The night deepened. Pale moonlight spilled over the wilderness outside Kaede Village.
The tanuki spirit's voice was very low, almost pressed against the ground, as if afraid the wind would carry it away.
"My lord… we truly an no harm…"
Behind it, the various demons, large and small, timidly poked out their heads.
The one-eyed little monk, the fox-eared little girl, the giant rat with a broken leg… and several unnad miscellaneous demons. All were covered in wounds.
All were looking at him with pleading eyes.
Shinji counted.
About twenty of them.
Not one exceeded the Second Transformation.
The strongest was the tanuki, at about one-and-a-half transformations, it had transford once, but the second was incomplete, and the transformation was clearly in its brain. Its combat ability was probably only slightly stronger than an ordinary tanuki.
The rest were roughly at the First Transformation, and most of them focused on developing intelligence.
In the demon world, these creatures were at the bottom of the food chain. Aside from those with larger bodies, even an ordinary farr could chase them off.
Seeing that Shinji didn't respond,
The tanuki's eyes reddened, a very human expression.
"Our three demon villages originally had seventy or eighty demons… After the Echigo army ca, they burned two. The third escaped quickly, but half still died…"
"The rest scattered… only we few…" It sniffled. "We ran south, and then we sensed this demonic aura here… strong, but not fierce…"
"And then we saw you, my lord…"
"Saw you alone drive off that human army…"
At this, the tanuki fell to its knees.
"My lord! Please take us in!"
"Those human armies will co again! They march under the banner of 'exorcism,' killing any demon they see, regardless of whether we've ever hard anyone!"
"We just… we just want to live!"
Behind it, the other little demons also knelt in a row.
Over twenty of the weakest demons, all kneeling before a demon warrior.
The scene was a bit comical.
And also a bit… hard to describe.
Shinji looked at them.
The moonlight shone on these broken figures, casting shadows of varying lengths.
They were weak.
So weak that even an ordinary samurai could beat them.
So weak that even if he took them in, they wouldn't provide any boost to his combat strength.
In normal demon logic, these creatures were worthless. The only use for them would be to absorb their insignificant demonic aura.
But as ntioned, Shinji was never a normal demon.
Looking at these little demons, his mind was on sothing else.
Kyoto.
Hagoromo Gitsune.
Kidōmaru.
And the repeatedly ntioned, Hyakki Yakō.
In this world, true great demons were never solitary.
The once-mighty great demon Shuten-dōji had four great subordinates and the demon horde of Mount Ōe.
Hagoromo itsune had the hundred demons of the Kyoto underground palace, had Kidōmaru, had other great demon subordinates even stronger than Kidōmaru, and had countless unnad demons.
Even that freeloader Nurarihyon was out recruiting underlings.
His goal was to beco the Master of All Demons. He would build his own Hyakki Yakō.
Shinji knew that, in the future, he would succeed.
And himself?
Shinji thought back to that night when Kidōmaru had pushed him to the brink.
Without the affection of the Kantō land, without Kikyō's help, he couldn't have held on.
And next ti?
Kidōmaru was only one of Hagoromo Gitsune's subordinates.
As far as he knew, among the demons in Kyoto, though Kidōmaru was considered a very strong combatant, he was far from the strongest....
Those stronger than him were few, but more than a handful.
Not to ntion Hagoromo Gitsune herself.
An existence closely tied to Tamamo-no-Mae, the nine-tailed fox.
No matter how strong he and Kikyō beca, the two of them would eventually have limits.
No matter how strong a single person is, they can't be everywhere at once.
So....
A force.
That word jumped into Shinji's mind.
He needed his own force.
Not to rule or dominate.
But so that, when facing the hundred demons of Kyoto, it wouldn't be just him and Kikyō.
So that when he was away, soone could guard Kaede Village. So that when facing multi-front battles, he wouldn't be stretched thin.
Nurarihyon wanted to build a Hyakki Yakō and gather the demons of the land.
Why couldn't he?
If the world of Nurarihyon no Mago was anything to go by, the Hyakki Yakō in this world had a very special significance.
He didn't need an overly large organization.
Just a demon squad that could follow orders, coordinate in battle, gather intelligence, and serve a purpose when it mattered.
Even if they were weak.
Even if they were just dregs at the bottom of the food chain.
Having them was better than not having them.
Moreover,
He has the affection system.
He could claim non-living things and communicate with all things.
If he applied that ability to managing demons…
"Get up." Shinji suddenly spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. "Go into the barrier first."
The tanuki looked up, its face full of disbelief.
"My lord… you an…"
"I said, go in."
Shinji turned and walked toward the village. "Get settled tonight. Everything else, tomorrow."
"But rember, don't disturb anyone. Don't scare anyone. And definitely don't hurt anyone or eat anyone."
"Otherwise...."
At these words, the demons trembled, but also rejoiced.
They had never intended to harm anyone.
They were very small, very weak demons, but they were also demons with developed intelligence, not eroded by bestial instinct.
They understood the terrifying strength of humans, who seed weak in comparison to demons. They had never killed, never eaten a human, and didn't want to, didn't dare to.
The group of little demons stood frozen for a mont.
Then, as if snapping back to reality, they scrambled to their feet and stumbled after him.
The one-eyed little monk ran, spinning his single eye excitedly.
The fox-eared girl clung tightly to the giant rat's tail, being dragged along.
The tanuki walked at the back, glancing back at the battlefield where the cold corpses were being dragged underground by the undead remains summoned by Shinji, and at the fading remnants of the Echigo army that had disappeared into the night.
It took a deep breath.
Then turned and hurried to catch up with that grey figure ahead.
The next day.
Noon.
Sunlight stread through the shrine's window lattice, spreading warm patches of light on the veranda.
The wooden door of the rear hall opened.
Kikyō walked out.
Seven days of seclusion had brought a subtle change to her aura.
Her white top was clean and neat. Her red hakama swayed gently with her steps. Her long black hair was tied at the back of her head with a white cord, the ends falling over her shoulders, a few loose strands by her ears.
Her delicate, clear features were even calr than before her seclusion. In her dark eyes, the light of spiritual power had receded, no longer leaking out.
Like a deep pool unfathomable, yet one could sense the power contained within.
She walked to the veranda and saw Shinji.
He was sitting cross-legged, the reverse scale and cat demon's paw before him, the red comb tucked into his robe.
But he wasn't claiming demonic artifacts.
He was waiting for her.
"Finished your seclusion?" He looked up, his crimson eyes eting hers.
"Yes." Kikyō sat down across from him, their knees a foot apart.
Her gaze swept over the yard outside the shrine.
There were more things there.
Specifically, more beings.
But she didn't ask, because she knew Shinji would explain.
He never kept necessary matters from her.
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