At this moment, the "Evils of This World" surging toward Ren Kuroda consisted of two distinct parts.
One portion was formed from the negative emotions that had always sought to devour him—resentment, despair, hatred, and madness that longed to drag him into total corruption.
The other portion came from the oni army that, for various reasons, had already become part of Ren Kuroda's Intrinsic Domain. This power did not seek to consume him. Instead, it existed to protect his will, to prevent him from being completely lost within the Evils of This World.
The massive tide of black filth writhed as if alive, crawling relentlessly toward Ren Kuroda's position. In moments, it engulfed him entirely, swallowing his body from head to toe.
The Nightblade God—who had previously watched with detached interest—was no longer calm when he saw the black mud surge forth.
As a god, his instincts screamed danger.
These pitch-black substances radiated pure malice and overwhelming negative emotions. Even a god would suffer serious consequences from merely touching them.
And yet—
Ren Kuroda was actively absorbing them.
The Nightblade God did not know how these ominous, sludge-like abominations had come into existence, nor how Ren Kuroda had gathered so much of the Evils of This World—let alone used them to construct his own domain.
But one thing suddenly became clear.
No wonder a crack had been torn open between the two worlds.
The space they were standing in was abnormal.
And there was another thing he understood just as clearly—
Ren Kuroda could not be allowed to continue.
Otherwise, this battle might end in disaster.
The Evils of This World were already dangerous enough. Now that Ren Kuroda was absorbing them, unknown changes were taking place within his body.
Gripping the black scythe tightly, the Nightblade God vanished in an instant and reappeared before Ren Kuroda, swinging straight for his head.
But just as the scythe was about to sever Ren Kuroda's neck—
A figure appeared between them.
The blow was blocked.
"Hey… don't you think you've forgotten something since earlier?"
A mocking voice rang out.
"This brat might be a bit rebellious, but he's still one of the oni.By seniority, he's practically my nephew.Do you really think I'd just stand by and watch him get slaughtered?"
The one who had suddenly appeared in front of Ren Kuroda—and blocked the Nightblade God's strike—
Was Ibaraki Dōji.
The very same Ibaraki Dōji who had been fighting Ren Kuroda moments earlier.
When he had seen Ren Kuroda charge at the Nightblade God before, Ibaraki had frozen in surprise.
After that came a fierce internal struggle.
Should he leave now?
Or should he stay and fight alongside Ren Kuroda?
If he stayed, the odds were grim. Even though both of them were SS-rank demon kings, they had already exhausted much of their strength. Fighting two-on-one still offered no guarantee of victory.
But if he left—
How could he ever face Shuten Dōji again?
In the end, when forced to choose between the oni clan and his closest bond…
Ibaraki decided that his bond mattered more.
After all, he had once been alone in the world. He had joined the oni only because of Shuten Dōji.
Now, Ibaraki Dōji once again entered the same state he had been in before his battle with Ren Kuroda.
The high-tech demon armor covered his entire body. His left arm—seething with ominous oni aura—had completely corrupted the left half of his form.
It was that very arm that now blocked the Nightblade God's scythe.
The black blade pressed down relentlessly.
Blood began to seep from Ibaraki's demon arm.
The Nightblade God had been aiming to kill Ren Kuroda in a single blow—there was no restraint in his attack.
Ibaraki Dōji was powerful, but against a god striking with full intent, he was clearly being overpowered.
The demon arm that had once withstood famed blades—even the Kusanagi Sword—now cracked beneath the god-imbued scythe.
The wound deepened as the blade pressed downward.
"Stop getting in my way!"
The Nightblade God snarled.
"I don't have time to play with you.Do you even realize what that brat behind you is doing right now?!
The power he's using is dangerous—even to gods!One mistake, and he could destroy this entire world!"
His face twisted with fury as he glanced past Ibaraki, toward Ren Kuroda—whose body was now more than half covered in black sludge.
The Nightblade God didn't fully understand what the black mud was.
But he knew this much—
It posed a threat not just to gods, but to the world itself.
Ren Kuroda was already one of the most powerful beings in the lower realm. If he merged with such an abomination, the outcome was unimaginable.
The gods wanted to build a new civilization, not annihilate the world. Total destruction offered them nothing.
And that realization made the Nightblade God panic.
Meanwhile, the battlefield shifted again.
Before many of the onlookers could even process what had happened, the surrounding darkness receded, and they found themselves back on the snow-covered mountainside.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been cause for celebration.
But no one felt relieved.
They now knew the truth.
The true enemy was not the yokai—
It was the gods themselves.
And against beings like that, escaping the Hundred-Night Oni Domain meant nothing.
If the Nightblade God truly wanted them dead, fleeing Tokyo—or even the entire region—would make little difference.
Ren Kuroda's Intrinsic Domain had been formed from the Evils of This World.
Now that he was absorbing them, the domain naturally collapsed.
And when the binding field disappeared, the Nightblade God grew even more enraged.
He wanted to stop Ren Kuroda—
But Ibaraki Dōji refused to yield.
"The gods' plan was only to build a new civilization—To wipe out most humans and yokai and reshape the world as you see fit.
But if you let that kid keep going—
This entire world might be destroyed!"
That wasn't an exaggeration.
The Evils of This World were the embodiment of humanity's negative emotions—something virtually infinite.
Contained within a vessel, like a Holy Grail or Ren Kuroda's domain, they could be managed.
But once released into the open world—
They would consume everything.
Even gods feared such an existence.
"Ridiculous."
Armor shattered, his left arm drenched in blood, Ibaraki Dōji laughed mockingly.
"If the gods intend to erase the humans and yokai who are alive right now in order to build a new civilization…
Then tell me—
How is that any different from destroying the world?"
The Nightblade God stopped responding.
Instead, he raised his scythe and surged toward Ren Kuroda once more.
As Ibaraki dragged his battered body forward to intercept—
The god extended one hand and clenched it in midair.
"Night Raid · Black Night Shackles."
The ground beneath Ibaraki erupted.
Countless pale hands burst forth, grabbing his ankles.
Barbed, hook-like chains followed, binding him completely in place.
Inside Ren Kuroda's Intrinsic Domain, the influence of the Evils of This World had prevented the Nightblade God from fully exerting his authority.
But now the domain was gone.
Though excessive divine power would still trigger the world's rejection, the Nightblade God no longer cared.
Once Ibaraki was restrained, he flashed forward—appearing directly in front of Ren Kuroda.
No more games.
This time, he would kill him outright.
Divine power surged into the scythe.
The already massive blade turned pitch-black, and a monstrous, ghostly visage emerged along its edge, as though it hungered to devour its prey.
As the scythe fell, space itself fractured—A phenomenon like severed void appeared.
If Ren Kuroda took this hit head-on—
No amount of regeneration would save him.
Death would be absolute.
The killing wind lashed across Ren Kuroda's face—
And at that exact moment—
His eyes opened.
The Evils of This World swirled around him.
As the black scythe descended, the sludge suddenly condensed into a gigantic arm that caught the blade by its tip.
The Nightblade God froze.
When he looked at Ren Kuroda again, his heart shook.
This Ren Kuroda was nothing like before.
Gone were emotion, passion, fury.
His eyes were pitch-black—Bottomless, silent, unfathomable.
There was no warmth.
No hatred.
No fear.
Only absolute indifference.
An expression that should never exist in the lower realm—
No—
An expression that should not exist on any living being.
In that endless darkness, the Nightblade God saw something terrifying.
Ren Kuroda regarded everything with cold detachment—
Including the god standing before him.
..
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