Shota is surrounded by monsters!

After letting out a low roar, the bone dragon circling in the sky nodded to Shota, then flapped its wings and flew back north.

"..."

The Nura Clan's yokai stared blankly at the sudden arrival and departure of this fearsome being.

"That is..."

"An elder who is not good at expressing himself?"

After replying to Nura Rikuo, Shota waved his hand to scare away the yokai who were watching the whale, and asked, "How is it going? I'm not too late to come back, am I?"

"Today is the day of delivery."

Nura Rikuo frowned. He had already wasted too much time, but at this moment, he wanted to know something else.

"Who is that over there...?"

"My mom."

"Uh, she really is... a healthy mother."

Upon hearing Shota's answer, Rikuo finally recalled Shota's description of his mother, which was roughly that she was a very strong vampire or something like that.

Shota then pulled open his collar and said, "Wait a moment, let me eat the shark before we set off. I lost some blood and need to replenish my energy."

As he spoke, he tore off a shark fin with his bare hands and stuffed it directly into his mouth without even chewing it.

As for why it was Shinobu who made a dazzling appearance instead of Shota, the reason is simple. Although much of Shinobu's existence as Kiss-Shot has disappeared, she still loves fighting from the bottom of her heart. For the former great vampire, only fighting, getting injured, and being reborn can make her feel that she is alive. Since being forcibly tied to Shota, she has not had any good opportunities to fight.

But in reality, she also had a lot of anger to vent. In a sense, the two were of one mind and body, and she felt the same humiliation that Shota suffered during his imprisonment. So after Shota gained great power, she did not hesitate to bite Shota's neck and draw some of his blood.

The most basic element for a vampire's existence is having blood. Shinobu, who has a quarter of the blood of an adult Taotie, cannot regain her former strength and can no longer use many of her skills. However, relying solely on regeneration, strength, and speed, she can reach a level of strength almost equivalent to that of Shota when he first came to Kyoto.

Four hundred years of combat experience and a grasp of the weaknesses of most monsters are part of her strength.

So, in the end, after Shinobu drained Shota dry, she threw her own shark down and jumped down in a cool way. But she didn't expect that when she threw the shark down, she also knocked Shota down with her.

"Is that the Tsuchigumo?"

Shota looked at the enormous but agile monster and leisurely sewed up the wound on his arm with silk threads, while Shinobu, out of contempt for the monster, didn't bother to do anything.

"I'm so happy today. One after another, guys who are serious about fighting have jumped out."

After the earth spider stitched up its wound, it seemed to be celebrating something and actually started dancing.

"Ah, that's the Tsuchigumo (earth spider)."

For some reason, Rikuo glanced at Shota with a strange look. He could clearly feel the fear emanating from both Tsuchigumo and the vampire, but it was Shota who...

Even though he felt nothing at all, just like before, his instincts told him that there was no chance of survival if he went against the other side...

What exactly has he been doing these past few days?

"When I was thirteen, I was still following my dad around, eating and drinking for free."

Shota seemed to see through Rikuo's gaze and said, "I'm thirty-one this year."

"..."

Lu Sheng smiled helplessly. That's right. He had only officially accepted the identity of a demon for a year. If he were to become jealous of everyone for the sake of power, he would probably be close to becoming a demon.

"And then...those people staring at me were Tohno's yokai?"

An androgynous monster, a wind weasel, a kappa, a black-haired little girl, and...

Another snow woman?

"Oh, hello, hello."

Shota walked up to the pink-haired snow woman, extended his hand and said, "Summer is really hot. Please come to my house as a guest if you have time."

"Eh, ah."

The pink-haired girl nodded somewhat awkwardly. Just as Shota was about to say something more, Rikuo interrupted him.

"Shota-san, over there!"

"呲-"

The Earth Spider suddenly spat out a huge amount of sticky spider silk, surrounding him and Shinobu together, forming a ring like a boxing ring.

"He's not stupid. He knows that if we all go at him together, he can't possibly be a match for us."

Unbeknownst to him, Shota had already devoured half of the shark demon, his body stained with its bluish blood. Seeing this, he wasn't overly surprised, simply saying to Rikuo:

"Let's go to Nijo Castle first. I'll wait here for a while."

Shota gestured to Rikuo to lead the Hundred Demons away first.

"But Earth Spider..."

"Don't worry, that's my mom."

Shota pinched his nose and smiled at Rikuo, saying, "Just like your mom, you're an invincible person too."

"Is that right?"

Rikuo slung the sword back over his shoulder, turned to look at his own Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), and said, "My men, let's go!"

"The outcome hinges on this final moment!"

"Oh!!"

"The Nura Clan will win!"

After regrouping, Nura Rikuo led his horde of demons once again toward their final destination, Nijo Castle!

"He's really amazing. This guy, Rikuo, his strength is increasing like he's cheating. As long as he's prepared, his strength can explode endlessly."

Shota watched Rikuo and the others leave with a touch of envy, then turned his gaze away and walked toward the arena surrounded by spider webs.

He wouldn't just stand by and watch his mother fight. Besides, Shinobu isn't capable of fighting for a long time right now. She waited so long just to look cool, and her strength will probably start to fade soon. After all, maintaining her prime is hundreds or thousands of times harder than maintaining her childhood.

"Bam—"

It seems the earth spider was knocked onto the web, from which a huge silhouette was ejected, before the web rapidly contracted, bouncing the massive creature back onto the web.

"That's really intense."

Shota reached out and touched the spider web—these webs were made by the earth spiders, and these things were useless to Shota at this moment…

It was far too easy.

A huge gap appeared in the spider web as Shota touched it. Shota withdrew his hand and took two steps forward, entering the "ring".

"Enjoy it! Enjoy it to the fullest!"

Taking advantage of the rebound force, the Tsuchigumo charged forward at an even faster speed, disregarding whether it would get injured, and punched Shinobu's katana, sending Shinobu flying!

"Although he's a bit ignorant, he's at least quite strong."

Shinobu, reborn from the ashes, praised Tsuchigumo, then noticed Shota walking in and said, "Hey, come here and suck my blood. I'm going to..."

"Ok?"

Tsuchigumo turned its head to look at the uninvited guest who had interfered in its battle.

"That's enough, Mom."

Shota helplessly spread his hands at Shinobu and said, "If I let you suck again, it will affect my condition."

"Tch, really?"

Shinobu muttered something but said nothing more. After putting away her katana, she gradually turned into a cloud of black mist and disappeared into Shota's shadow.

"Hey, where's that woman?"

Tsuchigumo glared at Shota with some displeasure and said, "Hurry up and let her out, I'm ready for another three hundred rounds of fighting!"

"Three hundred my foot!"

Shota muttered something under his breath, then cracked his neck and said, "Hurry up and get on with it. I need to go deal with Hagoromo Gitsune after we're done."

"Huh? Someone as little as you? Why don't you call that woman out..."

Before the Earth Spider could finish speaking, a terrifying pressure enveloped his entire body, causing his bones to creak and groan under the weight...

"This feeling... Nue...?"

A terrifying light suddenly burst forth from the earth spider's eyes...

"Oh?"

Shota gave a strange smile and asked, "Can that guy named Nue give you this feeling too?"

"It's so similar to Nue back then... There are just too many surprises... I wasn't sealed away for four hundred years in vain! Now that I'm alive, I've always looked forward to challenging an opponent stronger than myself!"

The earth spider lowered its body, exhaling a foul breath, and said, "Come on! Attack!"

"Well... since you've made that request, I can't refuse. But..."

A jet-black, gluttonous shadow slowly materialized behind Shota. Shota exhaled slowly and said softly:

"I'm in a hurry..."

Kyoto, Nijo Castle.

In the black pool, Hagoromo Gitsune clutched her abdomen in agony, howling in pain. Even she couldn't easily withstand the agony of childbirth.

"Just a little bit more, keep going, big sister!"

Kyokotsu watched from a distance, anxiously cheering on Hagoromo Gitsune. She dared not approach, for a terrifying energy hurricane had already formed around Hagoromo Gitsune, and simply getting close would be enough to obliterate someone like Kyokotsu!

"what!"

"Mother, Mother...I want to come out..."

"Mo...right now...Mother, I will try my best...ah!"

Meanwhile, outside Nijo Castle.

"Damn it, the Nura Clan is attacking! Has Tsuchigumo been defeated?"

Kidomaru glanced at the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons heading this way and said, "All troops, attack! Our dream is just one step away!"

"Yes!"

The final showdown between monsters, and between monsters and humans, is about to begin.