"Quickly! It's a ghost attack! Protect the heads of each family first!"
"Protect the village chief!"
"That's the sword prepared for Lord Sun Hashira! Remember to wear it!"
The once peaceful Swordsmith Village has now been transformed into Purgatory.
Countless strange-shaped, legged fish darted swiftly through the village, attacking and killing everyone they encountered.
As one of the most important strongholds of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Swordsmith Village is naturally not as lacking in defense as depicted in the anime; in fact, it has Kishira second only to the Pillars.
But even they were powerless against the Upper Rank Demon.
"Are you kidding me?! It's Upper Rank Four! How did it get... here?!"
Famous Sword trembled as he looked at the Gyokko that had emerged from the earthenware pot.
Each of the six small hands of the Gyokko held a blue porcelain pot, and without exception, the top of each pot was adorned with the head of a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman, including the Kishira.
"Look at my artwork, isn't it beautiful? By the way, I've already attacked your area, when are your pillars coming?"
Gyokko twisted her alluring body and spoke to the knife maker in a teasing tone.
"Answer me quickly! As a reward, I can turn you into a perfect work of art!"
The knifesmith trembled, unable to speak.
"Are you looking for Zhu? We're here!"
Tokito Yuichiro, accompanied by Muichiro, appeared in Gyokko's field of vision.
"I'm here to kill you!"
Tokito Yuichiro added.
"Pillars? Or rare twins? Tell me, if I strung your heads together and put them in a pot, wouldn't that be the most perfect work of art? But I think putting them separately in two pots would also be nice. By the way, nice to meet you, my name is Gyokko, please take care of me~"
Gyokko stretched out a small, short hand and made what appeared to be an elegant bow.
"Huh? Are there really ghosts whose appearance and way of speaking are so disgusting?"
"Not only that, look at the teapot below, it seems a bit asymmetrical, it looks like he has a very low aesthetic taste."
The Tokito Brothers, Tokito and Tokito, casually discussed and commented on the Gyokko.
"Enough! You two kids who look like they're only teenagers, how could you possibly understand my beauty, elegance, and nobility? It's like worms in a latrine can't read a book!"
Gyokko was furious and embarrassed.
He can't stand it when people question his art.
In particular, Muichiro used a very calm and matter-of-fact tone.
"Ichiro, why do I feel like he's the one who's more like something that grows in a latrine?"
"Ah, I heard that these Upper Rank Demons have lived for hundreds of years, so it's normal for them to be a little slow to react, right?"
"Hey, you two, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
Gyokko decided to stop arguing and six blue pottery pots emerged from his six short arms, releasing countless sticky fish that surged towards the two of them like a torrent.
"Lord Mist Hashira Pillar, Lord Cloud Hashira, be careful! This fish's blood is highly poisonous!"
The fleeing swordsmith, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but exclaim in alarm and warn them.
"We understand."
The Tokito Brothers raised their Nichirin Blade in perfect unison.
"Mist Breathing - Third Form: Rising Smoke Tornado!"
"Mist Breathing - Fourth Form - Stratus Slash!"
Just as the Tokito Brothers were engaged in fierce battle with Gyokko, Meikyō noticed the unusual activity in the Swordsmith Village and rushed over.
However, his biggest problem right now is that he doesn't have Nichirin Blade.
If it's an ordinary demon, that's fine; it can be dealt with using Sealing Technique. But if it's a stronger demon, his current level of Sealing Technique is probably not quite enough.
"Um?"
Suddenly, two figures, one large and one small, appeared in Meikyō's eyes.
The smaller one is Kōtetsu, a boy from the Swordsmith Village, and the larger one is Yoriichi Type Zero.
"Sun Hashira!"
Upon seeing Meikyō, Kōtetsu couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised.
"The Cloud Hashira and the Mist Hashira are already on their way to the village, and I'm planning to take Yoriichi Type Zero to help! He's really good!"
"Yoriichi Type Zero?"
Meikyō glanced at the mechanical puppet with six arms.
Coincidentally, each of the six arms was holding a Nichirin Blade.
"My knife isn't finished yet, so I'll borrow it for a moment."
As soon as she finished speaking, Meikyō's figure vanished instantly.
Kōtetsu turned his head and saw that one of the swords held by Yoriichi Type Zero's six arms had disappeared.
"Ugh, ugh, how scary!"
Hantengu had already been promoted to Upper Rank Three, looked terrified and hid his entire body behind Doma.
Doma, on the other hand, looked around with a curious expression, observing the crowds being attacked everywhere.
The knife makers here are mostly men; there aren't any young girls who would suit his taste.
[Doma, Hantengu, you two split up and go find the swordsman who uses Sun Breathing!]
Muzan Kibutsuji's voice echoed in the minds of the two demons.
"Alright, Muzan Kibutsuji, I'll go explore other places now. Goodbye, Hantengu!"
Doma smiled and waved to Hantengu before heading off to find more fun elsewhere.
As for Hantengu, he didn't dare disobey Muzan Kibutsuji's orders and wandered around timidly.
Coincidentally, Kōtetsu, who was carrying Yoriichi Type Zero, also arrived here after just leaving the dense forest.
"Ugh, this is terrifying, so Muzan Kibutsuji, Lord Muzan! I think I've found the red-haired person you mentioned!"
Hantengu lay on the ground, its butt sticking out, its hands covering its head as it aimed at Yoriichi Type Zero.
"Six arms, even more like a ghost than me, cold and lifeless, just like a doll!"
Muzan Kibutsuji's consciousness descended upon Hantengu once more.
[Tsugikuni Yoriichi!]
Upon seeing Yoriichi Type Zero's familiar face, Muzan Kibutsuji was initially panicked and instinctively wanted to run away. However, he only realized what was happening when he saw the six arms and Yoriichi Type Zero's blank and lifeless face.
Fortunately, Kokushibo wasn't lying to him. Tsugikuni Yoriichi was probably already dead. Akaza encountered before was likely a Sun Breathing swordsman and this Yuan Yi puppet.
[Hantengu! Tear this doll to shreds!]
The Muzan Kibutsuji looked at Yoriichi Type Zero's face, which belonged to Tsugikuni Yoriichi, the angrier he became.
He was so terrified by this thing before.
"The Upper Rank... the third one! The new Upper Rank Three!"
Upon seeing the numbers in Hantengu's eyes, Kōtetsu hurriedly inserted the key into Yoriichi Type Zero's body.
Since this thing has the strength of a Pillar, even if it can't beat the Upper Rank Demon, it should be able to hold it back for a while, right?
The boy then took off running without hesitation.
The aftershocks of the upcoming battle would be more than a novice swordsmith like him, who didn't even know Breathing Technique, could withstand.
His most important task now is to find the other Pillars and tell them that Upper Rank Demon are lurking here! Let them deal with the enemy!