"Even if that kid really is as talented as you say," the Yamato family head said with a frown, his voice low and conflicted,"we still don't know him well enough yet.Isn't it a bit too rash to go as far as arranging an engagement for Kuka just like that?"
Though he had always been the one urging his daughter to marry early, no father in the world truly wanted to hand his precious daughter over to another man.
It was like spending more than twenty years carefully raising a tender cabbage, only to watch it suddenly get trampled by a pig—and worse, a pig he wasn't even particularly fond of.
Yamato Miku glanced at him coolly, her tone calm yet edged with quiet dominance.
"It seems clan affairs have kept you so busy lately that you haven't even bothered to look into the young man's background.
"The person Kuka brought back this time isn't some nobody.He's the 'Redeemer' who's been rising to prominence lately."
She lifted her teacup, her gaze unwavering.
"True, we may not yet fully understand Ren Kuroda's character.But judging solely from what he's done so far, he's clearly a young man with a strong sense of justice.
"And you of all people should know—Kuka has always been proud and selective.Do you really think an ordinary man, someone without real ability, could ever catch her eye?"
As the head of the Yamato family, he truly had been overwhelmed recently by the abnormal shifts in the heavens and the escalating chaos across the country.He hadn't even connected the dots—that boy from earlier, at such a young age, already carried a name with real weight.
"But still—"
He tried to protest one last time, only to be cut off immediately.
"Family Head," Yamato Miku said softly, though the pressure in her voice was unmistakable,"as the wife of this household, I have neither the authority nor the right to interfere in clan matters.
"But when it comes to our own family…tell me—who has the final say?"
She set her cup down with a faint clink.
"Instead of standing here complaining, you'd be better off helping me prepare the finest gifts we have.In a few days, I'll personally visit the Kuroda household.
"Do you really think we're the only family interested in the 'Redeemer'?"
Her lips curved faintly.
"From what I've heard, the Kagamori family and the Chijiri family have already set their sights on him."
As one of the Twelve Demon-Slaying Houses, the Yamato family naturally stood in constant competition with the others.And there was no denying it—Ren Kuroda's qualifications were exceptional.
Not yet twenty years old, and he had already entered the top three hundred on the Exorcist Registry—the only person in that tier who could still be called a youth.
More than that, beyond his impressive battle record and raw strength, Ren possessed a natural advantage that the great families valued immensely.
He didn't belong to any surviving exorcist clan.
Or rather, the clan he once belonged to had already been wiped out.All that remained were him, his mother, and his younger sister.
According to intelligence gathered from informants within the Countermeasure Bureau, Ren Kuroda felt little attachment to the Kuroda name itself.He showed no interest whatsoever in rebuilding or revitalizing his former clan.
To the established exorcist families, this was extraordinarily good news.
A young man with both talent and power, in a world where chaos reigned—such a successor could grant a family far greater influence in the future.
With no clan obligations weighing him down, Ren appeared—from the perspective of the great houses—to be a prodigy who was "poor as paper."
If he could be brought in through marriage, wouldn't that genius become their own?
And while Yamato Miku busied herself at home, preparing gifts for her upcoming visit to the Kuroda household,the situation on the front lines underwent a dramatic shift.
Compared to the yokai forces—who had planned meticulously and struck with preparation—humanity was finally pushed into a clear disadvantage.
After deploying one of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Yata Mirror,humanity was eventually forced to use the remaining two as well.
These sacred artifacts were used to kill and wound two S-rank great yokai:the Ox-Demon and the colossal specter known as Arakuro.
Among the Three Sacred Treasures, the Kusanagi Sword was the most fearsome offensive weapon.
The Ox-Demon, though powerful, was not as overwhelming as the Great Tengu, nor did it possess the same speed.In a single moment of carelessness, it was cleaved in two by Kusanagi's divine edge.
As for Arakuro—its strength rivaled that of the Ox-Demon, placing it firmly among the S-rank great yokai.
However, Arakuro was a monstrous skeleton formed from countless fallen warriors' remains across ancient battlefields.Its massive body granted it a pseudo-immortality; sheer size and undead resilience made it exceptionally difficult to kill outright.
The Yasakani no Magatama, though balanced between offense and defense, was ultimately the most unremarkable of the three treasures.
Even empowered by its divine might, it could only drive Arakuro back—not destroy it completely.
Judging purely from the battle reports, it seemed humanity had gained the upper hand.
But reality told a different story.
The Ox-Demon and Arakuro were merely two among many S-rank yokai.Others existed at the same level—or far stronger.
Some might argue that since the Three Sacred Treasures were so powerful,humanity could simply continue using them to wipe out the yokai.
Such thinking was dangerously naive.
Yes, the Sacred Treasures were immensely powerful—but did anyone truly believe such power came without cost?
The energy currently stored within the Three Sacred Treasures had been accumulated over countless years through shrine offerings and ritual devotion.
Every time that power was used, it diminished.
Unless the situation was truly dire, the Sacred Treasures were never meant to be deployed.
After all, even divine weapons were still just tools.
Their true potential could only be unleashed by someone capable of wielding them.
And at present, humanity had no one who could supply the Treasures with sufficient spiritual power.
According to legend, the Three Sacred Treasures were capable of far more.Not just S-rank yokai—even SSS-rank entities could theoretically be sealed or slain.
But legends were legends.
In this era, no one existed who could truly command them.
Thus, the Treasures relied solely on their stored energy—so limited that even killing S-rank yokai outright had become difficult.
Considering the circumstances, the results achieved were already remarkable.
The Sacred Treasures forced back several great yokai,but rather than instilling fear, this revelation emboldened them.
Once the yokai realized the Treasures were not as invincible as myth claimed,their assaults became even more aggressive.
Humanity did have powerful figures of its own.
One such example was Kuka Yamato's mentor, Minamoto no Yorimitsu.
Leading a small contingent of the Minamoto clan, he traveled to Hokkaido to resist the oni tribes.
With the resurgence of spiritual energy, the old man seemed reborn, as if granted a second youth.Wielding the demon-slaying blade Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, he single-handedly carved through the oni army, striking such terror into them that the battlefield eventually settled into a deadlock.
But warriors like Minamoto no Yorimitsu were rare.
Most human exorcists, when faced with the overwhelming yokai hordes, were woefully outmatched.
Decades of peace had left many with strong spiritual power but no real combat experience.
The result was predictable.
Against yokai of equal rank, exorcists fell one after another—retreating in defeat, or dying outright.
In just one month, the territory controlled by humanity shrank from half the country to barely one-third.
The war between humans and yokai had decisively tilted against mankind.
As yokai chaos spread, the nation's very structure began to change—quietly, inexorably.
In the past, regardless of location, governmental authority reigned supreme.
But this was no longer the old world.
Those once dismissed as frauds and charlatans—onmyōji and exorcists—now stood at the forefront.
In any era, in any land, power ultimately decided authority.
The current leaders could do little more than stabilize morale; beyond that, they were nearly helpless.
Meanwhile, the exorcists—once mocked—demonstrated undeniable power, standing on the front lines to defend humanity's homes.
Unwilling to surrender their authority, the upper echelons of power chose to act.
Ignoring the protests of scientists, they forcibly deployed forbidden weapons.
The outcome was exactly as predicted.
Countless lesser yokai were annihilated.Not a single great yokai died.
Worse still, this reckless act enraged the yokai, accelerating their invasion.
And even more catastrophically, some yokai that survived exposure to those forbidden weapons underwent mutations under nuclear radiation—just as the scientists had warned.
Humanity would have to swallow the bitter consequences of its own folly.
Public faith in the authorities collapsed, while the status of exorcists rose even higher.
The yokai advance eventually slowed—but only after they had seized two-thirds of the country's territory.
Perhaps the forbidden weapons had indeed culled many lesser yokai.Perhaps the yokai feared the ancient divine artifacts still in human hands.Or perhaps they worried that cornering humanity completely would lead to mutual annihilation.
Whatever the reason, the advance stalled.
Humanity gained a brief chance to breathe.
At present, yokai occupied two-thirds of the nation's former living space—including several once-thriving major cities.
Within this vast territory, three factions reigned supreme.
First was the oni army in Hokkaido, led by a mysterious SS-rank oni lord.Even Minamoto no Yorimitsu, wielding Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, had been gravely wounded fighting it.
Second were the tengu clans, led by the Great Tengu who had previously been wounded by a Sacred Treasure.
Third was the grudge-spirit legion centered in the Nara region, commanded by the fearsome Aka Hannya.
The Great Tengu was weaker than the oni lord, ranking at S+,while Aka Hannya rivaled it in power.
Together, these three forces stood as the most dominant yokai factions in the world today.