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"Is this fun?"
"Is this amusing?"
A cold voice rang out in the silent night. Kiyokawa Izumi gently set down the child in his arms. Within his blood-red pupils, three tomoe spun wildly, as if reflecting a burning flame.
He took the initiative to walk toward the Demon, his pace not slow at all.
Facing the weaponless Kiyokawa Izumi, the Demon, stared down by those ominous eyes, couldn't muster even a shred of courage to fight. Without the slightest hesitation, it turned and fled.
It didn't even pull out the nichirin blade stuck in its shoulder; it didn't even dare to try.
"Why are you running?"
"Weren't you acting quite arrogant just now?"
Kiyokawa Izumi's voice was exceptionally calm, yet his speed was not slow in the least.
You want to run just because you're scared, and then continue eating people once you've recovered? How could such a good deal exist in this world?
Using the scabbard in his hand, Kiyokawa Izumi threw it with indignation.
Struck from a distance, the Demon struggled to maintain its balance and fell pathetically from the roof.
It struggled to get up, but its body trembled uncontrollably, refusing to obey.
Heavy footsteps approached from behind, the distance between them closing rapidly.
It turned around in a panic and met those cold eyes. It felt a sense of oppression coming from the depths of its Soul. It wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but in its daze, it actually thought of that man.
That incomparably terrifying existence.
In truth, Kiyokawa Izumi and Muzan didn't look alike.
Their eyes were also completely different.
The reason the Demon associated him with that person was simply because that person was the most terrifying existence in its heart.
The toxin spread rapidly through its body. Purple-black veins snaked across its skin like small serpents. Its physical structure was being destroyed, its strength devoured, and even its vision began to blur.
Kiyokawa Izumi gripped the nichirin blade embedded in the Demon's shoulder. Without a hint of sympathy, his arm muscles bulged as he swiftly pulled the blade out.
'Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!'
A sharp and swift slash traced an arc like a crescent moon, easily severing the Demon's neck as if it were cutting through tofu.
"Go to Hell and repent!"
Kiyokawa Izumi crouched down, watching the Demon's severed head rapidly disintegrate like ash, and said calmly.
"One more thing, Hell does exist in this world."
Having done all this, he panted heavily.
Was it because his strength had grown that he could kill the Demon so easily?
That wasn't it.
If not for the poison Kochou Shinobu had prepared for him, the battle wouldn't have been so easy.
He would have surely been caught in a bitter struggle.
After a moment of adjustment, he slowly stood up. Looking at the corpse of the child not far away, his feelings were somewhat complicated.
His first mission wasn't so perfect.
If the Demon Slayer Corps had discovered the Demon's presence earlier, if he had arrived a bit sooner, perhaps there wouldn't have been so many victimized children.
Twelve. It was just a cold number on paper, but behind it were twelve different families.
But the reality of the world is that there are no "ifs."
'Sigh.'
With a soft sigh, Kiyokawa Izumi turned and left.
Fighting is the duty of the Team Members; a Hidden Member would come to take over afterward.
To Kiyokawa Izumi, his anger was only momentary—to put it bluntly, the victims had no relation to him. Witnessing this scene, his feelings might be complicated or low, but he wouldn't be too deeply affected.
If the victim were someone he loved, he might truly have lost his mind in rage.
Fortunately, to this world, he was just a passerby.
The things he worried about wouldn't happen.
Being alone, as long as he didn't form bonds with people, he wouldn't be so sad when he lost them... When the first ray of morning sunlight broke through the clouds and spilled onto the earth, Kiyokawa Izumi had already returned to the Butterfly Mansion.
Having no sense of belonging in this world, he actually had nowhere else to go.
"Good morning. Did the mission go smoothly?"
In the courtyard, Kochou Shinobu asked with a smile.
"It went well enough... Thanks, the poison you prepared was very useful."
Hearing this, Kochou Shinobu's eyes crinkled with a smile; such praise seemed to put her in a good mood.
"Oh, right, can I borrow some money?"
?"
Kochou Shinobu tilted her head slightly, looking at him with some confusion.
"I'm planning to go on a long journey."
Kiyokawa Izumi said seriously, "I intend to visit a Trainer."
This was, of course, the truth.
His skin was thick enough that he didn't feel embarrassed about borrowing money from a girl.
"A Trainer... Is it your Master?"
"No, it's someone else."
Kiyokawa Izumi shook his head. He really didn't know what kind of mood he should have to see the original owner's Master, so in that case, it was better not to meet.
The one he actually wanted to visit was someone else.
That's right, the Former Water Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji!
After all, he had only recently mastered the Breathing Technique, and his foundation wasn't very solid.
Staying at the Butterfly Mansion allowed for some basic training, but for him, it wasn't the optimal choice.
Kochou Shinobu's fighting style was too different from his, and her self-created Insect Breathing wasn't suitable for him either.
Even if he used these eyes to imitate and replicate, it would be difficult to learn too much—not that he couldn't learn anything at all, it just wasn't the optimal choice.
Observing the Former Water Hashira and learning to replicate his Swordsmanship and Breathing Technique would allow his strength to increase rapidly in a short amount of time.