When Ren Kuroda suddenly appeared and blocked Tamazuki, Nura Rikuo and the others instinctively halted their charge, shock written plainly across their faces.
They genuinely couldn't understand why Ren was here at all—and the words he'd spoken just now unsettled them even more.
What startled them most, however, was the lineup behind him.
Weren't those yokai… the "Seven Who Walk Together" from before?
If that was the case, then did that mean Ren and Tamazuki were actually on the same side?
Had their earlier assumptions been wrong? Had Ren also been involved in the killing of Saru?
That thought barely had time to form before it was crushed—because Ren and Tamazuki were already fighting each other head-on.
Meanwhile, Kejorō—Kino hurried back to Rikuo's side. Remembering what had just happened, her heart was still pounding.
Kejorō was stronger than most ordinary yokai, roughly on par with Tsurara, but still a step below the Nura Clan's top combatants like Kurotabō.
There was no doubt about it—if the berserk Tamazuki had truly gone after her and Kugihime, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
They wouldn't just lose. They'd be wiped out before Rikuo and the others could even reach them.
Kejorō and Kugihime had already been fighting for a long time, both exhausted. With Tamazuki's power now leagues beyond what it had been before, once he set his sights on them, even escaping would've been a luxury.
"Young Master… what should we do now?"
The fodder yokai Tamazuki had brought with him had already been almost completely wiped out by the Nura Clan. All that remained were Tamazuki himself—and the Seven Who Walk Together, whose allegiance was unclear.
Staring at Tessō, Kugihime, and the others standing opposite them, Kurotabō and the rest tensed up instinctively.
The Seven Who Walk Together of Shikoku were notorious. They'd heard plenty of rumors—Tamazuki's most trusted subordinates. Yet now Tessō and the Nekomata girl were standing together with Ren, which left them completely confused.
If the Seven had truly defected to the Kidōin, then why had Kugihime just clashed with them earlier?
At that moment, the samurai spirit stepped forward and spoke calmly.
"Members of the Nura Clan, please don't misunderstand. We and our lord did not come with hostile intentions.
"The Seven Who Walk Together from Shikoku actually attacked us earlier. Those who survived have already chosen to abandon the darkness and join our Kidōin.
"As for Kugihime's actions just now… that was entirely her own impulsive decision. I believe our lord will give you a proper explanation later."
Faced with Rikuo and the others' wary gazes, the samurai spirit explained everything openly.
As for Kugihime herself—despite having been saved by Ren—she looked completely hollow, as if her soul had been torn away.
She simply couldn't accept it.
The man she'd sworn her life to… had actually intended to kill her in the end, to turn her into fuel for the Demon King's Little Hammer.
The expressions on Gakegishi Kozō and Tessō weren't much better.
If anything, they felt grim relief. Loyalty, when betrayed, hurt most when it had once been deepest.
"Why… why is this happening?! My power is clearly greater!"
At the center of the battlefield, Ren and Tamazuki were already locked in a fierce clash. The shockwaves of their battle tore through the surroundings, sending debris flying in every direction.
The yokai watching from the sidelines retreated again and again—any stray slash was enough to kill them instantly.
"Your swordsmanship is crude," Ren said calmly.
"You're just swinging wildly, without technique or control.
"You possess immense yokai power and a decent weapon—but you have no idea how to turn either of them into your strength."
With ease, Ren deflected the Demon King's Little Hammer. His Nichirin Blade came down in a clean arc, carving a deep gash across Tamazuki's body.
As the fight continued, more and more wounds accumulated on Tamazuki—but Ren remained utterly composed from start to finish.
His terrifying combat prowess left Rikuo and the others stunned… and drove Tamazuki to the brink of madness.
Tamazuki could clearly sense it—Ren's yokai power was stronger than Rikuo's, yes, but it only reached B+ rank.
That level shouldn't even come close to matching his A− rank power.
So why?
Why was he the one being overwhelmed?
"Power in a sword comes from harmony," Ren said evenly.
"A blade is a companion, a tool for cutting down enemies—not something that controls you.
"In raw yokai power, you might hold a slight edge. But defeating you doesn't even require me to transform."
"This… is more than enough."
Ren raised his blade.
"Let me show you what true swordsmanship looks like.
"Hear the cry of the divine wind—
break the enemy with the force of a raging gale—
Swift as the Wind—Piercing Army!"
Yokai power surged along the circulation of the Demonic Breathing Technique. In that instant, all the surrounding wind seemed to converge toward a single point.
The next moment—
A massive slash wrapped in a roaring gale erupted from Ren's blade.
The attack was enormous—fast, razor-sharp, unstoppable—cleaving through everything in its path as it surged forward.
A pale green arc skimmed across the ground, carving a deep trench as it screamed straight toward Tamazuki.
Tamazuki tried to dodge—but the slash was simply too fast, too wide.
Turning his back would only expose him.
He had no choice but to take it head-on.
And besides—
He refused to believe it.
Ren was only B+ rank. There was no way an attack from someone with weaker yokai power could break through his defense!
Roaring, Tamazuki raised the Demon King's Little Hammer and met the incoming slash head-on.
Blade and wind collided in a violent explosion of sparks—
Then, in the next instant—
Blood sprayed into the air.
A severed arm spun upward, still clutching a weapon.
"AAAAAAAGH—!!"
Tamazuki's scream tore through the battlefield as his right arm—the one that had held the Demon King's Little Hammer—fell heavily to the ground.
The massive green slash didn't stop there. It continued onward, cleaving through the entire plaza before breaking apart into countless wind blades that swept the area clean—only then fading away.
As for the result?
Tamazuki, clutching his severed arm, collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.
That alone said everything.
"…So that's Ren's Fear?" Rikuo muttered in disbelief.
The onlookers were completely dumbfounded. Just moments earlier, they'd been debating whether they should jump in to help Ren.
After all, Tamazuki had grown monstrously strong from slaughtering so many yokai. His aura alone felt overwhelming.
Yet the fight had unfolded in ways none of them could have predicted.
They had barely managed to stalemate Tamazuki together.
Ren had defeated him alone.
And the part Rikuo couldn't accept—
Ren's yokai power was weaker than Tamazuki's.
After being utterly crushed by Ren before, Rikuo had come to firmly believe in Ren's so-called "absolute yokai power theory."
So what was this?
Hadn't Ren himself said that when raw power overwhelmingly surpassed your opponent, any Fear technique was meaningless?
Then what was that slash that had taken Tamazuki's arm?
Rikuo felt cheated.
And seeing Ren fight again only drove home a harsher truth—his recent efforts hadn't closed the gap between them at all.
They'd only shown him that Ren hadn't even been warming up back at the old school building.
Because watching this fight, Ren looked just as calm now as he had back then.
The only difference… was that final, all-cleaving wind slash.
Rikuo guessed that must have been Ren's Fear.
In this world, a yokai's racial ability was known as Fear.
Surely, that final technique—Swift as the Wind—had to be Ren's Fear.
That assumption was shattered instantly by the Nekomata girl's scornful snort.
"That wasn't Lord Ren's Fear at all. It was just his swordsmanship.
"Against a third-rate opponent like that, Lord Ren doesn't even need to use his Fear."
The same Tamazuki who had suppressed multiple Nura Clan elites on his own… dismissed as third-rate.
Rikuo and the others couldn't help but wear awkward expressions.
But what shocked them more was the implication.
That overwhelming slash—
wasn't a natural ability?
It was learned?
No… could human swordsmanship really reach something so absurd?
With his right arm gone, the Demon King's Little Hammer slipped from Tamazuki's grasp. The power flooding his body began to drain away at a visible rate.
To be fair, Ren's "absolute yokai power theory" wasn't entirely wrong.
Tamazuki's failure to block that final attack stemmed from two reasons.
First, the Wind–Forest–Fire–Mountain technique unleashed through the Demonic Breathing Technique was, in many ways, Ren's strongest move—its power exceeded what his own yokai energy should have been capable of.
Second, although Tamazuki had forced his way into A− rank using the Demon King's Little Hammer, that strength was hollow—borrowed, unstable.
Failing to withstand Ren's strongest strike was only natural.
Now, Tamazuki crawled desperately toward the fallen Demon King's Little Hammer.
The power had intoxicated him.
He couldn't let it go.
"…So you've become a slave to power," Ren said quietly.
"In that case—let me send you on your final journey."
Ren walked toward him, Nichirin Blade rising slowly into the air.
At that moment, an elderly voice rang out from the side.
"Young man… could you do this old one a favor?"
"Spare the life of this disappointing son of mine."