When the blinding light finally faded, only Tōga remained standing, sword sheathed.
Before him stretched a molten chasm — the once towering ridge had been plowed into a fan-shaped wasteland by the lingering force of the Sōryūha. The exposed rock glittered like crystalized glass.
The bone-armored panther demon still kept its pose, jaws frozen in a sky-shaking roar, rage lingering in its molten slit-pupils.
Then, the bone spikes covering its body emitted a brittle, porcelain-like crackling.From its forehead marking, web-like fractures spread outward, and from every split poured blue-white lightning fire.
Crack—!
With a detonation along its spine, the demon — three jō [9.09 meters] tall and five jō [15.15 meters] long crashed to its knees.
Charred flesh peeled away like weathered pottery, sloughing off layer by layer and revealing a honeycomb of scorched bone within.
The bone plates that had tanked the Kaze no Kizu scattered into phosphorescent dust, whirling into a pale vortex in the rising hot wind.
The most horrifying of all was the gaping pit in its chest — the residual lightning of Sōryūha gnawed through flesh unceasingly. Behind the ribcage, half a crystallized heart was visible, cracked and flickering.
When the last trace of yōki leaked through those fissures, the heart burst with a boom, scattering into glittering fragments mixed with charred organ dust.
Blackened smoke spurted from its seven orifices. At last, the kneeling carcass tipped forward.
The instant it hit the ground, its brittle skeleton collapsed, crumbling into smoking fragments across the glass-like stone.
Only one intact piece remained — a torn scrap of the right face, marked by fang scars. Its molten slit-pupil still froze in disbelief and fury… before being swallowed by rising magma.
Tōga extended his palm. The lightning dancing along the corpse snapped into a stream, gathering into his hand as a diamond-shaped yōki crystal.
Within that crystal, one could still see a miniature Byakukonmaru, baring fangs and shrieking in rage.
"Just a scrap of manifested soul? Eat dust, loser."
Tōga closed his fingers. Senrō-yōki enveloped the crystal, and refined it instantly.
A surge of demonic power bulged beneath his skin, twisting and coiling like a living dragon.
The energy flooded through his limbs and bones like a roaring torrent, rushing toward his heart.
Fine arcs of lightning crackled from his pores. His silver hair flared wildly from static, and his fangs shot three inches longer, uncontrollably.
Tōga transformed into a massive white dog demon, raising his head to the sky with a thunderous howl. His yōki erupted outward, fierce and overwhelming. His powerful heartbeat pounded like war drums.
With each pulse of that drum, the white dog's body grew larger, and its power surged higher!
Far away, tens of kilometers from the battlefield, Shirayuki, Kujaku, and Seiten, who had been rushing with frantic worry upon seeing the sky-shaking energies, now stood frozen with shock.
The white demon dog's yōki stretched into the heavens, boundless and unending.
"L-La— Lady Shirayuki help me… Lord Tōga specializes in yōki refinement, right? Why… why is his demon body THAT huge?!"
Kujaku, desperately trying to find a suitable adjective, took a sideways glance at Shirayuki's slim, graceful figure… and swallowed hard.
She then looked toward Seiten. Their eyes met — and upon seeing his sincere, relieved expression, Kujaku suddenly felt her choice in mate wasn't bad at all.
At least she didn't have to worry about some temptress suddenly appearing to steal her "mud-dog husband".
"Lord Tōga grows stronger and stronger… Lady Shirayuki must be feeling the pressure too, right?"
Shirayuki, whose thoughts were being wildly misinterpreted, watched the deluge of spiritual energy pour into Tōga. She was happy… yet undeniably pressured.
Not because she feared other female demons taking him away — the notion was beneath her. Tōga himself promised to love her for life. What silly worry could top that?
Her gaze fixed upon the remains of Byakukonmaru. How could she not recognize such a name?Only forty years ago, this demon was infamous, a high-ranking Leopard Cat yōkai the Dog Clan elders, even the previous Dog General, long desired to kill.
If he had secretly ascended to Great Demon level, the Dog Clan would have faced annihilation.
"His death is definitely a good thing. But Father must prepare. If the Panther Lord is pushed to desperation, anything could happen."
Decisive, Shirayuki summoned Gyuenmaru and Shunraiga, ordering them to carry urgent sealed messages back to the Dog General as fast as possible.
When the last speck of yōki crystal was consumed, Tōga's eyes snapped open, and in those pupils flashed Byakukonmaru's molten gold slit.
A heartbeat later, that gold was devoured entirely by blue lightning flame.
"This feeling… not bad at all."
He stretched his massive demon body freely in midair, every muscle brimming with pleasure at the strength swelling through him. The fur rippled proudly in the wind, reveling in its power.
"Senrō-yōki's quality and volume are incredible. It grants me monstrous combat power… but it slows my power by quite a lot."
Tōga submerged his mind into the power surging inside him, pondering.
"With Byakukonmaru and the Fifth Leopard Cat Elder absorbed… I'll still need to devour at least four to five complete high-class yōkai to finish the rest of the accumulation."
If he cultivated step-by-step, it could take him ten to twenty years to reach the peak of high-level yōkai — something even geniuses spend one or two centuries to achieve.
Great Demon, that was an entirely different lifeform. Not something reached through ordinary logic.
A being whose very existence radiated strength, uplifting the bloodlines of its entire race.
"One rises, and all beneath rise with them."
Tōga's eyes darkened in thought.
Ten to twenty years was nothing to a demon's lifespan. But in this chaotic age — time was life itself.
"I've killed Byakukonmaru. What happens next in the West depends on how the elders move. Before that, I must use the time I still have freely."
He noticed Shirayuki's movements below. With a breath, he retracted his aura and reverted to human form — white fur weaving itself into armor and robes, the Fang Blade at his waist, descending in front of the others spirited and radiant.
"The Leopard Cat encampment spoils have already been stored for you. Where to next? Straight to Wind and Thunder Gorge?"
Shirayuki didn't bother asking whether he had ascended to high-level yōkai. One who slays Byakukonmaru unharmed, whether labeled or not is high-class.
Centuries ago, before cultivation grades were formalized, the world had only two categories:
Those who could be killed… and those who could not.
Later came "Great Yōkai" and "Lesser Yōkai". Only within the last hundred years did low-mid-high ranks appear.
"We've come this far, of course we're going."
Tōga grinned.
With a flick of his hand, five blood-scented yōki crystals flew from his subordinates straight toward him. He caught them effortlessly, and devoured them on the spot.
"Then let's go. We wouldn't want to keep our guests waiting."