Large numbers of spiders crawled out of the underground nest.The largest among them stood over a meter tall, their yokai power comparable to C-rank monsters—though their numbers were limited.
The majority were slightly smaller, nearly a meter in size, with strength on par with D-rank yokai.
As the spider swarm emerged from the pit, they lined up neatly, like soldiers awaiting inspection. Once they received orders from their queen, Kumohime, they surged outward like a tidal wave in all directions.
The summoned spiders didn't seem particularly intelligent, but their advantage lay in numbers and unity—together, they moved like a disciplined army.
The yokai that had been lurking outside were roughly on par with the spiders in individual strength. Once the two sides clashed, casualties quickly began to mount.
However, those outside yokai were never a unified force to begin with. Each fought on its own, all the while remaining wary of the still-unmoving Kumohime and Nurikabe.
As a result, momentum gradually shifted. The yokai began to break and flee.
Meanwhile, the summoned spider swarm methodically dragged the fallen yokai corpses back toward the pit, retreating in orderly fashion before disappearing underground once more.
While everyone else marveled at Kumohime's overwhelming strength, her own expression was unusually serious.
This had been her first time using the skill.
There was no denying its power—but the cost was enormous. That single wave of summoned spiders had drained nearly half of her yokai energy.
"It looks like I'll need to control the number of summons in the future," Kumohime murmured quietly."And against truly powerful opponents… this skill would mostly just waste energy."
What had originally been planned as a fighting retreat ended in an unexpected outcome: nearly half of the yokai were killed, and the rest fled in terror.
As for the few unlucky people who had died earlier, no one dared to accuse Kumohime for not saving them.
No one present was foolish.
Those monsters had slaughtered an entire Self-Defense Forces unit in moments—yet in front of this woman, they had been routed in minutes.
Though she wore a maid's uniform, no one here dared think of her as a maid anymore.
Her combat power alone rivaled that of an entire armed battalion.
With the yokai gone, the crisis was over. Logically, everyone should have gone their separate ways.
Yet no one wanted to leave.
Instead, they shamelessly insisted on following Yami Tenjoin back to her home.
After all, the outside world was now a complete unknown.
Even if they tried to return home, there was no guarantee they'd make it safely—and even if they did, who could say their homes were still secure?
From what had been said earlier, Yami's house was protected by onmyōji defensive formations. Add Kumohime and the others, who had just given them an overwhelming sense of safety—
Was there anywhere safer?
So, when Ren Kuroda finally returned, Kumohime immediately contacted him.
On one hand, she reported everything that had happened the previous day.
On the other, she bluntly asked whether she was allowed to kick out the shameless women now occupying the house.
Desperate to survive, these normally pampered socialites suddenly became extremely accommodating. They claimed they didn't mind sleeping in the hallway—as long as they weren't thrown out.
Yami Tenjoin was simply too kind-hearted. As long as her own family wasn't endangered, she couldn't bring herself to heartlessly drive them out to die.
"I'll head back first," Ren said.
Cutting off the spider-silk connection, Ren Kuroda burst into motion. To maximize speed, he leapt continuously across rooftops.
Earlier, while still in the outskirts, he hadn't noticed anything unusual. But once he entered the town proper, the severity of the situation exceeded even his expectations.
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
Buildings throughout the town showed varying degrees of damage. Greenery along the roads lay flattened, and the concrete streets were cracked and scarred beyond recognition.
Ren found it hard to imagine just how widespread yesterday's disaster must have been to reduce a city to this state in a single day.
Although most yokai had already retreated, a few stragglers still wandered the streets, hunting for food.
At that moment, a teenage boy was dragging his younger sister, sprinting desperately through the deserted streets.
But their short legs were no match for a massive yokai with terrifying speed.
A four-legged creature shaped like a giant gecko followed them leisurely, its long tongue flicking in and out.
It could have caught them easily.
But instead, the gecko-like yokai toyed with them like a cat with a mouse.
It loved exhausting its prey—watching them collapse in despair—before swallowing them whole.
After fleeing for who knew how long, the younger sister finally stumbled and fell, completely out of breath.
That single fall drastically shortened the distance between her and the monster.
Seeing his sister fall behind, the boy turned back without hesitation.
But even if he reached her, what could he do?
His speed was nothing compared to the monster's tongue.
Just as the sticky tongue was about to strike—
A brilliant blue slash tore through the air, striking first and severing the massive tongue in mid-flight.
The tongue hit the ground and writhed violently like a severed earthworm.
"GRAAAAAH—!!"
The gecko yokai screamed in agony.
When it saw the one who had cut off its tongue—a young man holding a sword—it was about to spit out a threat, demanding to know where this punk came from—
Then its vision suddenly felt… wrong.
Its field of view was no longer aligned.
In its split, misaligned sight, the young man calmly sheathed his blade.
Click.
At the sound of the sword locking into its scabbard, blood erupted from the yokai's body.
Split cleanly in half at the waist, the massive creature collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
"I'm not interested in hearing trash mobs introduce themselves," Ren said calmly."Next time you want to play around, make sure your strength actually matches your attitude."
Ren Kuroda's sudden appearance and overwhelming power left the fleeing siblings completely stunned.
Then came the flood of emotions—
Gratitude.Awe.
Though the reputation points Ren gained from them were modest, he clearly felt the human prestige he had received.
"Y-you're an onmyōji, right?" the boy asked excitedly."Did you come here to save us?"
Ren's effortless slaying of the yokai and his composed presence made the boy instinctively assume he was part of the rescue forces.
When the world had changed yesterday, they had learned through television broadcasts that yokai were running rampant—but humanity hadn't completely lost hope.
Because humans, too, possessed extraordinary individuals capable of fighting back.
And news that an S+–rank great yokai had been gravely injured by the divine artifact Yata Mirror had spread nationwide.
In the face of catastrophe, people needed hope.
The higher-ups had no choice but to encourage the public, claiming that exorcists would soon arrive in every city to evacuate civilians to shelters.
But the truth was cruel.
There were far too many towns—and far too few people with supernatural power.
After assigning some to protect key officials, the remaining exorcists were spread impossibly thin.
Perhaps help would arrive someday.
But by the time it did, there likely wouldn't be many survivors left.
With limited resources, the authorities naturally prioritized developed regions with greater talent and infrastructure.
Unfortunately, the town Ren stood in was considered severely underdeveloped.
Even if rescue came, it wouldn't be soon.
Yet when Ren saw the hope shining in the siblings' eyes, something stirred quietly in his heart.
He gently patted the girl's head and offered a warm smile, then pulled out his identification.
"I am indeed an exorcist dispatched here," he said calmly."Ren Kuroda, Non-Natural Countermeasures Division, Eighth Squad.It's nice to meet you."
Soon, guided by the siblings, Ren quickly located all the remaining survivors in the town.
A long procession followed behind him—elderly people, children, even crying infants.
Unlike the naïve siblings, the adults here understood all too well that so-called rescue was never meant for them.
They had already begun to give up hope—
Until a real "exorcist" actually appeared.
At first, they doubted whether one person could truly help.
Then Ren proved everything with his own strength.
"Big Brother Ren," the girl said excitedly,"Up ahead is the last street in our town!"
The siblings Ren had saved first had now completely turned into his biggest fans.
Incredible strength.A handsome appearance.A gentle, approachable personality.
Despite power that defied belief, he treated people like a friendly neighbor.
They had seen it with their own eyes—
Monsters that bullets and artillery couldn't even scratch were utterly helpless before him, unable to withstand even a single slash or punch.
How could children in their chūnibyō years not idolize someone like that?
And it wasn't just the kids.
Even the adults were filled with gratitude and reverence.
The world had changed.
Never in their wildest dreams had they believed that "yokai" and "onmyōji" were real.
And now, they understood—
In the future to come, those powerful exorcists might very well replace celebrities and idols,
Becoming the new figures humanity looked up to and worshipped.