Night falls,
Inside the "Honeymoon King Room" on the top floor of the hotel.
Giyu Tomioka had already donned his signature two-tone haori, and his deep blue Nichirin Blade hung securely at his waist.
He stood by the window, peering through a crack in the window and observing the magnificent temple complex in the distance by the moonlight.
That's the headquarters of the Eternal Paradise Cult!!
"Mr. Giyu, are we really leaving now?"
A delicate yet melancholic voice came from behind.
Kanae Kocho sat on the enormous bed that took up a third of the room, hugging a soft pillow with both hands, her pink eyes filled with reluctance.
"This bed is so soft and comfortable, I haven't even rolled around on it yet."
She pouted her rosy lips slightly, her voice soft and sweet.
"Can't we wait until tomorrow morning to take action?"
Giyu turned around, his deep blue eyes sweeping objectively over the large bed before glancing at Kanae.
"Cannot!!"
"Demons are most active at night. Infiltrating now will maximize our chances of tracking down Upper Rank Two's movements."
Faced with this incredibly simplistic statement, Kanae rolled her eyes inwardly in exasperation.
Does this man not have even a tiny bit of romantic flair in his brain?
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say."
Kanae tossed the pillow aside, stood up from the bed, and straightened her pink casual clothes.
She walked up to Giyu and very naturally reached out her hands to straighten the collar of his haori.
"However, after the mission is over..."
Kanae tiptoed slightly and whispered sweetly in Giyu's ear.
Feeling the warm breath coming from his ear, Giyu's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and his already tense body instantly stiffened.
He ignored the lewd remark, turned around, and opened the guest room window.
"Set off."
Giyu's figure flashed and disappeared into the night outside the window.
Kanae watched his slightly flustered back, covered her mouth and chuckled, then lightly leaped out of the window and followed closely behind.
The temple complex of the Eternal Paradise Cult is heavily guarded.
However, in the face of the stealth of two pillar-level powerhouses, the ordinary cultists patrolling with torches were practically useless.
The two easily scaled the high courtyard wall and landed in a secluded corner of the courtyard.
The air was filled with a lotus fragrance so strong it was almost cloying.
Giyu's brows furrowed slightly as he turned to look at Kanae beside him.
"We'll split up here."
"The building structure here is very complex, and there seem to be hidden underground chambers."
"Your task is to find and rescue the young women who have been captured."
"I'll head towards the main hall and study to see if there's Muzan Kibutsuji."
Kanae nodded; she naturally had no objection to this highly efficient tactical division of labor.
Be careful.
Just as Kanae was about to turn and leave, Giyu suddenly reached out and grabbed her soft wrist.
Kanae paused for a moment, then turned around.
"If you encounter Upper Rank Two, absolutely do not be reckless and engage him in direct combat!! Your Breathing Style is countered by his ice crystals!!"
Giyu stared intently at her with his deep blue eyes, his tone forceful.
"As soon as you spot him, make the loudest noise possible! I'll get to you as quickly as possible!!"
Hearing this undisguised concern, Kanae's heart skipped a beat.
She grasped Giyu's hand in return, revealing a gentle smile.
"Don't worry, Giyu! I'm the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, I'm not so easily broken."
Kanae blinked.
"You need to be careful too. If you can't find any information, come back to me quickly, otherwise I'll be scared alone in this dark temple."
Giyu gave her a deep look, then let go of her hand.
I'll be back soon.
As soon as he finished speaking, Giyu's figure vanished from the spot, turning into a blur as he sped towards the main hall.
Kanae watched the direction he left in, took a deep breath, and wiped the smile off her face.
She gripped the pink Nichirin Blade at her waist, turned, and disappeared into the deep courtyard corridor on the other side.
The temple's backyard has a complex and intricate terrain.
Kanae moved through the beams and shadows of the wooden corridor under the moonlight.
The deeper you go, the stronger the nauseating stench of blood becomes in the air.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Suddenly, a carved wooden door in front of them was ajar, revealing a faint candlelight and the suppressed sobs of a girl.
Kanae's eyes sharpened, and she silently landed outside the door, peering through the crack.
This is a spacious interior decorated in a luxurious style.
In the corner of the room, two girls who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old were hugging each other tightly, trembling.
Their faces were covered in tears, and their eyes were filled with despair and terror.
And in the very center of the room.
A tall man dressed in dark red cult leader attire stood with his back to the door.
He held a sharp-edged, golden iron fan in his hand, slowly wiping the dark red bloodstains from the fan ribs.
Why are you crying?
"How wonderful it would be to be able to return to the Pure Land!"
The man turned around, a hypocritical smile on his handsome, almost otherworldly face.
He had long, white oak hair, but what was most striking were his eyes, which were as dazzling as seven-colored glass, with the characters "Upper Rank" and "Er" etched in their pupils.
--Doma!
Kanae gripped the hilt of her knife tightly outside the door, her breathing instantly slowing to an extreme.
Just as she was considering how to save the two girls,
Doma suddenly stopped wiping the iron fan, his seven-colored eyes curving into two crescent moons, his gaze landing precisely on the crack in the door where Kanae was hiding.
"Oh my, the Eternal Paradise Cult has been graced with such a beautiful butterfly tonight!"
Doma's voice was light and cheerful, even carrying a hint of surprise at seeing an old friend.
"If you don't mind, please come in for a cup of tea. You'll catch a cold standing outside."
We've been discovered?!
Kanae's heart sank slightly, but she did not panic.
She boldly pushed open the wooden door and walked in with composed steps.
"Oh dear! This must be our second meeting, right, Lord Leader of the Eternal Paradise Cult?"
Kanae wore her signature gentle smile, as if she were truly just a visiting pilgrim.
"Still 'receiving' female followers in the middle of the night, the cult leader must be really working hard."
Doma looked at Kanae as she walked in, his seven-colored eyes filled with amazement and interest.
"Ah! I remember now!"
Suddenly, Doma clapped his hands like a child, looking at Kanae with excitement.
"You're the girl who was with that cold Water Hashira at Mount Sagiri, aren't you?"
"I remember you. You're from the Demon Slayer Corps, aren't you?"
As he spoke, Doma took two steps forward in a very familiar manner.
"You look really good in this outfit today, much better than that dreary Demon Slayer Corps uniform."
What's your name? Can we be friends?
Faced with this almost abnormally enthusiastic approach, Kanae's mind did not relax; on the contrary, she became extremely vigilant.
There wasn't a single trace of human emotion about this monster.
His smile and his enthusiasm were nothing but a facade.
"There's no need to be friends. I was just passing by and wanted to take those two lost children with me."
Kanae turned slightly to the side, casting her gaze at the two girls in the corner who were so frightened they were about to faint.
She needs to buy time.
If we can keep the monster in check and find an opportunity to escape to an open area with the girls, Giyu will definitely be able to get there in time.
"Take them away?"
Doma followed Kanae's gaze, a troubled expression on his face.
"That won't do!"
"These two poor children have suffered so much in this world. Their parents sold them to human traffickers, and they were bullied by thugs."
"... Only I can hear their pain."
Doma unfolded his golden iron fan, held it to his mouth, and revealed a compassionate expression.
"I'm about to eat them all!!"
"Once they become one with my body, they can escape this world full of suffering forever and go to a bliss free from sorrow!"
"... What a great redemption this is!"
Can cannibalism be called redemption?
Kanae's smile remained unchanged, but her tone had turned cold.
"The Cult Leader's Pure Land is truly something I cannot agree with."
"How about this: you release them, and I'll stay and listen to you preach your doctrines, okay?"
Kanae attempted to use herself as bait.
Sure enough, Doma's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this suggestion.
"Really? You'd like to stay and keep me company?"
Doma was so happy he almost spun around on the spot. He looked at Kanae as if she were a work of art.
You are ten thousand times more beautiful than them!
"My followers would be overjoyed if we could devour you!"
However...
Doma's eyes darted around, and the smile on his face suddenly turned somewhat eerie.
I'm a person of strong principles!
"Since we promised to perform the rituals to help them pass on to the afterlife, we can't give up halfway."
Just as the last syllable fell.
Kanae keenly noticed a slight tremor in the muscles of Doma's shoulder.
Flaw!
"Run!"
Kanae let out a sharp cry without hesitation and suddenly exerted force with both legs.
She pushed the steps of Flower Breathing to their limit, her figure like a pink streak of light, rushing straight towards the two girls in the corner.
She stretched out her hands, trying to grab one of them with each hand and forcibly drag them out of the room.
If she could reach them, she could immediately smash the window and escape!
However.
Just a fraction of a second before Kanae's fingertips were about to touch the two girls' clothes.
Doma remained standing still, merely smiling as he gently waved the golden iron fan in his hand.
"Whoosh--"
A faint whooshing sound rang out.
There were no flashy Blood Demon Art, nor were there ice crystals flying everywhere.
It was just a simple wave.
Kanae watched helplessly as the two girls in front of her, who had been trembling with fear, stood before her.
A thin red line suddenly appeared on their necks.
Immediately afterwards.
Two heads, their faces contorted in terror, slipped silently from Kanae's outstretched hands.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, the warm liquid splashing onto Kanae's cheek.
Kanae remained frozen in place, her forward-leaning posture intact.
Two headless corpses lay limply in the pool of blood.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!!"
Doma stood behind Kanae, smiling as he closed his iron fan, his tone innocent and cheerful.
"Seeing how eager you were to take them away, I was worried they'd get too tired from running, so I helped them out a little."
"Look how peaceful they are now. They no longer have to face the suffering of the world."
Doma his head, his seven-colored eyes filled with pure cruelty.
"I'm a leader who keeps his word."
Kanae slowly straightened up.
She reached out and wiped away the drop of warm blood belonging to the innocent girl from her cheek.
She turned around and looked at the smiling demon in front of her.
It's clear that Doma never intended to let anyone go.
He deliberately created an opening, intentionally watching her rush forward with hope to save the person, and then, at the last moment, cruelly shattered all her hopes in front of her.
He's playing with her!!
They treated her like a caged mouse, reveling in her moments of despair.
The smile on Kanae's usually gentle and beautiful face vanished completely.
Instead, there was an unprecedented coldness and disgust.
"You're a hopeless piece of trash."
Kanae uttered those words coldly.
Her right hand rested on the hilt of the knife at her waist.
"Clang--"
Amidst the blood and killing intent, the pink Nichirin Blade was drawn with a roar.