My daily life of exorcising demons and falling in love with a witch.

The ongoing fierce battle caused more and more demons conjured from the illusion to die.

Finally, Shuten-dōji appeared on the top floor of the pavilion deepest in the mountain stronghold.

He was a handsome red-haired boy with two demon horns and numerous black and red tattoos on his body.

He was dressed in magnificent ancient costumes with the front wide open, carrying a jar of wine in one hand and a gleaming broadsword on his shoulder in the other.

Shuten-dōji strolled to the railing of the platform, looked down at the battlefield, and let out a cold laugh.

Then he picked up the jar and tilted his head back to gulp it down. A large amount of wine sprayed out, splashing all over him and running down his chest.

The moment he finished the wine, he casually tossed the wine jar aside, leaped up, and jumped off the building.

Almost the instant the wine jar shattered, Shuten-dōji landed on the ground, carrying his weapon.

In that instant, the lesser demons all changed their chaotic positions and quickly retreated to Shuten-dōji's side, forming a defensive formation.

"Finally appeared! Shuten-dōji!" Shimamura pointed his spear at him, a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent and devoid of any smile. "You hid very well, you really took us a lot of time... But, that's enough for now!"

"I... I guessed someone would come knocking sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be so soon." Shuten-dōji snorted, his handsome face instantly turning angry and gloomy. "If I'm not mistaken, the problem lies with that bottle of Yoda sake, isn't it?"

"Hmph, that's right!" Erina stood next to Yoshiyuki, patting her chest triumphantly, and boasted, "It was me who set up the tracking jutsu! How about that, now you understand what it means to get into trouble because of excessive drinking?!"

Upon hearing this, Shuten-dōji shook his head and burst into laughter.

It was unclear whether he was laughing at himself because he regretted being fooled, or if he was just trying to suppress the anger that was distorting his expression with laughter.

"Fine! It doesn't matter if I get found. I've had enough of crawling through the sewers every day anyway. Thanks for letting me move out of the way!"

Shuten-dōji's face was dark, and his tone was barely able to contain his anger.

"Very well, among you people who came here to die, there are two rather delicious-looking pretty girls... Hehehe... In a moment, I want you to watch yourselves being eaten piece by piece, and no matter how much you beg, you won't get a quick release!"

"Oh ho~ Shuten-dōji thinks you're a girl." Erina wasn't scared at all, but instead turned to Yoshiyuki with a grin: "It's such a shame you don't crossdress."

"NO! He was clearly referring to you and Wu Lili!"

At this moment, Shuten-dōji tapped the back of his sword on his shoulder, as if he wanted to say something.

However, Shinshoujima Village, who had been tossing a coin in his hand since the beginning, couldn't wait any longer.

Without warning, he suddenly drew his gun and fired rapidly, turning it into a beam of spiritual energy that struck Shuten-dōji.

The mountain spirits blocking his way were unable to dodge in time and were all blown to pieces and turned into green smoke.

Shuten-dōji swiftly swung his greatsword, forcefully blocking the shockwave, only being pushed backward half a meter by the enormous impact.

This shot instantly reignited the battle.

Shuten-dōji waved his hand, unleashing a wave of energy that strengthened the illusory demons around him, causing them to charge forward even more frantically.

Some of the lesser demons even gained the ability to cast spells, and began launching fireballs and tracking ghost fire projectiles at the crowd, making the battle much more complicated.

"Hey, are you a monster-initiating maniac?!" Erina, unable to contain her anger any longer, almost struck Shuten-dōji with the lightning talisman she had just pulled out. "Both times you suddenly attacked! Are you crazy?!"

"Yeah, Officer Shimamura! Could you at least tell me before you take action next time?" Wu Lili complained as she fired her gun.

"Haha, if I told them, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?!" Investigator Shimamura burst into laughter. "That's what makes it so deceptive—not knowing when I'll suddenly shoot at the coin! Maekawa-kun, we'll cover you! You take Yoda-sama and break through, then just take out Shuten-dōji!"

Yoshiyuki immediately turned his head and exchanged a glance with Erina.

Seeing her nod and take out the speed-up talisman and the whirlwind talisman, Yi Xing immediately raised his wooden sword and gathered spiritual power.

The two cast spells in a very rhythmic sequence, with perfect coordination.

Yi Xing first swung his wooden sword and unleashed a wave of flames several meters wide, forcing back the lesser demons and burning a path through them.

Then, in the next instant, Erina used a combination spell to unleash a gust of wind that swept across their bodies.

As the gust of wind swept past the two men, it coiled around their bodies, accelerating their movements.

At the same time, it also formed a tunnel of gale in the path burned by the flame sword wave. Anyone who tried to get close would be blown away. Only the two people wrapped in the gale could pass through it without hindrance and rush directly into the center of the enemy formation!

Shuten-dōji was quite surprised to see that the two of them had bypassed the demons' defenses in this way.

But he showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he burst into wild laughter, swung his broadsword, and assumed an attack stance, ready to fight!

At this point, most of the lesser demons were already exhausted from dealing with Shinshoujima Village and Wu Lili, and had no time to help Shuten-dōji.

As for Shuten-dōji himself, he didn't seem to think he could lose to the two of them at all!

After rapidly approaching Shuten-dōji, Yoshiyuki immediately swung his wooden sword and slashed at Shuten-dōji.

His swordsmanship was extremely fast, and Shuten-dōji not only parried each attack but also constantly dodged and defended against Erina's attack spells.

The wind blades she unleashed were extremely powerful, enough to split large trees in two, but Shuten-dōji was able to smash them apart with a single blow from his left hand, which was covered by an arm guard.

Finally, after being forced back by the large ball of flame spewed from Shuten-dōji's mouth, Yoshiyuki used one of his signature techniques: the Eight Desolations Slash.

That was a signature move of the Eight Desolations Sword Technique, passed down through the Yitian family.

Its name encompasses both the eight directions and the fact that the power used in this move originates from the spirit of the wilderness. It also signifies that this sword technique has eight tiers of ultimate skills. The higher the tier, the greater the cost of using it.

Souls can be divided into "Watama" and "Arakami".

The former can bring peace, while the latter are the unfortunate souls who died from disasters such as war and plague.

Powerful wild spirits become wild gods.

The most powerful of the Aragami is Susanoo-no-Mikoto, also known as Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

The first Maekawa received the blessing of Susanoo's power and, on the verge of death, mastered the Eight Desolations Sword Technique. It has been passed down from generation to generation ever since.

Although many talented members of the Yoda clan can learn this technique, only the guardian of each Yomi Shrine Maiden can unleash its full power and unlock advanced techniques.

The Eight Desolations Slash delivers eight strikes in almost a second.

Each strike unleashed an extremely fierce sword aura, flying wildly towards Shuten-dōji.

The sword energy was not only extremely destructive, but it could also make the attacked enemy feel the murderous intent of the vicious wild spirit from several meters away.

Shuten-dōji suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it were being gripped tightly by the cold hand of the dead.

Even if one is not hit by the sword energy, the fluctuation of such killing intent is enough to make those with weak wills instantly go weak in the knees and lose the ability to resist!