The Yomi Hags were incredibly fast—something that was already evident from the ancient legends, where they had relentlessly pursued Izanagi without ever letting him escape easily.
The bamboo shoots that Kamishiro Isshin had created using his life force and spiritual power didn't delay them for long.
Before long, Yamato Kuka and the others were caught up again.
With nowhere left to run, they had no choice but to retreat into a nearby cave.
Entering the cave was, in essence, choosing a dead end.
But continuing to flee would have been pointless—their speed simply couldn't outmatch the Yomi Hags.
At least inside the cave, they could use the terrain to their advantage and buy themselves a little breathing room.
There were countless Yomi Hags, but the cave entrance was narrow. They couldn't swarm in all at once.
As long as they held the entrance, they could keep the creatures at bay—for now.
Of course, the downside was obvious.
If the entrance were breached…
Then the Yomi Hags would pour in, and there would be nowhere left to escape.
At that point, death would be inevitable.
—
As the barrier between worlds continued to weaken, both yokai and exorcists in the human realm had seen a significant surge in power.
Yamato Kuka, with her exceptional talent, had already reached a level comparable to the heads of the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses. Her spiritual power had reached SS-rank.
The monk Hakuba and Kamishiro Isshin, who had been operating alongside her, were only slightly behind—both possessing formidable SS–rank strength.
Even Kujou Hinano, who had only begun training after the great upheaval, had already reached A+ rank as an exorcist.
Hakuba, as a high-ranking monk, wielded Buddhist techniques that seemed particularly effective against the Yomi Hags.
At this moment, he was undoubtedly the strongest combatant among them.
Even Kuka, whose raw spiritual power surpassed his, couldn't match his efficiency when it came to slaying these creatures.
Golden light erupted from his body, manifesting as two towering, wrathful guardian figures—like divine protectors standing at the cave's mouth.
They struck down the charging Yomi Hags with overwhelming force—each punch felling one.
Standing between those two radiant guardians, Hakuba controlled a string of prayer beads.
The beads separated into eighteen floating orbs, each inscribed with glowing golden runes.
Empowered by his spiritual energy, the beads—originally no larger than longan fruits—expanded to the size of basketballs.
They shot through the air like cannonballs, smashing into the Yomi Hags again and again.
Each impact sent the creatures flying dozens of meters.
Some were struck repeatedly, their bodies shattering midair into fragments.
With such overwhelming strength, hope began to rekindle among the survivors.
But while others might have been encouraged—
Kuka saw the truth.
Despite the spectacle of Hakuba cutting down enemies left and right, his situation was far from easy.
Maintaining the guardian constructs while simultaneously controlling the prayer beads consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy.
Even at SS–rank, this level of expenditure couldn't be sustained indefinitely.
Of course, Kuka understood why he was doing it.
In a situation like this, what they needed most was hope.
If they lost even the will to survive, then nothing else would matter.
And besides—
Kamishiro had already sacrificed so much for them.
Hakuba had no intention of giving up so easily.
Even if they were destined to die, he refused to let it be in vain.
Their lives had been bought with Kamishiro Isshin's sacrifice.
To give up now would be an insult to that sacrifice.
—
The dozen or so survivors in the cave had split into two groups, led by Kuka and Hakuba respectively, taking turns holding the entrance.
While one group fought, the other could rest and recover slightly.
But both Kuka and Hakuba knew the truth.
Even with this rotation, their rate of recovery couldn't keep up with their energy expenditure.
Their supplies were steadily dwindling.
And the moment their spiritual power ran dry…
Would be the moment they died.
—
"Kuka, why are you here?" Hakuba asked, frowning as he noticed her approaching with Onikiri in hand. "I can hold out a little longer. If you step in early, your energy consumption will fall out of sync."
From his perspective, she had come to switch shifts.
And while her willingness to help was commendable, it wasn't the right move under these circumstances.
Among the remaining survivors, only the two of them had the strength to truly hold back the Yomi Hags. The others could only assist.
If Kuka exhausted her energy too soon…
Then when Hakuba ran out, there would be no one left to take his place.
"No," Kuka said, shaking her head. "I'm not here to disrupt the plan.
I came to tell you some good news.
We're not out of options yet.
A powerful reinforcement is on the way—heading here as fast as possible."
In a situation like this, of course they had already considered calling for help.
But when they had triggered the seal, all hundred-plus of them had been dragged into this spatial rift.
Their special communicators still worked—but even if they sent out a distress signal, ordinary reinforcements wouldn't be able to save them.
Given the sheer number of Yomi Hags outside, it would take several of the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses—deploying their full forces—to stand a chance.
And even then, locating this hidden spatial rift wouldn't be easy.
By the time help arrived…
Their corpses would likely already be cold.
But judging from Kuka's confident tone and unwavering expression, Hakuba quickly realized something.
The "powerful reinforcement" she spoke of…
Was a single individual.
Not a group.
Not an army.
Just one person.
And someone whom she trusted enough to believe he could come alone—and still save them.
There was only one person Hakuba could think of.
"I see… Ren, huh?" Hakuba murmured, a faint smile forming on his lips. "If it's him… then maybe we really do have a chance of getting out of this alive."
He had absolute faith in Ren's strength.
After all, the last time they had seen him fight, his opponent had been the Nightblade God.
And it was during that battle that they learned the truth—
Their longtime colleague, Amamiya Ren…
Was none other than the infamous Hyakki.
The sheer power Ren had displayed in that battle had completely redefined their understanding of what "strong" meant.
Even now, Hakuba firmly believed—
If Ren hadn't intervened back then, the Nightblade God alone might have torn through the entire human world.
Yes, Ren had been in a berserk, corrupted state at the time.
But there was no denying it.
That had been transcendent-class power.
And having witnessed that level of strength firsthand, Hakuba believed—
If it was Ren Kuroda…
Then finding this spatial rift and saving them before they were wiped out entirely—
Was not impossible.
..
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