Beyond those four figures, there was another man.
Twin horns rose from his head. His waist-length hair burned a vivid crimson. Razor-sharp claws extended from both his hands and feet, and he walked barefoot across the snow as though it were solid ground. His face was completely obscured by a thick, surging mass of demonic power, making his features impossible to discern.
The moment these five figures appeared, the members of the Onmyo Bureau and the Honomura Clan present knew—purely from their appearances—that they were anything but ordinary.
If one insisted on calling them human, they looked far more like yokai akin to the Snow Woman.
Especially after their arrival, the demonic aura that instantly spread outward made everyone present feel as though their chests were being crushed, an overwhelming suffocation settling over the battlefield.
"Yu—no, my lord," one of them spoke respectfully. "I've already blocked that old man's attack as you instructed. Shall we kill all the humans here next?"
The raging torrent of water that had previously intercepted the Honomura elder's Immovable Wisdom King Flame Domain Mantra had, in fact, been released by the Shore Cliff Imp.
In terms of raw demonic power, the Shore Cliff Imp was indeed inferior to the Honomura Clan's elder. However, one must not forget that in such an extreme cold environment, fire-based techniques were inevitably affected to some degree.
Moreover, ever since Ren Kuroda had received the blessing of becoming a "Demon King Seed," the Shore Cliff Imp's power had surged to A-minus rank. He was no longer some insignificant minor yokai.
As for the remaining three, they were the Hand-Washing Specter, the Samurai Spirit, and a Nekomata.
Originally, Ren Kuroda had planned to bring Spider Princess and the Wall Guardian alone. However, both of them were now registered shikigami, and their identities were already known to others. They would have been far too conspicuous.
Left with no other choice, Ren Kuroda used his contracts to summon the Samurai Spirit and the others from the Nurarihyon world.
After Ren Kuroda became a "Demon King Seed," these former executives under him—like the Nekomata—had almost all reached A-rank as well. Even the few who hadn't crossed that threshold yet were firmly at B-plus.
The instant the exorcists sensed the demonic power radiating from the Shore Cliff Imp and the others—and heard what they said—every single one of them turned pale.
None of them had expected things to take such a sudden and catastrophic turn.
At that moment, they were mentally cursing the intelligence agencies that had fed them this information, greeting their ancestors in every language imaginable.
Wasn't it said that the Snow Woman lived alone in the mountains and hadn't joined any other faction?
Then who the hell were these monsters standing in front of them now?
Everyone present was an exorcist—and not a weak one at that. Just by observing their physical traits, they could already roughly identify what kind of yokai these were.
None of these yokai belonged to this environment. The only reason they would appear here was obvious—they had come for the Snow Woman.
Shore Cliff Imp, Nekomata, Samurai Spirit, Hand-Washing Specter… among them, only the Nekomata had fame comparable to the Snow Woman, but the others were hardly obscure nobodies either.
More importantly, none of them bothered to conceal their power. Every single one of them radiated unmistakable A-rank demonic energy.
What truly drove the Onmyo Bureau and the Honomura Clan into despair, however, was this—
Even these A-rank great yokai spoke to the young horned demon standing in the center with absolute reverence, addressing him as "my lord."
These were A-rank yokai—existences that, in the modern world, could easily dominate an entire region on their own.
Yet now, four such beings willingly submitted to another yokai.
And that man—the one standing at the center, addressed as lord by four A-rank great yokai—was not even releasing any overwhelming demonic pressure. Yet simply by standing there, he inspired an instinctive dread that sent chills down one's spine.
No one present believed for a second that a yokai resembling an oni, acknowledged as lord by four A-rank subordinates, would be weaker than them.
"Those idiots in charge of intelligence are absolute trash. That's why I've always despised desk-bound bureaucratic scum," the Onmyo Bureau's leader, Seo, snarled with a dark expression when he saw Ren Kuroda and the others appear."We're out here risking our lives, and they can't even get basic intel right."
The situation had completely reversed.
Forget exterminating the Snow Woman—whether they could even make it out of the mountains alive was now a serious question.
Although they still held a numerical advantage, the difference in actual combat power was absolute.
On their side, counting everything, they only had one A-rank combatant—the Honomura Clan elder.
On the other side? A-rank demonic power was the bare minimum.
And under normal circumstances, when spiritual power and demonic power were equal, yokai already held the advantage.
Unlike fragile humans, yokai possessed terrifying physical strength and bodies that could withstand immense punishment.
"Leave that kid over there alive," Ren Kuroda said calmly. "And keep one of these as well—let them go back and spread the word. Let the humans know who protects this snow mountain.As for the rest… kill them all."
The moment Ren Kuroda finished speaking, the Nekomata and the others shot forward like afterimages, instantly selecting their prey.
To be honest, the chance to fight the "exorcists" their lord mentioned filled them with excitement.
Ever since receiving the Demon King Seed's blessing, their strength had skyrocketed—but in the Nurarihyon world, they'd had little opportunity for real combat.
Now, these exorcists standing before them were the perfect test subjects to evaluate their growth.
Unfortunately for the exorcists, most of them were only B or B-minus rank. Their earlier success against the Snow Woman had relied heavily on the Snow Child being taken hostage, forcing her to fight cautiously.
Against true A-rank great yokai, they couldn't last more than a few exchanges.
In such extreme cold, the human body naturally stiffened. In battle, even the tiniest flaw could become fatal.
Combined with the overwhelming gap in strength, many exorcists broke mentally before the fight even truly began.
The battle turned into a one-sided slaughter almost from the outset.
Even the Nekomata and the others—who had initially been eager to test themselves—soon grew dissatisfied. This level of combat didn't even let them stretch properly, and they began openly competing with one another for kills.
"Samurai Spirit-dono," the Hand-Washing Specter said with a grin, "that old man looks half-dead already. Surely, with your sense of bushido, you wouldn't bully an elderly human. Why not let me take him instead?"
Now that his demonic power had reached A-rank, the Hand-Washing Specter's raw strength had grown terrifying—so much so that he could now tear apart certain Five-Element spells with his bare hands.
Originally, he'd been curious how these so-called "exorcists" differed from the onmyoji of his own world.
But once he actually engaged them, he realized there was indeed a noticeable gap.
Leaving aside their poor physical conditioning, their mental resilience was utterly lacking. Faced with truly powerful yokai, their composure crumbled almost instantly.
Of course, this wasn't entirely their fault.
Unlike the Nurarihyon world—where yokai, though diminished, still appeared regularly—Ren Kuroda's main world had been peaceful for far too long.
Even when calamity yokai emerged, they were pathetically weak.
That overly comfortable environment had left these exorcists with decent spiritual power, but abysmal combat experience and psychological fortitude.
After smashing exorcist after exorcist with a single punch—sometimes destroying their spells before they even fully activated—the Hand-Washing Specter quickly grew bored.
His gaze soon locked onto the only exorcist present with A-rank spiritual power.
That old man was currently fighting the Samurai Spirit. From his smooth spellcasting and calm reactions under pressure, it was clear he was leagues above the others.
"Hand-Washing Specter-dono," the Samurai Spirit said coolly, "this elder is my opponent. And I must say, your earlier words were inappropriate.Strength has nothing to do with age. The capable lead the way. Though advanced in years, this man's power is formidable. Slaying such an opponent does justice to my blade—and will earn greater recognition from our lord."
From the moment the battle began, the Samurai Spirit had disdained fighting weaker foes. His eyes had been fixed solely on the strongest—the Honomura Clan's elder.
And reality proved his judgment correct.
Though aged, the elder's combat power remained exceptional. His fire-based spells even bypassed the Samurai Spirit's spiritual body, and with a slight advantage in spiritual power, he had managed to suppress the Samurai Spirit with ease.
That fragile balance shattered the moment the Hand-Washing Specter joined the fight.
To be honest, as a warrior devoted to bushido, the Samurai Spirit disliked interference. But making Lord Ren wait was an even greater disgrace.
After a brief hesitation, he silently accepted the Hand-Washing Specter's involvement.
Once the Hand-Washing Specter experienced the full force of the elder's fire spells, a satisfied grin finally spread across his face.
"Yes," he thought. "Only someone like this deserves to be called an opponent."
For the Honomura Clan's elder, however, the situation was anything but satisfying.
Against the A-rank Samurai Spirit alone, he had been managing comfortably—so much so that he could even shield Honomura Yuuichi and the others as they retreated.
But with the Hand-Washing Specter entering the fray, his advantage vanished completely.
The battle turned perilous.
Compared to the Samurai Spirit's refined swordsmanship and unpredictable movements, the Hand-Washing Specter's brutal, reckless style often shattered stalemates through sheer force alone.