Chapter 14: Respective Mobilizations
When Hikigaya entered the mansion, he only had Tamamo-no-Mae with him; when he left, the mansion was missing over thirty people.
Dealing with over thirty part-time girls who had been lured by high pay and were on the verge of becoming vegetables was quite simple. Hikigaya used the Divine Wind—infused with the power of shredding—to wash away the demonic energy they had tainted in the mansion, then sent each one back to their respective hometowns with a gust of wind.
By the time they woke up, they would likely have no memory of working here at all, though they would probably be surprised by the significant increase in their bank balances.
As for Hikigaya, after sending off the part-time girls, he called Tamamo and left Otsu City to return to Kyoto. As per usual, they flew back.
After flying for a while, he suddenly heard Tamamo ask, "Are you really just letting them go like that?"
"Hmm?" Without even turning his head, Hikigaya countered, "Otherwise?"
He eventually turned his head, looking at Tamamo with a look of utter disdain. "If I just wanted to exterminate these Oni, why would I come personally?"
Hearing this, Tamamo became even more puzzled.
As the supreme leader of Yomi and the God-Man served by the Nine God Group, he didn't actually need to lift a finger to resolve the yokai issue in Kansai. The martial artists of Yomi, who treated military mercenary work as their main profession and shared a common philosophy and ideal, were the most skilled supernatural group in the world at large-scale group combat. And Hikigaya Hachiman was the only co-leader recognized by this entire group.
He only needed to mobilize a few thousand Yomi martial artists—those who had mastered "Qi" and were proficient with modern military equipment—from abroad into Japan, and the great Oni army of Kansai would be pulverized, save for their leader and a few top cadres.
Such a legion of warriors could overthrow a small nation's regime in the human world. In the magus world, they could beat a mid-sized magical association until they were unable to function, or simply wipe them out if luck was on their side. Facing the power of "Qi" combined with modern technology, most members—whether yokai or human sorcerers—fell into the "unable to resist" category.
This wasn't something that could be solved by having a Great Yokai sitting in command. Great Yokai are very strong; in the human world, only the topmost tier of experts can be their enemies. But the problem lies in the fact that the number of Great Yokai is far lower than the number of top-tier human experts.
And Yomi, unfortunately, was the only organization in the world today capable of temporarily deploying a certain number of high-level experts on a global scale and coordinating them through a unified command system for joint group combat.
Even if martial artists had shortcomings in their combat methods and could be countered by a Great Yokai like Hagoromo Gitsune, what about the combination of the Nine God Group and Yomi?
Although Tamamo stayed by Komachi's side every day, there were members of the Nine God Group around Komachi as well; she had seen them. Honestly, the original pride she held as a top-tier Great Yokai had been worn away in that process. Just thinking about being mobbed by a group like that made her heart skip a beat.
Since these people knew Tamamo was the "final line of defense" Hikigaya had set for Komachi, they often exchanged words with her when Komachi wasn't looking. Because of this, Tamamo gained a relatively intuitive concept of the supernatural power in modern human society and knew exactly how terrifying the power Hikigaya Hachiman wielded outside of Japan truly was.
Therefore, she had always found Hikigaya Hachiman's actions over these past few days suspicious. And after meeting Hagoromo Gitsune, he had simply left without doing anything, which immediately made her wonder.
It wasn't that Tamamo particularly wanted to see Hikigaya slaughtering yokai; she just found it strange and was curious. But she certainly wouldn't get an answer from Hikigaya.
After all, Hikigaya's initial thought was merely a sightseeing trip, and now he wanted to watch a "3D live-action theater" version of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. He couldn't exactly tell anyone about the fact that he was a transmigrator who had ended up in an anime world he had seen before.
However, there was one thing he could tell Tamamo.
"I have already called for manpower; they will arrive in Kyoto in a few days," he said. "We can just go back and watch the show."
Back when he was playing at Universal Studios with Tamamo, he had already issued mobilization orders to Yomi and the Nine God Group. The mobile forces of Yomi in Japan had already begun gathering in Kyoto. Once everyone was in place, along with the local "land snake" (Kansai Branch), it would be enough to handle this mess in Kyoto.
This was a very "Campione-style" way of handling things. Just roll over them and be done with it.
Not a single soul in the History Compilation Committee knew about this yet. In fact, Yomi's movement this time was massive. Within the Empty-Handed Group's "One Shadow Nine Fists," aside from Mikumo Kushinada and Akira Hongo who were already in Japan, Alexander Gaidar (the Extermination Fist), Ishinsai Ogata (the Fist Saint), and Agaard Jum Saiwa (the Fist
Emperor) had already set out from their respective bases. Since the Weapon Group had not yet decided on the new generation of the "Eight Shining Blades," there was a temporary vacancy in top experts; consequently, they mobilized a large number of "soldiers" and "cadres"—all elites who had participated in national-level military mercenary missions multiple times.
Including the Nine God Group, which was also drawing manpower from various sects, there would actually be over ten thousand people gathering in Kyoto.
"Alright, let's go. It's almost dark," Hikigaya looked at the sky and complained. He couldn't be bothered by how curious Tamamo was; to save time, he simply wrapped her in a bolt of lightning and flew off.
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In the mansion, Hagoromo Gitsune stood on the balcony, watching the two of them disappear as bolts of lightning.
The small yokai who had been scared half to death by Hikigaya earlier stood behind Hagoromo Gitsune, clutching the skull tightly, her small face full of unease.
"Lord Hagoromo Gitsune." A scrawny old man with an abnormally large head emerged from the shadows.
His appearance seemed to flip a switch. Amidst rising demonic energy, one figure after another emerged—the cadres of Hagoromo Gitsune's fan club were appearing.
In the darkness, someone snorted coldly.
"Minagoroshi-Jizo, if you have something to say, say it; if you have a fart, let it out!"
"Hehe!" The yokai shaped like a scrawny old man laughed strangely. "Meeting the legendary Rakshasa King... could it be that you are all afraid?"
On his oversized head was a single eye that occupied almost half the skull. As he spoke, it rolled eerily, as if representing some kind of will. As the eye swept over the present yokai, everyone felt uncomfortable. Many directly showed expressions of disgust.
"It seems everyone has arrived." Hagoromo Gitsune turned around, her long black hair draped softly over her shoulders. Her fair skin appeared almost pale in this demonic environment, and her pitch-black eyes flashed with a cold light. "Minagoroshi-Jizo, explain the method to break the seals clearly to everyone."
"By your command, Lord Hagoromo Gitsune." Minagoroshi-Jizo bowed to Hagoromo Gitsune and turned to face the cadres before him.
Although he knew there were "his own people" among them, the time had not yet come, so he naturally wouldn't show his hand. Instead, he simply wore his usual nauseating, sinister smile.
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