Half a month since Shuten debuted in Yoshiwara under the name Ibuki Oiran.
In that short time, the order of the pleasure district was completely overturned.
When night fell, the central streets of Yoshiwara were filled with crowds heading toward Mugenro.
"If I can't see Ibuki Oiran today, I'd rather bite my tongue and die!"
"Please! I'll give all my wealth, just let me brush against the hem of her garment!"
The entrance of Mugenro was filled with magical devices installed by Tamamo.
From the red lanterns, a red mist that blurred vision billowed up, and the sweet, sticky scent wafting from the entire building paralyzed men's reason, making them indulge only in instinct and pleasure.
Numerous courtesans seduced the men, and even those who came to see Ibuki Oiran but weren't chosen fell under their spell as second-best options.
At the center of that dream, in the top-floor special room, Ibuki was seated.
Against a backdrop of a gorgeous gold-leaf screen, she lay reclined with her purple kimono hem disheveled.
In her hand was a large golden cup, and in her other hand, a long pipe was held.
"Ma, drink it all up. What's a man without liquor but a corpse?"
Ibuki laughed in thick Kyoto dialect as she offered the alcohol.
Before her, high-ranking officials and merchants knelt, entranced.
Speech and attitude that would have been pointed at as vulgar under normal circumstances.
But when Ibuki did it, it became a different level of wild charm, an unapproachable charisma.
"Ah, Ibuki Oiran. You are truly not of this world..."
An old nobleman took the cup with trembling hands. Ibuki looked at him and flashed her bewitching eyes.
"That's right. I ain't from this world. I'm a demon descended from high above, one you lot dare not approach, ain't I?"
At her joke-laced truth, the room burst into laughter, but behind that laughter lay instinctive fear and awe.
She did not sell her body.
Nor did she sell her laughter.
She merely existed there, keeping men at her feet, enjoying liquor with the wealth and vitality they offered as side dishes.
As Ibuki exhaled pipe smoke in a puff, purple smoke filled the room.
The men who inhaled that smoke fell into ecstasy, their eyes rolling back.
Yoshiwara's night was now becoming an altar for fanatics worshiping under the sun named Ibuki.
On the other hand, the scene at Kyogokuy, which had reigned as the absolute powerhouse of Yoshiwara for decades, was pitiful.
The once splendid banquet hall was empty, and the sound of musicians' performances had long ceased.
With customers' footsteps abruptly cut off, the courtesans gathered in the corridor, whispering idly.
"Hey, did you hear? Lord Tatsugoro went to Mugenro yesterday."
"Really? He was a regular of Warabihime Oiran."
"Once you see Ibuki Oiran, no other woman catches your eye, I hear..."
Crash!
Then, from the most lavish room on the third floor, a sound of something shattering was heard, and the courtesans screamed and scattered.
Warabihime's room.
Expensive ceramics and ornaments lay shattered on the floor, and Warabihime stood panting heavily.
Her beautiful face was grotesquely distorted with jealousy and anger.
"Why... why is everyone going to that bitch! I'm prettier! I'm more beautiful!"
Daki scratched her arm with her nails.
Wounds formed and blood welled, but the demon's regeneration repeated the process of healing quickly.
"Master! Where's the master! Tell him to come out right now!"
As Daki shouted loudly, the master of Kyogokuy came running, pale-faced.
"Wa, Warabihime-sama... You called..."
"Bring today's reservation book! How many? How many men are coming to see me today!"
The master couldn't bring himself to speak and lowered his head.
"...There are none."
"What?"
"Even those who had reservations... all canceled... to go to Mugenro..."
"You useless old man!!"
She grabbed the master by the collar and lifted him.
An impulse arose to twist his neck and kill him immediately.
But the rationality that the shop would truly go bankrupt if she did so barely held her back.
Warabihime threw the master to the floor.
"Get out! I can't stand the sight of you, so get out now!"
As the master fled the room, Daki slumped on the bed and clutched her head.
'Ibuki... what is that bitch's true identity?'
Warabihime had seen Ibuki a few days ago while passing by Mugenro.
There was no demon scent. No scent of Muzan's blood either.
But that overwhelming presence.
The eerie eyes that made even her, an Upper Moon, shiver down her spine the moment they met.
'I'm scared... No! There's no way I'm scared! I'm an Upper Moon! A special existence chosen by Muzan-sama!'
She forcibly denied the fear, but her trembling fingertips wouldn't stop. Her world was crumbling.
Then, the door quietly opened.
"Oiran-sama, are you feeling any better?"
It was Kumohime.
Without changing her expression even after seeing the ruined room, she entered with a tray holding warm tea and a red silk box.
"You..."
Warabihime looked at Kumohime with powerless eyes.
Ironically, the only one left by her side was an employee of the Akatsuki Trading Company, the same affiliate as the hateful Mugenro.
Of course, no one knows that Akatsuki Trading Company is behind Mugenro.
"I heard Mugenro is riding high these days. For the owners to steal customers without any business ethics, it's utterly vulgar."
Kumohime took her side and offered a teacup.
"But Oiran-sama, don't be too disheartened. Trends come and go. When they get tired of Mugenro, the customers will return to your noble beauty."
"Really... do you think so?"
"Of course. And look at this."
Kumohime opened the silk box. Inside was a dazzling, highest-quality diamond necklace.
"This is an item secured from a Western trade ship. Mugenro also coveted it, but our branch manager refused outright, saying such a treasure can only be worn by Warabihime-sama."
It was a clear lie. Bait thrown by Tamamo to placate Warabihime.
But to Warabihime, whose self-esteem had hit rock bottom, those words were like salvation.
"Is, is that so? You didn't sell it to that bitch at Mugenro?"
"Yes. It's exclusively for Oiran-sama."
Daki put the necklace around her neck and looked in the mirror. The sparkling gem breathed life into her fading eyes.
"That's right... I'm the best. Akatsuki Trading Company has an eye for quality."
Warabihime nodded at Kumohime's words. She was already becoming addicted to the sweet poison offered by Akatsuki Trading Company, unable to find stability without them.
That night, in the oiran room of Mugenro.
Ibuki lay with her head on Tamamo's lap, her face flushed from alcohol.
Tamamo gently cleaned her ears while giving a soft report.
"Daki is at the edge of a cliff now. According to Kumohime's report, when alone, her hysteria reaches its peak, leading to self-harm."
"Kehahaha! Serves her right. For an Upper Moon, her mental state is like tofu, tofu."
Ibuki laughed until her belly ached.
"Shuten-san, we need one final blow now. To completely break her and make her crawl to us on her own."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same."
Ibuki sat up abruptly. Her eyes curved playfully yet cruelly.
"Tomorrow night, let's hold a Hyakka Yororan Banquet at Mugenro."
"A Hyakka Yororan Banquet..."
"Invite all the notable courtesans of Yoshiwara. Unlimited liquor and meat. And... the most important guest, send an invitation to Warabihime."
Tamamo covered her mouth with a fan and asked.
"Will that proud child come? It's clearly a place to be humiliated."
"We'll make her come. Tell Kumohime to tickle her ego."
Ibuki spun her pipe.
"Say something like~ Ibuki Oiran respects Warabihime-sama and wants to learn from her~ as the two pillars of Yoshiwara, let's create a harmony banquet... hype it up like that. And crucially, if she doesn't come, imply that the whole Yoshiwara will laugh at her for running away. With her personality, she'll come even if her eyes roll back in fury."
"Fufufu, how cruel. Making her taste the feeling of being a mere extra in her own territory, not the protagonist?"
"That's the difference in class, ain't it? Tomorrow night, we'll brand into that brat's brain who the real master of Yoshiwara is... with a hot iron."
Ibuki downed the remaining liquor in the gourd in one gulp.
Someone might ask about their actions and plans. Why go through such troublesome efforts?
If Daki, Upper Moon Six, is the target, couldn't they just kill her? Is there really a need to go this far?
The answer was simple.
Amusement.
They were having fun with prey that could be killed at any time.
Especially for Shuten Douji.
It was the amusement she desired.
Demons called blood demons. Such lowly ghosts claiming to be demons, being called demons, becoming objects of fear to humans, looking down on humans, and being in the position of hunters in this world.
All of it was displeasing.
As the strongest demon, the ruler of demons, the existence at the peak, it was intolerable.
Man-eating ghosts that aren't even like demons calling themselves demons, referring to themselves as demons.
Hence, she delivers judgment.
The punishment given to Daki, Upper Moon Six.
Kill her socially, then kill her physically.
Shuten Douji's divine punishment upon a lowly ghost that pretends to be a demon.
It was the playfield of a true demon. Akira merely allowed his woman to do as she pleased.
Amusingly, through her play, Daki was gradually prolonging her life.