In the depths of the light, an extraordinary being composed entirely of lightning manifested itself. It was a thunder beast, resembling a giant wolf with sharp claws.

However, the thunder beast's paws, head, torso, and mouth were pierced by thick vajras. A total of five vajras were embedded in the giant wolf's lightning form.

Each of these vajras was the size of a house pillar, engraved with dense scriptures, and emanated the power of gods and Buddhas.

“Awaken… Wild Thunder Wolf Beast.”

Kohajiro raised his nodachi. From the demon sword Arare Renga, glowing chains were released, connected to the five vajras, also binding this thunderous beast, also making the thunder beast seem very painful.

The glowing magic chains formed shackles, wrapping around the giant wolf-shaped thunder beast's body and jaw to apply restraints.

Originally, the thunder beast was a nature spirit, a manifestation of thunderous might, inherently volatile, ferocious, and malevolent. Suppressed by the vajras and entangled by chains, its fierce rage ignited crackling sparks in the void, occasionally accompanied by lightning strikes.

Fuguraku Sakiru, along with the giant spider and the Red Barrier High Priest, lost their composure. The speed at which this near-divine beast was summoned was too fast, and even if its master were killed, the thunder beast would be released.

“Go! Destroy my enemies.”

Kohajiro also tensed up, manipulating the chains while stoking the thunder beast's fury.

“Sealed by Kukai with the Five Dragon Pestles, unleash the rage I have captured upon them, destroy them for me!”

The wolf-shaped thunder beast roared, its immense spiritual power concentrated, as if its radiant maw connected to the depths of the destructive thunderclouds. Then, a flash of light exploded—

Countless rays of light, so bright they changed the colors of the sky and earth, erupted from the thunder beast's mouth. A pillar of lightning shot out, engulfing everything in its path in light and heat…

Several hours later, the small shrine dedicated to an unknown deity, along with the entire mountain peak, had been leveled.

The intense conflict between a super-class exorcist and a great demon could even alter the landscape.

“Liar… that kind of monster—”

The woman in the red kimono fled the battlefield in a sorry state.

Although she felt sorry for the Earth Spider and the Red Barrier Giant Squid, Sakiru did her best to escape. One of her arms was gone, and her beautiful long hair was covered in ash and dirt.

Her left eye had vanished from her beautiful face, leaving only a bloody hole. She gritted her teeth, spitting out words of hatred.

“Beast… how could they be so strong… Is the Black Princess Mountain family's bloodline really that powerful?”

She stumbled along, her wooden clogs long lost, walking completely barefoot. Her remaining hand desperately clutched her abdomen, preventing her intestines from spilling out. With such injuries, an ordinary person would have died long ago.

Fortunately, the woman was born with the blood of the great demon “Yamauba.” The Yamauba's demonic blood granted her excessive vitality, making these injuries not fatal.

But the pain remained. She endured the pain as she walked forward. Almost every step left a drop of blood, leaving a trail on the ground.

Finally, she seemed unable to bear it any longer and collapsed to the ground.

“…Mustn't die.”

She fell to the ground, her chest heaving violently, blood constantly spilling from her lips, barely managing to breathe.

She couldn't die in a place like this.

“Can't die here…”

She had not yet completed her revenge against the Black Princess Mountain family.

“Will never forgive… Black Princess Mountain… Young Lord, will definitely…”

She couldn't finish her sentence before falling unconscious. A small, jet-black bird circled in the air and slowly landed beside her.

Early morning.

The light of dawn shone upon the world through the gaps between the trees.

The terrain of the mountains had completely changed, and countless ancient trees had collapsed, as if struck by a mudslide.

The cross-sections of the large trees revealed shattered fibers, broken by immense force during the fierce battle of the previous night. Soil and low-lying trees were uprooted together, forming mounds of earth.

On the other side, not far from the scene of destruction, the corpse of the Earth Spider—the “god” once worshiped by the natives—lay on the ground, its massive body like a small mountain.

“What a mighty warrior?! Even the multiple barriers combining curse reversal and physical barriers were shattered…

From the bottom of the broken cliff, a compassionate voice echoed. The giant squid demon, who had lived for over five hundred years, was cleaved in half as if by a slash, its tentacles no longer moving. Pale blue entrails and blue blood flowed on the ground, forming a small lake.

“I never thought this humble monk would die here…”

“…”

A slender arm held a slender katana, its tip deeply piercing the demon's vital point. Then, it was easily pulled out from the Red Barrier High Priest's head. The latter's eyes widened, his demonic pupils no longer moving.

“Too much useless talk.”

Black Princess Mountain Kohagi's scarlet jacket had been damaged in the battle, and she wore an easier-to-move exorcist uniform.

“What a pity, I quite liked this outfit…”

She muttered to herself.

“…What a mess.”

Just then, black bat-like wings flapped continuously, and an eerie figure landed.

“To be so disheveled dealing with such enemies, losing members of your own faction and the Sako family, Shadowy Woman, could it be your skills are declining?”

Kohagi wasn't too surprised. She had noticed someone watching her for a while now.

It seemed that the other party was secretly controlling a demon called “Hayate Oni,” a flying yaksha with the head of an ox, which had been following her all along.

‘They guessed that I would be ambushed and prepared to find out my trump cards.’

The Black Princess Mountain family's eldest daughter knew exactly what this woman was up to.

However, the other party's method of controlling shikigami was too bizarre. Kazura's ability, “Ruins of Impurity Rite,” couldn't directly control powerful shikigami like yaksha.

Ox-headed yakshas were very powerful demons, mid-ranking fierce demons. Even the most skilled shikigami user would find it difficult to control them.

Her younger sister was using a clever method, implanting invisible bacteria into the ox-headed yaksha's brain, controlling the demon's mind.

Because this method was very “clever,” it directly avoided the need to expend a large amount of energy and spiritual power to maintain control over powerful demons, which allowed Kazura to control multiple great demons or even fierce demons simultaneously.

What was unsettling was that if she could control the brains of demons, wouldn't it be easy for her to control the brains of humans as well?

However, this was only a small part of the abilities she had shown. Kazura hid her trump cards even deeper than she did, and she knew this very well.

‘Did she deliberately release this yaksha to show off to me?’

Kohagi remained expressionless. She rotated the demon sword “Shadow Butterfly” in her hand, drawing an arc in the air, shaking off the blood and fat that clung to the blade.

“Is it fun hiding in the dark and peeping? You really are bored.”

She held a white object in her left hand and threw it towards the ox-headed yaksha.

“…What is this?”

Kazura, controlling the yaksha shikigami from a great distance, caught the thrown object. Only then did she realize that it was an arm.

—The fingers were long and slender, and the arm was also slender. It seemed to be a woman's severed arm.

“It's the Yamauba's arm.”

Kohagi added, “No, it should be the arm of a woman with Yamauba blood. You should know about the Yamauba's legacy. Every inch of their bodies is precious, especially the Yamauba's ‘Old Hag Skin’… Take this back and make a protective charm for him. The dangers he'll face will increase after becoming a chunin.”

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