From becoming the Lord of Yokai Chapter 169 - 169

In the uninhabited outskirts, Ren Kuroda's figure appeared without any warning at all.

He took a deep breath of the fresh air around him, then glanced at the emblem engraved on the back of his hand. A satisfied smile spread across his face.

The trip to the Nura World had been fruitful overall. Although he hadn't managed to learn "Oni Bind", which left him with a bit of lingering regret, there would be opportunities in the future.

To be honest, even Ren himself hadn't expected the quest "Lord of the Thirty-Six Night Parades" to be completed so quickly.

He had originally thought he would have to head to Kyoto and clash head-on with Hagoromo-gitsune at least once. Who would have thought that, thanks to Inugami Gyōbu-danuki, his reputation would explode overnight, allowing him to complete the quest ahead of schedule?

Still, all things considered, even without learning Oni Bind, his gains this ti were far from disappointing.

At the very least, Ren felt that 『Demon King's Contract』 was in no way inferior to Oni Bind.

And beyond that, he had also obtained two additional skills—『Monstrous Strength and Wild Gods』 and 『Mind's Eye』—causing his overall combat power to surge yet again.

Not long after Ren returned to the main world, the Counterasures Division communicator in his pocket suddenly began beeping nonstop.

When he took it out and looked at the screen, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

During his stay in the Nura World, Ren had spent no more than a few months there. Given the 100:1 ti ratio, that ant he had only been gone from the main world for about one day.

Yet in just that single day, Kamishiro Kazuma, Yamato Mika, Kujō Hina, and the others had called him dozens of tis and sent over a hundred ssages.

While Ren was still staring blankly, wondering what on earth had happened, Yamato Mika's call ca through once again.

With his mind full of questions, Ren imdiately answered. The Counterasures Division wouldn't be this frantic unless sothing major had occurred during his absence.

The mont the call connected, Yamato Mika on the other end seed to freeze for a second—clearly surprised that this call had gone through so quickly.

But she recovered almost imdiately.

"Where did you disappear to all day yesterday?! Why couldn't any of us reach you?!"

The mont the call connected, Yamato Mika launched straight into a barrage of scolding. Through the phone, Ren could also hear the voices of Kamishiro Kazuma and the others in the background.

"I went out to handle sothing. I did file for leave. And because of certain circumstances, I didn't have my communicator with ," Ren replied quickly."So what actually happened? Why is everyone looking for so urgently?"

Seeing Yamato Mika clearly about to enter full lecture mode, Ren hurriedly cut her off and steered the conversation back on track.

But after hearing Ren ask what the issue was, Yamato Mika fell silent for a mont before responding in disbelief:

"Did you go handle business in outer space or sothing? Sothing this huge happened on Earth, and you seriously don't know?"

After Yamato Mika finished explaining everything, Ren hung up with a grave expression.

At that mont, a tiny spider crawled out from beneath the collar of his clothes.

Unlike the mbers of the Counterasures Division, Kumohi knew very well that her lord possessed the ability to travel between worlds.

The reason Ren couldn't be contacted yesterday was most likely because her master had gone off to another world to train again.

Ren had only been gone for a little over a day, but in that single day, the main world had undergone earth-shattering changes.

The people of yesterday could never have imagined that the world would one day beco like this.

Yesterday morning, around eight o'clock, it was peak hour. People across the country were commuting to work and school, and everything was as busy and lively as ever.

But at that very mont, the sky—previously bright and cloudless—began to darken at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Then, as if the heavens themselves had torn open, a massive vortex appeared in the sky.

The instant the vortex ford, subtle changes seed to ripple through heaven and earth.

Ordinary people only felt that the air had beco fresher, carrying a strangely ethereal sensation.

But professionals—those sensitive to such phenona—all turned their gaze skyward at the sa ti, their brows furrowing.

Because they clearly sensed that, at the mont the vortex appeared, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was growing denser.

An increase in spiritual energy was, in theory, a good thing for cultivators—but they were far from the only ones who benefited.

The mont the spiritual vortex appeared, not only did cities across the world fall into darkness, but countless beings that had long hidden in the shadows also erged, stepping into the open to receive the first baptism of spiritual energy.

What had once been bustling streets descended into chaos the instant the first scream rang out.

As more and more strange creatures appeared, cities instantly turned into scenes of demonic carnage.

The world had changed.The era of yokai had returned.

Unwilling to miss the first great wave of transformation, these yokai chose this very mont to reveal themselves and strengthen their power.

The spiritual vortex didn't last long, but it poured the first surge of energy into a world that had long been spiritually depleted.

Bathed in abundant spiritual energy, countless yokai saw their strength leap by an entire rank—or more. So even completed multiple stages of evolution in one go.

Compared to humans, yokai already possessed innate advantages. They didn't need to painstakingly cultivate spells or techniques—so long as their yokai power grew stronger, their natural abilities grew stronger alongside it.

Massive numbers of yokai appeared in cities everywhere.

And after gaining newfound power, when they looked again at the frail humans around them, many had no intention of quietly returning to the shadows.

Since yokai had declined, humans had lorded over the world for far too long. Now that the yokai era had returned, there was no reason to let humans continue strutting about as they once had.

Power had increased—so of course it was ti to celebrate.

And if one was going to celebrate, then the people of the cities naturally beca the best ingredients.

With their strength amplified, the yokai grew increasingly unrestrained, launching brutal attacks on civilians.

A massive amphibian-like yokai bounded across the roofs of cars, each leap leaving a deep dent in the tal. Every ti it landed, it tore open the roof with razor-sharp claws and slaughtered the humans inside.

On the highway, a flaming wheel bearing a grotesque oni face rolled wildly down the road, crushing everything in its path.

Among towering skyscrapers, a creature resembling a kamaitachi clutched a gleaming sickle, riding cutting wind blades as it sliced buildings apart at will.

In the blink of an eye, the entire city fell into chaos.

Despair, terror, and helplessness beca its dominant colors. In the face of powerful, unknown yokai, ordinary humans were little different from chicks awaiting slaughter.

And this wasn't limited to major tropolitan areas—it spread to every corner of the country.

In just one morning, the human population had dropped by nearly ten percent.

Ten percent might not sound like much, but when applied to a nation with such a massive population, the sheer scale of death was utterly staggering.

Faced with an existential threat, humanity naturally refused to sit and wait for annihilation.

The Self-Defense Forces were deployed, and under intense firepower suppression, many believed the nightmare would finally co to an end.

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

The nightmare hadn't ended—it had only just begun.

Conventional firearms and missiles might have had so effect on yokai before the great change, but the world was different now.

Yokai abilities were diverse and unpredictable. While heavy weapons managed to repel a wave of D-rank yokai, they were quickly overwheld by another wave of far stronger creatures.

Governnt leaders considered using forbidden weapons, but scientists quickly objected.

Yokai bodies were far more resilient than human ones. There was a high probability that such weapons wouldn't kill the supernatural beings—but would wipe out humanity instead.

Even worse, if the yokai survived and mutated under nuclear radiation, the situation would beco completely uncontrollable.

Forbidden weapons were off the table, and heavy arms could only deal with D-rank and E-rank yokai.

For a ti, the world truly resembled a living hell.

So-called elite troops couldn't even last a single exchange against D-rank yokai in close combat.

In an environnt rich with spiritual energy, a D-rank yokai's strength rivaled what used to be C–rank.

As for yokai above C-rank, ard helicopters and armored vehicles were little more than toys before them.

Just as humanity seed utterly cornered, another group of humans stepped onto the stage.

So radiated golden Buddhist light, tearing yokai apart with their bare hands. Others ford hand seals in rapid succession, unleashing talismans that moved as if alive, binding rampaging yokai in place.

Amid the chaos, humanity's various factions temporarily set aside old grudges and joined forces against their common enemy.

The Onmyō Agency, the Exorcist Association, and the Non-Natural Counterasures Division mobilized almost simultaneously.

The Twelve Demon-Slaying Houses, along with countless other onmyō families, large and small, also contributed what strength they could.

With human elites joining the fight, the situation shifted from a one-sided massacre to a hard-fought stalemate.

That was, until a Great Tengu with S –rank yokai power descended onto the battlefield, threatening to overturn everything once more.

In the end, however, the Great Tengu was injured when an elderly man from Ise Grand Shrine produced one of the Three Sacred Treasures—the Yata Mirror.

After being wounded, the Great Tengu fled.

Seeing that even an S –rank great yokai had retreated—and feeling deep apprehension toward the Yata Mirror—the remaining yokai finally chose to withdraw as well.

And with that, the chaos was temporarily brought to an end.