Eat It While It's Hot!

As those oppressive words fell, the scent of blood and the ashes left by Rui's dissolution lingered all around in the cold moonlight.

Kirishima Bupai's gaze settled without a ripple on the trembling "older sister" demon.

Her tear-filled eyes darted frantically between the terrifying scarlet radiance of the Bright Red Blade and the blade of finality on the rock.

Overwhelming fear gripped her throat, leaving her incapable of any meaningful response beyond stifled sobs and violent trembling.

"Ah..." Kirishima Bupai sighed almost inaudibly, his voice carrying a hint of resignation at having his time wasted.

He waited no longer.

Clang!

The other Nichirin Blade at his waist came forcefully out of its sheath, and almost the instant it cleared the scabbard, his terrifying grip strength erupted again.

Humm-!

The blade instantly became a second scarlet Bright Red Blade, radiating devastating heat and dazzling light.

Scorching waves of heat distorted the surrounding air, illuminating the demon's face, deathly pale and utterly contorted with extreme terror.

"Hah-!"

Scared out of her wits, the demon instinctively kicked her legs and scrambled backward, as though that crimson blade's radiance were a summons from hell.

Kirishima Bupai slowly raised the burning blade in his hand, his voice carrying a strange note of impatience. "Tch, what are you dragging your feet for?"

"Hurry up..."

"Eat it while it's hot. Go on... slit your throat and meet your maker!!!" He tipped his chin toward the Bright Red Blade.

"Wait, aren't I using the Vergil template!? Why am I starting to copy Liu Bei! Damn it! It's all Kibutsuji Muzan's fault! All Kibutsuji Muzan's fault!"

"???" The demon was completely bewildered, her vacant eyes filled with absurdity and even greater fear.

Eat it... while it's hot?

Eat that blade that could burn her to ashes in an instant?!

How was this any different from making her choose between dying immediately and being tortured to death?!

Immense despair left her collapsed on the ground, unable even to whimper.

Just as that suffocating standoff held-

Whoosh!

A graceful, swift figure swooped down from high above without warning, like a purple butterfly tearing through the night sky.

Moonlight gilded her long, silky purple hair with a flowing silver sheen. It was the Insect Hashira-Shinobu Kocho.

In the blink of an eye, the specially made Nichirin Blade in her hand, as slender as a poisoned needle, thrust straight toward the throat of the demon collapsed on the ground.

"Hm?"

The demon felt the world before her eyes abruptly change. The gloomy woodland, cold rocks, and those two terrifying Bright Red Blades were gone.

Countless brilliantly colored, breathtakingly beautiful butterflies appeared out of thin air, dancing dreamily around her.

They beat their iridescent wings, weaving a hazy, fantastical world.

Her fear... seemed temporarily dispelled by that exquisite beauty.

One particularly beautiful blue swallowtail drifted toward her, carrying a soothing tranquility.

A trace of bewilderment flickered in the demon's eyes, and she even raised her trembling hand instinctively, wanting to catch this dreamlike creature.

The instant her slender fingertips were about to touch its wings-

Pfft!

A soft sound rang out, like a bubble bursting.

The moment that beautiful blue swallowtail touched her skin, it abruptly turned into a wisp of purple poisonous mist and instantly burrowed into her fingertip.

Tap!

At the same time, Shinobu Kocho landed lightly behind the demon like a true ghost, the slender sword in her hand already sheathed.

Her face bore her customary smile, as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Aaargh-!!!"

The demon's body abruptly stiffened. Then indescribable agony erupted from her fingertip like a tsunami, instantly sweeping through her entire body.

It was nothing like the pain of a physical cut, but an ultimate torment that corroded her from within and broke everything down.

Several purple streaks of blood resembling the patterns of butterfly wings instantly appeared on her skin.

"Aah!!! Kill... kill me!!!"

The demon let out a scream so shrill it no longer sounded human, her body rolling and convulsing violently on the ground.

At that moment, boundless regret drowned out everything!

If only she had known... if only she had known, she would definitely have chosen to slit her throat and meet her maker! At least... at least her death would have been quick!

She cast a glance filled with intense resentment at Kirishima Bupai, who watched coldly from the sidelines, and Shinobu Kocho, who stood smiling a short distance away...

But the ravages of the deadly poison rapidly drained even her strength to hate, leaving her only able to howl in agony in the dirt.

Kirishima Bupai, Shinobu Kocho, and Tanjiro, who had only just recovered from his shock, watched silently.

Time seemed to stretch as the demon's screams echoed through the silent mountain woods, shrill and piercing.

She struggled for a long, long time... Finally, in the utmost agony, her body stopped convulsing.

Her skin also turned an eerie purplish black, all life utterly gone, before she became ashes that scattered on the wind.

Shinobu Kocho lightly clapped her hands, as though dusting off nonexistent dirt, that gentle smile still on her face.

She turned toward Kirishima Bupai, just about to tease him a little, but her gaze inadvertently swept across a gap in the wooden box Tanjiro was carefully guarding behind the broken tree.

A pink eye, filled with confusion and a little unease, was secretly, timidly peering out through the gap.

Nezuko!

The smile on Shinobu Kocho's face instantly froze, and her purple eyes, which were always curved into crescents, abruptly opened wide.

Her gentle mask shattered like porcelain, replaced by an icy, piercing glint, as though she were examining vermin.

"Oh my..."

Shinobu Kocho's voice remained soft, but its temperature dropped to freezing.

She slowly turned her head, her gaze passing over Tanjiro and locking firmly onto the wooden box, the corners of her mouth curling into a chilling arc. "It seems... one more slipped through the net~"

Those gentle words, brimming with murderous intent, struck like a thunderclap, instantly plunging Tanjiro into an icy abyss.

"Nezuko!"

With a startled cry, he hurled himself in front of the wooden box with all his strength, spreading his arms and using his battered body to fiercely shield his younger sister behind him.

Panting heavily, Tanjiro shouted anxiously at Shinobu Kocho, "Miss! Please listen to me! I'm begging you! Nezuko is different!"

"She's never eaten anyone! She would never hurt anyone! Please believe me! Please!!!"

Yet Tanjiro's explanations were like pebbles tossed into the deep sea, stirring not the slightest ripple in the lake of Shinobu Kocho's heart.

Her gaze did not linger on Tanjiro's face for even a second, instead going straight to the tall figure behind him, blocking the way with a blade in hand-Kirishima Bupai.

"Mr. Bupai, to think you would..."

Shinobu Kocho tilted her head, purple strands slipping onto her shoulder as the smile returned to her face.

But this time, her exquisite face carried deep bewilderment and a hint of indescribable amusement. "...actually step in to protect a demon?"

She gently wagged her slender index finger, her tone carrying an incredulous wonder. "That truly is... a surprising decision."