Meanwhile, in the skies above, the dog and the tiger were locked in a chase. They eventually crashed down into a mountain forest, their battle leveling half the mountainside. All the wild animals on the mountain stampeded downhill.
Even the villages at the base of the mountain could feel the ground shake from the mass migration of beasts.
The crimson-flame demon dog quickly realized that this opponent wasn't easy to deal with.
The white tiger was a master of wind magic—its speed was insane, and it preferred ranged attacks.
He, on the other hand, was built for close combat.
Dog-type yokai were generally melee specialists. Their ranged skills, if they had any, were mediocre at best.
He opened his jaws and exhaled a thick green fog—clearly poisonous.
But before the fog could even reach the tiger, a gust of wind scattered it to nothing.
He raised a paw again. This time, glowing green vines—or rather, whips—appeared in his grip. As he moved, they lashed through the air with loud cracks.
Sora unleashed multiple wind blades, but couldn't cut through them.
One whip almost managed to strike him.
When the whips hit the ground, they left deep, purple-black scorch marks in the earth.
Clearly, those were laced with poison too.
"Despicable! You venomous mutt!!" Sora roared, no longer bothering to dodge. Instead, he lunged straight into the glowing green whips, pinning them down with his paws and biting into them with everything he had.
His teeth were far tougher—and sharper—than his wind blades.
"Hey! Are you trying to die?" Koen called out, clearly surprised.
Because… this white tiger's voice—it sounded way too childish.
A crisp, childlike tone, just like that of the two he's tryna save. Could it be…
"My whips are poisonous, you know!" Koen warned, sounding somewhat anxious now.
Was this tiger a cub? So impulsive, so reckless—definitely like a cub…
He was seriously in a brawl with a yokai child? If word got out, wouldn't that ruin his reputation?
"Pah! I'm not afraid!" Sora growled proudly, crushing the light-whips in his jaws.
He had gone through anti-poison training, after all!
"…You're a yokai. Why are you siding with humans?" Redflame asked, puzzled.
"What's wrong with staying with my master?" Sora answered like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"You acknowledged a human as your master?" Koen looked genuinely stunned.
Another yokai who had chosen a human as their master?
Ever since Abe no Seimei, that kind of thing had become a little more common—but it was still incredibly rare.
Some yokai did linger beside humans for a century or two out of love, only to eventually part ways.
But that wasn't the same as becoming a contracted servant.
Randomly finding yourself a master… what kind of self-destructive behavior was that?
Especially for one so young. What was the point?
Humans didn't even live that long.
"My master is the strongest in the world!" Sora boasted, chest puffed with pride.
His voice, once childlike, now lowered to a more solemn tone.
Every time he spoke about Cyr, he would deliberately deepen his voice to sound more dignified and fearsome.
"The strongest in the world? All I've ever heard is that Seimei is the strongest onmyoji. And your master… what exactly is he?" Koen's massive form shifted, transforming into a handsome humanoid yokai.
He wore loose robes, his chest half exposed, and long silver-white hair cascaded down his back. His crimson eyes glinted with mischief, and red yokai markings adorned his face.
"My master is the strongest being in the world," Sora said again, completely unfazed by the transformation. He continued to praise Cyr without hesitation.
It wasn't unusual—many magical beasts could take on human form. Nothing surprising.
"The strongest in the world? Are you serious?" Sora replied, smirking, his tone playful and his gaze roguish.
Definitely not the kind of dog to be taken seriously.
"Why would I lie?! Someone like you, if you met my master, would've been floored, skinned, and turned into a fine dogskin rug by now!" Kuuro declared boldly, holding his head high.
"I don't buy it. Who is your master, then?" Redflame asked, clearly skeptical.
It was no ordinary yokai—Sora was a great demon, one who had participated in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, escaped Heian-kyo unscathed, and once drank side by side with the infamous Shuten-dōji of Mt. Ōe.
"The shrine you saw? That belongs to my master," Kuuro snorted.
"That shrine is your master's? But isn't your master human?" Koen asked in astonishment, voice laced with doubt.
A human… owning a shrine? No—rather, a living human, owning a shrine?
Usually, only those who become gods after death have shrines.
"My master…" Sora hesitated.
Even now, it still wasn't sure if its master was truly human or… something else entirely.
"So your master isn't human?" Koen guessed, noticing Kuuro's uncertainty.
Could this guy actually be raised by a deity?
"Anyway, my master is the strongest in the world. The strongest, period." Sora huffed, flicking its ears in irritation.
"Alright, alright, if you say so, I guess I'll just have to go check it out myself." Koen grinned, then in a blink, reverted to his true form—a giant wolf—and sprinted off toward the shrine at top speed.
He disappeared from sight almost immediately.
No! He's going to confront Master! And if he finds out it's all because of what I said...
Sora shook its head, then quickly took off in pursuit.
"Stop right there!!"
…
While they waited for their master to rescue them, the two little cubs were stuck miserably playing "pretend training" with two human girls. Dead-eyed and resigned, they quietly prayed for Koen to come back and take them away.
They weren't toys for human children to play with!
They were Inuyokai! Demons, not pets!
Though seriously, these human girls were so, so weak.
Beating them was too easy.
One of the little dogs jumped up for a flying kick, and while mid-air, spun around to whip its tail at Noriko and Rinko.
Their tails—thick and long—weren't just for show. A good swipe packed real power.
"Wooof…"
(Koen-sensei, when are you coming back...)
"Woof! Woof!"
(Come get us already, Koen-sensei!!)
And just then, a strong gust of wind burst through the shrine.
Koen arrived, heading straight for the largest building.
Upon entering, he immediately spotted the grand altar.
There, a divine statue sat upon the high platform—draped in elegant robes, its body seemingly sculpted from flawless white jade. Its blue eyes gleamed like gemstones.
But even more shocking… was the boy sitting beneath the statue.
He looked exactly like the statue.
Or perhaps—it was the statue that had been modeled after him.
That human…
Koen's gaze locked on the boy holding a brush, seemingly painting something.
Even though Koen had just stormed in, the boy didn't even glance his way. Completely unbothered.
"Hey, you..." he finally muttered, surprised by the boy's audacity to posture as a god.
But Koen never got to finish his sentence.
Because just then, the boy—Cyr—lifted his eyes and cast a lazy glance in Koen's direction.
Those eyes… more radiant than the gemstone ones of the statue.
"Domain Expansion — Infinite Void."
Something was wrong…
He couldn't move a muscle.
It felt like he could see everything, hear everything, but at the same time… do absolutely nothing.
He was frozen in place.
°°°
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