All of the fury burning within Yamato Kuka had always been directed at one target alone—the Umibōzu standing before her.
From the very moment the monster appeared, she had been forcibly suppressing the murderous intent boiling inside her. The fact that she had managed to hold herself back for this long was nothing short of a miracle.
In fact, when Ren Kuroda launched his sneak attack earlier, Yamato Kuka—hidden in the shadows—had secretly hoped he would fail.
Because this Umibōzu… she wanted to kill it herself.
With her own hands.With the blade Onikiri.
Though Onikiri was famed for severing the arm of the demon king Ibaraki-dōji, Yamato Kuka had never believed that the word oni referred only to demon kings.
In her eyes, whether human or yokai, anyone who committed evil was an oni.
And an oni—must be cut down.
"Gen-style Sword Art — Rend the Wound!"
Despite Onikiri's unusually long blade, Yamato Kuka wielded it without the slightest hindrance. As if resonating with her heart, the sword let out a clear, ringing cry as it swung through the air.
A crescent-shaped slash erupted from the blade, wrapped in Yamato Kuka's overwhelming spiritual power. As it flew, it swelled against the wind, growing larger and more oppressive by the second.
The massive arc carved a deep trench straight through the sandy beach—then split into three in midair, shooting toward the still-stunned Umibōzu from three different angles!
Even divided, the attack lost none of its destructive force. Pebbles and palm trees alike were cleaved apart as easily as butter beneath a hot knife.
With exorcists appearing one after another—and that invisible, transparent wall hemming him in—the Umibōzu finally understood.
He'd been completely outplayed.
The oncoming slashes snapped him out of his stupor instantly, and he reacted without hesitation.
Standing atop the sea's surface, the Umibōzu tapped his khakkhara lightly against the water. Instantly, massive amounts of seawater surged upward as if answering a call, condensing into a gigantic sphere that enveloped his entire body.
Almost simultaneously, Yamato Kuka's slashes arrived.
The crescent blades tore through the water like slicing open a watermelon, cleanly cutting the enormous water sphere in half.
But as the divided seawater collapsed and splashed back into the ocean, the Umibōzu himself was nowhere to be seen.
The water he had manipulated hadn't been meant purely for defense—it had merely served as a medium, allowing him to slip back into the sea.
Four exorcists with spiritual power at B-rank or above, and that sword shrine maiden alone had already made him feel seriously threatened.
The Umibōzu had no intention of fighting the Countermeasures Team at all.
All he wanted was to run.
But the moment he submerged himself, his heart sank.
That invisible wall didn't just stretch through the air—it extended beneath the sea as well.
Each time the Umibōzu slammed into the underwater barrier, intricate glowing runes flared across its surface.
Above the waves, the members of Countermeasures Team Nine stared at the now-vanished Umibōzu—then, almost in unison, turned their eyes toward Kamishiro Issei.
No one said a word, but the meaning was painfully clear.
Is your barrier actually reliable?
Among them, Yamato Kuka's gaze was by far the most dangerous. She had been suppressing her rage and killing intent for far too long already. If the Umibōzu really escaped now, she might genuinely tear Kamishiro Issei apart with her bare hands.
"Relax, my barrier's solid," Kamishiro Issei said, spreading his hands helplessly."It's just that the range wasn't restricted perfectly—I left it a bit of ocean space. But come on, trapping an A-rank yokai isn't exactly easy, especially when the bastard's that cautious."
Faced with Yamato Kuka's predator-like glare, Kamishiro Issei could only shrug.
He'd wanted to set the entire barrier on the beach, but the Umibōzu's vigilance had been insane. It was only when it saw the open sea that it finally let its guard down.
"So what now?" someone asked."We've limited its movement, sure—but that enclosed stretch of ocean isn't small. If it stays underwater, we can't exactly do much, can we?"
They were all human. No matter how skilled, none of them could match a sea yokai in the water.
Ren did have the Mermaid Scale, which granted underwater breathing—but anyone with even a little knowledge knew exactly where that thing came from. Ren found it far too embarrassing to ever use.
More importantly, the scale wasn't even on this body—it was with his true body elsewhere.
And underwater, the Umibōzu had already decided to play dirty and refuse to surface.
He didn't believe a handful of humans could outlast him. And he certainly didn't believe they had enough spiritual power to maintain such a powerful barrier indefinitely.
The moment their strength faltered and the barrier weakened—
Freedom.
"Don't worry," Kamishiro Issei said confidently."I'm Kamishiro Issei, remember? When have I ever let you down? As long as I—"
"Shut up and hurry," Yamato Kuka snapped coldly."If you don't get that thing out here right now, my blade isn't going to be cutting yokai anymore."
Kamishiro Issei, talismans clutched in hand, choked on his words.
He wanted to tell her to show a little respect to her senior—but one look at her murder-filled eyes convinced him otherwise.
Silently, he got to work.
This wasn't cowardice.He was just… looking out for his juniors.
Dozens of talismans flew from his hands, plastering themselves onto the transparent barrier under the guidance of his spiritual power.
As they ignited with blinding light, the enormous barrier visibly began to shrink.
How could they tell a transparent barrier was shrinking?
Easy—the glowing runes were blazing across its surface, and the surging waves clearly showed the barrier pushing inward.
Down below, the Umibōzu quickly realized something was very wrong.
He'd planned to wait it out.
Instead, the moving barrier was physically forcing him toward the shore.
If he fought them at sea, he might still stand a chance.
But on the beach?
That was a death sentence.
Realizing his predicament, the Umibōzu made a decision instantly.
Hiding any longer wasn't an option.
Before the barrier pushed him fully out of the water, he had to defeat these exorcists.
With a towering column of seawater erupting skyward, the six-shaku-tall Umibōzu surged back onto the surface, khakkhara in hand.
The moment he appeared—
Three figures rushed him simultaneously from different directions, as if they'd been waiting for this exact instant.
Kamishiro Issei remained focused on maintaining the barrier, unable to spare spiritual power for combat. Even so, with Ren Kuroda, Yamato Kuka, and Monk Hakuba working together, dealing with the Umibōzu was more than manageable.
For Ren, the second phase of his mission to become Tokyo's Yokai Lord required only two things:
His normal yokai power reaching A-rank or above.And the elimination of two A-rank yokai factions within Tokyo.
The system never specified that he had to defeat them alone.
Participation was enough.
Earlier, Ren had worried that if an A-rank yokai proved too troublesome, this artificial body might not withstand the strain of his true power.
That concern turned out to be completely unnecessary.
Even if he stood back and merely assisted, Yamato Kuka and Monk Hakuba alone were more than enough to crush the Umibōzu.
Though he'd been part of the Countermeasures Team for some time, Ren rarely fought alongside them directly. He usually took on the most dangerous enemy himself, opting for one-on-one combat.
Among Team Nine, Yamato Kuka was probably the only one who truly understood his strength.
This time, constrained by his body, Ren fought differently—and finally saw his teammates' true capabilities firsthand.
He'd encountered plenty of exorcists by now, but he had to admit—
His colleagues were exceptional.
Compared to others of similar spiritual rank, they were undeniably elite.
Their disastrous defeat against the Yuki-onna before had been largely due to being unprepared—and the sheer difference in rank.
Monk Hakuba, despite possessing only B-rank spiritual power, could summon a Guardian Vajra and tank the majority of the Umibōzu's attacks without injury.
Kamishiro Issei, though not directly fighting, was restraining a yokai two full ranks above himself using nothing but B-rank power and masterful talisman techniques—proof of extraordinary talent.
As for Yamato Kuka…
There was no need to elaborate.
Ren didn't know what she'd eaten today—gunpowder, maybe—but despite only having B+ rank spiritual power, she completely overwhelmed the Umibōzu from start to finish.
And judging by the faint yet growing fluctuations in her aura—
She looked like she was about to break through again.