Her once somewhat cute features had distorted as her body swelled, and the stench rising from her was so thick it almost seemed tangible. Haruto's brows knitted tightly.
Her strength... had skyrocketed!
Never mind that she had been demoted to Lower Rank Six-the pressure she gave off now was far greater than when she was Lower Rank Four!
"Oh my, you recognized me." Koyuki cradled her bloated waist and smiled sheepishly. "I thought, now that I've gotten this fat, you'd need a little longer to recognize me..."
"...Go, now. No, find somewhere to hide. Not too far from here, but not too close either."
Haruto paid no attention to what Koyuki was saying. All he saw were those things, neither quite demons nor anything else, slaughtering the villagers. Other monsters with insect heads and human bodies had slipped into the darkness, their whereabouts unknown.
He turned his head to warn Yae beside him. The scene before him was not quite what he had expected.
Clearly, those monsters revolved around Koyuki. They were one of her means of slaughter-perhaps a Blood Demon Art.
He did not know whether the monsters would spread outward from Koyuki, destroying more distant villages and killing their inhabitants.
If any of those insect-headed monsters escaped to other villages, he would have to get Cang Kong to call in nearby Demon Slayer Corps members to clear them out...
The key was to end this quickly. He had to take her down fast!
The girl obeyed Haruto, carrying Jiro into the mountain woods to escape that strange smell.
Haruto drew his Nichirin Blade. Its hilt turned in his palm, blooming with blue-violet light.
"But I'm not surprised you recognized me..."
Koyuki approached Haruto with a crazed smile. "After all, I have you to thank for the way I