"Whoosh—!"
The instant Harutora finished speaking, the hem of the crow-feathered garment draped over him suddenly swayed forward.
It was the airflow stirred up when the two guardians beside Harutora transformed into gusts of wind and shot out from either side of their master.
Kakugyo Ki and Hishamaru suddenly charged out, rushing toward Yakushimaru and Kumomaru at astonishing speed.
Without a doubt, it was a surprise attack.
"...!"
Yakushimaru and Kumomaru reacted instantly.
"Kumomaru!"
Yakushimaru called out to Kumomaru, then abruptly charged forward.
As for Kumomaru, he instead retreated. At some point, he had picked up Takimiko, transformed into a ghostly black shadow, and rapidly pulled away, widening the distance between himself and Kakugyo Ki and Hishamaru.
The two Yase Doshi coordinated perfectly: one advanced to hold the enemy back while the other took the opportunity to retreat.
Seeing this, Kakugyo Ki laughed first.
"Leave it to me, Hishamaru."
As he spoke, Kakugyo Ki accelerated sharply and swept toward Yakushimaru.
"Bang!"
Amid the sound of collision, the fists of the two demons slammed together, unleashing a violent surge of Demonic Qi.
Kakugyo Ki and Yakushimaru exchanged a punch, causing their Demonic Qi to clash. Their spiritual pressure rose violently as well, churning the air around them.
Kakugyo Ki raised an eyebrow at this and said,
"As expected, once the little girl from the Soma Family entered her state, the power of her guardian, the Yase Doshi, increased as well?"
If that were not the case, Yakushimaru could not have stalemated Kakugyo Ki in a head-on collision.
Shikigami had neither flesh nor blood. They were amalgamations of miasma and Spiritual Energy. A battle between shikigami was equivalent to a collision of spiritual power, Spiritual Energy, cursed power, and willpower. The stronger side possessed an absolute advantage, one that could not be