Her yokai power surged violently as she extended one hand forward.
With yokai energy pouring into the ground, a circular pit suddenly opened beneath their feet.
"Familiar Summoning — Spider Nest."
Pairs of crimson compound eyes appeared within the darkness.
Then, accompanied by a chorus of skittering sounds, enormous spiders crawled out of the nest one after another.
Each stood over a meter tall, their yokai power ranging from D- to C-rank.
The skill "Familiar Summoning" was a new ability Kumohime had awakened upon breaking through to B-rank during the celestial anomaly.
This—
Was her very first time using it.