Chapter 19
"Phew. There were actually this many demons here," Tanjiro said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Uwahahaha! Perfect, absolutely perfect! Lord Inosuke got to cut to his heart’s content!"
Inosuke raised both blades high and shouted excitedly, "Come on, come at me! You demon trash! Lord Inosuke’s great blades are starving for action!"
"Uwaaah! What happened? Why are so many demons suddenly dead?"
Zenitsu, who had just woken up, looked at the demon corpses scattered across the ground as they began fading away and screamed in shock.
Then he noticed Tanjiro and Inosuke staring at him with strange expressions.
As if suddenly remembering something, he smacked his fist into his palm.
"I see! So you two did it! I didn’t expect this at all. You’ve both grown this strong already!"
As he said that, Zenitsu secretly felt relieved.
The stronger his companions were, the smoother his life plan of hiding behind his teammates and winning while doing absolutely nothing would become.
"Pop—"
A vein bulged on Inosuke’s forehead. He swung both swords and was about to go after Zenitsu.
"You bastard, are you mocking me? You’re definitely mocking me, aren’t you? Watch Lord Inosuke chop you into three pieces!"
That guy had clearly killed the most demons just now, yet now he was praising them?
Was that praise?
That was obviously vicious sarcasm!
Was he showing off how many demons he had killed?
"Waaaah! Why are you trying to cut me?! What did I do wrong?!"
Zenitsu instantly darted behind Tanjiro and shouted at Inosuke in protest.
"Uwaaaah, you’re pissing me off! Dontaro, move! Today, I’m teaching this bastard a lesson no matter what!"
Hot white steam shot out of Inosuke’s nostrils.
"Who’s Dontaro?! My name is Tanjiro! Tanjiro Kamado!"
Tanjiro corrected him loudly while stopping Inosuke from going berserk.
"Don’t do this, Inosuke. Zenitsu was probably just joking."
"What joke? I wasn’t joking," Zenitsu said seriously. "Tanjiro, you guys are this strong now, so from now on, I’ll be counting on you to protect me."
Hearing this, Tanjiro and Inosuke looked at each other.
Only now did they confirm that this guy really had not been mocking them.
"Zenitsu, these... actually, half of them were killed by you."
Tanjiro pointed toward one area, his face filled with admiration.
"You were really fast. Just like lightning! Several demons were taken down by you in the blink of an eye."
"I... did that?"
Zenitsu pointed at himself.
His big eyes had turned into tiny dots, his heart filled with disbelief.
’Am i really that strong?’
’Stop joking!’
If he were actually that powerful, his Gramps would have been so happy he could ascend to heaven in peace already.
Why would he still beat him every other day to relieve boredom?
Tanjiro and Inosuke were about to continue explaining when a dense rustling sound reached their ears, cutting them off.
The two of them immediately gripped their Nichirin swords and looked around warily.
"More enemies?" Zenitsu also trembled as he looked toward the direction of the noise.
Then he saw a group of strange things surrounding them.
The only reason he called them "things" was because he truly had no idea how else to describe them.
Their heads were human, but their bodies were completely spider-like. Their faces were deathly pale too, making them look as bizarre as possible.
Only now, those monsters’ faces were filled with panic, as if something even more terrifying was chasing them.
"Uwaaah! Monsters!"
Zenitsu screamed, terrified to the limit.
Inosuke was much more reliable. He raised his Nichirin swords and was about to send these monsters straight back to dust.
But just then, Kiriya arrived in time.
"Don’t be reckless. They’re not enemies!"
Hearing that, the three kids were stunned.
Demon Slayer Corps members?
Weren’t they human?
How had they turned into spiders?
"It’s the effect of one demon’s poison. It can turn humans into spider puppets," Kiriya briefly explained.
He had dealt with that demon along the way, and these monsters had been frightened by him into running around wildly.
He had not expected them to run straight into the three kids.
Once they learned these people were Demon Slayer Corps members, pity rose in their hearts.
To be turned from humans into monsters like this—how much pain and despair must they have felt?
"Have the Kasugai Crow send a message. Say that Lower Rank Five has been eliminated, and ask your headquarters to send people over. Preferably people with medical skills. There are a lot of injured here," Kiriya reminded them, then leaned against a tree and closed his eyes to rest.
Tanjiro did as he said.
After having the Kasugai Crow deliver the message, he and Zenitsu stayed behind to look after the injured Corps members.
As for Inosuke, he could not sit still and ran off to hunt down any demons that had slipped through the cracks.
Since the biggest threat here had already been removed, Kiriya was not worried and simply let him go.
He thought they would have to wait a long time, but unexpectedly, only two hours later, the Demon Slayer Corps reinforcements had already arrived.
And the ones leading them were two people he had not expected.
"Moshi moshi, is everyone all right?"
A girl wearing a haori landed lightly like a butterfly, her expression growing strange as she looked at the Demon Slayer Corps members all over the ground.
When she heard Lower Rank Five had been involved, she had been startled and immediately rushed here at full speed.
Fortunately, she had not been too far away, so it took her less than two hours to arrive.
She had thought she would see a tragic scene of corpses everywhere, but the result was far better than expected.
Most of the Demon Slayer Corps members were still alive.
Even though many of them had broken bones and torn muscles, it was still a blessing amid misfortune.
’Is it because of him?’
Shinobu Kocho looked at the boy resting against the tree trunk and a strange light flickering in her eyes.
When Tanjiro saw the silent young man wearing a haori with a three-colored tortoiseshell pattern, he was overjoyed.
"Tomioka-san, why are you here?"
"Mm."
Giyu Tomioka nodded lightly at Tanjiro but did not say much.
Instead, he walked toward Kiriya and bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much for your assistance."
Kiriya looked at the quiet Water Hashira in front of him—Sea Hashira... no, wait, Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka—and smiled.
"No need to be so polite. It was no trouble."
"To kill a Lower Rank by yourself... you truly are remarkable," Shinobu said with a face full of admiration. "Would you mind telling us where you came from?"
"That’s not important."
Kiriya shook his head.
"As long as we’re willing to kill demons, we’re all friends, aren’t we?"
"...That’s true."
Shinobu paused for a moment before smiling beautifully.
Yes.
They were all comrades who killed demons!
She no longer pushed the matter.
Turning around, she began directing the others to treat the injured on the ground.
Zenitsu was already circling around the pretty onee-san while Tanjiro excitedly rushed over to tell Giyu about everything he had experienced during this period.
Toward this man who had led him onto the path of salvation, Tanjiro had always been deeply grateful.
Giyu listened calmly, remaining silent the entire time.
Only after Tanjiro finished did he offer a few precious words.
"You did well."
"Mm! I’ll keep working hard!"
Tanjiro nodded heavily, his heart filled with joy.
Seeing that Kiriya seemed to have something to say to Giyu, he tactfully ran off to help Shinobu, leaving the two of them some space.
"Something wrong?" Giyu asked, still as concise as ever.
"Well, Sea Hashira—cough, cough, Tomioka. Want me to gift you an Upper Rank?"
The moment he heard this, Giyu’s pupils shrank sharply.
"...Explain."
...
While Kiriya and Giyu were conspiring, an important meeting was about to begin inside the Infinity Castle.
The Upper Ranks, who had not gathered in a long time, were assembled in one place, each standing in silence.
If this had been any ordinary day, the Upper Ranks might have enthusiastically interacted with each other.
For example, Upper Rank Two, Doma, and Upper Rank Five, Gyokko, who shared a similar artistic taste.
Or Upper Rank Three, Akaza, and Doma, who could never stand each other and always had to trade a few barbs whenever they met.
But today, they were unusually quiet.
All of it was because of the man standing on the raised platform.
The lord of all demons.
The source of calamity.
Cross-dressing enthusiast.
Humanity’s trash boss—
Muzan Kibutsuji.
The origin of all demons and the undisputed ruler of every demon now radiated an astonishing murderous pressure, spreading in all directions like a raging tide.
Even though every Upper Rank had dominated the world for over a hundred years and had become so powerful that ordinary foes could not compare, they still felt their breathing pause under their boss’s overwhelming pressure, and their postures grew proper.
’What exactly happened?’
That was the question shared by all of them.
"What happened?"
Muzan Kibutsuji slowly opened his mouth, his voice as cold as winter wind.
"Rui is dead."
"Rui? Who is Rui? Is there someone with that name among the Upper Ranks?"
All the Upper Ranks looked confused.
"He was Lower Rank Five. A subordinate I liked very much! But now... he is dead."
Veins bulged on Muzan Kibutsuji’s forehead.
"Killed by those Demon Slayer Corps bastards."
"That’s it?"
Doma opened his fan and covered his mouth, his tone somewhat teasing.
"Muzan-sama, he was merely a Lower Rank. Was that really worth gathering all of us here?"
After all, the Upper Ranks had not assembled like this in over a century.
When he received the summons this time, he thought there had been news about the Blue Spider Lily.
And yet, this was it?
The question was extremely rude.
If any Lower Rank had dared to speak in that tone, Muzan Kibutsuji would have disposed of them long ago.
But the Upper Ranks were different.
Each one of them was a rare treasure Muzan had discovered and cultivated over centuries, so he was naturally more tolerant toward them.
"Does that mean there’s something wrong with the person who killed that little one?" Upper Rank Three, Akaza, began to think.
"Correct. That man is an inheritor of Sun Breathing. Moreover, he has already trained it to a rather proficient level."
Muzan Kibutsuji described the information he had obtained from Rui’s blood memories, causing Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, who had been sitting silently nearby, to open his eyes.
"Sun Breathing? That Breathing Style still has an inheritor?"
There was surprise in Kokushibo’s voice, though not enough to be called shock.
It was only Sun Breathing.
It was not as if that man had come back to life.
It was not yet worth too much of his attention.
"Waaah, how terrifying. Truly terrifying! Are we going to be killed?"
Upper Rank Four, Hantengu, hugged his head and wailed nonstop, looking like a frightened, pathetic old man.
"Muzan-sama, did you gather us here to kill that man?" Gyokko asked.
"Exactly."
Muzan Kibutsuji’s voice was like ice.
"Find that man and kill him. Otherwise, he will inevitably become a grave threat to us."
"No problem."
Daki patted her chest with complete confidence.
"As long as that guy is still a man, he absolutely won’t escape my... my capture!"
Hearing this, Doma only smiled without speaking.
Hantengu trembled fearfully. Akaza sneered in disdain. Gyokko’s smile was exaggerated.
As for Kokushibo, he simply did not bother reacting at all.
Muzan Kibutsuji smiled.
"Then I’ll leave it to you, Daki."
Although Daki was a stupid woman without much of a brain, her older brother Gyutaro was capable.
Rather than saying those words were meant for Daki, it would be more accurate to say they were meant for Gyutaro to hear.
As long as Daki took action, Gyutaro, with his extreme sister complex, would never stand by and watch.
He would certainly go all out.
"Leave it to me, Muzan-sama!"
Daki swept her gaze over everyone with disdain and snorted coldly.
Although she had never liked using her brain, even she could see the way these Upper Ranks looked at her.
Heh.
Wasn’t it just because they thought she was a brainless idiot?
Wasn’t it just because they looked down on her as the only woman among the Upper Ranks?
She would show these condescending bastards what the peak of human charm truly looked like.
Daki was confident.
As long as she found that man, she would only need to use a small trick, and that guy would obediently fall at her feet and become her captive.
When that time came, she would become a great contributor in Muzan-sama’s eyes and receive even more favor.
As for all of you arrogant fools, you can spend your time praising Lady Daki’s strength and wisdom!
"Since you all understand, go."
Muzan Kibutsuji turned around.
"I have given you your chance. I hope you do not disappoint me again."
As his words fell, the sound of a shamisen rang out.
Doors opened beneath the feet of every Upper Rank, and their bodies dropped through, vanishing from sight.
...
"The Upper Rank you mentioned is here?"
Giyu Tomioka looked at the bustling Entertainment District in front of him.
Even his expressionless face twitched several times, and he nearly drew his sword on the spot.
He was Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, a busy man who cut down dozens of demons in a day!
Yet now, he had been dragged to a place like the Entertainment District.
What exactly did this man take him for?
But when his hand reached for his waist, he grabbed nothing.
Only then did he realize that he did not have his Nichirin sword on him.
"Now, now, relax a little."
Kiriya reached out and put an arm around Giyu’s shoulder.
"If you react this strongly, what if you alert the enemy?"
"To alert the enemy, there must first be an enemy here," Giyu said calmly.
"Don’t worry. Since I brought you here, naturally, I have full confidence."
Kiriya smiled confidently.
Given Daki’s love of luxury and attention, there was no way she would hide in some forgotten corner.
A famous pleasure district like this was absolutely the kind of place she would be proudest of.
Next, all they needed to do was ask around about the most famous oiran here and visit them one by one... cough, investigate them one by one.
They would definitely find clues.
Anyway...
This time, he had applied for funding.
And his budget was very generous.
"Ah, Ubuyashiki really is such a good person."
When it came to spending public funds on women—no, investigating intelligence—this boss had immediately approved a huge sum.
He was simply too generous!
"I’ll be watching you," Giyu said, looking at the money pouch at Kiriya’s waist.
This was the Demon Slayer Corps’ operating budget.
He would absolutely not allow Kiriya to waste even a single coin.
"Sea Hashira, you’re still too serious."
Kiriya pointed at himself.
"When you come to a place like this, you have to loosen up a little. See? I’m smiling very brightly."