Tokyo's Shibuya District—once a symbol of prosperity and nonstop commerce—now bore no trace of its former brilliance.
The surrounding shops had long since been abandoned. Shattered glass littered the streets, and merchandise from every storefront lay strewn in chaotic piles across the ground. If one looked closely, signs of life could still be found inside some of those shops—but the beings moving within were no longer their former owners.
They were yokai—twisted, bizarre creatures of every imaginable shape.
There was no helping it. The appearance of yokai had been far too sudden, catching humanity completely off guard.
Although the human side had reacted with remarkable speed, nearly half of the nation's territory had still fallen into yokai hands.
Shibuya, once among the most prosperous districts in Tokyo, was naturally a place humanity desperately wanted to reclaim.
At present, three forces were locked in battle here: the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division, the Onmyoryo, and the Exorcist Association.
As an A-rank powerhouse, the Kamaitachi naturally had many subordinates under its command, most of whom possessed strength around C-rank.
In fact, after the celestial anomaly, true D-rank yokai had become rather rare.
Bathed in an environment rich with spiritual energy, even weaker yokai had experienced noticeable growth.
Facing each other across the battlefield, the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division held a numerical advantage.
Yet when the logistics troops saw the snarling, fanged yokai across from them, their bodies still began to tremble uncontrollably.
That was only natural.
After the disastrous outcomes of the first two clashes, it was hard for anyone to see a path to victory.
If the enemy consisted only of minor yokai, things would've been manageable. With their armor and holy bullets, they could at least hold their ground.
The real problem was the Kamaitachi hovering in the air at the center of the enemy formation.
Its body wasn't large, but after the horrific casualties of the previous two battles, it had been branded with a single title in everyone's mind:
The Reaper.
Every time its silhouette vanished, everyone knew someone was about to die—and not just one person, but entire swaths of them.
Those who died often didn't even know what had killed them.
That helpless terror—knowing death could come at any moment, without warning—was something not everyone could endure.
The Kamaitachi, its appearance vaguely resembling a honey badger with blades for claws, looked at the human forces with a deeply human-like expression of disdain.
When it noticed that the irritating monk was absent from the battlefield this time, it licked its claws excitedly.
In its previous fight with the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division, if not for that troublesome monk soaking up the majority of its attacks, it would've crushed the human forces long ago.
Now that the monk wasn't here—clearly injured badly in the earlier battle—this was its stage.
With the one who had endured over eighty percent of its attacks gone, today was the Kamaitachi's time to shine.
The spiritual energy emanating from those exorcists was delicious. If it could devour them, its power would rise yet another level.
With a sharp, piercing screech, the Kamaitachi gave the signal.
The already restless yokai army surged forward like unchained beasts, charging straight at the human lines.
Faced with the ferocious onslaught, the morale of the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division faltered visibly. Some soldiers' legs went weak at the sight of the charging monsters.
"Don't panic! You're soldiers!""If even you give in to fear, then who will protect the people counting on you?""And this time, we have powerful reinforcements. The Kamaitachi will be handled by him—this battle will end in our victory!"
Clutching a talisman in his hand, Kamishiro Isshin shouted, his voice booming across the battlefield and forcefully steadying the troops' wavering resolve.
The Kamaitachi heard his words—and responded with unmistakable contempt.
Powerful reinforcement? If someone like that really existed, the last two assaults wouldn't have cost them so many lives.
The Kamaitachi was no fool.
It had chosen to rise up now precisely because humanity was fighting on multiple fronts, unable to divert reinforcements.
Kamishiro's words were nothing more than an attempt to stabilize morale.
Without that monk in the way, all it needed to do was move at full speed—kill the strongest sword shrine maiden, then the commander Kamishiro Isshin.
Once that was done, victory would be assured.
In the Kamaitachi's eyes, the fragile morale Kamishiro had just restored would crumble instantly once it slaughtered another group of humans.
Licking its claws once more, the Kamaitachi moved.
Its compact body dissolved into pure wind, carving deep claw marks into the ground as it swept toward the human formation.
It had absolute confidence in its speed.
Unless it chose to stop, it believed that even A+-rank beings would never be able to catch it.
Wrapped in razor-sharp wind blades, the Kamaitachi tore across the battlefield at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow, searching brazenly for its first victim.
After scanning the field, its gaze locked onto Yamato Kuuka, who was cutting through yokai as effortlessly as slicing vegetables.
It decided to eliminate the strongest opponent first.
Her pale neck filled the Kamaitachi's vision, as though it could already see her head falling in the next instant.
A violent gale erupted—
And with it came the scythe of death.
When the sudden wind swept across the battlefield, the faces of the Countermeasures Division soldiers turned pale with fear.
They knew all too well what the wind meant.
Someone was about to die.
That feeling—waiting helplessly to see whether you'd be chosen—was unbearable.
While the humans trembled, the yokai army's morale skyrocketed.
Their leader had taken the field.
The Kamaitachi closed in on Yamato Kuuka at blistering speed, its target crystal clear.
And yet, the sword shrine maiden seemed completely unaware, continuing to fight as usual.
"Clang—!"
A crisp, ringing sound suddenly echoed across the entire battlefield.
It snapped the humans out of their terror—and froze the charging yokai in place.
The most shocked of all was the Kamaitachi itself.
Just moments ago, when it closed in on Kuuka while she showed no sign of awareness, it had been certain of success.
Yet its attack—
Had been blocked.
By a human youth.
"That really is fast," a calm voice said with a smile."If I hadn't been paying attention, you might've actually pulled it off."
The one who intercepted the Kamaitachi was none other than Ren Kuroda—the powerful reinforcement Kamishiro had spoken of.
Holding the yokai blade Oniwound in one hand, Ren casually braced against the Kamaitachi's twin claws, confidence written plainly across his face.
"You think you can see me?" the Kamaitachi snarled."Pure luck, that's all! Don't get cocky, brat!"
It was furious.
You could criticize its damage output. You could question its raw strength.
But its speed?
That was sacred.
Speed was its greatest pride—something no one was allowed to doubt.
And now, some wet-behind-the-ears kid was claiming he could track it?
"Ah, you think I'm bluffing?" Ren said lightly."Then I'll give you another chance."
"I won't move from this spot. Attack however you like."
"After that, you'll know whether it was just luck."
The Kamaitachi's speed truly was extraordinary. Against an ordinary A+-rank exorcist, it might not win—but it certainly wouldn't lose.
Unfortunately for it, luck was not on its side.
Even without activating Half-Oni Transformation, Ren's peak combat power already reached A+.
And Ren was a speed-type fighter as well.
His yokai power surpassed the Kamaitachi's, he possessed the lightning-fast technique "Swift as the Wind," and—most importantly—he had Mind's Eye, an ability that made tracking the Kamaitachi trivial.
Unwilling to believe it, the Kamaitachi widened the distance, then vanished into the gale once more, slashing at Ren with blinding speed.
By now, it had completely forgotten its original target.
All of its hatred had shifted onto Ren alone.
The outcome was inevitable.
No matter which direction it attacked from, every strike was perfectly blocked.
What it found utterly unacceptable was that, in the end, Ren even closed his eyes—a blatant display of disregard.
Enraged, the Kamaitachi unleashed all of its yokai power.
The wind blades tearing from its claws grew terrifyingly sharp, capable of slicing through buildings and steel with ease.
Yet no matter how violently it erupted, no matter how much its speed increased—
The result only deepened its despair.
Ren never took a single step from his spot.
Every attack was flawlessly defended.
It was humiliation of the highest order—utterly dominated in the one field it prided itself on, and in front of all its subordinates.
How was it supposed to remain their leader after this?
As Ren and the Kamaitachi clashed, the battlefield itself underwent a dramatic shift.
Morale swung violently.
Before, the Countermeasures Division had been terrified of the Kamaitachi's unpredictable, vanishing attacks—like fighting beneath a constantly falling guillotine.
But now, the most troublesome yokai on the field couldn't do a thing to Mr. Ren.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kamishiro and Miss Yamato were carving through enemies left and right.
For the first time—
Everyone could see victory within reach.