Fushimi Inari-taisha, a sanctuary of the past, was now illuminated by the glow of fire. One after another, flas in the shape of the character "Big" ($大$) blood in the sky, connecting into a single expanse. Because they were so densely packed, more than half of the sky had completely beco a Red Lotus Purgatory.
The scale of the Kansai Oni Army was indeed terrifying, but when quantity rises, quality inevitably fluctuates. Under this sudden assault, the low-level yokai within the strike zone didn't even have ti to make a sound before being swallowed by the flas. Their blazing corpses crashed toward the ground like falling dumplings.
The stronger yokai displayed their respective abilities to counter the fiery raid. In an instant, the air above the Grand Shrine beca a virtual exhibition of yokai sorcery. Faced with rounds of yokai spells clearing the area, and even the head-on charges of powerful "Brute-class" yokai, the talismans in the sky rapidly decreased. The sea of roaring fire began to thin out, and paths were cleared away. The yokai who successfully carved a way through were brimming with murderous intent, diving toward the Senbon Torii below.
However, the mont they landed, they were t by cold, shimring blades. Over a thousand of the Kansai Branch's most elite exorcist swordsn charged out from the torii gates. The first yokai to touch the ground were cut down in a single encounter.
Leading the charge was an acquaintance of Hikigaya—Aoyama Motoko. Not a single yokai could withstand a single strike from her blade. Holding a demon sword obtained from an "old friend," Motoko took down a "yokai baby" with every swing. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen yokai had beco nourishnt for the blade, leaving nothing behind—not even dregs.
Closely following the swordsn were the Onmyoji. Completely ignoring their "mana bars," they hurled curses and plastered the yokai with every conceivable debuff. Many yokai were forcibly brought under control before they could react, turning to attack their own companions.
While the yokai were still reeling, dozens of Onmyoji gathered in one spot to cast a collective spell. A canine phantom, several stories high, rose from the shrine. With a thunderous roar, it lunged into the yokai swarm, its massive jaws chewing over a dozen Brute-class yokai into minced at. With a swing of its sharp claws, anything it touched was sliced into several sections.
Seeing the situation looking favorable, even more exorcist swordsn and Onmyoji rushed out from the torii. Shrine maidens with demon-breaking bows leaned against the gates to snipe at the yokai, retreating back into the safety of the torii the mont a yokai retaliated. It was a "hit-and-run" tactic—cowardly, perhaps, but it was a successful ambush.
Unfortunately, the number of yokai was simply too vast. It was so vast that even after a successful surprise attack, the sky-blotting army didn't appear to have diminished much at all.
And the cadres among the yokai were very angry. They feared the Rakshasa King, not the Kansai Branch. They felt they had been very polite thus far, but the humans seed entirely ungrateful for their restraint. With several thousand yokai dead and the count nearing ten thousand, blood had to be spilled.
The yokai in the sky began to swarm like a cloud of locusts. Because the numbers were so imnse, the sky emitted a terrifying humming sound. Under the cold gazes of the cadres, the consolidated mass of yokai crashed down toward the Senbon Torii.
The quality of the "soldiers" in the Kansai Oni Army might be ager compared to their ancestors, but the cadres were not. The youngest were several hundred years old; they had essentially watched the Kansai Branch grow up. They knew that for the sorcerers of the Kansai Branch, the Senbon Torii was like the commanding general's banner of an ancient army. If the banner falls, the army scatters. By destroying the Senbon Torii, the sorcerers would lose their support and blessings, turning them into a disorganized ss—lambs to the slaughter.
The Inugami summoned by the Onmyoji attempted to block them, only to be sent flying in an instant. In mid-air, it was torn to shreds by countless yokai. The montum of the yokai swarm didn't decrease; its speed wasn't even hindered as it slamd into the torii. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred torii gates were lifted into the air, shattered into pieces.
During this process, no one could stop them. Didn't you see how the Inugami was destroyed?
The sorcerers of Kansai stopped their hands, staring dumbfounded. As high as their morale had been before the battle, their despair was now just as deep. Everyone looked around; the yokai's gazes were mocking. Finally, soone rembered the evaluation of the Campione by their overseas counterparts: Killing you is the norm; helping you is a matter of character; acting exactly according to your wishes... that only happens in dreams.
One could only say that Hikigaya's previous attitude at the Kansai Branch had accidentally led these people to get the wrong idea. If one thought about it carefully, it seed that no matter what happened to the Kansai Branch, it wouldn't have much impact on Seishuin anyway...
But they didn't understand: why was Hikigaya Hachiman doing this?
At the very least, what they didn't know was that Hikigaya was on a mountain to the west of the Grand Shrine, sitting with Seishuin Ena and Liliana, watching this grand drama unfold through the Eye of Horus.
"Tell , do you think these people have realized the truth yet?" Sitting on the grass, Hikigaya asked Ena with a chuckle.
"Hachiman, Grandma will be okay, right?"
"Of course she will. Didn't you leave the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi there?" Hikigaya pulled Ena close to reassure her. Grandma Seishuin was not so harmless old lady focused solely on health preservation. From what Hikigaya had seen, there were probably few in the Kansai Branch who could beat that old woman. Furthermore, with the Ama-no-Murakumo that Hikigaya had tampered with, no one in Kyoto could take Grandma Seishuin's life—except Hikigaya.
As for Aoyama Motoko, under the pretext of "observing the demon blade," Hikigaya had made similar arrangents. Aside from these two, the rest were just "dangling a carrot." Of course, seeing how "cooperative" the Kansai Branch was in gathering the main force of Hagoromo Gitsune's yokai army for him, Hikigaya certainly wouldn't let them be wiped out.
After all...
"The number of these yokai is indeed too many." Hikigaya had already roughly estimated the total strength of the Kansai Oni Army. There were likely over a million of them. It seed his order to mobilize Yami wasn't redundant.
And the mobilization of Yami had just been completed. Next to Hikigaya's hip was a walkie-talkie; he picked it up.
"Begin the assessnt. Since the opponents aren't human, the passing standards can be loosened slightly."
"Lord Hikigaya, won't that result in exceeding the quota?"
"Haven't you failed to decide on the new Eight Shining Blades yet? Perfect. Whoever kills the most gets the spot."
"Understood!"
The voice in the walkie-talkie turned suddenly high-pitched and then cut the connection. Hikigaya tossed the walkie-talkie aside and continued watching the show.
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