Doman, noticing Xiao Yun’s distorted expression as he landed on the ground, asked, “Be clear. Is this a situation where I need to bring out everything I have?”
There was much meaning behind this question. It was not simply about fighting with full strength. As an ancient fiend who had lived since the Heian period, Doman had gathered countless shikigami over the years.
The number of shikigami he had collected was immeasurable, and among them were beings so powerful that even he had difficulty controlling them.
His talent as an onmyoji, the strength that each entity possessed in life, and the knowledge he had refined over the ages—All of these elements combined harmoniously to give birth to the strongest shikigami. They were, in essence, the crystallization and pinnacle of Doman’s entire life as an onmyoji.
However, these were ultimately expendable forces, and summoning them alone drained Doman’s life energy. Thus, they were his last resort—the ultimate weapons he could only unleash when he was prepared to die.
Xiao Yun responded with a calm expression.
“If not now, then when? And it’s not just you, old man—every human here is the same. Whatever secrets, elixirs, or entities you’re hiding, bring them all out. Even if it costs your lifespan, don’t hesitate. If you want to live even one more day, you have to survive this first.”
One of the administrators, hesitating, cautiously asked, “Is the situation really that dire?”
Xiao Yun let out a scoffing laugh as if the question was absurd.
“Dire? Yeah, it’s dire. I don’t want to give you any false hope, so I’ll be blunt. We are all going to die here. Unless a miracle happens, there is no chance of us making it out alive.”
“…….”
This time, Lee Eunha spoke. Her entire body was drenched in blood from the previous battle. Even though the Gamma-rank administrators had already given up, she was still racking her brain, desperately trying to devise thousands of possible solutions to escape this situation.
“Have you confirmed how many Beta-class entities are present?”
Xiao Yun nodded.
“Four. But you know as well as I do that not all Beta-class entities have the same level of power. Most of them are Beta-upper-tier, or to put it simply, Beta++ in strength.”
Xiao Yun stopped himself from adding that they might be even stronger than that.
“So if you want to keep breathing for even one more second, give it everything you’ve got.”
Xiao Yun had already made his decision. He regretted not having broken through his limits, but there was no use regreting it now. This was the reality. It was his own ignorance, and ultimately, it was fate.
His energy surged. As he channeled his inner power in earnest, an overwhelming aura radiated from him, enough to suffocate those nearby.
“Our top priority is protecting the old man. Everyone else can die, but if he dies, it’s over. Got it?”
The administrators nodded.
“Understood.”
Just as Xiao Yun said, in a large-scale battle of fights like this, the most critical figure was Doman. As long as he remained alive, he could continue to summon reinforcements.
“They’re coming.”
At this point, they had nowhere left to go. The area was filled with corpses, and though the barracks were already in ruins, this was still the best place for defense.
Jingle. Jingle.
Doman muttered in an unknown language as he shook a bell. Mist gathered around them, and an eerie figure emerged.
[Oh my, Doman! It must be a real emergency if you’re calling for me. What happened to your once-handsome face? All that’s left now is a wrinkled old man. Our little Doman has aged quite a bit.]
A voice as beautiful as jade beads.
A woman so breathtakingly gorgeous that she could captivate any man smiled at Doman.
With golden fur, a snow-white face, and nine tails, she was the embodiment of unparalleled beauty. Yet, the ominous aura she exuded was beyond comparison.
[So many fresh humans around.]
Doman, his face pale, wiped away cold sweat and murmured, “Daji. I’ll give you a hundred livers.”
[Hohoho. Judging by the situation, today might be the last time I see you. Shuten Doji, Kairikunanshin, the Daitengu… and what’s this? Something strange is mixed in there.]
“Cut the chatter and uphold the contract.”
[Yes, yes. I’ll give it my all, so just don’t die before then. I still have to take your liver, after all!]
Her name was Daji.
A descendant of the legendary White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox, a great yokai who had once plunged the world into chaos a thousand years ago. She was one of Doman’s strongest assets.
[Little Doman, why have you summoned me?]
Another of Doman’s shikigami appeared.
He was an old man, about 160 cm tall, completely bald, and wearing a tattered yukata. At his waist hung a worn-out sword, and his face was full of wrinkles. At first glance, he seemed like nothing more than an ordinary elderly man.
But Xiao Yun immediately recognized that he was an exceptional warrior.
It wasn’t just the overwhelming aura he exuded—his restrained presence and every single movement carried the air of a master.
“Nurarihyon. There’s no time for long explanations. Help Daji annihilate the enemy.”
[Tsk. So your end is finally in sight, huh? Well, nothing lasts forever in this world.]
Doman’s face turned even paler. Just summoning these two shikigami had drained most of his energy.
“……They’re coming.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As countless yokai moved in unison, the ground trembled.
Staring at the endless swarm of monsters charging like a horde of ants, everyone braced themselves for death.
“Daji!”
At Doman’s shout, Daji revealed her true form and leaped into the air.
A massive fox, over 20 meters tall, extended a paw, instantly reducing hundreds of lower-tier yokai in the front line to dust.
[Insects!]
She then conjured foxfire, which rained down like a fiery storm from the sky.
Whoooosh!
The bodies of the yokai caught in the flames melted away. But their numbers were overwhelming, and those in the back surged forward like cockroaches.
Even after slaughtering countless foes, the yokai continued pouring in endlessly. Daji clicked her tongue.
[Old man! Stop just watching and do something!]
At her urging, Nurarihyon, who had been leisurely strolling with his hands behind his back, finally drew the sword at his waist.
[Quit yapping, you fox wench.]
His sword was dull and toothless, devoid of any sharpness. But the moment he swung it, a crescent-shaped slash surged forward, growing larger as it traveled.
Slaaash!
With an ear-piercing sound, the bodies of hundreds of yokai in its path were split apart simultaneously.
Crunch!
[Hmm… Too many of them.]
Even after displaying such formidable swordsmanship, Nurarihyon’s expression remained dissatisfied.
This time, he adjusted his stance, took a deep breath, and reversed his grip on his sword.
The sheer energy radiating from his body caused the very air to tremble.
Whooooom!
[Double Severance.]
Nurarihyon’s sword slashed through the air precisely twice.
It was so fast that it appeared as if he had only swung once.
The long blade energy surged forward at an incredible speed, severing everything in its path.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The lower-ranked yokai died instantly, not even realizing what had happened to them. The stronger yokai tried to resist, but the result was the same.
[I can’t let you have all the fun!]
Daji, who had been jumping through the air, shook her tail, splitting into nine.
These were mere illusions created through sorcery, yet each possessed the same strength as the original.
The nine foxes landed on the ground, plunging into the center of the yokai army.
With every roar and kick, yokai in their path were torn apart.
The administrators who witnessed the scene felt both awe and fear.
An existence far beyond human reach.
“That… is a shikigami?”
“Haha… How are we supposed to fight something like that…?”
Just two of them had slaughtered over ten thousand yokai.
The administrators had always considered themselves special, but watching this made them realize just how powerless they truly were.
Seizing the momentum, Xiao Yun also swept through the battlefield.
His projectiles, imbued with immense internal energy, tore through the air with lethal force.
The legendary formless poison was scattered everywhere.
The poison was so potent that any yokai within a 700-meter radius of Xiao Yun melted into unrecognizable puddles.
Following this, one of the greatest techniques of the Sichuan Tang Clan, (A Rain of Flowers Covering the Sky), was unleashed.
Hundreds of throwing weapons burst from Xiao Yun’s entire body as he jumped into the air.
Each was charged with concentrated energy, slashing wildly in all directions, sending fountains of blood soaring.
He was a clear demonstration of what it meant to be a Beta-ranked individual—someone who had reached the peak of martial prowess.
At this point, hope began to flicker in the hearts of the administrators.
‘Maybe… we really can make it out alive?’
No matter how they thought about it, they couldn’t imagine those monsters being defeated.
But they didn’t know yet.
The true monsters hadn’t even begun to move.
[Kyahhh!]
Suddenly, Doman coughed and spat out dark red blood.
“Cough…!”
In the center of the battlefield, the nine-tailed fox Daji vanished.
She had been struck by the combined assault of Shuten Doji and Daitengu.
With Daji gone, the yokai army’s advance accelerated.
Though Nurarihyon and Xiao Yun fought desperately, the situation showed no signs of improvement.
The surviving administrators also fought with everything they had at their respective positions.
But the number of yokai was overwhelming.
If they took down one, another appeared from the sides.
If they struck down that one, two more emerged from the front.
All the administrators began to realize—this was the end.
“Oh, god…”
Shuten Doji and Daitengu fought with Xiao Yun and Nurarihyon.
Their strengths were evenly matched.
It was an intense battle with no clear victor.
But with their focus occupied, one of the administrators who had been guarding the rear was killed.
The formation collapsed instantly.
If this continued, Doman would eventually fall as well.
Realizing this, Xiao Yun decided to risk everything to end the battle as quickly as possible.
At that moment—
“…?”
Slash!
Nurarihyon’s head rolled to the ground, and Xiao Yun’s right arm fell, spraying blood like a fountain.
“What…?”
An invisible slash.
And it hadn’t come from Daitengu or Shuten Doji.
At the very edge of the battlefield—
A strange yokai, who had been silently watching with an emotionless expression, had caused this incomprehensible phenomenon with a single swing of its arm.
[How boring.]
Just one sentence.
Yet within those words was an overwhelming force that dominated everything present.
The tens of thousands of yokai.
Shuten Doji and Daitengu.
Xiao Yun and Doman.
The remaining administrators.
All froze and turned their gazes toward ‘it.’
A monstrous yokai with two heads and four arms.
‘It’ raised its hand once more.
Everyone had the same thought at that moment.
‘This is the end.’
They all accepted their impending deaths.
And then—
‘It’ swung its hand.
Xiao Yun calmly watched.
Oh Haeyoung tightly shut her eyes.
Go Yeonghui burst into hysterical laughter.
Lee Eunha and Yu Gi-jun both thought of the same person in their final moments.
.
.
.
Slowly, those who had expected death opened their eyes.
Their hands instinctively reached for their necks.
Somehow, their heads were still attached.
Then, their gazes all turned toward one direction.
“…”
“…”
There, riding atop a black wolf, was a familiar man.
Administrator Lee Taeseong.
He had arrived.
TL : Finally brooo
