If it were only a matter of his yokai power being exposed, he could still brush it off with an excuse about a curse. But once his very body began to show signs of demonization, there would truly be no way to explain himself—even if he had a hundred mouths, he wouldn't be able to argue his innocence.
Under normal circumstances, Ren Kuroda's yokai power hovered at around A+ rank, almost on par with the Snow Woman who ruled this mountain. But the avalanche she had unleashed wasn't purely the result of her own strength—it was a disaster born from borrowing the overwhelming power of nature itself.
Of course, the yokai power and aura Ren Kuroda was currently releasing were also only at A+ rank. But yokai power alone did not directly equate to combat strength.
The moment his first slash—"Greedy Wolf"—came down, a surging inferno erupted like a prairie fire, instantly evaporating vast amounts of snow in the surrounding area. Even the frigid mountain air, once bitingly cold, took on a faint hint of scorching heat.
Yet even such ferocious flames seemed pale and feeble when faced with a natural disaster like an avalanche.
Massive fire wolves charged headlong into the white tidal wave. Although the flames vaporized huge quantities of snow and ice, they were swallowed almost instantly by the relentless surge of white that followed one wave after another.
Still, the attack wasn't entirely ineffective. Under the corrosive assault of the flames, the avalanche's speed and overall mass were visibly weakened compared to when it first began.
Just as the first "Greedy Wolf" was consumed by the white tide, Ren Kuroda tightened his grip on his Nichirin Blade and unleashed a second slash—then a third—each a blazing arc of fire, each carrying terrifying power.
The moment the three consecutive slashes were completed, his feet detonated the snow beneath him. A deep crater formed in the ground as his body vanished from its original position, reappearing in an instant directly in front of the repeatedly weakened avalanche.
Thanks to the erosion caused by "Greedy Wolf," the avalanche's size and destructive force were no longer comparable to their initial state. Standing right before it, Ren Kuroda instantly mobilized all the yokai power within his body, concentrating it into his right fist.
Then he threw a straight punch at the oncoming wall of snow.
"BOOOOM———!"
A completely unadorned punch struck empty air, yet it detonated with a deafening sonic boom. That sound alone was proof of just how terrifying the power packed into that fist truly was.
The chaotic, god-defying force of monstrous strength combined with Ren Kuroda's already overwhelming yokai power. In the instant he punched, a vacuum formed directly in front of him. The crushing pressure of the blow obliterated everything in a straight line ahead.
The snowfield, once buried under a thick blanket of white, was carved open by the fist pressure into a deep, gouged trench.
That massive trench extended all the way to the front of the already heavily weakened white wave.
"ROOOOAR———!"
Another thunderous explosion rang out.
Because of the prior successive weakening, the avalanche had already become surprisingly "thin." When it took Ren Kuroda's punch head-on, it was actually pierced straight through the middle, leaving behind a gaping hole.
With its once-unified structure destroyed, and its forward momentum shattered by the head-on collision with the punch pressure, the once-mighty avalanche collapsed in an instant.
The central portion was torn apart, and both sides of the white tide seemed to lose their support at the same time. Huge amounts of accumulated snow advanced only a short distance further before collapsing and crashing down onto the ground.
And despite all these actions taken to stop the avalanche, everything had happened in the span of mere moments.
Even the Snow Woman, far off on the other side, had only just begun to react to the sudden eruption of yokai power from Ren Kuroda—when she saw him dismantle the avalanche with overwhelming force, like a bolt of lightning.
After witnessing both the yokai power he radiated and the combat strength he displayed, the truth was that she no longer had much desire to be his enemy.
From a purely numerical standpoint, Ren Kuroda's yokai power might only be slightly stronger than hers. And she believed that, within the environment of the snow mountain, she wouldn't be without a chance if they truly fought.
The difference was that now, she felt wary of his background.
Once Ren Kuroda released his yokai power and aura, the Snow Woman—being a yokai herself—immediately understood that he was not a pure human.
A being with power at this level, mixed in among humans—and not just any humans, but ones seemingly responsible for exterminating yokai—could only mean one of two things: either his mind was broken, or he was plotting something enormous.
She knew her own situation well. The mountain was large, but she stood alone, responsible for several young Snow Children. If she truly provoked a powerful yokai faction, how would she possibly clean up the aftermath?
In her eyes, Ren Kuroda was very likely a member of one of those formidable yokai powers.
After all, infiltrating a human exorcist organization required audacity and courage that ordinary factions simply didn't possess.
And if just one Ren Kuroda already left her uncertain of victory, what would happen if more from his faction appeared? Wouldn't the peace of the snow mountain be completely shattered?
That would go directly against her original intentions.
And so, at this very moment, she chose to compromise.
"I don't know which yokai faction you belong to," she said calmly, "but there are no other yokai on this snow mountain. We cannot serve any Demon King.
"And as you can see from the recent situation here, I can barely take care of myself. I have no intention of joining any faction."
"We only wish to live quietly in the mountains. We have no interest in power struggles, and no desire to become enemies of any Demon King. As for the Killing Stone—if the faction behind you truly wants it, this Snow Woman is willing to offer it with both hands."
As her words fell, a red crystal was thrown straight toward Ren Kuroda.
Caught completely off guard, he instinctively reached out and caught it.
Handing over the Killing Stone had not been an easy decision for her.
She had no obsession with power, but in these chaotic times, possessing the Killing Stone would undoubtedly allow her to better protect those children.
Yet she had to let it go.
Human powerhouses were tied down elsewhere by Demon Kings across the land and had no time to bother with a remote place like this snow mountain. Yokai factions, however, were currently on the rise. Someone like Ren Kuroda—if even one more of his caliber appeared—would be more than she could handle.
After hesitating, she chose to give up the Killing Stone and frankly stated that they wanted no part in factional conflicts—only a quiet life.
She didn't know why he had entered the snow mountain this time. But now that she had handed over the Killing Stone and made her stance clear—that the mountain had little combat strength and would remain neutral—she believed she had compromised enough.
After tossing the Killing Stone to Ren Kuroda, she had intended to turn and leave.
"Hey—don't be in such a hurry. I think you've really misunderstood."
She hadn't expected that even after making such a concession, the boy behind her would still call out to her as she turned away.
"My compromise has limits. Even if the faction behind you—"
She stopped mid-sentence, anger flashing across her face as she turned back, prepared to warn him not to push his luck.
But instead, what flew toward her was a red crystal.
She caught it on reflex—and froze.
It was the very Killing Stone she had just thrown to him.
Holding the crystal, the Snow Woman stood there completely stunned, staring blankly at the sword-wielding youth before her.
The terrifying yokai power and aura he had displayed earlier were now fully restrained. He looked harmless, almost gentle.
But after witnessing how he had dismantled the avalanche, she could no longer see him as a naïve rookie.
"Just as I said before," Ren Kuroda continued, "my appearance here was truly nothing more than an accident.
"And I don't have much interest in the so-called Killing Stone. You really did misunderstand me from the beginning."
"As for yokai factions—you weren't wrong about that part. I do belong to one. But the leader of that faction… is me."
"Well, compared to the big shots out there, I don't have many subordinates. You could even call it shabby.
"But the hundred yokai under my command are my family. And I'll never force my family to do things they don't want to do."
"Your strength is no weaker than mine. Yet in that situation, after hesitating, you decisively gave up the Killing Stone.
"That means there's something on this mountain even more important to you than that stone.
"So take it—and use it to protect what matters most to you."
The Snow Woman blinked her distinctive blue-ringed eyes, her expression utterly vacant as she listened.
She had never encountered a yokai like Ren Kuroda before.
She didn't know whether his words came from genuine sincerity.
But the fact remained—he had returned the Killing Stone.
And after releasing her companions from the illusion, it seemed he truly intended to leave.
"Does anyone who treats his hundred yokai as family really exist?" she wondered silently. "But no matter what kind of Demon King he is, he must harbor enormous ambition.
"And the Snow Woman clan will never involve itself in conflict. Someone who can infiltrate human forces and earn such trust… perhaps he's simply someone skilled at manipulating hearts."
Shaking off the chaotic thoughts in her mind, she watched as Ren Kuroda and the others genuinely began heading down the mountain.
A gust of wind and snow swept through the area.
And in that instant, the Snow Woman vanished from where she stood.