Because in the nekomata's eyes, whether it was the girl who had raised her from kittenhood, or Lord Ren Kuroda, who had saved her life and given her a completely new existence, both were absolutely irreplaceable.
And yet this trash-like creature standing before her actually dared to place himself on the same level as that girl and Lord Ren Kuroda—
That alone was an unforgivable desecration of everything she held sacred.
"Originally, I prefer tearing out my prey's throat with my claws," the nekomata said calmly, her voice carrying a chilling edge,"then watching them die with that stupid, confused look on their faces.
But for people like you… I think I'll make an exception and change things up."
She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing.
"Judging an opponent's strength purely by the aura they give off—wasn't that supposed to be your specialty?"
"Then let me see whether you're actually qualified to say something as laughable as wanting me to become your shikigami.Oh, and you seemed pretty confident in that so-called barrier too, didn't you? You thought I crossed it only because of some innate talent of mine?"
The instant her words fell—
A thick, milky-white torrent of yokai power erupted violently from the nekomata's body.
Like a tidal wave, the overwhelming aura flooded every corner of the room in an instant.That terrifying pressure, far too immense for her petite frame, continued to expand outward, crushing everything in its path.
As a yokai specialized in assassination, the nekomata rarely ever unleashed her power so openly.Normally, concealment and restraint were second nature to her.
But now, she was doing the exact opposite—recklessly, mercilessly releasing every ounce of yokai power she possessed.
The reason was simple.
She wanted these humans to taste despair, clearly and completely.
As one of the earliest followers of Ren Kuroda back in the Nurarihyon world, the nekomata had always received treatment far superior to that of most other Oni Court cadres.As a high-ranking yokai, her potential had also been far greater than average.
Out of consideration for comrades like the samurai spirits—and because an assassin must always know how to hold back—she had long maintained the appearance of an A–rank yokai.
But in truth, her actual power had already long surpassed that threshold.
She had reached A-rank.
And even among A-rank yokai, she was standing right at the brink of the next level.
When that suffocating yokai power burst forth, the faces of the exorcists instantly drained of all color.
And when they saw the barrier they had placed all their hopes in—shredded effortlessly by a single casual swipe of her claw—
Their expressions collapsed into utter despair.
Only then did they finally understand.
The nekomata whose presence they couldn't sense at all…Was actually an A-rank great yokai.
In Tokyo, where this was firmly human territory, yokai factions did exist—but few were truly powerful.
An A-rank yokai within Tokyo's boundaries was already considered a regional apex existence.
And yet, against all odds, that very kind of monster was now standing right in front of them.
Worse still—
They hadn't just encountered her.
They had provoked her.
And thoroughly enraged her.
The moment they felt the crushing pressure of her yokai power and the suffocating aura filling the room, the exorcists didn't hesitate for even a second.
With a single exchange of glances, they immediately scattered and fled in all directions.
Yes—just moments ago, one of them had been arrogantly talking about making her his shikigami.
Now, in the very next second, they abandoned all dignity and ran for their lives.
Because this was no longer a fight.
This was an absolute mismatch.
An A-rank great yokai was something they had no hope of dealing with. The difference in power was not even on the same scale.
Creatures of her level were the responsibility of the great exorcist clans.Among these men, the strongest was only B–rank.
That gap wasn't a difference in skill—it was the difference between survival and instant death.
They knew full well that angering such an existence meant their odds of survival were terrifyingly low.
And even if they chose to flee instead of fight, they understood one brutal truth:
She would chase them.
Their decision was, at least, tactically correct.
If they stayed together, they would likely all be wiped out.By splitting up, they at least had a chance—however slim—that someone might survive.
Now it would simply come down to who was unlucky enough to be targeted.
And the exorcist who had earlier arrogantly demanded the nekomata become his shikigami—
Without question—was the most terrified of them all.
Even after putting significant distance between himself and her, a chill kept crawling up his spine.
He couldn't stop regretting his loose tongue.Why had he ever said anything about a cat sage shikigami?
At that moment—
The nekomata looked at the fleeing figures with open disdain, a cold smile curling her lips.
And then—
Her figure vanished from where she stood.
In the next instant, a blurred afterimage appeared directly behind one of the fleeing exorcists, so fast it seemed to exist outside time itself.
A crimson arc of claw light tore through the air.
The exorcist barely sensed the danger behind him before—
Before his body could react at all—
An indescribable agony exploded across his back.
That pain was the last thing he ever felt.
Because the crimson claw, sharp as an unrivaled blade, sliced through his body as effortlessly as a knife through butter.
One moment, he had been a living human—an exorcist who could lord his power over ordinary people.
The next—
He was nothing more than several unrecognizable pieces scattered across the floor.
The exorcists' response to encountering a superior enemy had been textbook-perfect.
Splitting up truly did increase survival odds.
Unfortunately for them—
Their opponent was not just any A-rank yokai.
She was a nekomata, a monster defined by speed.
To be blunt, even Ren Kuroda himself, using the same level of yokai power, might not have been faster than her.
Though they fled in different directions, to her it merely meant taking a few extra steps.
With the first exorcist falling in an instant—
The hunt truly began.
Seeing a companion—one not much weaker than themselves—slaughtered in the blink of an eye, the remaining exorcists fled in absolute terror.
Some even burned their life-saving secret techniques.
But in the end, none of it mattered.
If the nekomata had allowed them to run, it was because she was absolutely confident.
One by one, the remaining four were hunted down and torn apart, dying miserably beneath her claws.
When the last exorcist fell—
The terrifying yokai power surging from her body receded just as quickly as it had erupted.
Like a retreating tide.
Her crimson eyes faded back to normal, and her presence returned to calm.
A moment ago, she had been a top-tier predator, killing with every strike.
Now she was once again just a lively少女 with cat ears.
Even so, the aura she had displayed moments earlier left an indelible impression.
When she walked back toward the Zashiki-warashi and the elderly couple, all three of them trembled uncontrollably.
She looked like a young girl—but none of them dared treat her as such.
After all, the exorcists they had considered overwhelmingly powerful had been slaughtered before their eyes like livestock.
The Zashiki-warashi's small body shook violently, yet he still stepped firmly in front of the two elders.
Unlike the exorcists, he knew the nekomata was a yokai.
And while he had heard that nekomata were not hostile toward humans—
After witnessing her massacre, he couldn't know what she might do next.
So even in fear, he chose to protect them.
"If I really meant to harm you," the nekomata said gently,"then I wouldn't have bothered interfering in the first place."
She sighed softly, her expression tinged with sadness.
"I've always thought that what those lords said was right. Humans can be good or bad—and yokai are the same.I would never choose to harm kind people like Grandpa and Grandma."
Her voice softened further.
"After all… I was raised by people just like them."
As she spoke, she reached out and gently placed her hand on the Zashiki-warashi's head, awkwardly patting his hair.
She could feel the fear churning inside him.
She wanted to calm him this way—because if she remembered correctly, this was exactly how Lord Ren Kuroda used to pat her head.
And it was at that moment—
That his figure had been carved permanently into her heart.
When she reached toward him, the Zashiki-warashi instinctively wanted to dodge.
But thinking of her overwhelming strength—and the two elders behind him—he lowered his head, shut his eyes, and endured it.
Soon, he felt a soft hand clumsily rubbing his hair.
The elders often did this too.
Though her movements were unskilled, the warmth was unmistakable.
The Zashiki-warashi slowly stopped trembling.
Seeing this, the nekomata felt a quiet surge of pride.
So Lord Ren Kuroda's method really does work, she thought.
"I know you don't want to leave them," she said quietly."But Tokyo is going to become very dangerous from here on out. If you truly care about them… then leaving for now is actually the best choice."
With the troublemakers eliminated and the Zashiki-warashi soothed, she left those words behind and turned to go.
But just as she was about to take her first step—
The two elderly people suddenly knelt before her, as if having made an enormous decision.
"Cat Sage-sama," the old man said, voice trembling,"please… take this child with you."
"We treasure every day we've spent with him," the old woman continued, tears streaming down her face."And we've always known it was this child protecting us from the shadows."
"As for his yokai identity—we've understood it for a long time.He only thought he was hiding it well."
They bowed deeply, foreheads touching the floor.
"We wanted to be selfish… to keep him with us longer.But we also know that's impossible."
"What happened tonight made us understand something very clearly."
"We don't have the strength to protect him."
Their voices shook with pain.
"So even though it breaks our hearts… rather than becoming his burden, we want him to find a place where he truly belongs."