Daki unleashed everything she had.
"This time… I won't let you get close to me again!!!"
She held nothing back.
No matter what, she had to slice this man into pieces.
Thirteen ribbons danced wildly around Aoyama Ren's body.
When they struck the rooftop, they carved huge holes straight through it.
Broken tiles crashed into the room below, hitting the people inside.
Chaos instantly erupted.
Outside the door, the brothel owner shouted desperately:
"Don't come out! Everyone stay inside!"
"Hide! Just stay hidden!"
At this moment, the owner was no longer thinking about himself or his business.
More than anything—
He wanted Warabihime, the demon, to disappear forever.
Because of her presence, people in the brothel had been disappearing again and again.
To hide the truth and out of fear of her, he could only claim that the missing girls had been "bought out."
Now everything had become far too dangerous.
Meanwhile, Aoyama Ren faced the storm of thirteen ribbons.
With the Transparent World active, he could react to attacks that were nearly airtight.
To Tanjiro, the ribbons left no gaps.
But in Aoyama 's eyes—
There were small openings whenever they crossed each other.
As long as his speed was faster than the ribbons—
None of it would be a problem.
At that moment—
Nezuko suddenly snapped.
Her bamboo muzzle fell to the ground.
Her fangs were exposed.
"Ah!"
Tanjiro's eyes widened in shock.
He reached out to grab his sister—
But he was half a second too late.
Nezuko leapt onto the rooftop.
At the same time, Aoyama Ren slipped through the gaps in the ribbons and closed in on Daki.
His Nichirin blade flashed.
All thirteen ribbons were severed in an instant.
Nezuko landed beside them.
With one powerful kick—
She smashed half of Daki's head into pieces.
"Huff… huff…"
Strange sounds escaped from Nezuko's mouth.
Aoyama immediately understood.
This was not a good sign.
"You little brat!"
"You're the one I want to kill!"
"And you actually came out of the box yourself!"
"That saves me the trouble!"
Daki raged.
She hated anyone damaging her face.
Now half her head had been crushed by the brat.
Aoyama instantly rushed to Nezuko's side.
He covered her eyes with his hand and pulled her into his arms.
His voice softened.
"Don't worry."
"I'm here."
"Just sleep peacefully."
"When you wake up, everything will be normal again."
Nezuko's sudden rampage had been triggered by her instinct to protect him.
She sensed Aoyama was in danger.
That instinct was so strong that it began to shake the hypnotic suggestion Urokodaki had planted within her—
The belief that all humans were her family.
Watching the scene unfold, Daki was confused.
Both of them were demons.
So why was everything so different?
Under Aoyama 's gentle reassurance, Nezuko gradually calmed down.
The feral sounds faded.
Her eyes slowly closed.
But her hand still clutched tightly at his clothes.
"What the hell are you two doing?!"
Ribbons shot toward them again.
Aoyama swung his sword and cut them apart instantly.
The airflow around his blade now carried a faint crimson tint.
"You really deserve to die."
Even while holding the sleeping Nezuko, Aoyama 's movements didn't slow down.
Instead—
His blade became even sharper.
Suddenly—
The rooftop collapsed completely.
The entire structure crumbled.
Aoyama fell with Nezuko in his arms.
Daki fell as well, launching ribbons continuously as they descended.
She would kill them both—
No matter what.
She had to complete the mission given by Lord Muzan.
Outside, Tanjiro saw the roof collapse.
He immediately rushed inside.
He was worried about Aoyama and Nezuko.
"Total Concentration!"
"Light Breathing!"
"Fourth Form — Radiant Flash!"
A blade mark appeared across the wall.
Aoyama Ren appeared behind Daki while holding Nezuko.
Drops of blood slid down from the tip of his Nichirin blade.
Tanjiro rushed in just in time to see Daki's body sway.
She collapsed to her knees.
Both hands caught the head that had fallen from her neck.
"Is… is it over?"
Tanjiro froze.
Sweat covered Aoyama 's forehead.
The battle had drained a huge amount of his stamina.
Tanjiro stepped forward and carefully took Nezuko from Aoyama 's arms.
He hadn't expected Nezuko to care so deeply about Aoyama 's safety.
Of course—
He cared deeply too.
Suddenly—
A loud rumbling came from underground.
Boom!
Someone burst through the ground.
It was Tengen Uzui, who had been fighting in the underground food storage.
He glanced casually at Daki nearby and said:
"Let's hurry."
"We need to find the Upper Rank demon hiding here."
Tanjiro awkwardly pointed beside him.
"Uzui-san…"
"That is the Upper Rank demon."
"My Aoyama -senpai just cut her head off."
Uzui looked unimpressed.
"Tanjiro, don't joke around."
"She's an Upper Rank demon?"
"Give me a break."
"Let's move already."
He turned and started walking out.
At that moment—
Daki suddenly shouted through tears.
"You stop right there!"
"I am an Upper Rank demon!"
"A powerful Upper Rank demon!"
Uzui laughed mockingly.
"I've never seen such a weak Upper Rank demon."
"You're probably not even Lower Rank."
"You didn't even manage to hold on long enough for the great Uzui-sama to kill you!"
Hearing that, Aoyama Ren's expression twitched slightly.
So this guy was basically saying he was weak.
Fine.
He'd let it slide for now.
After the battle—
He'd settle the score.
"You cut off my head…"
"And you think you're leaving alive today?!"
Daki suddenly burst into loud sobbing.
Her crying completely stunned everyone.
The wailing grew louder and louder.
Uzui rubbed his ears irritably.
"Hey!"
"What are you crying for?"
"You're a demon!"
"Your head's already off!"
"Why aren't you turning to dust already?!"
Tanjiro realized something strange.
Normally, when a demon's head was cut off, its body would begin to collapse and turn into ashes.
But Daki's body showed no sign of disintegrating.
Was it because she was an Upper Rank?
Aoyama Ren already knew the answer.
Although he had cut off Daki's head—
The system notification had not appeared.
Which meant only one thing.
Daki wasn't truly dead.
The battle wasn't over yet.
Because her brother — Gyutaro — had not appeared.
Right now, Aoyama needed to regulate his breathing and recover the stamina he had consumed.
The real fight—
Was about to begin.
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