The Butterfly Sisters' Operation

A pitch-black night.

Brilliant moonlight streamed through the damaged roof and into a stately residence. It was an exceptionally tall building, clearly the home of someone wealthy and powerful.

Yet the estate was deathly silent at this moment, permeated by a bone-piercing chill.

This was not merely a chill of the mind.

Looking around, vast sheets of frost could be seen covering the courtyard walls and ground. Though it was still far from the frosty season of winter, this estate seemed to have already entered the depths of winter.

Most chilling and terrifying of all, figures could be seen along the frost-covered corridors and ground, each one frozen within ice, turned into an ice sculpture.

Some were hunched servants, while others were tall guards.

But at this moment, without exception, every one of them had been frozen in the ice, all life gone.

Whoosh!

Two figures appeared atop the outermost wall of the estate.

They landed lightly and soundlessly. Both wore Demon Slayer Corps uniforms, with colorful butterfly-patterned haori draped over them. One was graceful and slender, while the other was petite and delicate.

After a year apart, both Butterfly sisters had changed. Kanae had learned swordsmanship from Makomo, and after more than a year of training, her strength had improved considerably from before.

She had not participated in that large-scale battle before.

However, based on the intelligence and combat analysis regarding the Twelve Kizuki afterward, she believed her strength was comparable to that of the Wind Hashira and Sound Hashira. Against Upper Rank Demons ranked fourth or lower, even if she could not win, she could still restrain them to some extent and would not be quickly defeated.

A year ago, any Upper Rank Demon ranked fourth or lower could rival more than two Hashira. In a one-on-one battle,