Tanjirou and Shinobu, who were rushing towards Inosuke, both stopped in unison. Tanjirou abruptly turned his head to look at Miss Shinobu.
"Miss Shinobu! A demon's presence has appeared at Tokito House!"
"Go back!"
Had they found Yoizumi that quickly?
It had just gotten dark, and they were already so impatient. Shinobu drew the nichirin blade from her waist and hurried back.
Just as they approached Tokito House, many destructive, silk-like sashes pierced through the roof of Tokito House. Yoizumi leaped out of the damaged hole, his frost-white nichirin blade deftly parrying the incredibly tough sashes.
Tanjirou and Shinobu clearly saw the characters in the eyes of the scantily clad female demon.
"Upper Rank Six!" Tanjirou immediately rushed forward to help. It was indeed an Upper Rank demon!
He charged forward, and the sashes behind the demon shot out, but his nichirin blade easily cleaved them apart.
He could do it!
He was getting stronger!
Breath of Insect, Dance of the Butterfly: Caprice
Shinobu moved like a dancing butterfly, approaching Daki. With incredibly light force, she delivered five rapid thrusts. Daki raised her hand, and sashes flew swiftly towards Shinobu.
She tapped her toes, leaning backward while adjusting her posture, dodging the attack.
There was no sensation of piercing skin. Had she used the sashes to protect her skin the moment she was about to be stabbed?
"Where did this bug come from? Eh~ You actually look pretty good~" Daki nonchalantly waved her hand, making a gesture as if shooing away a bug. When she saw Shinobu, she smiled and licked her lips.
"Looks delicious."
"You're not bad either~ Miss Demon. You've eaten quite a few people, haven't you? The foul stench of a demon on you is truly strong~"
"Oh my, oh my~ How unpleasant~"
Shinobu lightly pinched her nose, casually retorting, which caused veins to bulge on Daki's forehead. She roared in uncontrollable fury.
"Stupid bug! How dare you speak to me like that!"
She swung both hands forward, sending multiple sashes, like sharp blades, flying towards Shinobu.
Before they could even get close, they were instantly shredded.
Yoizumi's golden hair flowed, and he stood in front of her, holding his nichirin blade in one hand.
"This demon is too weak to be an Upper Rank, but even if you cut off her head, she won't die."
Won't die even if her head is cut off?
Such a demon probably shouldn't exist, except for the Demon King!
Shinobu frowned. Easily agitated, prone to anger, and not very intelligent—how could she be an Upper Rank?
At the same time, a huge roar erupted somewhere, and thick dust and smoke obscured the sky. Daki looked in the direction of the sound.
It was her food storage!
How many demon slayers had come, after all?
So annoying!
And that woman, who was like a bug, must be a Hashira.
She hadn't tasted one of those yet~
Kill her, then get more rewards!
"Uzui's side has also started to move," Yoizumi sensed the commotion from that direction, as well as the thunder-like roar. Zenitsu was still alive.
"Call out the real Upper Rank Six. You're too weak."
"Huh!"
Hearing the demon calmly say such infuriating words, Daki stomped her foot angrily, creating deep pits in the ground, and yelled, "I am Upper Rank Six! How dare you say I'm weak!"
"You cut off my head when I wasn't paying attention, what are you so proud of?! I'm going to make you burn in the sun!"
Her shrill, ear-piercing voice, like a child's wail, made even Tanjirou begin to wonder if there had been a mistake.
"Something is flying over."
Shinobu warned.
Many sashes flew from a distance and merged into Daki's body. Yoizumi keenly sensed that her power had increased significantly.
Her original black hair turned white with grass-green tips, and the number of sashes at her waist and behind her back also increased.
Daki's body trembled with excitement. There was another Hashira!
Then she would catch them all in one fell swoop!
Daki smiled confidently. Now that her power had fully returned and was at its peak, that demon and that woman had dared to mock her. They would pay the price for their actions... Her eyes suddenly widened. When?
That woman had actually appeared in front of her so suddenly!
Shinobu smiled and slashed Daki's neck with her nichirin blade, a large amount of poison integrating into her body.
She landed gently on the ground.
Breath of Insect, Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon
With this sword form, Shinobu could deliver six consecutive thrusts in an instant, beyond the capture range of human dynamic vision.
These poisons were more than enough to kill a Lower Rank. She wondered how much an Upper Rank could withstand.
She understood her own weakness, which was why she never stopped researching poisons for a single day.
She couldn't move her body!
This poison was wisteria!
Countless snowflakes and ice crystals struck her face, the icy sensation incredibly clear. She was about to be decapitated again!
Breath of Snow First Form: Falling Snow
Simple and direct, a single strike to sever the demon's head. Daki's head fell to the ground.
Tanjirou had thought this demon would unleash something big, and he was prepared for it. He didn't expect it to be all bark and no bite.
They won?
They defeated an Upper Rank so easily?
No, she wasn't dissipating. Could a demon who had overcome the weakness of decapitation truly exist?
"What? You've already dealt with it!" Uzui Tengen arrived with a comatose Zenitsu and Inosuke. But what was going on? He raised a finger, pointing at the Upper Rank Six, who was crying with her head in her hands.
"This is..."
"Be careful, the real Upper Rank Six is another demon."
Yoizumi remained vigilant.
Daki on the ground was crying with her head in her hands, occasionally pounding the ground forcefully to vent her frustration. Her skin was festering from the wisteria poison, turning purplish-black, with flesh peeling off, making her hideous.
"I really am an Upper Rank! Waaah!"
"So many of you bullying me! How long are you going to watch..." This last sentence put everyone present on high alert.
"Brother!" As Daki's words fell, a gaunt, withered man crawled out from behind Daki.
Tanjirou instantly felt an oppressive force squeezing his throat, throbbing with pain, just as Yoizumi-nii pulled him back. Uzui Tengen, on that side, rushed forward first, wielding two katanas connected by a chain, slashing at the demon that had suddenly appeared.
"Clang."
A gash appeared on Uzui Tengen's arm. The demon's counter-attack was very fast, and, glancing at the wound, his scythe-like weapon was also highly poisonous!
The poison was quite potent. If he hadn't been a ninja, trained from childhood to build resistance to poison, an ordinary person would probably collapse in a few seconds. But he couldn't last much longer...?
It disappeared!
Yoizumi placed his hand on Uzui Tengen's injured area. Blood Demon Art: Rotation, easily neutralizing the poison. His blue eyes stared at the demon, which also had "Upper Rank Six" carved into its eyes.
Two Upper Rank Sixes?
But, clearly, this demon was the main one!
Its presence was much stronger than that crybaby's.
Tanjirou and the others were in great danger staying here. A large portion of the civilians had not yet evacuated.
"Tanjirou, you guys go evacuate the people!"
"Yoizumi-nii, I can help too!"
"Yes, I believe in Tanjirou, but evacuate the people first, then come back!"
Indeed, there were too many people here. If the demon attacked, it would be disastrous!
"Zenitsu! Inosuke! Follow me!"
A comatose Agatsuma Zenitsu followed their pace. Inosuke yelled in dissatisfaction, "Why should I listen to you!"
"Hurry!"
"I'm coming! Don't rush me!"
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