"Sankon Tessō!"
Golden claw marks tore through the air with a piercing whistle, instantly rending apart a lowly demon.
The spray of blood had yet to touch the ground before another frenzied figure dashed through it, scattering the crimson mist.
In a mountain forest where the last snow had just melted and the first blades of grass poked through, more than a dozen dog-demons spread into a fan formation, eyes sharp as hawks.
Under Kujaku's command, they charged like tigers descending a mountain, brutally tearing into nearly a hundred wretched low-class yōkai.
Just as the children of a Daiyōkai are destined to one day become powerful, these insect-like creatures—fragile as grasshoppers—were destined to remain nothing but trash for their entire pitiful lives.
One dog-demon pounced, claws gleaming like blades of cold steel, ripping a foe from head to toe in an instant. Blood erupted, staining the earth, nourishing the grass.
Another vaulted high, twisting in the air, before its powerful hind legs crashed down like iron clubs onto a demon's skull.
A crisp crack sounded—the creature's head shattered, its brains bursting outward.
Though the low-class demons were many, before the ferocity and precision of the dog-demons' coordinated assault, they were utterly powerless.
Shrieking miserably, they scattered, scrambling to flee the slaughter.
"Awoo!"
Trained personally by Tōga, Kujaku howled, his cry echoing through the forest. The sound directed the dog-demons' advance and retreat with discipline, keeping them from losing themselves in the frenzy of blood.
The stench of blood and chaos thickened the woods, muddling even the keen noses of the dog clan.
Then, from beyond the fleeing rabble, another piercing shriek cut the air. A new wave of low-class demons burst forth, merging with the stragglers, mindlessly surging toward Kujaku's troops.
At the rear, Seiten marched steadily, watchful eyes scanning all directions. Unless his comrades faced mortal danger, he did not intervene.
Meanwhile, Tōga calmly held Shūran's thunder-element yōki crystal in his hand. With measured focus, he devoured its essence, even as he deliberately let its raw, pure aura seep outward, carried far by the wind.
That lure—the crystallized essence of a great demon—was exactly what drove these lowly creatures into a suicidal frenzy.
This was the ancient East. Spiritual energy was abundant. Animals awakened into spirits, plants took on form.
And with humans locked in endless wars, the lands beyond city walls were littered with corpses and bones.
Mixed with the lingering malice of men and the weight of their legends, a multitude of bizarre and twisted yōkai emerged without end.
A paradise of monsters and demons.
"So, in this chaotic, lawless world… how could I not emulate my illustrious forebears? Unify the roads, standardize the script, and establish my own demonic empire beneath heaven?"
The thought burned in Tōga's mind. By now, the thunder-element crystal was wholly devoured.
Standing upon the cliff's edge, his robes billowing, his body blazed with arcs of lightning. His eyes shone with radiant clarity, his aura trembling with might.
"The yōki crystal carries a living essence… harder to consume, but far greater in benefit than even the Fang Bladea."
With Shūran's very life-force within, his own energy roared to its limits.
The spiritual currents of heaven and earth reversed toward him, vast torrents of energy funneled endlessly into his body.
His yōki surged like a storm, his entire being feasting greedily on this banquet of power.
In the forest, Shirayuki—locked in battle with a mid-tier yōkai—suddenly turned her head. She gazed at the young man, bathed in thunderlight, robes dancing in the storm. Pride and competitiveness shone in her golden eyes.
'As expected of my man… but I won't fall behind you for long.'
The disturbance in the spiritual flow was like a boulder crashing into a calm lake, waves rippling out in all directions.
Mid-tier demons lurking in the shadows stirred at once. Low-class demons had no strategy—but those who commanded them did.
And the sight of Tōga, radiating nearly the presence of a high-tier yōkai, sent sheer terror down their spines.
Against the lure of mid-tier evolution, they might risk a tiger's claws. But a high-tier demon? That was like defying the very heavens.
"Found you, vermin."
The sudden shift in aura had not escaped Shirayuki's senses.
Her silver ponytail whipped as she darted into the woods.
"Moon Shadow Step — Veil."
Her form blurred, like a crescent moon hidden behind thick clouds.
She tread across invisible threads like a spider in silence, golden eyes locking onto the triple-eyed arachnid demon. Her lips curved in a faint smirk.
In an instant, she vanished into its blind spot.
The spider's jagged legs stabbed forward, piercing only her fading afterimage.
In that same blink, the edge of the Fang Blade gleamed with pale moonlight, stabbing thrice in strokes so swift they blurred between real and illusion.
The spider had no time to turn. Her blade pierced flesh, heart, and life in a single strike.
Its corpse crumpled.
"The first one."
Shirayuki's voice was calm as she stepped onward, moving with poise, as if strolling through her own garden.
Without their commanders, the lesser demons dissolved into chaos. The dog-demons, led by Kujaku's bloodstained but unyielding charge, only fought with greater vigor.
Pressed from all sides, the hounds adapted, instinctively shifting from lone duels to cooperative formations.
Between life and death, their attacks gained rhythm and method.
Having slain three hidden mid-tier demons, Shirayuki returned lightly to Tōga's side.
His newfound power radiated like a mountain—but she refrained from asking, lest it sap her own drive.
Her gaze turned instead to their growing warriors. For the first time, order and strength shone among them.
She said nothing of rushing to Wind and Thunder Gorge. Even if they left immediately, no one expected the wounded Panther Elders to linger in wait.
The gorge was at least a day's march away. Their foes were not fools.
Better to grow stronger here and now. For if the dog clan became mightier, they could slay the panthers at any time.
Shirayuki's golden eyes softened, watching their soldiers revel in newfound strength. Satisfaction welled within her.
And beside her, Tōga smiled faintly.
At last, he was laying the foundation for his first true army.