In Raiden's opinion, Kaigaku, who had become Upper Moon Six, was at best comparable to Rui, the Lower Moon Five he had killed before. Calling Kaigaku an Upper Moon felt like an exaggeration.
Still, that was a matter for later.
For now, Raiden focused on Kaigaku as he cautiously stepped into the courtyard.
Standing on the eaves, Raiden observed everything clearly with the help of his abilities, Line of Seizing and Echoing Ears. The courtyard appeared as clear to him as if he possessed x-ray vision.
His perception is terrible.
Raiden shook his head just as Kaigaku reached for the door.
He already knew a demon was inside the house, yet he still charged in without caution. Did he think he was Inosuke?
Inosuke could compensate for reckless actions with extraordinary instincts and reactions. But Kaigaku did not possess that kind of talent.
As expected, the moment Raiden finished thinking this, a blood-black hand covered in coarse fur suddenly shot out from the darkness inside the room.
It slammed into Kaigaku's Nichirin blade.
Kaigaku clearly had not anticipated the ambush. The strike landed with full force.
Bang.
Kaigaku and his blade were thrown several meters backward. His body crashed violently into the courtyard wall before sliding down to the ground.
Raiden glanced at the demon stepping out from the house.
The creature was tall and heavily built, its muscles bulging like a grotesque statue carved in the shape of a devil.
Its face looked neither human nor beast. Blood-red eyes burned like blazing embers. Where a nose should have been, a grayish black tentacle wriggled.
The entire face looked unnatural, as if two completely different creatures had been stitched together.
Its shoulders and arms were no longer human either. Several long tentacle-like limbs twisted around one another like snakes.
Each tentacle seemed packed with terrifying power.
Black scales covered them, glimmering faintly with an eerie light that seemed capable of swallowing living beings whole.
The demon's body was wrapped in the same dark scales, radiating a suffocating evil aura.
In its hand hung a massive iron chain. Numerous dark rings were locked along its length, each stained with dried black blood.
Raiden clicked his tongue.
"A high-talent demon. Kaigaku is going to have trouble."
Before reaching his current level, Raiden had spent a long time searching for demons with superior talent and found nothing. Now one appeared almost immediately.
Unfortunately, it had little value to him now.
Raiden had no interest in forming any kind of connection with it.
His strength had improved, and naturally his standards had risen as well.
Aside from its raw potential, the demon had nothing worth his attention. Its chain-based Blood Demon Art did not interest him at all.
Meanwhile, Kaigaku forced himself up from the ground.
His face was slightly flushed as he noticed the shocked expressions of the Demon Slayer Corps members nearby.
He had come to carry out a mission, not to embarrass himself.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form, Rice Spirit!"
Kaigaku roared as pale arcs of electricity wrapped around his Nichirin blade.
He charged straight at the demon.
Raiden frowned when he saw the technique.
Wasn't this Second Form a little too crude?
It looked flashy, but the real destructive power still relied heavily on the fundamentals of Thunder Breathing.
Kaigaku clashed with the demon.
Even if Raiden considered the technique unimpressive, it still forced the demon onto the defensive.
Kaigaku used nearly every Thunder Breathing form except the First Form before he finally managed to suppress the creature.
Thunder Breathing's Second Form, Rice Spirit, consisted of several lightning-fast slashes delivered in rapid succession.
Raiden yawned as he watched the fight unfold in the courtyard.
At this rate, the demon would eventually be worn down and killed.
The electric arcs surrounding Kaigaku's blade slowed the demon's movements considerably. It would only be a matter of time before its head rolled across the ground.
Still, Kaigaku was not unharmed.
Several ribs had been shattered by the demon's iron chain. The flesh on his shoulder had also been torn open.
"Don't let it escape!"
The demon seemed to realize the situation was turning against it.
After whipping Kaigaku away with its iron chain, it suddenly turned and rushed toward the courtyard gate.
Three Demon Slayer Corps members stood frozen near the entrance.
When they saw the massive demon charging straight toward them, fear rooted them to the spot.
Kaigaku cursed inwardly at their uselessness.
Then he leapt into the air, vaulting over the demon and landing directly in its path.
The demon's eyes burned with bloodlust when it saw him again.
Wrapping the iron chain around its fist, it launched a brutal punch at Kaigaku.
Kaigaku's eyes lit up.
The attack looked terrifying, but the demon had completely exposed its neck.
As long as he dodged the punch, he could easily cut off its head.
However, dodging would mean the Demon Slayer Corps member behind him would take the hit.
If that fist landed on the weak human body behind him, the man would likely explode into pieces.
But this chance to decapitate the demon was too perfect.
Kaigaku hesitated for only a moment.
Then he made his decision.
He shifted his body slightly to the side while lightning crackled along his blade.
The sword swung straight toward the demon's neck.
There was no guilt in Kaigaku's eyes.
Only excitement.
In his mind, the Demon Slayer behind him was useless anyway.
If the man died but allowed him to kill the demon, then that sacrifice was worthwhile.
Besides, the demon's huge body blocked the view of the other two slayers nearby.
They would not see what truly happened.
Instead, they would believe he had done everything he could.
Pfft.
The blade sliced cleanly into the demon's neck.
Kaigaku's lips curled slightly upward.
Even though he looked somewhat battered, killing a C-rank demon would still be considered a great achievement.
As for the Demon Slayer directly facing the demon's fist, terror filled his face.
The other two members had no idea what just happened.
But he understood perfectly.
The swordsman sent by headquarters had used him as a stepping stone to kill the demon.
He could have blocked the attack.
But he chose not to.
His safety had meant nothing.
The iron fist rushed closer and closer.
The Demon Slayer slowly closed his eyes in despair.
Kaigaku was the strongest Demon Slayer sent to Kawamoto City this time.
If even he did not care whether this man lived or died, who else could possibly save him?
Still, one thought remained in his mind.
He hated that he would die without tearing away Kaigaku's hypocritical mask.
Someone who disregarded the lives of his comrades should not be praised as a hero.
That hypocrisy disgusted him.
Then a faint sound reached his ears.
Puff.
The noise was so soft it was almost impossible to notice.
Had he already died?
The Demon Slayer opened his eyes in confusion.
The massive iron fist had stopped only inches from his nose.
His eyes widened.
What happened?
Why had the fist stopped?
Was it because the demon had been beheaded?
That should not be possible.
Even if the demon lost strength after decapitation, the momentum from such a powerful strike should have carried through.
Then he noticed something strange.
There was a small blood hole at the very center of the demon's fist.
That hole had definitely not been there before.