In an instant... the entire workshop fell deathly silent...
All that remained was the scraping of the Ripper's lower body unconsciously kicking against the ground, and his muffled whimpers from deep beneath the earth.
Kirishima Bupai leisurely shook out his wrist, then brushed his hands off with a hint of distaste.
After coughing a few times to clear his throat, he calmly swept his gaze over the Demon Slayer Corps members who had just arrived and now stood rooted to the spot as if petrified.
"Pull him out for me." He pointed at the half of the Ripper still aboveground.
"Then tie him to the tracks over there, along this main line." As he spoke, he raised his hand again and pointed toward the tracks extending out of the workshop into the endless darkness.
At his words, the Corps members exchanged looks, utterly bewildered by the Void Hashira's outlandish order.
Tie him to the tracks? Could that kill a demon? Why not cut off his head?
But obeying orders was an instinct etched into their bones...
The female swordsman leading them was the first to react, answering firmly, "Yes, Lord Void Hashira!"
Several Corps members immediately stepped forward, working together in a flurry to pull him out of the pit with specially made tempered-steel chains.
They trussed up the Ripper, whose severely deformed head was still trying to regenerate.
Amid the Ripper's venomous, bewildered howls, they dragged him at a run toward the main tracks outside the workshop and secured him firmly to the cold, heavy steel rails.
Meanwhile, Kirishima Bupai turned his gaze toward the other side of the workshop.
An aging freight locomotive stood there, apparently undergoing a major overhaul, while several mechanics watched everything blankly.
"Sir! That engine... won't work!"
One of the braver mechanics saw Kirishima