In truth, ever since the clash between exorcists and yokai first erupted, Ren Kuroda had been watching everything unfold from the shadows.
He genuinely hadn't anticipated things spiraling into their current state. What left him feeling especially speechless, however, was the call he received from Spider Princess—the utter admiration dripping from her voice made it completely impossible for him to admit that most of this had been improvised on the spot.
No… even if Ren openly confessed that everything had been a fluke born of coincidence, to fanatics like Spider Princess, it would probably just be interpreted as modesty.
"But Lord Ren, this still isn't the optimal moment for you to act...Ah, never mind. Perhaps you already have your own considerations.With wisdom as vast as an endless sea, you must have foreseen things we could not. It seems I was the one who overstepped."
In reality, from the very beginning of the battle, Ren had been hiding nearby together with Midoriya. The moment he saw the A-rank great yokai beginning to collapse and the situation turning sharply against them, he had already prepared to step in.
Yet just as he took his first step forward, both Spider Princess and Midoriya stopped him at the same time, insisting that he wait—that now was not the best moment.
Both of them were masters at reading hearts and manipulating momentum. From their perspective, if Ren truly wanted to completely subjugate the yokai of the Tokyo District, then acting now would be premature.
The yokai faction might have been collapsing, but they weren't truly desperate yet. Worse still, the lesser yokai had just experienced betrayal from their former leaders—this was the moment when trust was at its lowest.
And more importantly, as long as those former yokai lords remained alive, they would always be obstacles.
Even if those A-rank yokai were willing to submit, who could guarantee they wouldn't harbor ulterior motives? And as long as they lived, their original followers—the hundred demons under their command—would never truly give their loyalty.
With two masters standing before them, who would they ultimately obey? Ren Kuroda… or their former lord?
That was why both Spider Princess and Midoriya advised patience.Wait until every A-rank yokai leader had been completely wiped out.Wait until their subordinates were plunged into utter despair.
Only then should Ren descend—as a savior.
Yes, Ren could easily kill those A-rank yokai himself. But doing so would leave behind the image of a tyrant—cold, brutal, and merciless—something that would chill the hearts of other yokai. That would be the lowest possible approach.
Appearing as a savior, on the other hand, would not only reinforce Lord Ren's image as both benevolent and overwhelmingly powerful—it would allow him to claim their loyalty without any lingering risks.
It was a ruthless plan.But Spider Princess and Midoriya both believed that the road to becoming the Lord of the Hundred Demons was inevitably paved with bones. Sacrifice was unavoidable.
Especially when those being sacrificed had never truly been on their side to begin with.
And so, persuaded by their reasoning, Ren had remained hidden, waiting for that so-called perfect moment.
But Shion and the others had performed far too brilliantly.
They had drawn attention.
And because of that, Shuna, whose combat power was weaker, had been injured.
At that point, Ren couldn't sit still any longer.
To hell with the plan.
Things spiraling this far had already been outside his expectations.
Yes, it would be nice to gather yokai and build a powerful faction in the main world—but even if that failed, it meant nothing to him.
Shuna had chosen to become one of his Hundred Demons.
That made her family.
Would he ever abandon family for the sake of some grand yokai empire?
The answer was obvious.
No matter how many yokai there were—one hundred, one thousand, even ten thousand—they were all strangers.
They would never be worth even a single finger of Spider Princess or the others.
A blood-soaked arm suddenly flew through the air.
The exorcist who had been reaching toward the fallen Shuna froze for a split second before an unbearable pain exploded from his shoulder. His scream tore through the battlefield.
"Such a noisy nuisance…"
The exorcist didn't even have time to process what had happened. The moment after he began screaming, he lost consciousness entirely.
Not fainted.
Gone. Forever.
All he'd seen was a black afterimage flash past his eyes—then his head exploded like a smashed watermelon.
Blood and shattered bone sprayed everywhere, splattering his companions and snapping them out of their stunned stupor. They stared in horror at the figure that had appeared before them.
Meanwhile, the one responsible calmly withdrew his arm, his mouth—lined with jagged fangs—curling into a disdainful smile, as if he'd done nothing worth mentioning.
Then, in full view of the exorcists, he turned his back on them completely, exposing himself without the slightest concern, and walked toward Shuna. Under her flushed, dazed gaze, he gently lifted her into his arms.
"Shuna… are you hurt badly?" Ren asked softly."I'm sorry. This happened because of my reckless orders."
"N-No… this isn't Lord Ren—ah, I mean, Lord Byakuya Oni's fault!" Shuna hurriedly said, her face burning red."It's because I'm too weak. I held everyone back… and even disrupted your plan."
There was no doubt about it.
The moment this horned, crimson-haired yokai with a mouth full of fangs appeared, every eye on the battlefield was drawn to him.
He had arrived like a thunderbolt—casually annihilating a powerful exorcist in an instant—then brazenly turning his back on the enemy.
Powerful.Dominant.Arrogant.
Every one of those labels fit him perfectly.
Yet the moment he approached the female oni, the tenderness in his movements made everything witnessed before feel like an illusion.
His demeanor toward Shuna was gentle—almost affectionate—completely different from how he treated his enemies.
"Lord Byakuya Oni!"
Almost the instant Ren revealed himself, Bushi no Rei and the others abandoned their battles, rushing over and dropping to one knee before him, loudly calling out his new alias.
The surrounding exorcist families stiffened when they heard that name.
The most troublesome existence they feared… had finally appeared.
And judging by his condition, he looked nothing like the gravely wounded monster they had hoped for.
In fact, after confirming that Bushi no Rei and the others were allied, the exorcist faction had already concluded—through reports from Seo Takashi and Himura Yuichi—that these mysterious yokai were all subordinates of the so-called Byakuya Oni.
That was why they had gone so far as to borrow one of the Three Sacred Treasures, preparing to slay a possible SS-rank monster.
Yet throughout the entire battle, Byakuya Oni never appeared.
The exorcists had waited… and waited… only to be disappointed.
They believed Ren was a massive threat—and injured at that. Borrowing a Sacred Treasure had been a huge gamble, yet he never showed his face.
Many of them had even concluded that the self-destruction of the Himura clan's second elder had gravely wounded him, leaving him too afraid to emerge—only sending his subordinates to die in his place.
And now… he finally appeared.
Yet instead of relief, despair washed over them.
This was not the appearance of a dying monster.
He had just crushed a clan elder's skull with a single casual blow.
There wasn't the slightest trace of weakness in him.
"My subordinates received quite a bit of 'care' from you earlier," Ren said, his lips curling into a vicious grin."So next… allow me to return the favor."
The moment his words fell, the ground beneath the entire city began to quake violently.
A crimson tide of yokai energy surged from his body like an ocean in revolt. Behind him, that overwhelming aura condensed into the form of a roaring demonic god.
Crimson hair.Blood-red eyes.Three faces. Six arms.
Like an Asura gazing down upon insects.
Blood-colored miasma flooded the surroundings as Ren stepped forward through the haze, Oni-Slayer gripped firmly in his hand.
With Demon King's Dominance unleashed and his terrifying yokai power fully released, Ren merely glared at the exorcists—
—and many of them instinctively staggered backward in fear.
Some collapsed outright, falling flat onto the ground.
This wasn't because they were weak.
Those chosen for this battle were the elites of their respective families.
But the gulf between them and the being before them was simply too vast.
In that fleeting instant when their eyes met his, they saw a sea of blood.
And within that blood-red ocean…
They clearly saw their own deaths.
"Everyone, snap out of it!" someone shouted urgently."These are just illusions! He's only using the power of the Killing Stone!"