After the great upheaval of heaven and earth, yokai began to emerge in endless numbers, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Their rate of increase far outpaced the speed at which humans could train new exorcists.
What was more, for reasons no one could clearly explain, the yokai born after the advent of this chaotic era seemed to grow in power at an astonishing rate—as if they were being favored by the very laws of this overturned world. Just as many yokai themselves had proclaimed, their era had finally arrived. This was their age of prosperity.
Humanity had enjoyed the favor of heaven and earth for countless years. Perhaps now, the world truly wished to change its protagonist.
If humans were not as tenacious as they were—and if modern humanity had not learned to wield science alongside mysticism, even developing things like "yokai serums" to bolster their fighting strength—the world might have already fallen long ago.
Of course, all of that was beside the point. The topic of discussion at hand was still how to deal with the SS-class yokai that had suddenly appeared in the Tokyo District.
"An SS-class yokai is certainly troublesome," the head of the Higun family continued calmly, "but I believe everyone here noticed something when examining the traces left by the battle on the snowy mountain.
"Our family's second elder burned his life and soul, fighting with S-class spiritual power. Even so, he was no match for the enemy. However, the spiritual self-detonation he triggered in the end dealt that yokai a severe blow."
"Even an SS-class yokai wouldn't emerge unscathed after taking such a spiritual explosion at close range. Its current condition cannot be good. Let alone unleashing SS-level combat power—I doubt it can even maintain stable S-level strength.
"If we want to defeat it, now is the best possible opportunity."
From the remnants discovered on the snow mountain, it was clear that the SS-class yokai king had indeed been injured by the Higun family elder's final self-destruction. While the Higun family head did not know exactly how severe those injuries were, he had no choice but to exaggerate somewhat in order to draw the other families into cooperation.
After all, compared to the other exorcist clans, if that SS-class yokai truly intended to take action against human families, the Higun family—having directly offended it—would undoubtedly be the first target.
"If you already know it's injured," a voice interjected, "then I don't believe it would choose to reveal itself at a time like this. And if an SS-class yokai truly wants to hide, it won't be easy for us to find it with our strength alone."
The speaker was the head of the Jisō family—a bare-chested, middle-aged man whose body was covered in scars. After hearing the Higun family head's argument, he calmly expressed his own view.
A weakened SS-class yokai aside, even ignoring the danger it posed, the mere prospect of killing such a being was enough to make one's heart race. The materials harvested from its body would be priceless.
In the eyes of the Jisō family—who operated much like mercenaries—a weakened SS-class yokai was nothing less than a walking treasure vault. Even a small piece of material taken from it could be sold for an astronomical price.
Especially now that humanity had developed things like "yokai serums." SS-class yokai serum was still unheard of—hell, even S-class yokai serum had never truly appeared. If such a creature could be hunted and turned into a usable serum, its value would be beyond measure.
"Exactly," another voice agreed. "Since it's weakened, it will choose to lie low. And by the time we exhaust ourselves tracking it down, it may already have recovered.
"Personally, I find the idea of crossing blades with an S-class or higher yokai thrilling. But excitement alone isn't reason enough to throw my clansmen into mortal danger."
As he spoke, Kūsu Ryōsuke gently wiped down his katana. Thanks to the marriage alliance with the Yamato family, the Kūsu clan was far from lacking in resources. Their people loved battle—not money.
But enjoying battle was one thing. Throwing their lives away was another. They enjoyed the sensation of their blades cutting through yokai flesh, not the feeling of being carved up themselves.
"I understand that well," the Higun family head replied. "That's precisely why I called everyone here.
"Based on our intelligence, that SS-class oni has been lying low in the Tokyo District for quite some time. During that period, it has likely gathered most of the yokai present in Tokyo under its banner—including the Snow Woman from the mountain incident.
"Since it clearly has ambitions, there's no way it's acting alone. Even if it chooses to remain hidden, the other yokai in Tokyo can't all disappear at once, can they?"
As soon as he said this, the previously silent head of the Kagamori family spoke up.
"Higun-dono, are you suggesting that some of the yokai forces currently entrenched in Tokyo may actually be subordinates of that oni?"
"Exactly," the Higun elder said, stroking his beard. "That oni possesses such strength and hid itself in Tokyo early on, yet chose not to act immediately. That can only mean it was secretly building power.
"Most yokai forces in other regions have already been consolidated by local yokai kings. If it wanted to rise, Tokyo was its only risky option.
"Taking the Snow Woman as an example—can we not infer that some of the yokai forces in Tokyo are also part of its ranks?"
His reasoning was logical and well-supported. For a moment, no one present could find a solid argument to refute him.
Only Ren Kuroda, standing quietly in a corner, wore a wry smile as he listened.
He honestly felt that the Higun family's old patriarch had an imagination rivaling that of the Spider Princess and the Samurai Spirit combined.
If this were the world of the Nurarihyon, then sure—he would have had hundreds of yokai under his command. But in this world? He really didn't have that many. If he counted carefully, it was just the few staying at his place.
Even the Snow Woman had only chosen to follow him out of gratitude after he killed the Higun family's second elder.
Still, although the Higun patriarch's speculation was wildly off the mark compared to reality, that didn't stop everyone else from falling into full-blown "overthinking mode" and being led further astray.
"So your purpose in calling us here," the head of the Hiiragi family asked after some thought, "is to mobilize all the clans to uproot the yokai forces entrenched in Tokyo, extract information about that mysterious oni from them, and locate its whereabouts?
"But how can you be sure that these yokai are truly its subordinates—or that they even know where it is?"
"Yes," the Higun family head said without hesitation. "That is precisely my goal.
"The threat posed by an SS-class yokai is too great for us to ignore. Since we can't find it directly, we must approach the problem from another angle.
"Even if we fail to obtain information about the oni, eliminating these yokai forces will still weaken its claws and reduce potential risks."
"Even in the worst-case scenario," he continued, "where these yokai have little to do with that oni, purging the yokai forces around Tokyo is hardly a loss for any of you, is it?"
His words plunged the room into silence. Yet the more they thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded.
Tokyo might be humanity's largest population center, but that didn't mean yokai were absent. Creatures like Snow Women and Kamaitachi still lurked throughout the district.
In the past, the exorcist families had refrained from wiping them out partly due to tangled interests between clans, and partly because those yokai were deemed low-threat and not worth the manpower.
But now, with an SS-class yokai entering the picture, they believed all potential risks had to be eliminated.
After all, hunting a single SS-class yokai was far better than facing an SS-class yokai force.
With five of the mighty "Thirteen Yokai-Slaying Houses" present—and none of them voicing objections—the smaller families naturally didn't dare to stand out and oppose the plan.
For some of those lesser clans, this was even an opportunity.
Ordinarily, even subjugating a B-class yokai force was a costly endeavor for them, often resulting in losses outweighing the gains. But now, with five major houses leading the charge, even picking up scraps afterward could yield considerable benefits.
There was no reason to refuse.
Once all the exorcist families reached a unanimous decision, a massive Tokyo-wide yokai eradication operation began to take shape, refined through collective discussion.
At this very moment, the yokai lurking throughout the Tokyo District probably hadn't realized that—thanks to a certain meddlesome half-demon—they were about to face a full-scale purge by every exorcist in the region.
To ensure the operation proceeded swiftly and to motivate the exorcists, both the Five of the Thirteen Houses and other major powers reluctantly brought out a wealth of treasures.
Any exorcist in the Tokyo District who killed a yokai and returned with proof of the kill would receive corresponding point rewards.
Different yokai ranks yielded different point values. Accumulate enough points, and one could exchange them for precious treasures from the major families—or even request a reasonable favor from one of the exorcist clans present.
With several of the Thirteen Houses already charging into battle, and rewards this generous on the table, the exorcists of Tokyo erupted with excitement.
For those from small families or unorthodox backgrounds—people for whom obtaining cultivation resources was usually an uphill battle—this hunt represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And so, amid unprecedented fervor, a sweeping "Yokai Hunt" encircling the Tokyo District officially began.