"Don't worry, you little pervert. You already know my ability isn't built for the front lines," Rika said with a lazy smile. "I'll stay in the back and cover everyone. None of the girls are getting hurt on my watch."
Shuya gave her a nod.
Out of all his contractors, Yuriko and Rika were the weakest in direct combat. But if the fight stayed inside the Butterfly Mansion grounds, Rika might actually be the safest one here. Her Nen ability was long-range sniping. She just needed a high vantage point — preferably one of the wisteria trees on the outer perimeter. Demons instinctively avoided wisteria, and even if one got close, she still had the cola fan to blast it away.
Shuya wasn't planning to sit back and do nothing either. His En would cover the entire battlefield. The second any of the girls got into real trouble, he'd step in.
"Counting on you, Rika-nee."
He swept his gaze over the rest of the girls. "Alright. Move out."
Rika was the first to act. She summoned the cola fan, charged out of the room, and started smacking every demon in her path like they were baseballs. She scanned the area, spotted a good high point, and launched herself toward it using Nen-enhanced steps. Once she was perched safely among the wisteria branches, she dismissed the fan and manifested her real weapon — a sleek sniper rifle.
She wasn't in a rush to start picking off small fry. Instead she swept the battlefield, looking for Shizuka first. If she'd promised backup, she was going to deliver.
It didn't take long to find her. The giant wooden dragons Shizuka was controlling were kind of hard to miss.
Rika clicked her tongue. "Shuya really is biased. Gave that lazy woman such an overpowered ability… Can she even use it properly?"
She wasn't actually jealous. The fan Shizuka had given her was perfect for her fighting style. Still, watching those massive dragons tear through demons made her wonder if Shuya had wasted the taiko drums on someone who preferred napping.
Complaints aside, Rika shouldered the rifle and took aim at Muzan, ready to support Shizuka the moment she needed it.
Meanwhile, the other girls had already found their targets.
Saeko went straight for the strongest swordsman present — Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
Kokushibo studied her with genuine interest. "Impressive fighting spirit. If you became a demon and gained eternal life, you might actually have a chance of surpassing me someday."
Saeko's fingers tightened around Reizan. She could feel the blade vibrating in her grip — or maybe that was her own excitement. Shuya didn't want Kokushibo's Blood Demon Art. That meant she was free to kill him.
She smiled. "Let's see if Yoriichi's big brother is actually strong enough to excite me."
The moment she said that name, Kokushibo's expression darkened. Four hundred years of suppressed rage and inferiority complex flared up at once. He drew his Nichirin blade without another word, killing intent pouring off him like a storm.
Saeko's grin widened. Perfect.
Their figures blurred. In seconds they exchanged over a hundred strikes. When they reappeared, Saeko's jacket had a clean slice across the front, but Kokushibo was completely unharmed. He'd won the first exchange.
Still, he looked surprised. "Another genius like my brother…?"
Saeko rolled her shoulder and raised Reizan again. "One more round."
Kokushibo's eyes narrowed. If this girl kept growing, she really might become a problem. He decided to end her here and now.
Elsewhere, Rei was surrounded by a swarm of lower demons. Her spear spun in wide arcs, knocking demons away, but the numbers were overwhelming. Even with her strength, a spear wasn't ideal for fighting in every direction at once.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and whispered, "En."
A thin sphere of aura expanded around her — only about 2.5 meters in radius. For most people that would be pathetic, but for Rei it was perfect. Her fighting style revolved around her spear's reach. Anything inside that circle was within striking distance.
Then she activated her Hatsu.
"Weakling's Resolve."
Her consciousness shifted into a strange third-person view. Her body moved on pure instinct, faster and stronger than before. Demons inside her En were torn apart in seconds. But the ability had a cost. The moment she deactivated it, exhaustion hit her like a truck.
She stumbled.
Saya arrived just in time, lightning crackling from the five black metal rods floating behind her. One casual gesture sent a web of electricity across the battlefield, frying every demon in range.
"Rei! Why'd you use that move already?" Saya scolded as she walked over, one hand on her hip. "You know how bad the backlash is. We still have to team up and drain Shuya dry after this fight, remember?"
Rei gave her a tired smile. "Sorry, Saya. There were just… too many."
Saya sighed, but she was secretly thrilled. Finally — a chance to say something cool in front of her friend. She pushed her glasses up with one finger, trying to look dramatic.
Before she could say anything else, Rei suddenly went limp and collapsed into her arms.
"Rei?! Hey, wake up!"
Saya's first thought was the side effect of Rei's ability. Then she noticed something was off. This wasn't normal exhaustion.
Her eyes widened. "Shit… she got hit with a Blood Demon Art. Lower Moon One's dream ability? When the hell did that happen?!"
She didn't have time to figure it out. A dark shape lunged at her from the side. Saya twisted, shielding Rei with her body, and barely dodged.
When she looked back, the thing that had attacked them was… a fish?
"Gyokko?" Saya muttered, recognizing the Upper Rank Five's grotesque fish demons. She felt a surge of irritation. Perfect. She had a lot of pent-up frustration and nowhere to put it.
"Bad timing, fish boy. I've got a lot of stress to work off before I go find Shuya and Yuriko-nee."
The metal rods behind her crackled with lightning. In the next second, electricity exploded outward in a wide net, turning every demon and fish in the immediate area into charred corpses.
While Saya was dealing with that mess, Yuriko had found her own target.
Rui — the white-haired spider demon — stood in front of her, fingers playing with red threads like he was doing cat's cradle. The moment he sensed Yuriko's presence, something in his expression shifted. He tilted his head, almost childlike.
"…Mama?"
Yuriko's eye twitched so hard it was a miracle it didn't pop out.
She stared at the spider kid like he'd just personally offended her entire bloodline.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Rui kept staring at her with that weird, hopeful look. In his twisted mind, Yuriko gave off the perfect "mother" aura. He was already planning how to turn her into his new family member for his little house-playing game.
Yuriko pinched the bridge of her nose. "Listen, kid. I already raised one fake daughter and it nearly killed me. Now Shuya keeps bringing home more little girls and dumping them on me. I do not have the energy to adopt another problem child."
She exhaled slowly, manifesting several Nen needles between her fingers. Her voice dropped into something cold and tired.
"Especially not one who calls me 'Mom.' Do you have any idea what that word does to me these days?"
Every time Saya called her "Mom" during sex, Shuya lost his goddamn mind and went feral on her. She'd developed a full-blown stress response to the word. Hearing it from an actual demon child was the final straw.
Rui didn't understand the complicated adult emotions flashing across her face. He just smiled innocently and started wrapping threads around his fingers again.
Yuriko's needles gleamed under the moonlight.
"Fine," she muttered. "You want a mom? I'll give you the kind of mother who puts her problem child in the ground."
At the same time, across the battlefield:
Shinobu and Kanae had found Doma.
Shuya had locked onto Akaza.
Every named member of the Twelve Kizuki who wasn't hiding in the Infinity Castle had already been paired with an opponent.
The real fight was just getting started.