Gyokko's first pursuit ended in complete failure.
After night fell, he continued tracking the traces left behind by the Demon Slayer Corps. Muzan watched through the connection of his blood from within the Infinity Castle, his patience thinning with every passing hour.
One night.
Two nights.
For two full days, Gyokko searched—and found nothing.
The group of swordsn had vanished as cleanly as mist beneath the morning sun. No trail. No scent. No corpses. No witnesses worth ntioning.
It was as though they had never been there at all.
Just as Muzan's fury was about to boil over, another demon's emotions spiked sharply sowhere else.
Muzan shifted his perception at once.
And there he was again.
That Demon Slayer.
Only this ti, the figure had appeared in Asakusa.
The distance between Asakusa and Gyokko's current location was far too great. Worse, none of the Upper Ranks were nearby. Muzan's face darkened until it looked carved from ice.
A sharp note from the biwa rang out.
Gyokko was summoned back to the Infinity Castle.
The demon barely had ti to erge from his pot before Muzan reached out and tore off his head.
Gyokko's severed head dangled in Muzan's hand.
"Gyokko," Muzan said, his voice low and lifeless, "that team of Demon Slayers has appeared in Asakusa. Go there imdiately and kill every last one of them."
His pinkish-red eyes narrowed.
"I do not want a repeat of your previous failure."
Anyone else would have trembled.
Gyokko did not.
His pale face flushed with sick delight instead.
Lord Muzan is holding my head…
How wonderful.
How exquisite.
How blessed I am.
His twisted mouth curled in reverence.
"Rest assured, Lord Muzan. This ti, I will kill that Demon Slayer without fail and turn him into a perfect work of art for you."
"Do not disappoint ."
Muzan threw the head aside.
The biwa sounded again.
In the next instant, Gyokko was teleported to a town near Asakusa. He caught his head, pressed it back onto his neck, twisted it into place, and sank into the pot beneath him.
Then the pot slipped into the earth and disappeared soundlessly into the night.
…
At the sa ti, Tanjiro had arrived at another ruined village under the guidance of his Kasugai Crow.
The place had long since been abandoned. Broken fences leaned under weeds. Roof tiles had collapsed. The wind passing through the empty houses carried the stale sll of dust, rot, and sothing far worse.
The mont Tanjiro stepped into the village, his nose twitched.
A foul stench lingered in the air.
Demons.
Asuramaru's voice sounded from within the sword at his waist.
"There are at least seven demons here. None of them are particularly strong. They're gathered in that abandoned mansion ahead."
"Thank you, Asuramaru."
Tanjiro imdiately moved toward the mansion.
The building had clearly been deserted for years. The outer walls were cracked and sagging, and several sections had already collapsed. Most of the structure was barely held up by old support pillars.
The mont Tanjiro entered the courtyard, he drew Asuramaru.
Moonlight slid across the sword's edge.
In the middle of the courtyard stood a burly, vicious-looking demon.
Tanjiro looked at it and spoke quietly.
"I'm sorry, but I still have to cut you down."
The demon turned.
Seeing a lone human standing under the moon with a fox mask and a sword, it sneered.
"I was just about to go hunting, and food delivered itself to my door?" Its mouth stretched wide. "How considerate. I'll devour you until not even your bones are left."
The commotion drew movent from the ruined buildings behind it.
One after another, more demons erged from the shadows.
"A human ca here by himself?"
"What luck. Eat him!"
"Back off! I saw him first!"
Before Tanjiro could even raise his sword, the demons began snarling at each other over who had the right to eat him.
Tanjiro stood there in silence.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Once he confird all of them were present, he stepped forward.
Water surged.
His figure passed through the courtyard in a smooth, flowing arc.
A mont later, seven heads hit the ground.
Ash scattered into the wind.
Tanjiro did not stop to rest. He sheathed his sword and imdiately headed toward the next location.
He could not afford to waste a single second.
…
Ti passed.
Seven days slipped by in the blink of an eye.
By then, Muzan had finally sensed that sothing was wrong.
Every ti that Demon Slayer appeared, he would vanish almost imdiately. A day or so later, another "Tanjiro" would appear in so distant city.
Every figure wore a mask.
Every report ca too quickly, too neatly, and too far apart.
Muzan finally understood.
He had been played.
The Demon Slayer Corps had turned him in circles like a dog chasing shadows.
At this rate, finding the real Tanjiro would be impossible.
Inside the Infinity Castle, Muzan's expression beca terrifyingly dark.
Connected at heart, yet you dare play mind gas with ?
Even the experint before him could no longer hold his attention.
He turned toward Naki.
"Summon all the Upper Ranks."
If he could not find Tanjiro, then he would drag him out.
…
Half a month passed.
During that ti, the Demon Slayer Corps' diversion plan continued without incident. Everything seed calm.
Too calm.
At headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki understood better than anyone that still water often concealed the deepest currents.
This was not peace.
This was the silence before a storm.
Elsewhere, Tanjiro had spent that sa half-month hunting demons without rest.
More than a hundred man-eating demons had fallen by his sword.
His body had strengthened again, crossing another threshold. Even Asuramaru had recovered enough power to unlock Soaring once more.
Then, overhead, his Kasugai Crow swept down through the sky and landed nearby.
"South-southeast! South-southeast!" the crow cried. "The Ripper is active there!"
"Another mission?"
Tanjiro had just finished slaying the demon before him. He sheathed his sword and looked toward the crow perched on his shoulder.
Perhaps because so many people now placed their hopes on him, the current Tanjiro had grown much steadier than before.
His eyes were still gentle.
But there was a quiet firmness in them now.
"Let's go, Asuramaru."
Asuramaru did not answer.
Tanjiro did not mind.
Not far behind him, Sanemi Shinazugawa watched in silence.
During this half-month, his view of Tanjiro had changed completely. The boy was still kind—sotis absurdly so. He could even feel pity for demons.
But when the ti ca to swing his sword, he did not hesitate.
That was enough.
He was no longer rely a soft-hearted child dragging a demon sister behind him.
He was a Demon Slayer.
A qualified one.
And perhaps, soday, the one who would kill Muzan Kibutsuji.
Sanemi said nothing.
He simply followed.
The two set off toward the next destination.
…
Tokyo.
Shinjuku.
Compared to many towns, Shinjuku carried the scent of a new era. Factories stood in rows, railway tracks cut across the district, and the distant rumble of machinery echoed under the sun.
Tanjiro arrived at the city in broad daylight.
As he walked along the busy streets, he heard people whispering among themselves.
"I heard soone else was disemboweled last night…"
"Was it the Ripper again?"
"What are the police even doing? Why haven't they caught anyone?"
"I'm not going out at night anymore. No chance."
Tanjiro stopped.
Without hesitation, he approached the group and bowed slightly toward a plain-looking middle-aged man.
"Excuse . Can you tell where the Ripper killed soone?"
The group turned to look at him.
Seeing that he was only a young man, the middle-aged man let his guard down a little, though his expression remained uneasy.
"You're curious?" he asked. "It happened on the street near the train repair station."
Then he frowned and warned him seriously.
"But listen, kid. Don't go there. Several people have already died in that area."
His voice dropped.
"It's dangerous."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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