"Ya~ ya~"
Under the night sky, black crows circled above the Nura Group.
At this moment, the aura of the Nura Group's Youkai suddenly surged. A group of Youkai led by Nura Rikuo, armed with weapons, was preparing to head toward Ukiyoe Street.
"Wait! Rikuo Young Master!"
Just as the Youkai of the Nura Group were about to set off under Nura Rikuo's leadership, a tall Ichimokuren Youkai suddenly stepped in front of him.
That Ichimokuren Youkai was called Ichimokuren, one of the elders of the Nura Group and a member of Nurarihyon's Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. He appeared here for only one reason to prevent Nura Rikuo from going into battle.
"Ichimokuren-sama, are you trying to stop the Young Master from departing?!"
At that moment, Crow Tengu, who had the same seniority as Ichimokuren, landed and questioned him.
Behind Nura Rikuo, the handsome Youkai known as Kurotabo lowered his straw hat and coldly said:
"Please step aside, Ichimokuren-sama, and do not stand in our way."
As soon as Kurotabo finished speaking, the other Youkai shouted:
"That's right! Step aside!"
"We're going to battle!"
"Wait! Everyone, calm down!"
Seeing that he had angered the crowd, Ichimokuren quickly shouted to quiet them, then seriously looked at Nura Rikuo, who had remained silent, and said:
"Rikuo Young Master, while the Supreme Commander is absent, how can you independently decide to fight against the Shikoku Youkai? The Nura Group currently does not have the strength to oppose them! Please, Young Master, abandon this expedition and wait for the Supreme Commander to return so you can decide together!"
"Ichimokuren-sama is right. At this crucial moment of life and death, Rikuo Young Master's decision is somewhat rash."
At that moment, Gyuki stepped forward, looked at Nura Rikuo, who was radiating the aura of a great general, and spoke.
"Gyuki, you think so too, don't you?!"
Seeing that even Gyuki said so, Ichimokuren immediately stepped forward, wanting to persuade everyone to return, but Gyuki's next words left him speechless:
"However, as long as Lord Rikuo personally leads his Night Parade of One Hundred Demons into battle, the damage to the Nura Group will be zero. We old vassals should not interfere in this."
Hearing that, Ichimokuren clenched his teeth, then seemed to think of something and said with a smile:
"True, but how many Youkai in our family are willing to follow the Young Master? Even if all are willing, their number is still small. Such a group has no chance of victory."
But just as Ichimokuren said that, three figures landed behind him. They were the three children of Crow Tengu.
"Rikuo Young Master! As per your order, reinforcements from all squads have arrived. Please, Young Master, issue the order to depart!"
Kneeling before Nura Rikuo, Kuroumaru spoke in a deep voice, barely hiding his excitement.
"I understand. You've done well."
With a slight nod, Nura Rikuo glanced at Ichimokuren, said nothing more, and led the Youkai away.
Ichimokuren remained standing, silently watching as Nura Rikuo led the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, his heart trembling.
"Then I'll leave this to Nagi."
In Arima Kana's room, Nakano Yu was talking on the phone, holding the sleeping girl in his arms.
"Alright~ By the way, Oniichan, when will you come see me?"
From the other side came the somewhat childish voice of a girl. After that, she suddenly changed the topic and asked Nakano Yu when he would visit her.
"That will have to wait until you return."
Hearing that, Nakano Yu smiled softly, shifting the topic.
"Can't Oniichan come to Ireland to see me?"
Hearing his words, the girl sounded somewhat dissatisfied, but she did not blame him.
"Nagi, take care of yourself in Ireland. I'll come when I have time."
"Okay, then I'll wait for Oniichan. Bye~"
"Mm, bye."
After that, Nakano Yu hung up the phone.
He looked at the girl beside him and sighed deeply.
Slowly pulling his arm out from under Arima Kana, he carefully covered her with the blanket and stood up. He first stretched, then waved his hand; a gust of wind lifted his clothes, and in the blink of an eye, he was already dressed.
He lightly tapped Arima Kana on the forehead, then looked out the window and muttered:
"Tonight is quite turbulent."
He could sense two Youkai auras that almost split the entire Tokyo in half. He did not need to think much to know that Nura Rikuo and Tamazuki were the cause.
However, they probably had not started fighting yet, because their auras were still some distance apart.
"Nura Rikuo has probably not yet fully mastered the power of his Youkai form. Against Tamazuki, who possesses the Demon Lord's Mallet, his chances are not great. And Tsurara probably still doesn't know about this. Forget it, I'll go take a look."
Nakano Yu did not think further. His figure flickered, and in the next moment he appeared above Ukiyoe Street.
At that time, Ukiyoe Street was still full of people. It was not strange; after all, it was a busy shopping street, and although the night was already deep, the number of passersby had not decreased.
But Nakano Yu did not care about the people below him. His attention was focused on the Nura Group and the tanuki Youkai, Tamazuki.
Tamazuki had already arrived at the center of Ukiyoe Street, where the Youkai were gathering and wildly reveling. However, few people noticed this, because those Youkai were wrapped in Youkai aura, and without special spells, they were no longer visible to the naked eye.
Although invisible, they could still be touched. Nakano Yu saw several cars in flames not far from Tamazuki's Youkai and had no doubt that the Shikoku Youkai were responsible.
Finding a random corner, Nakano Yu controlled a strong wind to lift his body, then comfortably stretched out in the air.
At the same time, on a building on the other side of the Ukiyoe center, Tamazuki had already transformed into his Youkai form.
He was a Youkai in a yellow kimono, with white hair bristling like a hedgehog and a white tanuki mask on his face, resembling a kabuki actor.
But Tamazuki's strange aesthetic was not without reason. Tanuki Youkai were never serious Youkai; they were petty tricksters skilled in illusions and pranks. Moreover, a certain one-horned loaf from Ukiyoe Town, whose heart had been gouged out, had not even spoken yet.
On the other side of Ukiyoe Street, in a place invisible to the naked eye, countless massive dark silhouettes were moving. As they moved, Youkai aura spread like morning mist.
"Hmph, they've already arrived?"
Standing at the head of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, Nura Rikuo looked into the distance and muttered.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he raised his head and immediately noticed the young man floating high in the air.
"As expected, he came?"
Nura Rikuo was not surprised by Nakano Yu's appearance. After all, it was not the first time he had encountered that young man, who could be called a "human god."
Speaking of which, when Nura Rikuo previously noticed something wrong with the moon and consciously took over his body to approach Nakano Yu, he had expected the other party to be an extremely arrogant being. He had not expected him to be surprisingly reasonable.
"Rikuo Young Master, the one above is… the one the Supreme Commander mentioned…"
Kurotabo also noticed Nakano Yu in the sky. It was not because his senses were particularly sharp, but because Nakano Yu was not hiding his presence at all; he was simply lying openly in the air.
"Mm, let's move."
Nodding, Nura Rikuo did not add anything more.
Seeing that, Kurotabo silently followed his step.
Tamazuki also noticed Nakano Yu. Originally, he wanted to deliver a fiery speech, but he worried that it might irritate Nakano Yu. Therefore, he simply held the Demon Lord's Mallet quietly and waited for Nura Rikuo's arrival.
But at that moment, his gaze was drawn to a scene among the Youkai below.
"As expected of Lord Tamazuki, he managed to gather so many Youkai."
"Of course! Because that lord possesses the Proof of the Leader!"
Among the Shikoku Youkai, Tengumaru, disguised as a dog Youkai, was holding a cup of tea, clearly having infiltrated among them.
When he heard the one-horned Youkai mention the Proof of the Leader, Tengumaru's eyes flickered.
"With the Demon Lord's Mallet, we will surely win tonight!"
In front of Mezumaru, dressed in women's clothing, a horse Youkai stuffed a bun into his mouth, speaking with absolute confidence.
"Demon Lord's Mallet?"
Hearing that, at Tengumaru's signal, Mezumaru pretended to be confused.
Just as he was about to extract useful information from the two of them, a loud shout rang out:
"The enemy is attacking! All units, prepare for battle!!"
Hearing that, the two Youkai did not hesitate and quickly grabbed their weapons, gathering with the others nearby.
Watching the assembled Youkai, Tengumaru frowned and muttered:
"Proof of the Leader… That must be the source of Tamazuki's power. No wonder he dared to challenge the Nura Group. If…"
"What are you thinking? Don't tell me you…"
Seeing his expression, Mezumaru immediately felt a bad premonition.
"Snatch the Demon Lord's Mallet, then join our family!"
Tengumaru was serious, without a trace of a joke. Just as he finished speaking, a playful voice was heard:
"I don't like talkative types, so I punished them a little for that. But you two seem very interested in it."
After Tamazuki said that, the bodies of the two Youkai who had just been talking with Tengumaru fell to the ground. Then Tamazuki raised the scabbard and drew the Demon Lord's Mallet. Although it was a broken blade, at that moment it shone with an icy gleam.
"Gulp… Tengumaru, wh-what should we do?"
Swallowing hard, Mezumaru took half a step back and asked Tengumaru for a plan. He could feel that he and Tengumaru absolutely could not defeat Tamazuki. Their Youkai power was incomparable, and Tamazuki was also holding the Demon Lord's Mallet.
"Run!"
Tengumaru stared at Tamazuki for a long time, then suddenly grabbed Mezumaru and turned to flee.
But as soon as he turned around, he realized that at some point a wolf-like monstrous figure had appeared behind him. It was Inugami, whom Tamazuki had turned into a puppet.
Caught between two sides, Tengumaru clenched his teeth and turned back toward Tamazuki.
He knew that he and Mezumaru would probably fall here today.
Before Mezumaru could think further, Tamazuki charged forward without hesitation and swung the blade. With just one strike, Mezumaru and Tengumaru fell to the ground, losing consciousness.
However, Tamazuki did not take their lives. To him, those two fools were weak points of Nura Rikuo.
"Take them down and come with me to welcome Nura Rikuo."
Putting away the Demon Lord's Mallet, Tamazuki gave that order to Tearai Oni behind him. After that, he left together with Inugami and Hari Onna.