At that moment, while Shinobu Kocho was still sulking on the mountain in search of demons, Kawagishi had already pried open the iron cover of the wine cellar and leaped out.

  “It’s time to leave…” he murmured.

  Following a narrow path, he began running again. The end of this path would lead out of the town and onto the main road—a road that connected most human settlements. However, the road branched frequently; although there were signs, they were far from clear. Only the merchants who frequently traveled those roads knew exactly which forks led to which towns.

  Originally, he had planned to inquire in Shiqiao Town about news from the town at the foot of the mountain, but after asking Mr. Chang, the old man merely shook his head, indicating he did not know.

  “Better to find a few merchants who haul goods; they’ll surely know the way back.”

  Lost in thought, Kawagishi soon reached the end of the path. Yet he felt somewhat dazed—fragments of Aoi’s voice from his dreams seemed to echo, though not clearly enough to be understood. In his haze, a dark silhouette bared its fangs and lunged at him from the side.

  “You little brat, I’ll treat you as an appetizer…” the shadow sneered.

  “Huh?!” Kawagishi reacted instinctively, tilting his body backward to dodge the attack while countering with a swift punch to the shadow’s jaw, sending it flying.

  That resilient, tenacious impact—so familiar in its solidity—ignited a burning flame within Kawagishi’s heart.

  “Another demon…” he thought, as his face immediately tensed with bulging veins and his fangs erupted in a snarl.

  The dark silhouette was one of the four subordinate demons, and he had taken the name Ma Gui. Ma Gui blinked in surprise at Kawagishi’s sudden transformation. “So you’re a demon too—no wonder your reaction was so swift.”

  “You’ve maintained your human form so well. I envy that,” Kawagishi remarked.

  Ma Gui was slight, with ashen blue-gray skin over his frame—a trait he could not fully control, making Kawagishi find his unchanging human appearance remarkably novel.

  Suppressing the fiery surge inside him, Kawagishi gradually forced a grim, menacing smile. “So, brother, what brings you here?”

  “I haven’t set foot in my hunting grounds for a long time,” Ma Gui replied.

  Kawagishi’s mind raced. From Black Wolf Fang’s memories, demons typically do not wander far but remain within their own territory. Blue Ridge Mountain, for instance, hadn’t seen another demon in over a decade. After all, they were demons—and Ma Gui seemed sufficiently relaxed around Kawagishi.

  “Your hunting grounds?” Kawagishi inquired.

  “We are here on orders from that ‘master’—to wipe out an entire town,” Ma Gui explained.

  “I heard that a little demon named Black Wolf Fang was decapitated by members of the Demon Slayer Corps, and, coupled with other reasons, that master was furious and decided to annihilate four human towns,” Kawagishi continued.

  Ma Gui added with a sneer, “But what merit did that little demon have to draw the master’s attention…?”

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  Kawagishi clenched his fist. “I see. Then may I join in? I, too, wish to partake in this grand feast of slaughter.”

  So it turned out—was it indirectly my doing? The voices in my dreams weren’t clear, but I’d nearly grasped the implication.

  Remember, we dare not speak Muzan Kibutsuji’s name; in demon circles, he is always referred to as “that master.”

  In truth, Black Wolf Fang’s death was merely a turning point. He had never found the elusive blue-tinged spider lily, and Muzan had grown impatient. Now, the master intended to stir up the demons—to distract the Demon Slayer Corps by provoking a frenzy, so as to prevent them from interfering with the demons sent to search for that blue spider lily.

  Although Muzan was the original demon and possessed unrivaled power, he was, in fact, terribly timid and cowardly—especially after nearly being slain by that famed Nichirin swordsman and fleeing in disgrace. Ever since, Muzan had harbored a cautious mistrust of the Demon Slayer Corps, persistently searching for their headquarters, though to no avail. In the past, messages had reached him, but when he arrived, the buildings were empty, left abandoned.

  Muzan could roughly sense the location and status of demons—the closer he got, the clearer his insight. Face-to-face, he could even read their innermost thoughts. His interest in Black Wolf Fang, however, went beyond sensing potential akin to Kokushibo’s. During his travels, Muzan had inadvertently discovered that Black Wolf Fang was a descendant of a demon slayer.

  Frankly, Muzan spent most of his long, monotonous years with little else to do besides searching for the blue spider lily. Watching others suffer was one of the few pleasures he retained.

  Transforming a demon slayer’s descendant into a demon, then pitting him against a demon slayer—that spectacle was something Muzan eagerly anticipated. Whether Black Wolf Fang would be killed by demons, or if he would kill a demon slayer, Muzan would derive delight from it.

  But now—Black Wolf Fang had been slain without Muzan’s knowledge. This meant that Muzan would not be able to witness the scene he so craved.

  This irked him, and thinking of those bothersome Demon Slayer Corps folk, he resolved that it was time for the demons to step boldly into human sight.

  …

  Ma Gui stuck out his tongue and licked his cheek. “Want to join this grand feast? Of course you can.”

  “One, we four can’t consume everyone—feel free to add yourself to our number.”

  In a town of over a thousand people, even if they all obeyed Akaza’s orders and spared the women, there would still be a few hundred corpses left behind.

  And a demon’s appetite is limited; devouring a hundred people at once is unrealistic. Demons rarely store corpses—they prefer the fresh, delectable taste of someone freshly dead.

  Kawagishi laughed. “Only four demons?”

  Ma Gui’s face twisted into a feral sneer. “No, originally we were five.”

  “But Akaza—why is it that he refuses to act and still restricts us from killing or devouring women? It’s truly infuriating.”

  “Yet, because he won’t slay women, he even dares to petition the master for leniency. That takes a certain nerve.”

  Ma Gui was visibly displeased with Akaza’s orders, but there was nothing he could do; he was too cowardly—Akaza was simply too powerful.

  Kawagishi fell silent. Akaza? Who is he?

  A demon who refuses to kill women, even negotiating with Muzan Kibutsuji…

  I find this peculiar. A demon who neither slays nor eats women—and does not partake in the annihilation of towns. As far as I know, demons revel in slaughter.

  Not only does he refrain from acting himself, but he even restrains other demons. This truly astonishes me.

  Akaza, what kind of demon are you?

  “Aren’t the four of you supposed to work together? I only see you standing alone,” Ma Gui said, clearly enjoying the conversation.

  “Yes, Akaza arrived earlier, but he hasn’t made a move yet.”

  “After we gathered here, the four of us decided that each should attack from a different direction; otherwise, in a town this large, some people might escape, and that’s not acceptable.”

  Kawagishi burst into hearty laughter. “Then my joining is just perfect—plus, I can help you pick off a few stragglers.”

  Ma Gui grinned. “Indeed. Come on, let’s unleash a torrent of slaughter. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”

  Ma Gui was pleased with Kawagishi’s decision to join them; with Akaza not taking action, the four of them alone might let many escape in the ensuing chaos.

  If that master becomes displeased, given Akaza’s status as an Upper Moon, the master might not hesitate to kill all of us on the spot.

  Kawagishi laughed even more broadly, his snarling fangs fully exposed in the air.

  “Yes, let’s revel in unrestrained slaughter.”