"Tell me about the approximate locations of the other Twelve Kizuki."
Lucien flicked ash from his cigarette, staring calmly at Enmu, whose expression was tight with fear.
"How could I possibly know?"
Enmu's headless body began dissolving into the train, his flesh seeping into the machinery. He needed to completely merge with the train before attempting to devour this man.
Just now, he hadn't even realized how Lucien attacked. A sharp sense of danger rose within him.
Luckily for him, the man hadn't used a Nichirin Blade right away. Otherwise, he would already be dead.
"Don't demons share information with each other?"
Lucien tapped the Nichirin Blade against the floor in front of Enmu, pursing his lips. "You know what this is, right?"
Enmu swallowed hard as he looked at the golden, lightning-like blade. This man had to be a Thunder Breathing user.
Likely a Hashira.
He had simply never expected a Hashira to be this overwhelmingly strong.
"Don't bother trying anything. Even if you merge with the train, I can still find where your true body is."
Lucien watched Enmu's headless form disappear into the floor without emotion.
"You…"
Enmu's expression twisted unnaturally. How did this man know so much about him?
He even knew he was about to merge with the train.
He knew everything.
"Your Blood Demon Art uses dreams, doesn't it? Use the technique that spreads countless mutated eyes and forces people into a dream they can only break by killing themselves."
Lucien calmly flicked his cigarette ash again.
"Who… are you exactly?"
Enmu trembled.
Sweat dripped from his forehead. Before he had even begun fighting, the other party had uncovered all his secrets. He felt utterly exposed.
"Blood Demon Art: Forced Sleep Hypnosis – Eyes."
Enmu's expression twisted viciously, and he unleashed his art.
Instantly, the entire carriage was filled with distorted, floating eyes. Anyone who looked at them would fall into a deep dream.
But Lucien kept his eyes closed.
Enmu took the chance to flee.
His head shot forward, merging into the front section of the train. His body had already fused into the machinery entirely. Unless someone found his hidden spine, he couldn't die.
His heart was still shaking.
It was far too close.
Once fully merged, he finally regained a bit of composure.
He realized the reason Lucien didn't kill him instantly and allowed him to use his power was because Lucien wanted to understand his ability.
To use it for something.
Lucien stood with his eyes closed and walked toward the front of the train, Nichirin Blade in hand. To his Ki perception, Enmu glowed like a firefly in the darkness—impossible to hide.
"Sleep."
"Sleep."
Whispers echoed endlessly in Lucien's ears as the carriage filled with eyes again.
He ignored the whispers easily.
If the voice had belonged to a seductive woman, he might have tolerated it—but a man?
Disgusting.
In the front of the train, Enmu was already panicking.
The man avoided the eyes perfectly, and the whispers had no effect at all. And he was heading straight for him.
His Blood Demon Art…
was useless.
"Bang! Bang!"
The iron door shook violently.
Each kick made Enmu's heartbeat jump.
Finally, the iron door—far stronger than normal steel—buckled under the impact and was kicked clean off.
Inside was a small compartment wrapped entirely in fleshy walls. Countless eyes covered every surface.
If Lucien opened his eyes, he would immediately be thrown into a dream.
"Are you coming out yourself, or should I pull you out?"
Lucien stood with his eyes closed, facing the exact spot where Enmu's real body was buried beneath the fleshy ground.
Truthfully, Enmu was completely terrified.
He was breaking down.
"Crack."
Lucien drew his Nichirin Blade. The golden lightning coating quickly shifted as the blade heated, turning a glowing red. He stabbed downward.
Enmu screamed as the flesh wall tore open. Lucien extended his left hand, coated in Hardening and glowing a fiery red. He seized Enmu's hidden spine and yanked.
Tendons snapped. Bones cracked. The scent of cooked meat filled the air.
Lucien pulled Enmu's entire spine and head out from the fleshy mass.
His overheated hand prevented Enmu's cells from regenerating—the tissue was roasted, the regenerative ability nullified.
Lucien put the cigarette between his lips, his right hand forming a blade of Hardening, and severed Enmu's head and spine cleanly.
He carried them back to his original seat.
Placing Enmu's trembling head on the table, Lucien exhaled smoke casually, as if he had just returned from a short walk.
"As long as you satisfy me, I won't kill you."
"You… what do you want to do?!"
Enmu stuttered in terror, but he secretly activated his Blood Demon Art. More eyes sprouted across the table and walls.
He waited.
He only needed Lucien to open his eyes.
Once he did, Enmu could drag him into a dream. Then maybe he could turn this around.
"Just follow me for now."
Lucien acted unaware, opening his eyes and meeting Enmu's gaze.
Every eye on the table stared back at him.
"Haha… What if you're strong? You're still being played in the palm of my hand!"
Seeing Lucien freeze for a moment, Enmu believed he had succeeded.
"Are you dreaming?"
Lucien's voice cut through the silence like a blade.
Enmu's triumphant smile cracked.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"You… you…"
"Your Blood Demon Art has a fatal flaw. As long as you kill yourself inside the dream, it breaks immediately."
Lucien's left hand hardened and shaped into a blade as he sliced Enmu's head in half. Brain matter splattered across the table, yet Enmu still lived.
"Do you want to taste death?"
Lucien extended his glowing index finger—coated in Hardening and shining like molten metal.
He pressed it slowly into Enmu's left eye.
The demon shrieked, a sound like his soul was being torn apart. The smell of cooked flesh thickened in the air.
"Mercy… mercy…"
Enmu's left side went numb. His cells necrotized faster than he could regenerate.
Terror consumed him entirely.
Lucien didn't stop. His left hand's heat continued rising, fully cooking the entire left side of Enmu's head.
Enmu was left with only half a skull—barely regenerating, barely holding together—and painfully aware of it.
He was breaking.
"Haha… I sense a demon."
A cheerful voice echoed through the compartment as the wooden door suddenly swung open. Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku entered, red and yellow hair flowing, amber eyes sharp like fire.
His mission was to eliminate the demon on the Mugen Train.
In the original timeline, he would die here.
"It's you," Rengoku said with a hint of surprise. He clearly hadn't expected to find Lucien, who had vanished for three months, here on the train.
"Long time no see."
Lucien offered a small smile.
"Did you kill Tanjiro and those other two boys?"
Rengoku's tone hardened.
"Yes."
Rengoku hadn't expected him to admit it so directly. His expression became resolute, firm with unshakable conviction.
"You'll need to come me back with me to confess."