Tetsu no Sosuke had vanished!
Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke... all of them had vanished.
Only Shinobu Kocho remained in the empty Courtyard.
She quietly surveyed the still Courtyard beneath the peaceful night sky, her face utterly expressionless.
She did not know what was going on, but she knew this had to be a demon's trap.
Blood Demon Arts took countless forms, but no matter how they changed, their ultimate purpose was always to kill.
Remaining silent and calm, ready to respond to anything—these were the most basic qualities of a demon hunter.
As a Pillar, Shinobu Kocho naturally understood all of this.
But... how long was she supposed to remain silent?
And... what had happened to the others?
Hurried footsteps suddenly reached her ears. Shinobu Kocho snapped her head up and saw a figure drop out of the air. "Hurry, let's go!"
It was Tetsu no Sosuke!
Shinobu Kocho's heart stirred, and before she knew it, Tetsu no Sosuke had taken her hand. "Something's wrong here. Let's get out first."
They leaped up and raced over the wall. In the blink of an eye, they had left the grounds of the Water Pillar's Mansion. Only then did Tetsu no Sosuke let out a long sigh of relief.
"Are you all right?" He looked at Shinobu Kocho. "When I realized you were gone, I was really worried."
"Worried about me?" Shinobu Kocho rolled her eyes at him. "What's there to worry about? I'm a Pillar, after all."
"You are a Pillar," Tetsu no Sosuke said, shaking his head. "But you're still a woman."
"...A woman?" Shinobu Kocho looked at him. "You see me as a woman?"
"Of course." Tetsu no Sosuke nodded as though it were only natural. "Not just a woman, but a very beautiful woman... actually, you and