Only then did Rui realize.
He had little time left now.
He had to kill or get past this Swordsman immediately and go help Lord Muzan.
Almost the instant that thought arose.
This newly appointed Upper Rank Six never could have imagined.
The crimson thread shield he had formed with all his strength.
Would break before lasting even a second against that woman.
The various threads spun at high speed.
Their momentum sent them lashing out all around.
Carving a mass of fine marks into the ground.
"You..."
A cold gleam flashed.
Even though the white-haired boy Demon used both arms to block with all his strength.
Persimmon's strike still cleaved through most of his body.
Then the force of the slash sent him tumbling aside.
And with that.
The other Demons Rui had forcibly dragged along grew even more frightened.
After all, even someone as powerful as Rui had been struck down with a single blow.
Wouldn't they just be throwing their lives away if they went up?
Rui, lying on the ground, quickly used his threads to widen the distance between himself and Persimmon.
Like a wary dog.
He glared at her from afar.
"You... why didn't you cut my neck just now?"
That strike from Persimmon had made this Upper Rank Six understand completely.
His opponent was probably far stronger than he had expected.
Was this woman... one of the Nine Hashira disguised as an ordinary Swordsman?
Rui's life as a Demon had been short.
Even counting everything, it had not yet been twenty years.
And he had spent all that time deep in the mountains, playing his own game of house.
As a result, he had never encountered a Hashira-level Swordsman.
That was why he had misjudged Persimmon's position.
He thought this girl was one of