That heartbeat.. It was thick and distorted, filled with endless resentment and malice. It sounded like countless corpses churning in a swamp, the chilling scrape of bones grinding against one another.
"Eek!"
Zenitsu shuddered violently, the rag slipping from his hand and falling to the floor.
He clutched his ears tightly, cold sweat instantly soaking the back of his thin kimono.
Too terrifying.
That sound… it wasn't human at all!
This was a demon—and one far more horrifying than any demon he had encountered on Natagumo Mountain.
"The courtesan in this house… is a demon?!"
Zenitsu's legs went weak with fear, but the image of Rin standing alone in the front hall, facing that monster, flashed through his mind.
"No… even if Boss is strong, there are ordinary people everywhere here…"
Zenitsu gritted his teeth and forced himself to crawl to his feet. He wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand, his right hand gripping the hilt of the Nichirin Blade hidden inside the broom handle, and staggered toward the front hall.
Even if he was terrified, he was still a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps!
…
At the same time, in the back kitchen of Tokito House,
Tanjiro was carrying two large baskets of freshly washed radishes, about to take them down to the cellar. He had been working so hard that the makeup on his face was already completely smeared.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
A faint breeze drifted in from across the street.
Tanjiro's nose twitched twice, and his usually gentle dark red eyes shrank to pinpoints.
"Such a strong smell of blood…"
It wasn't just blood. Mixed within it was a rotten, cold demonic aura—one that felt as if it could freeze a person's very soul.
The source of that scent was Kyogoku House across the street.
"This scent… it's even stronger than the Lower Rank One on the Mugen Train!"
Tanjiro's breathing faltered for a moment.
Upper Rank.
It had to be an Upper Rank demon!
"Rin san and Zenitsu are both there!"
Tanjiro could no longer worry about the infiltration mission. He threw the basket from his shoulder, sending radishes rolling across the floor.
"Sorry, ma'am! I have something urgent to deal with!"
He shouted to the busy madam in the kitchen, kicked open the back door, and sprinted straight toward Kyogoku House.
"Hinokami Kagura… Total Concentration Breathing…"
As he ran, he frantically adjusted his breathing, his hand already gripping the hilt of his Nichirin Blade. Even though Rin was strong, this was the densely populated Entertainment District.
If an Upper Rank demon went on a rampage here, countless innocent people would be caught in the disaster.
…
Ogimoto House, second-floor guest room.
Inosuke was being pinned in front of a dressing table by several older attendants, who were forcefully applying makeup to his delicate face.
"Oh my, this girl has such good features, it's just that her temperament is too rough."
"Don't move, don't move! If you keep squirming, the lipstick will end up crooked!"
Inosuke was so irritated he nearly bit someone, but remembering Tengen Uzui's warning, he could only snort angrily through his nose, suppressing the urge to draw his blades and cut down the entire group of old women.
At that moment, his sharpened instincts, honed through years of living in the mountains, caught a strange disturbance.
The air was trembling.
A faint yet malicious prickling sensation spread across his skin.
This feeling was exactly like when he faced the fiercest beasts deep in the mountains—the kind that had already bared their fangs, ready to tear out a throat at any moment.
Killing intent!
Inosuke's eyes snapped open as he shoved aside the old maids surrounding him.
"What are you doing, Inoko! Your makeup isn't finished yet!" they cried out.
"Don't get in my way! The prey has appeared!"
Inosuke couldn't be bothered with any of it. He tore off the lower half of the kimono that restricted his movement, revealing the powerful muscles beneath and the twin blades strapped to his legs.
Ignoring the door entirely, he kicked through the paper window on the second floor. Wood splintered and paper tore apart as he leapt out like a beast descending from the mountains, crashing heavily onto the street below.
"Beast Breathing—First Fang: Pierce!"
With an excited roar, Inosuke drew his dual serrated Nichirin Blades and charged straight toward Kyogoku House, following the direction of the killing intent.
…
Back in the first-floor lobby of Kyogoku House,
At the turn of the staircase on the second floor, Daki, known as Warabihime, wore a completely twisted expression.
For hundreds of years, relying on her identity as Upper Rank Six and her flawless beauty, she had ruled over this Entertainment District. Whether nobles or commoners, who didn't tremble in fear and flatter her upon seeing her?
Even the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps were nothing more than prey to be torn apart before her.
And yet now, some human boy who had appeared out of nowhere not only smashed a wine cup in public, but even dared to point at her and call her ugly, mocking her as a fraud?
"You… are asking for death!!!"
Daki laughed in fury, her originally seductive voice turning sharp and shrill, like the screech of a night owl.
Bang!
The ornate, layered kimono behind her burst apart!
Several long, beautiful sashes patterned with strange designs shot out from her back like living serpents.
They looked soft, but their edges were as sharp as the finest blades.
"I'll mince you into pieces, stuff you into my sashes, and slowly savor your screams!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four sashes tore through the air with piercing shrieks, striking toward Rin's neck, heart, and limbs from four different blind spots. They were so fast the naked eye could barely follow them, leaving only faint afterimages behind.
The surrounding patrons hadn't even realized what was happening before the fatal attack was already upon Rin.
Seeing the ribbons about to slice him into pieces, a cruel smile spread across Daki's lips on the staircase.
Clang—!
A clear, ringing note of steel echoed through the hall.
No one saw when Rin drew his blade.
All they saw was a flash of pitch-black sword light, laced with dazzling purple lightning, tracing a perfect arc before Rin.
Slash!
The seemingly indestructible Blood Demon Art sashes were sliced cleanly in two the instant they came into contact with the black blade wrapped in crackling lightning.
The severed sashes lost all control and fell limply onto the wooden floor, faint purple sparks still flickering along the cuts.
"What?!"
Daki's pupils shrank as she stared in disbelief at the broken sashes scattered across the ground.
Her Blood Demon Art… had been severed in an instant? And what kind of weapon was that? It didn't have the distinct sheen of a Nichirin Blade—and it carried lightning?
Rin slowly lowered the Kusanagi sword in his hand, the tip angled toward the floor.
He looked up at Daki on the stairs, her expression a mix of shock and fury, and a cold, mocking smile curved across his lips.
"Just a few scraps of cloth, and you dare to show them off like that?"
His voice was calm, but laced with unmistakable contempt.
"Call out the brother hiding behind you. Trash like you, without even a brain, isn't worth making me draw my sword a second time."
____
I wanted "You… are asking for death!!!" to be 'Courting Death' for meme purposes.. but then decided not to coz most of you guys are already traumatised XD
12 Advance chapters:Patreon/slept01