Dan Lei's so-called last guest was naturally Giyu Tomioka, who had hurried over after hearing that a demon was attacking people.
This was the scene he saw.
A flashy-looking man (his clothes were extravagant compared to those of ordinary people in the Taisho era) was using some unknown power to suspend a girl in midair. Flames seemed to be coming from his hand, as if he were about to roast her in front of another boy. A thick miasma of demonic energy surrounded the three of them.
So, which of these three was the demon?
Giyu didn't think he needed to consider the question. As he sprinted forward, he reached for his sword, then swung it the moment he burst out of the woods.
[Water Breathing First Form: Water Surface Slash]
His water-wreathed blade became a blade of water and slashed straight at Dan Lei's neck.
Dan Lei had actually noticed Giyu when he was still hundreds of meters away. But he did nothing, merely turning to watch him with an amused smile as he burst out of the woods.
With a clang, Giyu's horizontal slash was knocked aside by a long tachi that appeared out of thin air. The immense force sent Giyu into a backward flip to create some distance, and he had to take three steps back before he could absorb the impact.
Looking at the blue-haired swordsman who had suddenly appeared, Giyu asked with an unusually grave expression,
"Who are you? Why are you protecting this demon?"
Kojiro Sasaki said nothing in response to Giyu's question. He simply walked over to Dan Lei's side and took up a guard position, making his stance clear.
As for Dan Lei, he shook his hand and extinguished the flames in his palm. Looking at Giyu, he asked bluntly,
"I should be asking you that. Why did you attack me? Are you trying to stop me from killing this demon, too?"
Only then did Giyu realize that the demon's aura was coming from the "girl" trapped in midair by some unknown means. The man in front of him had a strange aura, vastly different from a demon's, but he didn't seem human either. He was more like a great beast.
As for the guard beside the man, even while standing face-to-face with him, Giyu couldn't sense any aura from him at all. It was as if he didn't exist.
There were no markings in the man's eyes, proving he wasn't a special demon like an Upper or Lower Rank.
If he was human, then Giyu was reminded of a legendary state of mastery among martial artists: Oneness with Nature.
Of course, Kojiro Sasaki's mastery of the sword was incredibly high. Though he was a fictional figure, the Counter Force of humanity recognized him as a swordsmanship prodigy.
However, Giyu's inability to sense him even at such close range wasn't caused by any so-called state of Oneness with Nature.
[Presence Concealment D] was a skill inherent to the Assassin class. It might not work on martial arts masters, but it was more than enough to throw off Giyu.
With someone like that guarding Dan Lei, Giyu didn't dare attack carelessly. He spoke again,
"Swordsman, the man you're protecting isn't human. He can make people float, and he can produce fire from his hands. Those are Blood Demon Arts used by demons. Don't let him fool you!"
Yet no matter how much Giyu said, Kojiro Sasaki still couldn't be bothered to reply. Whether Dan Lei was human wasn't a topic that needed discussion.
So Dan Lei answered Giyu's question instead.
"Honestly, looks like I've run into a local demon hunter. As expected, vampire hunters and the like are never easy to talk to.
"Anyway, calm down first. I'm alive and human, a Sorcerer. Controlling fire, water, and lightning is just something I learned from my school."
As he spoke, Dan Lei used magic power to form a nearly harmless fireball, water ball, and lightning ball around himself. Tanjiro, standing nearby, looked as if he'd just seen a god.
Giyu didn't believe Dan Lei at all. If he had so many tricks, then this demon was definitely no ordinary one. He might even be controlling people's minds. That would explain how he got such a skilled bodyguard, and why the man never said a word.
If only Dan Lei had known what Giyu was thinking. He would surely have sighed, You really are a genius. Do you have to have water poured into your brain to become a Water Hashira?
But Giyu felt there was no point in talking anymore and prepared to attack again. He figured that if he killed the demon, the skilled man being controlled would naturally be freed.
Suddenly, foam swirled around him. His figure vanished in an instant, leaving only a few scattered droplets to show that someone had been there.
[Water Breathing Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow]
By minimizing the time and area of contact with the ground while moving, the user could move without restraint. It was Water Breathing's most agile technique.
Giyu bounded swiftly across the snow, still aiming for Dan Lei.
However, as soon as he entered within ten meters of Dan Lei, Kojiro Sasaki appeared in front of him again and knocked him flying with a single sword strike.
What's more, Giyu's second attempt to attack Dan Lei had made Kojiro Sasaki consider him a threat. He lunged straight at the airborne Giyu, ready to cut him down.
Fortunately, as soon as Kojiro Sasaki showed any desire to attack, Dan Lei spoke up.
"Kojiro, don't kill him. We need to make contact with the locals."
Dan Lei spoke just in time. Kojiro Sasaki's blade stopped above Giyu's right shoulder blade. If he'd been 0.1 seconds later, Giyu would have been cut in half.
Looking at Giyu, who had narrowly escaped death, Dan Lei spoke again.
"All right, you know the difference in strength between us now. Can we have a proper talk?
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Dan Lei, and I arrived in this country today.
"I came because I heard there were monsters here similar to vampires and Dead Apostles, so I wanted to investigate.
"My organization is called the Sea Navigating Ranger. I look forward to working with you.
"By the way, from what you just said, you came to kill a demon. Is the target this demonized girl beside me?"
Dan Lei had only claimed to be a Sea Navigating Ranger as a convenient affiliation. It sounded more believable that way, and Tanjiro's supernaturally keen nose wouldn't easily detect a lie. Besides, there was no way a real Sea Navigating Ranger would show up in this world and expose him as an impostor.
At that moment, though, Giyu wasn't thinking about what a Sea Navigating Ranger was at all.
He only knew that he was no match for the swordsman before him. And when Dan Lei said he was a foreigner, Giyu began examining him carefully.
Then Giyu realized he might really have been rash. Dan Lei's clothes were extravagant, but they were clearly not local in style.
His features also didn't look local. They were closer to those of someone from Shenzhou.
Realizing he might have misunderstood, Giyu remained wary, but stood up and bowed in apology.
"I'm sorry. When I saw you use fire, I mistook you for a demon.
"As for my target, I was indeed pursuing the demon that killed the family of charcoal sellers on the mountain not long ago."
After saying this, Giyu looked at Nezuko, who was still trapped in midair and struggling. His meaning was clear: he believed she was the demon who had killed them.
Before you continue