Lower Moon Two Rokuro

Inside the clinic in Peace Town, the doctor frowned as he examined Kaigaku, then lifted the stethoscope from his chest.

Turning to Kujo Tachibana, he asked, "You're the new worker from the Inoue Family, aren't you? What happened to this boy?"

"He wasn't watching where he was going and fell," Tachibana explained calmly, looking at the doctor.

The doctor gave him a look that said, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Kujo Tachibana added, "If you don't believe me, you can ask him."

The doctor turned to look at Kaigaku.

Kaigaku clutched his chest and coughed twice, then nodded, confirming Kujo Tachibana's story.

It wasn't that he wanted to cover for Kujo Tachibana. It was just that Tachibana seemed to know his past. If the police got involved, Kaigaku might not be able to cover up the things he'd done.

Kaigaku wasn't stupid. Of course he wouldn't do that.

And Kujo Tachibana had known this would happen, which was why he'd dared to bring Kaigaku here in broad daylight.

The doctor shook his head. Since the injured boy himself had said as much, he couldn't be bothered to meddle. He simply looked at the two of them and said,

"Other than the damage to your lungs and windpipe, there's nothing seriously wrong. You'll be fine after some time to recover."

"I'd recommend going to Tokyo for a checkup. I hear some foreigners have built a hospital there. Maybe they can find a way to treat you."

Kujo Tachibana smiled, then stopped wasting time listening and turned to leave the clinic.

He still had to return the money Kaigaku had stolen in town.

As for the money Kaigaku had stolen elsewhere, Kujo Tachibana could only say there was nothing he could do. He wasn't a saint, and he had his own business to take care of.

He'd brought Kaigaku to the clinic only to make sure his punch had done what he intended.

As for healing the damage to Kaigaku's lungs, Kujo Tachibana didn't think the medical knowledge of this era could manage it. With his lungs damaged, Kaigaku would have to spend the rest of his life as an invalid. Let him spend those years repenting for his crimes!

A week later, Kujo Tachibana watched helplessly as the doctor showed up at his door and handed over every last bit of money he had.

That's right. As soon as Kaigaku's condition had improved a little, he'd slipped out of the clinic and successfully skipped out on his medical bill.

In the end, only after confirming that Kujo Tachibana really couldn't scrape together another cent did the doctor leave, cursing as he went.

The restaurant owner beside him, the stingy old bastard Inoue Shogo, grinned at Kujo Tachibana. "Hahaha, out of money again, are you?"

Tachibana couldn't be bothered to deal with that skinflint of a boss. He'd been working for him for so long, and the man still hadn't said a word about paying him.

Was he really not going to give him a single cent?

"I'll eat a little more at dinner!"

Tachibana thought to himself as he swung his axe down on the log in front of him.

Late that night, Peace Town was unusually quiet. Most of the townspeople had already fallen asleep.

Only a few izakayas and certain entertainment venues still had their lights on.

A man who looked like a middle-aged fellow, with shoulder-length black hair and a beard, his face covered in cracks, slowly walked along the road outside town and into the streets of Peace Town.

Moonlight shone into the man's pupils, giving them a ghostly green glow. Even more bizarrely,

the characters "Lower Rank Two" were deeply engraved in his left eyeball!

That's right, this man was Lower Moon Two Rokuro of the Twelve Kizuki.

As Rokuro walked, he muttered to himself:

"How many people should I eat today?"

"Three? Or six? ...Forget it. I'll eat three."

"If I eat too many... one of the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira might come looking for me."

Having made up his mind, Rokuro slowly headed toward the lights ahead.

Kujo Tachibana, who had been sleeping with his sword in his arms, abruptly opened his eyes in the darkness.

"Is that the smell of blood?"

In the sky, a Kasugai Crow hidden in the darkness of night sped off into the distance.

Rokuro gripped a Demon Slayer Corps member by the throat and lifted him up. Seeing the man's face redden from lack of air, he taunted him:

"So you found this place a while ago, huh? Heh. Too bad you only brought two minnows."

Fujiwara Naoto gripped his Nichirin Sword tightly in both hands, but his body began trembling uncontrollably.

He stared at the demon before him, who held his companion aloft and radiated a terrifying aura.

"I'm going to die!"

"I'm going to die!"

"Can I really beat a monster this terrifying?!"

Fujiwara Naoto had trained for two and a half years. A Mizunoto-ranked member of the Demon Slayer Corps, this was his first mission since officially joining.

Naoto felt that this would very likely be his last mission, too.

Looking at Fujiwara Naoto, who had already lost the courage to swing his sword, Rokuro spoke without expression:

"Humans... Such weak and useless creatures."

The moment he finished speaking, Rokuro's thick, ashen hand squeezed hard!

"Squish..."

After a dull, muffled sound, the young Demon Slayer's neck had been crushed into a lump of pulp in Rokuro's grip.

Blood spurted between Rokuro's fingers like a fountain.

Rokuro stuck out his tongue and licked the blood that had splashed onto the corner of his mouth. Then he ripped off the corpse's head and began devouring it in front of the other Demon Slayer.

When Kujo Tachibana reached the scene, this was the hellish sight that greeted him.

A boy in the black uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps was kneeling on the ground, retching over a pile of vomit.

As for the other one... Well, the sight was too gruesome. Even Kujo Tachibana couldn't help retching for a while.

Tachibana's face had gone a little pale. He raised his head and forced down the churning feeling in his stomach.

Rokuro sat cross-legged, licking the last of the tofu pudding from his hands. Then he casually tossed aside the skull, which he had gnawed clean of every scrap of flesh.

He rose and looked at Kujo Tachibana, who had just arrived. "Another minnow, huh? Looks like I'll get my fill today."

Seeing the characters "Lower Rank Two" in Rokuro's left eye, Kujo Tachibana's pupils contracted.

Was his first fight really going to be this far beyond his level?

This was one of the Twelve Kizuki!

And he didn't even know what Blood Demon Art it had!

Even if it was only a Lower Rank Demon...

The fight had come out of nowhere. Tachibana had wanted to start with weak monsters and level up a bit, but Rokuro clearly wasn't going to give him that chance.

Peach Mountain.

A pitch-black Kasugai Crow circled in the sky, looking down at the former Rumble Hashira, Kuwajima Jigoro, whose hair and beard had turned completely white and who had retired due to injury.

A shrill, urgent human voice came from the crow's beak.

"Mizunoto-ranked Demon Slayer Fujiwara Naoto and Kobayashi Senichiro have found a member of the Twelve Kizuki in Peace Town. Send support immediately! Send support immediately!"

After repeating the message twice, the Kasugai Crow flew off in another direction without looking back.

Kuwajima Jigoro didn't dare waste any time after receiving the message. He took his Nichirin Sword from inside the house and hurried toward Peace Town with all his strength.

"Even if I've lost a leg, so what? What difference would it make if I had no legs at all?"

"As long as I can still hold a sword!"

"I swear I'll cut down every demon in this world!"