Gyutaro's death cry, which seemed to tear Yoshiwara's night sky, faded away, leaving only the acrid smoke of burning poison wine and Daki's desperate sobs.
Just as Tamamo-no-Mae was extending a cruel hand of salvation to Daki.
Hummm~
The space beside Tamamo rippled, and a red magic circle was drawn in the air. An overwhelming presence flowed from its center. An aura of a cold and absolute ruler, as if pressing down on all of Yoshiwara.
With his black coat fluttering, Akira revealed himself.
"Welcome, Master."
Tamamo gracefully bowed in greeting. Shuten Douji glanced over and lightly raised her hand.
"You're here? The banquet's all over, your timing's a bit off."
Instead of answering, Akira turned his gaze to Daki, who was lying crumpled on the ground.
"Eek!"
Daki instinctively trembled. If Shuten Douji was a fear like a massive natural disaster, this man was a fear like a bottomless abyss. A sensation different from when she stood before Muzan, as if her very soul was freezing.
Akira slowly approached Daki. The sound of his footsteps tightened around Daki's heart.
"Upper Moon Six... What a pathetic sight."
Akira's voice held no emotion whatsoever. It was the gaze of a master thoroughly evaluating a tool.
Akira crouched down and reached his hand toward Daki's head, which was filled with terror.
"Now, let's see. If there's any useful information in that head of yours."
Plunge!
Akira's fingers pierced Daki's forehead and dug into her brain.
"Gyaaaaah!!!"
Daki writhed in pain, but she couldn't escape Akira's grasp. It was a horrible sensation beyond physical pain, a violation of her very self.
With an expressionless face, Akira rummaged through Daki's memories. Her miserable past as a human, the numerous slaughters she committed after becoming a demon, the favor and missions she received from Muzan...
Countless memory fragments passed through Akira's mind. However, as time passed, Akira's brow furrowed.
'...Nothing.'
Akira clicked his tongue. Daki was merely one of Muzan's pawns. There was no strategically valuable information at all, such as Muzan's core plans or the specific locations of other Upper Moons.
All she knew was amusement and hunting within Yoshiwara.
Akira roughly pulled out his hand. Daki collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, gasping for breath.
"Only useless memories. I was a fool to expect anything."
Akira muttered as he shook off Daki's blood and brain matter from his hand.
His gaze turned to the deep purple puddle on the floor. It was the trace of Gyutaro melting away.
'Upper Moon Six is two in one... I thought if one was alive, the other could be regenerated.'
Akira analyzed the situation coldly.
If he could resurrect Gyutaro using Daki as a medium, it would have been a useful asset in many ways.
But the power of Shuten's Noble Phantasm, the Divine Demonic Poison Wine, was beyond imagination.
It melted not only Gyutaro's body but also the core that was its source, completely. A perfect annihilation that left no room for regeneration.
"Tsk. What a shame."
Akira's eyes turned cold. The principle is to dispose of tools that have become useless.
"Then this one is unnecessary too."
Akira raised his hand and aimed at Daki's neck. Crimson energy began to condense at his fingertips.
Daki couldn't even scream at the approaching shadow of death and tightly closed her eyes.
"Wait a moment, Master."
At that time, Tamamo gently blocked Akira's arm with her fan.
"What is it, Tamamo?"
"That girl, she still has uses. Isn't it too wasteful to just kill her?"
Tamamo looked down at the trembling Daki and smiled seductively.
"As you can see, this child's pride, power, and will have all been broken."
Tamamo's eyes sparkled as she looked at Akira.
"We must completely take over this Yoshiwara. One Mugenro is not enough. To dominate the light and darkness of this district, everything... we need a symbol that has long stood at the peak of this street."
At Tamamo's words, Akira withdrew his hand.
"Hmm, so you plan to set this one up as a puppet queen?"
"Yes, that's right. Her mind is already broken, so she'll be easy to handle. With a little education from me, she'll become a very pretty pet that wags its tail for you, Master. There's no better pawn to absorb and control the existing brothels, including Kyogokuya."
Akira stroked his chin as if pondering for a moment.
Tamamo's words made sense. This place is also an entertainment district, a street of pleasure. It could be called one of the economic hubs. A prime area for gathering money.
Since the plan was to eliminate Upper Moon Six and take over this place, Daki had value to be used.
"Alright. I'll trust your judgment."
Akira averted his gaze from Daki as if losing interest.
"Try to train her to be useful."
"Thank you, Master. I won't disappoint you."
Tamamo smiled satisfactorily and patted Daki's head. Daki could only shed tears mixed with relief and humiliation.
Akira cut his own palm with his nail to create a wound. Thick, crimson blood imbued with powerful demonic energy dripped down.
"Open your mouth."
At Akira's command, Daki dumbly opened her mouth. It was an absolute command that she couldn't refuse. Akira's blood flowed into Daki's mouth.
Gulp, gulp.
"Ugh... Aaah...!!"
Daki's body arched like a bow. A high-purity power, incomparable to Muzan's blood, flowed through her veins and began forcibly reassembling each of her cells.
An imprint of absolute obedience toward Akira, as solid as iron chains, was engraved on her soul.
Watching this scene, the faces of Mukago and Kumohime turned pale.
'Wait... He's giving his blood to that woman?'
They were anxious. Daki, although broken now, was originally Upper Moon Six.
From birth, she was of a different class from Lower Moons like themselves or ordinary demons. If she receives Akira's blood and undergoes a metamorphosis?
'It's only a matter of time before she becomes stronger than us! Just when we thought we were receiving Master's favor, why are we being pushed down the ranks again!'
Feeling a sense of crisis, Mukago forgot all decorum and clung to Akira's trouser leg.
"M-Master! This is too much!"
"What's the matter?"
"She was originally an Upper Moon! If you give your precious blood to a wench like that... what about us? We'll become trash again! I don't want to fall back to the bottom!"
As Mukago clung and sniffled, Kumohime beside her joined in.
"As Mukago-sama says, there may be value in using her... but please consider our position too, Master. We've also worked our bones off for you."
Akira chuckled as he looked at the small demons clinging to his leg. It was cute jealousy.
"Haha, so that's what you're worried about? Well, fine."
Akira made wounds on his other fingers and brought them to Mukago and Kumohime's mouths.
"Here, I'll give you some too. You've worked hard in this matter, so it's fitting compensation."
"M-Master...! As expected, only you care!"
Mukago and Kumohime gratefully sucked on Akira's fingers. Along with the surging sensation of power rising, a relief that they hadn't been discarded filled them.
After the blood-bestowing ceremony, Akira glanced over Daki, who was lying prone on the ground again.
She was gradually recovering with the power received, but her attire was still tattered from the battle's traces. No, it was problematic even when intact.
That embarrassing battle outfit, almost like underwear, with her chest and buttocks nearly fully exposed.
Akira's brow furrowed.
"By the way... what kind of outfit is that?"
"Huh?"
Tamamo asked back.
"Too vulgar. No matter if she's a brothel woman, she's not a prostitute, and what kind of outfit is that? It's unsightly."
Akira expressed displeasure purely from an aesthetic sense.
He thought that having a subordinate who will become his woman wearing such cheap, exhibitionist-like clothing would lower the master's dignity.
Of course, he had nothing to say about Shuten's outfit, but at least Shuten usually has a child-like physique and exudes a mysterious atmosphere befitting a demon.
And at least she wears an outer garment, doesn't she? Daki's outfit seemed vulgar in a different direction from Shuten's.
"Next time you bring her before me, dress her up prettily."
However, the interpretation of those words by Tamamo and the other demons was completely different.
'Oh my... Dress her up prettily?'
'Disliking whorish clothes means... he wants to cover her up in a pure and lovely style?'
'As expected, Master... he had his eye on Daki's figure!'
Tamamo smiled meaningfully and covered her mouth with her fan.
"Understood, Master. I'll dress her up... very carefully, according to your taste. You can look forward to it."
"Good. I leave it to you."
Akira didn't understand why Tamamo was smiling so sinisterly, but he let it pass, thinking she would handle it well.
Unintentionally, Daki was misunderstood to have been placed in Akira's nighttime service rotation.
Finally, Akira's gaze turned to Shuten Douji, who was pretending to be innocent.
"And you, Shuten."
"Huh? What? Did I do something wrong?"
Shuten deliberately tilted her head as if she didn't know.
Akira chuckled and approached her, grabbing Shuten's soft cheeks with both hands.
"You drunkard. I told you to do it moderately. What are we going to do if you completely melt Gyutaro like that?"
Akira playfully pulled and shook Shuten's cheeks like mochi.
Shuten played along for a bit, but as it went on, she became embarrassed and swung her arms.
"Ouch! It hurts! Let go! That bastard was the one who did something disgusting first! Begging for his life without any dignity as a demon! I did nothing wrong!"
Shuten struggled and mumbled. The sight of the great demon Shuten Douji whining with her cheeks grabbed would make anyone who knew her faint from shock.
"Be quiet. This is your punishment."
Akira lightly flicked Shuten's forehead.
"For the next few months, continue working as the oiran of Mugenro. Help Tamamo until we completely control Yoshiwara."
"What?! No! I've done enough! I was planning to rest and drink as much as I want now!"
Shuten shouted in panic. For her, who hates troublesome things more than anything in the world, being told to work more is the worst punishment.
"No. We need your power and reputation to educate Daki and settle the situation. No complaints, just do it."
At Akira's firm attitude, Shuten pouted.
"Tch... Fine. I'll do it. But later, you have to fill my wine with the highest quality stuff. If not, I'll go on strike."
"Alright, I got it. I'll prepare the highest quality for you."
Akira finally let go of Shuten's cheeks.
Shuten rubbed her tingling cheeks and grumbled, but a peculiar smile hung on her lips. It seemed she didn't entirely dislike the fact that Akira trusted her and entrusted her with work.
As the commotion in Yoshiwara was being settled.
In the Tama district on the outskirts of Tokyo, shrouded in quiet darkness.
Kanao and her party were searching through a forested abandoned house.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of stepping on leaves was the only thing breaking the silence. Kanao was sharpening her senses and tracking the presence of demons.
Following behind her, Ushiwakamaru lightly jumped from tree to tree, keeping watch on the surroundings.
And at the very back, Okita moved her steps quietly, her hakama fluttering.
"..."
Okita's brow slightly furrowed. The subtle smell that had been brushing the tip of her nose since a while ago.
It was different from the bloody smell of ordinary demons. Nor was it the smell of rotting corpses.
It was... a smell that lay dormant deep in her memory, very old and nostalgic, yet aching in a corner of her heart.
"Is something wrong?"
Kanao stopped walking and looked back. She sensed Okita's unusual atmosphere.
Instead of answering, Okita slowly placed her hand on her sword hilt. Her eyes stared piercingly into the deep part of the forest shrouded in night fog.
The wind blew. Mixed in with the cold night air, that smell became clearer.
It was the smell of sincerity.
The presence of one who holds Makoto.
Okita's lips moved slightly.
"...Shinsengumi."
Her heart sank. In this era, in this place, a smell that shouldn't be possible to encounter.
She felt the air of the barracks from the end of the shogunate, where she had belonged in life, already ruined and gone.
"I sense a familiar feeling. Very faint, but..."
Okita's voice had none of her usual playfulness; it was tinged with sharp tension and an inexplicable anticipation.
"As if... old comrades are nearby... that kind of feeling."
Where her gaze reached. In the darkness, a pair of red eyes flashed and disappeared.
It was not a simple demon, but an omen of a past ghost returning.