Shota is surrounded by monsters!

"Ah, yes."

Is this Nura Rikuo's older sister? Oh, he's an only child, so that must be their mother? She's practically a complete human now.

The woman in front of him felt completely different from the atmosphere of the house; she was like the sun breaking through the darkness, giving people an extremely reassuring and sunny feeling.

However, after putting down the tea, she left immediately.

"This young lady must be from the Sanhua family."

The old man, Nurarihyon, was taken aback by Rei's sudden words, but he quickly understood. As the local underworld boss, there was no reason why Rei wouldn't know what had happened that morning.

"Yes."

"Then why did you bring her to the Nura Clan?"

"Registration..."

"She's a native yokai, not someone who came from overseas, so why should she register?" The old man's undisguised scrutiny made Rea somewhat embarrassed. After roughly assessing Rea's situation, he said to the stunned Shota, "Unless you want her to join the Nura Clan? I heard that humans have mobilized quite a bit of resources to find this girl."

In the end, Tsuchimiya Haraku saw Rea standing up again after being resurrected. So it was inevitable that the news that Rea was still "alive" would be known to others, and given that twisted daughter-obsessed guy's nature, he's probably already sending people everywhere to search for his daughter.

That means it'll be easy to be spotted when you go out. Although Shota can also detect demonic energy, it's not so easy with humans. After all, he can't judge whether someone is hostile based on their scent.

Hearing Nurarihyon's words, Rea lowered her head sadly. She knew that if many people were truly looking for her, she would undoubtedly put Shota at considerable risk. If they were discovered on the road—no, discovered by exorcists—he might get injured again…

Even Shota fell silent for a moment. With his current strength, he could only wipe out the entire Tokyo branch countermeasures room if they stood together and he had time to build up his strength. But if he got entangled in close combat, with his second-rate fighting skills, he would inevitably lose in the end.

Are you scared?

"I'm just a little worried."

"If your ancestors knew what you look like now, they'd probably jump up in anger again." The old man with the sly demeanor pulled out a pipe, lit it, took a puff, and asked Shota, "Kid, what do you think of humanity?"

"..."

How does he view humans? From some perspectives, Shota longs to be human. But for most yokai, humans are completely different from them. After thirty years of living as a yokai, Shota has long since accepted his fate, knowing he can never become human again. However, deep down, he hopes to live more like a human than a yokai.

"He looks just like my grandson."

The old man, a cunning demon, took a deep drag on his cigarette. Having lived for hundreds of years, he saw right through Shota's thoughts. Lately, the group had been growing increasingly dissatisfied with his grandson's refusal to accept his demon identity, and he had noticed several unusual movements and rumors. However, those were things to consider later; right now, the immediate priority was dealing with the guy in front of him.

As the commander-in-chief of the Nura Clan, he had to consider the young beast before him from many perspectives. At noon, several human factions sought his help in searching for the Taotie hatchling, but he refused without hesitation. At least he didn't need to consider the opinions of humans. He wanted to judge for himself whether the existence of this monster was good or bad.

If the other party is truly the kind of evil beast that relentlessly hunts humans, then the old man would not hesitate to cut off its head. But if it's just hunting some evil monsters, an act that doesn't violate the Nura Clan's code of chivalry, then he would consider having that person join the Nura Clan.

After all, the Nura Clan's peak was during the Edo period, the era of the second Nura Clan. At that time, the Nura Clan was a true S-class yokai organization. There was simply no rival in all of Japan who could compete with them. In contrast, now, human strength is gradually increasing, while the Nura Clan is now mostly comprised of old fogies, and the balance of power is subtly shifting.

A powerful yokai, at its peak, comparable to a hundred demons. It could change the balance of power between humans and yokai—this doesn't mean annihilating humanity, but rather existing as a nuclear threat to protect weaker yokai.

That is the true meaning of the Nura Clan's current existence.

"Come out for a walk with me. Ladies, please sit here for a while."

"Rei, Mashiro, I'll be right back."

Shota knew he was too weak right now, too weak to even perfectly protect those around him. Although he didn't know what the old man had to say, he could sense that the person in front of him didn't harbor much malice towards him.

As a wild animal, it still has this kind of instinct.

"The countermeasures office is looking for you everywhere. Do you have a solution?"

"If I disguise myself as a human, there shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Is that so?" The slippery old man paused for a moment, then said, "Are you and that little girl on good terms?"

"Relationship... Although we've only known each other for a few days, I won't stand idly by if she's in trouble."

"So, have you ever thought about taking revenge on humanity?"

The old man's question was very direct.

"Have."

Shota nodded seriously and said, "If you get hit, you have to hit back. Even if you don't kill them, you have to teach them a lesson."

Although he had a slight liking for the pair of Kagura Tsuchimiya and Yomi Isayama, that liking had long since turned into rage. If he could, he would attack them without hesitation if he encountered them. Although he didn't intend to completely eliminate them, he would at least beat them so badly that they wouldn't be able to get out of bed for a while.

If we meet again, we'll take them down again. That spirit beast must be devoured in one gulp!

It's decided then and there.

"hehe."

The sly old man was quite satisfied with Shota's answer. After chuckling twice, he said, "Rikuo usually has no one to take care of him at school. If you have time, take care of him more. By the way, would you be interested in becoming sworn brothers with Rikuo? I find you quite pleasing to the eye."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, which was practically tantamount to asking him to join the Nura Clan, Shota was momentarily stunned.

"That's not a good idea. We definitely need to talk to Rikuo about this first..."

Shota subconsciously acted coy for a moment; he wasn't really willing to agree to something that would restrict his freedom.

"At that time, I can give you some pointers so you won't embarrass the Nura Clan when you go out."

Finding a master? That's something I might be able to accept. Right now, I'm completely clueless about many things, like having immense strength but not knowing how to unleash it.

"Oh, by the way. Although my family isn't exactly wealthy, providing meals for ten to twenty people every day shouldn't be a problem."

The cunning old man smiled wickedly and said, "How about it, are you interested in becoming half my apprentice and half my grandson?"

Only a fool would agree to that!

Without hesitation, Shota said that he would become sworn brothers with Riku when Riku returned.

"Of course, I won't restrict your freedom. You can come and go as you please with the Nura Clan. If you don't want to come, there are plenty of empty houses outside. You can choose whichever you want to stay in."

What will become of his relationship with Rikuo depends on his grandson's personal charm. However, the reason for this decision is that Nurarihyon has a feeling that something is about to happen. At that time, the Nura Clan's current strength is far too low to win.

"Yes, Master."

"Uh-huh."

The old man was pleased with how Shota addressed him, and Shota was also pleased with the treatment the old man offered him.

No, or rather, the old man's words solved Shota's immediate problem. He had many questions in his mind, but didn't know who to ask.

Of course, he knew that once he agreed, he would be tied to the Nura Clan's cause. But at least in Shota's eyes right now, the Nura Clan was a powerful backer; with their strength, surely no one would dare to provoke them?

It's like when the world's number one company gives you a job offer; you only think about what kind of compensation they'll offer, but you never consider whether they might go bankrupt.

Whether Shota will regret agreeing so readily today is another matter entirely.

"Actually... I've always had a question."

"Go ahead."

Shota voiced his biggest question, hoping this veteran fighter who had been battling for hundreds of years could provide an answer, asking, "How...do monsters fight?"

The Taotie's fighting style is simple; even Shota's memories taught him many combat techniques, such as: biting to death, slapping to death with a claw, slapping to death with a tail, or crushing to death with a rear end—simple yet practical techniques. However, crucially, these techniques are only effective when one possesses absolute superior strength.

Didn't your elders tell you this?

The cunning old man assumed Shota would know these things and asked, "Like fear, or something similar."

No, not at all.

Shota shook his head. This was the first time he had ever heard of the word "fear."

"What an enviable race."

The old man, Nurarihyon, felt a slight sense of awe towards the Taotie, a race that could grow into terrifying yokai simply by overwhelming others and without any skill. After a pause, he led Shota around the Nura Clan mansion, saying, "Do you know how yokai maintain their power?"

"The ways in which they are born may vary. But the biggest factor in maintaining a yokai's power is probably cognition, isn't it?"

"That's right, it's cognition."

The existence of monsters is different from that of humans. They are not classified as a species, and the source of their power is human "perception" of them.

If you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't—that's what monsters are.

The more infamous a monster is, the stronger it is. Take the nine-tailed fox, for example. Originally, it was a monster that didn't even rank among the ancient ferocious beasts. However, because it left behind various legends in India, China, and Japan, its strength grew stronger and stronger, to the point that it could bully any monster in Japan.

"This perception can also be described as fear."

The old man, Nurarihyon, pointed to the Nura Clan's symbol, the one with the character for fear engraved on it, and said, "In battles between yokai, whoever is afraid is destined to lose. To put it bluntly, the real clashes between great yokai are fought with fear, not with their physical strength."

"Can you understand me?"

Shota shook his head.

"Then attack me."

The sly old man stopped and stood in front of Shota, saying, "Use your fists or your feet, it's up to you."

"it is good."

If a coach or teacher tells you to attack them, you should be prepared to get hit first.

After protecting his vital parts, Shota carefully kicked him in the chest.

He didn't kick anything.

The figure of the Nurarihyon became ethereal, like a flower in water. At the same time, Shota felt as if he had been pushed from behind, and he lost his balance and fell forward.

"This is the fear of the Nurarihyon."

Looking at Shota, who had gotten back up from the ground, the old man with the sly smile flicked his pipe and said, "The fear of each kind of yokai is completely different."

The so-called fear is somewhat like an alternative way of using demonic energy—no, it should be the true way of using it. Unlike the simple energy of spiritual power, the demonic energy of each demon is different because they are not simply energy bodies, but rather possess the characteristics of the demon itself.

So, are battles between monsters based on their own fear?

"And what about humans?"

“Exorcists—or Onmyoji,” the old man with the slippery demeanor explained patiently. “What do you think their attitude towards the existence of yokai should be?”

"You can see monsters, believe in their existence, and have knowledge of them, but... aren't you afraid of them?"

"That's pretty much it. Fighting humans is pretty much the same thing. It's just that humans have a lot more strange and unusual gadgets."

The sly old man asked Shota, "Do you understand fear now?"

"Yes, almost there."

The so-called fear is simply the aura of a demon, unleashed to its fullest extent. Shota recalled his few battles; he always ate with his mouth, and his aura was primarily used to frighten people. Only…

That's when the demonic energy was stirred by the Killing Stone!