"Yes. None of this is your fault. It's their fault. If it weren't for them, your little sister Ruri would never have died by your hand.
You only wanted to protect your sister and your mother. If you just destroy everyone else, then they'll never be hurt again."
Inside Ren Kuroda's mind, that voice continued to whisper, coaxing him to shift all blame onto others—to open the floodgates and slaughter without restraint.
But the violent emotional shock had forced a crack in the darkness.
Within the corrupted state, Ren had regained a sliver of clarity. And in that clarity, he had no intention of listening to that poisonous nonsense.
"Shut the hell up! Stop feeding me that crap and get out of my body!"
Sensing Ren's violent emotional upheaval, the black sludge that embodied "All the World's Evil" surged again, creeping over his body like ivy. It sought to seize control completely while his heart was wounded and vulnerable.
But what Ruri's "death" ignited in him was not despair.
It was fury.
He raged at his own weakness—at failing to protect the person he had sworn to protect. And even more, he loathed the force that had corrupted him and driven him to kill her.
With guttural roars, Ren dug his claws into his own flesh and tore the black sludge from his body.
The violent ripping left him a mangled mess of torn skin and blood.
He didn't care.
Compared to the agony of Ruri's death, what was this pain?
Through blurred vision, he saw Ruri's body sinking under the encroaching black sludge.
In his eyes, though she showed no signs of life—
He still had the System.
He could travel between worlds.
Resurrection sounded absurd—but just because it was impossible here didn't mean it was impossible elsewhere.
But if "All the World's Evil" devoured her body completely, then his sister would lose even the slightest chance at revival.
Inside the illusion, Ren continued his desperate struggle.
Outside, the scene was entirely different.
The Hundred-Night Oni stood frozen mid-throw, arm raised as if about to hurl Ruri away. Yet his body was locked in place, unmoving.
Tsuchigumo-hime and Yuki-hime instinctively stepped forward, intending to call out—or rescue Ruri.
But the artificial Ren—the clone—stopped them.
Others might not understand what Ren was going through.
But as his split body, he knew exactly.
The pink mist that had enveloped Ren earlier—it was the power of the Sesshōseki shard. And mixed within it was the unmistakable presence of Tamamo-no-Mae.
In other words—
Tamamo-no-Mae, who had been dormant within the shard, had awakened at this critical moment. And she was using her own method to try to wake Ren from his corrupted state.
Logically speaking, a mere shard of the Sesshōseki shouldn't have enough power to affect Ren, even if reinforced by Tamamo-no-Mae.
Ren's current yokai power was a genuine SSS+ level existence.
Illusions shouldn't have worked on him at all.
But there was one key detail.
Ren's overwhelming strength right now came entirely from corruption.
As Yoruha-no-Kami had said earlier—he possessed monstrous power, but no reason.
In this state, his mental defenses were at their weakest.
And illusion techniques—especially those enhanced by Tamamo-no-Mae—targeted precisely that vulnerability.
So Ren had fallen for it.
If Ren had known what kind of illusion Tamamo-no-Mae created, he would have scolded her for how reckless it was.
An illusion of him killing Ruri—
Yes, it could create intense emotional upheaval.
But the outcome was uncertain.
Corrupted Ren might awaken in shock…
Or he might collapse into even deeper madness.
As for why Tamamo-no-Mae chose this method—
Partly because she didn't know Ruri well enough. She feared slipping up if Ruri remained conscious, so making her play a corpse was safest.
And partly—
She wanted to see whether the familial bonds Ren once boasted about in the Nura Clan world were truly as unbreakable as he claimed.
In the battlefield, Ren remained in his demonic form, frozen.
Ruri, still clutched in his hand, had also lost consciousness due to the influence of "All the World's Evil."
As for the remaining onlookers—
They stood silent, staring.
No one dared provoke this calamity of a being.
At this point, no one could help Ren.
This battle belonged solely to him and "All the World's Evil."
If he won—
He would return to normal. Perhaps even gain some control over that terrible power.
If he lost—
Just as Yoruha-no-Kami had warned, he would become a mindless monster. A creature that knew only destruction.
And if that happened—
Even if Ruri or Ayami stood before him, it wouldn't matter.
The last remnants of Ren's consciousness would be erased.
Inside his consciousness, the black sludge was like a tenacious organism. No matter how many times Ren tore it away, it crawled back relentlessly.
The source of "All the World's Evil" was humanity's endless negative emotions.
Ren's spiritual power, by contrast, was finite.
At first, their struggle had been evenly matched.
But as time dragged on, fatigue crept in.
Tearing away the corruption gnawing at his soul brought indescribable agony.
And after successive brutal battles, his body and mind were already exhausted.
Soul-weary, spirit weakened—
Though unwilling to yield, Ren felt helpless as the black sludge continued consuming him.
Just as his strength began to falter—
A new power suddenly flowed into him.
His dimming soul flared back to brilliance.
"Ruri isn't dead. Tamamo-no-Mae created this illusion to test your heart.
But if you lose here, your body outside will be completely devoured by 'All the World's Evil.'
Ruri is still in your hands. If the corruption runs rampant, you know what will happen.
Your adorable little sister's life rests in your grasp.
So this time—
Can you protect her?"
Along with that surge of soul power came this electrifying truth.
Reinforced by renewed spiritual strength—and by his determination to protect his family—
The battle shifted once more into a fierce stalemate.
The black sludge covering half his body coalesced into another head—an identical Ren—its expression twisted in rage.
"You're such a nuisance! And you, you damn siscon! The moment you learned your sister wasn't dead, your so-called 'big-brother spirit' flared up, huh?
But what does it matter? This is just your final struggle before death.
My power is endless.
Nothing's changed. In a prolonged battle, you still lose."
The sludge-formed Ren looked utterly confident, as if taking over this body was merely a matter of time.
Ren clenched his teeth.
He hated that smug expression—
But he couldn't deny the truth.
Whether before or now, he had only managed to maintain equilibrium.
If this became a war of attrition—
How could a human soul, limited in power, overcome the negative emotions of an entire world?
He lacked one final, decisive force.
It could be another surge of returning soul power—
Or something that awakened his will even further.
Outside—
The artificial Ren, hand resting against the original's body, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut as his split soul returned.
At the same time, the black sludge entwining Ren began to boil violently—like flames doused in gasoline.
"All the World's Evil" possessed a will of its own.
It refused to submit.
It would resist—and claim this vessel completely.
The situation returned to a tense stalemate.
Everyone's hearts hung in their throats.
This was no longer about humans versus yokai.
Everyone present understood—
If the Hundred-Night Oni fell,
The world might face a catastrophe far worse than gods.
Compared to an uncontrollable monster that destroyed everything in sight—
They would much rather deal with the Hundred-Night Oni who, though a yokai, could still reason.
The battlefield grew so silent you could hear a pin drop.
All eyes locked onto Ren, silently praying he would overcome the writhing, malevolent sludge.
No one dared breathe too loudly.
And just as the tension peaked—
A spell circle suddenly flared to life beside Ren.
Tsuchigumo-hime and Yuki-hime tensed, ready to shatter it—
But the head of the Yamato family raised a hand.
"That's a Concealment Teleportation Array," he said gravely.
"It seems Kuka has returned."