Lu You: Coming through!

Lu You quietly watched Daki play the shamisen, raised his cup, and drank. A mellow, warming fragrance washed over his tongue.

It was actually... surprisingly good.

Of course, he did not mean Daki.

Much less spending time with Daki. He meant the cup of sake in his hand. It tasted surprisingly good.

Although Daki's music was first-rate too, the way she looked at him as food was far too obvious for him to feel anything.

Besides, looking at her, Lu You almost seemed to see countless tormented souls screaming.

Who knew how many people this demon before him had eaten? Anyone who could sense all that and still feel attracted to her would truly be something else.

"I heard that Koinatsu, the oiran of Ogimoto House, is the most beautiful and captivating oiran in the Entertainment District. Warabihime, do you think they're right?"

He spoke as though casually, watching out of the corner of his eye as veins bulged on Daki's forehead.

She's getting worked up. She's getting worked up.

"Praising another oiran right in front of me? You'll hurt my feelings, dear guest."

Daki pulled her lips into a cold smile, icy killing intent showing in her eyes. She had already decided to cut him to pieces the moment he left Kyogoku House.

"My apologies. I almost forgot that I have a rare beauty right in front of me too."

The faint mockery in Lu You's words made the shamisen's notes suddenly turn hurried and shrill.

Daki seemed to bare her fangs, glaring ferociously at Lu You.

Did this man spend all that money just to come here and mock me? What an utterly bizarre human! How dare he!

"Fire! Fire!"

"Huh?! Quick, get our things out!"

"Idiot, get the people out first! Worry about the things later!"

An endless stream of shouting, commotion, and screams came through the window. Flashes of fire rose one after another in the distance, suddenly lighting up a vast stretch of buildings.

To the naked eye, the area looked alarmingly large.

The fire watchtower's bell was also ringing fiercely.

Fire?

Even Lu You froze for half a second, but he soon realized this was probably those guys' handiwork. Still, making such a big commotion-they had better not burn down the entire city...

After all, most of the city's houses were wooden.

Once a fire started, it could easily spread throughout the city.

That was also why the crowds were in such a panic. Wooden buildings made it all too easy for the flames to spread unchecked.

Anyone surrounded would have no chance of survival.

"Now I can only hope those three know where to draw the line and don't actually set everything on fire."

Set a mountain ablaze, spend your life in jail!

You'd burn more people to death than the demons ever ate...

"Dear guest, there seems to be a fire in the city, and it doesn't look far from us. Should we leave first?"

Daki pretended to panic, while pink sashes had already quietly spread across the floor beneath their feet.

With a fire going on, it would be perfectly normal for someone to go missing, wouldn't it? Besides, why would he, Daki, need a reason to kill?

If she had not wanted to stay here long-term, she would have long since begun slaughtering freely throughout the city.

Overly obvious killings would undoubtedly draw the Demon Slayer Corps' attention.

The Entertainment District was her base. If the Demon Slayer Corps kept it under constant surveillance, or even sent several Hashira swordsmen to hunt her down, she could no longer rule the city's darkness as she did now.

He could currently eat whenever he wanted and keep people alive whenever he wanted.

"No need to run from a small fire, and there's no escaping a big one. Let the women leave first. Besides, don't you find it interesting to drink and enjoy ourselves while watching the crowds below make a racket?"

Lu You continued stalling.

Daki's lips twitched.

What nonsense. Trying to act impressive?

But this was even better. Mere flames meant nothing to her, but she really wanted to kill the man before her.

Outside the window, the firelight flickered in and out, seemingly following some rhythm or pattern. Lu You glanced over and immediately understood.

Xijing was signaling.

They had used Flame Breathing to imitate a fire, then had someone break into the fire watchtower and ring the bell to disperse the crowds as quickly as possible.

If they had sent the signal, it meant everyone in this area had been successfully evacuated.

He could fight the demon here!

Then what else is there to say? Get her!

Lu You filled a cup with warm sake and gently set it on the table, his eyes as calm as a deep pool as he looked at Daki.

"Do you think I can kill an Upper Rank before this cup of sake cools?"

At Lu You's words, Daki's pupils abruptly contracted. Then veins bulged one after another, and an overwhelming sense of absurdity surged wildly through her.

I've been making a fool of myself all this time?

Performing in front of this Demon Slayer!

"How dare you toy with me, you mere Demon Slayer!"

Boom!!!

An open hand with all five fingers spread suddenly filled her vision.

Savage force descended without warning. In a flash, before Daki had finished speaking, she was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through the wall amid flying debris.

Compressed air formed a rounded shell around her.

Bang, bang, bang...

After tumbling and spinning across the ground and smashing through several wooden houses, Daki was driven deep into a stone-brick wall.

Broken stones clattered crisply against the ground.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Deep pink sashes rapidly surged out of the ground, then returned to Daki's body on the wall.

I can't see it. I can't see his movements... That speed-is he a Hashira?

Daki covered the blood spilling from her mouth, her golden, slit pupils trembling. She could feel that most of her internal organs had been shattered. She had never encountered strength like this!

She was rapidly summoning the sashes she had deployed throughout the Entertainment District.

He didn't have a sword. He must have gone to get one. I should kill him now!

Her gaze venomous and piercing, Daki climbed out of the crater in the wall, her hair turning white again.

As the sashes drifting in from every direction slipped into her back one by one, the characters for "Upper Rank" and "Six" emerged in her irises, and a powerful aura erupted from her whole body.

Her bare feet dug into the ground like nails. Braced by thirteen sashes behind her, she shot forward like a slingshot!

Thud! A dull footfall rang out, as distinct as a heartbeat. Rrrip! A sharp wrenching sound accompanied a powerful recoil, and Daki dropped straight back down.

Landing on both feet in a half-crouch, she turned her head in astonishment.

She had not leaped away!

"What is that?"

"Nothing. Just... coming through."

A calm voice drifted out of the dust. A tall, slender figure stood straight as a mountain peak behind Daki, all thirteen of her sashes pinned beneath his feet.

The sashes strained taut, trying to pull free, but the figure did not budge.

His ponytail fluttered in the wind, his white clothes rustling.

In his right hand, he held a straight, long blade. Its obsidian-like surface was covered in vivid crimson patterns, mysterious and dangerous.

And wasn't that familiar face none other than Lu You, who had just been drinking and enjoying music with her?

"When? When did you get behind me? I didn't see you..."

The astonishment had yet to leave her face. Daki looked dazed, unable to believe it.

Blood spurted from Daki's neck with a wet hiss. With just a brush of the night breeze, her head suddenly fell to the ground.

Thump... It rolled across the ground.

"You're very weak. Are you really an Upper Rank?"

Nishinomiya, who had been serving as an observer atop the distant city wall, had moved away from that area after sending the signal.

He did not need to help evacuate the crowds like the other two. Instead, he served as backup.

Now, his face flushed with excitement, he held a Kasugai Crow facing the battlefield and declared smugly:

"Record all of it, got it? This is what our boss can do! Hahaha! Nobody else can pull this off!"

"Caw... solo kill on an Upper Rank... caw, caw (shocked)!"

The Kasugai Crow's eyes widened.

On the battlefield.

Although Lu You had said that, inwardly he was already on his utmost guard. This Daki before him was, at most, above early first tier but below middle first tier.

What about Gyūtarō, then?

As a precaution, even after Daki lost her head, he kept his foot on her sashes.

It was all to give Gyūtarō a surprise.

I'm going to catch you at the exact moment you appear!