The contingent personally rallied by the Samurai Spirit can be set aside for now. After all, those yokai had been rescued by them in the first place. Grateful for having their lives saved, they were more than willing to follow whatever arrangements were made.
Added to that were the retainers they had summoned from the Slippery-Haired Demon's domain. Taken together, this force could barely be considered a respectable fighting unit.
The real trouble lay with the yokai factions that joined later.
These were groups that had long been accustomed to ruling their own territories, kings of their respective hills. The leaders among them were no weaker than the Samurai Spirit and his companions, so there was no way they would submit so easily.
And at the root of it all, the reason was simple.
There was no one who could truly dominate the field.
Everyone involved was an A-rank yokai. Worse still, they hadn't come alone—they had brought their own subordinates with them. Why should they listen to the orders of another A-rank yokai?
Besides, unlike humans, yokai didn't possess a wide array of spiritual tools or enchanted equipment. Anyone who happened to own a decent yokai weapon was practically guaranteed to be some kind of rich second-generation heir.
For these yokai, the only preparation they could make was to call for backup… no, to summon as many fellow yokai as possible.
After realizing that any attempt would be futile, the Samurai Spirit abandoned the idea of commanding these yokai altogether.
Because if he tried to forcibly impose orders on them now, the alliance would collapse from within before the exorcists even arrived.
Rather than that, it was better to let the yokai fight the way they always had. After all, only after taking a beating would they learn their lesson.
Soon enough, the all-encompassing war between exorcists and yokai swept across the entire Tokyo metropolitan area.
The residents of Tokyo, having received advance warning this time, had already evacuated into shelters scattered throughout the city before the fighting broke out.
Even inside the shelters, people followed the battle closely through televisions, radios, and every other available channel.
If the exorcist faction won—if the yokai were wiped out—then at the very least, life in Tokyo could return to normal.
But if the exorcists lost…
Then what awaited them was absolute despair.
Everyone knew perfectly well that these so-called shelters were utterly incapable of resisting a yokai invasion.
Once humanity collapsed on the surface, everyone hiding here would become nothing more than food for monsters—meals that wouldn't even need to be hunted one by one.
That said, the humans inside the shelters were filled with confidence regarding this war between exorcists and yokai.
After all, Tokyo was home to numerous powerful exorcist clans. And if the yokai were truly that strong and numerous, the city would have fallen long ago. It wouldn't have lasted until now.
No matter the circumstances, humans never completely gave in to despair.
Though weak as individuals, they possessed limitless potential as a whole.
Inside the shelters, crowds gathered around the few projection screens available, silently watching the unfolding battle. Some even formed impromptu cheer squads, shouting encouragement for their favorite exorcists.
Perhaps the fighters on the battlefield couldn't see or hear them—but they believed their feelings would reach them nonetheless.
As dusk approached—the hour when demons roam—the war that spanned two races finally erupted.
This was likely the largest battle to take place in the Tokyo area since the age of chaos.
On the exorcists' side stood dozens of families, large and small, including five from the famed "Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses."
As for the yokai faction, their strength was nothing to scoff at either. After absorbing most of Tokyo's yokai forces, the Samurai Spirit's side now commanded several dozen A-rank great yokai, hundreds of B-rank yokai, and an uncountable number of C-rank ones.
While they might have been slightly inferior at the very top tier compared to the exorcists, in terms of sheer numbers, the yokai utterly overwhelmed them.
Yuto led his own team into the fray, blade flashing. With every swing, another yokai he didn't recognize—and that clearly wasn't one of the virtuous sort—fell to the ground. At the same time, he kept part of his attention on the overall situation.
The entire city had become a true hellscape of demons and monsters, all manner of yokai fighting desperately for survival against the exorcists.
Elemental turbulence churned through the skies, and countless buildings collapsed and crumbled amid the clashes.
The moment the fighting began, casualties skyrocketed. Despite their talismans, spiritual tools, and various support items, the exorcists were quickly pushed onto the back foot upon first contact.
It couldn't be helped.
In chaotic melee like this, yokai possessed naturally resilient bodies. Even when caught in stray attacks, their powerful physiques and rapid regeneration allowed them to recover and leap back into the fight almost immediately.
Humans, however, were different.
Though they had the power to slay yokai, their bodies were still flesh and blood. One careless moment—one attack grazing them—and the result was often death or crippling injury.
Of course, the exorcists hadn't come unprepared to face such overwhelming numbers of ferocious yokai.
As hordes of yokai surged across the ground, enormous onmyōjutsu arrays were triggered as if by some hidden mechanism, lighting up one after another.
Some of these formations amplified the spiritual power of the exorcists within them. Others restricted yokai movement. Some were even designed solely to exterminate yokai directly.
Compared to humans, yokai undeniably possessed stronger bodies—but they lacked brains. Or rather, they simply weren't very smart.
They had no real tactics, only brute force. Against humans who knew how to exploit terrain, formations, and advantages, they gained no real edge.
And it wasn't just the spell arrays.
The heads of the great exorcist clans were formidable in their own right. Most of them possessed spiritual power at A-rank or higher, and once bolstered by enhancement spells, their combat strength pushed close to S-rank.
The five clan heads from the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses each held off multiple A-rank great yokai single-handedly—and still had enough leeway to casually clean up the lesser fodder around them.
Kūsuga Ryōsuke gripped the famed blade Ōdenta Mitsuyo, a look of eager excitement on his face as he faced the Samurai Spirit and his companions. Even when confronting the Samurai Spirit, the Samurai Golem, the Nekomata, and the Hook-Needle Woman all at once, Ryōsuke showed not a trace of worry—only burning battle intent.
As head of the Kūsuga clan, his spiritual power was slightly inferior to that of the other clan heads, and far below that of his older sister—resting only at A-rank.
But when it came to sheer combat ability, Kūsuga Ryōsuke was unquestionably the strongest among them.
That much was evident from the battered state of the Nekomata and the others, all of whom bore numerous wounds.
With A-rank spiritual power, layered with countless enhancement buffs, and backed by the Kūsuga clan's fearsome demon-slaying sword arts, Ryōsuke now possessed the strength to contend with even S-minus-ranked yokai.
Given that, it was only natural for the Nekomata's group to be pushed back.
"Your swordsmanship is impressive," Ryōsuke said calmly, "but as a spiritual entity, you're severely limited. You must have been a remarkable warrior in life—but unfortunately, you're no match for me now."
Through their brief exchange, Ryōsuke had come to respect the Samurai Spirit and his allies' strength.
He was also certain that the yokai before him were not some hastily assembled group. Their coordination was too flawless. Despite maintaining the upper hand, he had yet to find a decisive opening to kill even one of them.
"In that case," the Samurai Spirit replied evenly, "I'll have to borrow the strength of my comrade—to properly demonstrate the swordsmanship of our prime."
The Samurai Spirit and the Samurai Golem were yokai that naturally appeared as a pair.
When separated, each possessed independent yokai power and consciousness.
But when the warrior's soul regained its armor and body, it became an entirely new existence.
As the Samurai Spirit and Samurai Golem gradually merged, a terrifying surge of yokai power erupted, raging wildly before Ryōsuke's astonished eyes.
Individually, both possessed A-minus-level yokai power. When fused, that power skyrocketed straight to A-plus.
This combined samurai yokai not only retained the terrifying swordsmanship and offensive might of the Samurai Spirit, but also gained the absolute defense of the Samurai Golem.
"Clang—!"
The clear, ringing clash of blades echoed through the air once more. As Ryōsuke caught the samurai's strike again, he immediately felt the difference—the blade was far heavier than before.
Caught off guard by the sudden change, he was actually sent flying backward from the impact.
As he adjusted his posture midair, preparing to counter with Kūsuga sword techniques, an alarm suddenly blared in his mind.
His instincts as a master swordsman screamed at him.
There was no presence behind him—yet danger lurked there all the same.
In a split second, Ryōsuke made his decision. He abandoned his counterattack and instead twisted around, raising his blade in defense.
After countless battles, he knew better than anyone that this sensation could never be ignored. To do so would invite defeat.
Almost the instant he turned, three crimson claw arcs ripped through the air, sending showers of sparks flying as they scraped violently against his blade.
And just as Ryōsuke extended his free hand, preparing to unleash a hand-blade strike passed down from his sister—aimed at the shadow that had missed and was retreating into the darkness—
A mass of hair bristling with hooked needles suddenly burst up from the ground.
Forced to abandon his hand strike, Ryōsuke slashed apart the hooked hair with Ōdenta Mitsuyo and leapt away from his original position.
"Dangerous… dangerous… truly dangerous," he muttered, grinning despite himself. "You're troublesome, all of you. Even among A-rank yokai, you're the strongest I've ever faced."
He exhaled slowly, eyes gleaming.
"If I hadn't chosen to evade just now… my body would probably have been torn apart already, wouldn't it?"