As Ye Xing's words fell, under the illumination of the blood-red moon in the sky, Tamamo-no-Mae saw thousands of black weapons formed from evil spirit power simultaneously appear high in the air.
Chains, longswords, katana, greatswords, warhammers, war fans, spears...
Nearly every type of weapon existed within this so-called Unlimited Blade Works.
What surprised Tamamo-no-Mae most, leaving her utterly speechless, was...
"Ye Xing-kun... why is there a suona among these?"
"What kind of question is that?"
Maintaining his raised right-hand posture without even turning his head, Ye Xing chuckled lightly.
"Does psychological warfare not count as an attack? Of course the suona is a weapon."
Before Tamamo-no-Mae could respond, Ye Xing's gaze shifted toward the black mist, specifically where the giant hand had previously emerged, and he whispered.
"Go."
The moment these two words fell, thousands of black weapons composed of evil spirit power shot straight into the black mist like arrows released from their bows, moving at incredible speed.
Yet after those thousand black evil spirit weapons vanished into the black mist, they seemed to have been directly swallowed up - not a single sound was heard as they disappeared silently, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Ye Xing-kun... this black mist..."
Tamamo-no-Mae frowned deeply, lowering her voice.
"This black mist... appears not only to provide power to evil spirits, but can also devour evil spirit power..."
"This is truly troublesome."
Ye Xing nodded, then performed an action Tamamo-no-Mae never could have anticipated.
He quickly retreated, abandoning his previously cool and confident demeanour of sitting securely on the fishing platform, directly scooping up Tamamo-no-Mae in a princess carry and fleeing toward the distance not yet covered by the black mist.
"Eh?"
Watching the scenery rapidly receding around them, the horizontally-carried Tamamo-no-Mae was completely bewildered.
"You... you're running away?"
"Just changing locations."
Ye Xing glanced back at the thick, viscous black mist that resembled a dark ocean.
"Engaging with an evil spirit of that level at such close range isn't a wise choice."
Hearing this, Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't help but murmur.
"I thought, given your personality, you would deliberately remain there to face the black mist and the evil spirit within directly."
"How could that be?"
Ye Xing shook his head and uttered a classic phrase Tamamo-no-Mae would never forget for the rest of her life.
"I enjoy showing off, but I'm not stupid. Forcing it in every situation would make me no different from Gojo Satoru."
...
Five minutes later.
"This should do."
Ye Xing stood at the entrance of Sobu High School's teaching building.
Of course, not the Sobu High of the real world, but Sobu High of the Reverse World - though their appearances were essentially identical.
"The surrounding area... has no black mist..."
Hearing Tamamo-no-Mae's somewhat puzzled words, Ye Xing explained nonchalantly.
"It seems the black mist covers wider areas where negative impressions accumulate more heavily. The absence of black mist here suggests most students maintain generally positive impressions of Sobu High."
Tamamo-no-Mae nodded noncommittally. After closing her eyes to sense her internal condition, she finally spoke softly.
"Ye Xing-kun, my power has mostly recovered. I can fight alongside you now."
Under the Reverse World's black mist, evil spirits naturally recovered power rapidly. Combined with Tamamo-no-Mae having obtained sufficient rest, her previously depleted spiritual power had now recovered to eighty or ninety percent of its peak condition.
"Mm, good."
Seeing Ye Xing actually nod in agreement, Tamamo-no-Mae appeared somewhat taken aback.
"You... actually agreed?"
"Indeed."
"Why?"
Ye Xing gazed toward the entrance of Sobu High School and spoke slowly.
"Because this time, I truly need your assistance."
Tamamo-no-Mae realised that through her persistent efforts, she had finally achieved her initial goal.
To become Ye Xing-sama's genuine ally, rather than being viewed as potential prey to be devoured at any moment.
Boom!
Just then, the ground began trembling once more.
Tamamo-no-Mae looked toward Sobu High School's entrance, and what reflected in her eyes was the true form of the evil spirit that had been concealed within the black mist.
"This thing..."
After getting a clear look, Tamamo-no-Mae's pupils dilated in shock.
This evil spirit's size was even more enormous than the giant evil spirit Ye Xing had slain when he first invoked his soul's true name.
Standing nearly twenty metres tall, it resembled a mountain peak.
Though it bore human-like features, its dark purple skin was covered with cracks identical to those on the earthquake-ravaged ground. From these fissures flowed a blood-like, viscous substance - the black evil spirit aura that had materialised into physical form.
What made Tamamo-no-Mae shudder most was how the evil spirit seemed to be in extreme agony due to the cracks covering its body. With both hands covering its face, two streams of black bloody tears seeped through its fingers.
A weeping, whimpering sound like howling winter winds accompanied the giant evil spirit's arrival, echoing across the area. This eerie noise made everyone feel chilled to the bone.
"What in the world... is this thing..."
Tamamo-no-Mae watched this weeping evil spirit that covered its face, its movements and demeanour resembling a young girl - a stark contrast to its massive, distorted body. She found nothing amusing about it; she only felt nauseated by witnessing something so profoundly twisted.
"This thing could practically be considered an evil god, couldn't it?"
Ye Xing offered his assessment.
Formed from the panic of millions of Kyoto citizens during the sudden earthquake when mobile signals were cut off, this evil spirit had clearly transcended all others in the Reverse World, evolving to a new level.
The earthquake evil spirit took a step, crossed the gate of Sobu High School, and entered the area.
Its hands remained covering its face, though its fingers parted slightly to reveal a single eye, distorted and bloodshot, its gaze firmly locked on Ye Xing.
"Die... die..."
Accompanied by this whisper - indistinguishable in gender but filled with intense hatred - dozens of human hands suddenly emerged from the cracks on the evil spirit's body.
The hands pushed the cracks wider as dozens of smaller evil spirits, roughly human-sized with dishevelled long hair, dark purple skin, and covered in thick black blood, crawled out from within.
"Bloody hell... that's disgusting..."
Even Tamamo-no-Mae, herself an evil spirit, could barely stand witnessing this scene.
This was just too revolting...
"Indeed."
Ye Xing nodded in profound agreement.
"Though disgusting is as disgusting does, it actively slathers itself with black jam, stretches open its fissures, and makes its flesh all the more fluffy. So considerate, truly moving."
Tamamo-no-Mae: "...Fine."
She couldn't comprehend Ye Xing's mindset.
The other party clearly did find this evil spirit genuinely repulsive, sharing her view.
But how could he feel appetite alongside disgust?
Simply bloody unbelievable.
Tamamo-no-Mae shook her head, thinking that with a major battle imminent, she should set aside such thoughts for now. There would be time enough to investigate Ye Xing's twisted personality after it was over.
She took a deep breath, gathering the spiritual power within her body, and gazed at the dozens of evil spirits approaching her and Ye Xing. Her teeth gradually lengthened, transforming into sharp, pointed shapes, while her pupils became vertical slits.
"Here, I call forth my true name."
"Tamamo-no-Mae!"
Upon invoking her soul's true name, Tamamo-no-Mae's body underwent a sudden transformation, reverting to a massive white fox spirit.
A single fluffy tail swayed in the air. Though she was an evil spirit, her appearance conveyed a sense of sacred nobility.
"Just one tail..."
Seeing Tamamo-no-Mae's true form with only a single tail, Ye Xing murmured noncommittally.
For special spiritual entities like Tamamo-no-Mae, Hachishaku-sama, and even the true forms of psychics, their appearances bore marks symbolising their power levels.
For instance, Miko Yotsuya's Hyakume had eyes covering her body surface - the number of eyes represented her power, with more eyes indicating greater strength.
There was even a legend stating that once Hyakume collected 100 eyeballs, she would unleash unprecedented terror and calamity on the human world.
Similarly, Rio Futaba's Bone Woman was represented by the number of bones in her body, while Hachishaku-sama's power was indicated by her height - referring to her true form, of course.
According to legend, Tamamo-no-Mae was a fox spirit with nine tails, yet now she had only one.
This meant that from the beginning until now, the terrifying power that even made Rio Futaba and Miko Yotsuya somewhat wary was merely her newborn stage.
"ROAR!!!"
In her true form, Tamamo-no-Mae let out a beast-like roar, her white, sharp claws slamming down and instantly crushing several split entities born from the earthquake evil spirit into dust.
Without the slightest hesitation, she moved with remarkable agility, pouncing directly towards the earthquake evil spirit.
"Waah waah waah..."
The earthquake evil spirit's sobbing grew increasingly distinct, sounding not like a single person but rather like hundreds of children and women weeping simultaneously - both heartbreakingly sorrowful and utterly eerie.
Before Tamamo-no-Mae could sink her teeth into the opponent's body, the earthquake evil spirit suddenly lowered its hands from its face.
What appeared before them was a skinless face, with only a thin layer of flesh and blood covering the bones, resembling a skull.
THUD!
The earthquake evil spirit's hands grabbed Tamamo-no-Mae by the neck, lifting her massive body as if she were a small dog and violently slamming her against the ground.
Tamamo-no-Mae whimpered in pain but struggled fiercely, attempting to break free from the opponent's grasp and continue her attack.
Just then, both she and Ye Xing noticed faint black mist appearing beyond Sobu High School.
The moment she saw the black mist beginning to form, Tamamo-no-Mae's heart sank.
Areas that previously had no black mist were now developing it due to this nauseatingly huge evil spirit's arrival.
Could it be... that the opponent's power had grown so strong that the black mist would actively follow it?
After the first round of confrontation, Tamamo-no-Mae had realised that this bizarre and terrifying evil spirit before her was the most formidable entity she had ever faced since her birth - a true terror far surpassing ordinary evil spirits.
There was simply no way to win.
Even Ye Xing, who had never known defeat, would likely find such a distorted evil spirit extremely troublesome.
If the black mist enveloped this area, would this earthquake-born evil spirit, like the previous four evil spirits, possess the ability to draw power from the black mist and continuously recover?
If that were truly the case...
How could they possibly win?
Ye Xing had clearly realised this too.
"I can't hold back any longer. I must go all out..."
As if sensing its master's will, Onimaru Kunitsuna at Ye Xing's waist unsheathed itself, its jet-black blade trembling as it emitted joyful, delighted ringing sounds.
"Onimaru Kunitsuna, I'm counting on you."
Ye Xing smiled as he gently stroked Onimaru Kunitsuna's blade, once again calling forth his soul's true name.
"Annihilate all evil, The End of Eight Million."
The instant the black mask and coat covered his body, his right arm fused with the pale ghost hand.
"This time, we must end this quickly."
Ye Xing understood that he had to completely eradicate this earthquake evil spirit before it could establish a connection with the black mist.
From how Tamamo-no-Mae's sharp teeth had bitten into the creature's body without causing any damage, it was clear this thing wasn't just powerful - its defensive capabilities were equally astonishing.
Even Tamamo-no-Mae's strength couldn't breach its defences.
In that case, his usual techniques - whether it was Unlimited Blade Works constructed through Soul Materialisation combined with memories from his mind, Chidori, or Amaterasu - likely wouldn't achieve the effect of instant annihilation.
He needed to go one level higher.
"Domain Expansion."
Ye Xing's right hand gripped Onimaru Kunitsuna's hilt while his left hand transformed into the black ghost hand. For the first time, he gathered all the evil spirit power he had devoured throughout his life, unleashing it completely without reservation.
"Demon-Slaying Divine Purification."
The moment his words fell, Tamamo-no-Mae, who was still battling the earthquake evil spirit, noticed changes occurring around her.
The blood-red moon in the sky vanished, and the faint black mist surrounding them disappeared without a trace.
This place no longer seemed to be the Reverse World, yet it wasn't the real world either.
Although it still looked like Sobu High School, it felt like an isolated area. Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't even sense any spiritual power in the air - that was the proof.
"Is this... Ye Xing-kun's ability?"
Demon-Slaying Divine Purification was also a new ability Ye Xing had unlocked after devouring several evil spirits fused with Gates.
The nature of this Domain shared some similarities with that of the protagonist's Imagine Breaker, but wasn't quite the same.
Within this Domain, Ye Xing wouldn't receive unique enhancements like Miko Yotsuya. The Domain itself wasn't meant for enhancement; it was more akin to a seal.
When the Domain expanded, all non-worldly entities within its range would be dragged inside, completely severed from the outside world. Moreover, this Domain contained absolutely no spiritual power whatsoever.
This meant that evil spirits could neither recover nor replenish their power. After death, they wouldn't even dissipate into black energy but would be entirely erased by the power of divine purification, as if they had never existed in this world.
The side effect, however, was equally evident.
It was the rapidly depleting spiritual power.
"Using full power for the first time... is truly exhausting."
Feeling the power within him draining rapidly, Ye Xing had no intention of delaying further.
He looked towards Tamamo-no-Mae, who was locked in combat with the earthquake evil spirit, raised the Onimaru Kunitsuna in his right hand, and whispered.
"Sorry, Tamamo."
From the black tip of Onimaru Kunitsuna gathered a sphere of pure evil spirit power, condensing into a black light that twisted and trembled the very air around it.
"Cero."
The air seemed to freeze at this moment.
Even sound was frozen.
What illuminated this Domain was only a single pillar of black light.
The scene of apocalyptic destruction, paired with the completely silent and deathly atmosphere, was suffocatingly oppressive.
...
When Tamamo-no-Mae opened her eyes again, she felt pain throughout her body.
She lay on the ground, having returned to human form, her wide kimono torn and tattered, with a gaping hole in her abdomen.
"Where is this..."
Lying on her back, Tamamo-no-Mae looked up at the sky where the moon was no longer that vivid crimson but had returned to its normal pale red hue. With great effort, she glanced to the side.
There was no earthquake evil spirit, nor any black mist.
As if none of this had ever happened.
Only Ye Xing was standing there with his right arm missing, and Onimaru Kunitsuna had fallen to the ground, its black blade bearing several deep notches.
"Sorry, Tamamo-no-Mae."
Seeing Ye Xing approach her and speak these words expressionlessly, a bitter smile appeared on Tamamo-no-Mae's face.
So this was what he meant by sorry...
This was it...
"I don't blame you... Ye Xing-kun..."
On the verge of dissipating, Tamamo-no-Mae knew that with such injuries, she couldn't survive. She didn't blame him or feel anger; instead, she comforted him in her usual soft, gentle voice.
"Our first battle together... and our last... we won. Facing such a powerful enemy, my sacrifice... was inevitable..."
Tamamo-no-Mae took a deep breath, the pain from her abdomen making even speaking difficult.
She looked directly at Ye Xing's handsome face, her eyes showing a trace of infatuation.
"What a pity, if there were more time... I have a final wish... to taste your flavour... but... there's no time left."
"Huh?"
Just as the atmosphere turned sorrowful, like in a traditional RPG game where a companion dies and the emotional knives come out, Ye Xing looked puzzled as he spoke.
"Why are you giving your last words? You're not going to die."
"Eh?"
Tamamo-no-Mae was taken aback.
"Then why did you say sorry?"
"What I'm sorry about is this."
Ye Xing spoke with a serious expression.
"Don't overthink it. This is the only way to save you."
Next, seeing his actions, Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't help but blush, uttering flustered sounds.
"You... why are you taking off your trousers..."
"Eh, eh... what are you doing..."
"Have to... have to put it in my mouth?"
"Mmm..."