Laughter rang out from outside.
The Temari Demon, Susamaru—a short-haired girl in a kimono—laughed brightly.
"Ahahaha! The ball got sliced! This is getting fun!"
Beside her stood the Arrow Demon, Yahaba, dressed like a monk with his eyes closed. He chuckled as well.
"Indeed. Much more entertaining now. Have you decided how to kill them?"
Two temari balls appeared in Susamaru's hands.
As she hurled them, she grinned viciously.
"Of course—cruelly!"
Her orange-yellow eyes gleamed in the night. Sharp fangs flashed between her lips.
The temari balls pierced through the wall again and shot into the house.
Aoyama frowned slightly.
Susamaru's balls were devastatingly powerful. Fighting in a confined space put them at a disadvantage.
Worse still—
Yahaba's Blood Demon Art could alter the trajectory of the balls at will.
That made things troublesome.
One speeding ball shot straight toward Lady Tamayo.
Yushiro leapt forward without hesitation, shielding her.
The ball paused for half a second—
Then abruptly changed direction.
From behind—
It blasted Yushiro's head clean off.
"Ahhh!!! Yushiro!!!"
Tanjiro shouted as Yushiro's body collapsed.
Aoyama stepped onto a cabinet and vaulted upward, driving his blade straight through the ball that had struck Yushiro.
"Tanjiro! Protect Nezuko."
With that, he dodged another incoming ball and burst out of the room, landing lightly on the rooftop.
"Tut, tut. Big and burly—not very lady-like."
Susamaru's orange eyes locked onto him.
This must be the other boy Muzan-sama mentioned.
Earlier, she'd clearly seen the boy with hanafuda earrings holding someone—another demon.
"Hehehe. Three birds with one stone." She counted on her fingers. "The hanafuda boy, you, and those traitors inside. I'll bring all your heads back to Muzan-sama!"
Inside the house, Nezuko carried the injured woman down to the basement at Tanjiro's request.
Meanwhile, Yushiro's head regenerated.
Seeing it regrow, Tanjiro was startled—but quickly reminded himself: demon. Of course.
"Oi, oi—where are you looking? I'm better-looking than Tanjiro, you know!"
Aoyama leapt down from the rooftop toward Susamaru.
Total Concentration!
Water Breathing!
Second Form—Water Wheel!
As he neared her, his body flipped in a full three-hundred-sixty-degree rotation. When he halted midair, he was directly above her—
His blade cleaved off one of her arms.
Blood sprayed violently.
Landing smoothly, Aoyama said with mock politeness,
"See? I warned you to look at me."
Yahaba took two steps back immediately.
He had a severe cleanliness obsession.
One hand, bearing an eye in its palm, instinctively shielded his body.
"Ugh! Susamaru! Can't you be more careful? Your blood nearly got on my clothes!"
She shot him an annoyed look.
"Your clothes aren't even dirty!"
As she spoke, her severed arm regenerated instantly.
"Hahaha!"
She laughed sharply and tore off her upper kimono, revealing both hands.
Aoyama narrowed his eyes.
Big move coming.
He stepped back casually.
"Hey! Just because I hurt you doesn't mean you have to strip for me. I'm not interested in your bulky figure."
Inside, Tanjiro and Yushiro both developed black lines across their foreheads.
At a time like this, he was still joking?
Tanjiro coughed awkwardly. "My senior brother… likes making jokes…"
Susamaru grew even more excited.
"This is fun! So fun! Come—feel honored to be killed by me, one of the Twelve Kizuki!"
"Twelve Kizuki?" Tanjiro gripped his sword tighter.
Behind him, Tamayo explained calmly,
"The Twelve Kizuki are Kibutsuji Muzan's direct subordinates."
Aoyama looked at Susamaru with faint pity.
Another one deceived by Muzan.
She didn't even realize she wasn't truly one of the Twelve Kizuki.
Suddenly—
Something bulged from both sides of her body.
Bang!
Two additional pairs of arms burst forth.
Six arms in total.
Each hand held a temari ball, bouncing rhythmically.
Aoyama shielded his eyes slightly.
Can't call her "burly" anymore.
Now she was—
Six-armed overachiever?
"Come! Let's play until dawn! Play until death! Hahaha!"
Six balls pounded in unison.
With a flick—
Three flew toward Tanjiro inside.
Three came hurtling at Aoyama.
"Hey—I can play with you until death. But I can't promise we'll make it to sunrise."
Aoyama grinned.
He dashed sideways, evading the incoming balls with swift footwork.
If he moved fast enough—
They wouldn't last until dawn.
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