Chapter 112: Action! The Battle Against Gyokko!
For the past few days, Gyokko and Katsuragi Ren had been practically inseparable.
Although Ren had been putting on an act the entire time, it had done absolutely nothing to diminish Gyokko's blind admiration for him.
During this period, Gyokko truly hadn't eaten any humans.
He had been studying the appreciation of art under Master Ren's guidance.
And the more he learned, the more shocked he became.
The breadth of this Demon Slayer's artistic knowledge was astonishing!
At first, Gyokko had thought that Master Ren was merely a master sculptor.
But after getting to know him, he discovered that Master Ren was also highly proficient in sketching, appreciation, drafting, and surveying.
On top of that, there were countless terms he had never heard before and artworks he had never seen!
For example, over the past few days, he had been studying a new type of pot proposed by Master Ren.
Apparently, this pot had a wide opening that wasn't located at the very top. It also had a handle on its body and could hold a yellow liquid.
It was simply amazing!
Ren was equally surprised.
He had never expected Gyokko to become so obsessed with urinals that he would even suppress his instinctive hunger just to study them!
Gyokko hadn't eaten any humans for days because he was afraid the smell of blood would affect his creative inspiration.
Although Gyokko had replenished himself with Muzan's blood during this period, refusing to eat still made him hungry.
But he endured it.
The worst part was that Gyokko had secretly killed and eaten two chickens behind Master Ren's back.
Ren actually admired him a little for that.
He hadn't eaten meat for several days either.
He was already sick of steamed buns.
At first, his "Three Things I Don't Eat" rule had been created to stop Gyokko from eating humans.
And clearly, it had worked.
But Ren himself couldn't stand going an entire week without meat.
At night, he would even secretly drool in his sleep.
Back at the Butterfly Mansion, he ate four dishes and a bowl of soup with every meal!
Not only could he regularly enjoy game meat, he could also taste dishes personally prepared by Kochou Shinobu.
Eating delicious food while admiring beautiful women...
What a life!
Damn it.
Now he was stuck in a dark, damp basement, discussing art with a psychopath for an entire week, while being limited to three meals of steamed buns a day.
Just thinking about it made Ren furious!
But what could he do?
He had made up this lie himself.
He could only endure it until the end.
Still, seeing that idiot Gyokko wasn't eating any better made Ren feel considerably better...
As he watched the focused Gyokko, Ren couldn't help thinking that if this guy's values hadn't gone astray, he might have become a great artist in the future.
Unfortunately, he had followed the wrong leader.
He was destined to be killed by the Mist Hashira alone.
Time flew.
Before he knew it, another day had passed.
The seventh day was approaching.
During this period, Gyokko's strength had gradually weakened, while Ren's strength had steadily recovered.
Under the refining effect of his Hundredfold Concentration, the poison in Ren's body was slowly disappearing.
So he had been waiting.
Waiting for the right opportunity to escape.
Ren also briefly summarized the information he had extracted from Gyokko.
First, why was he being kept at Gyokko's house?
Originally, Muzan had planned to have Ren escorted by Gyokko and Hantengu together.
But Hantengu had said that he was afraid...
So in the end, the mission had fallen entirely to Gyokko.
Ren thought for a moment and quickly noticed several clues hidden within this information.
First, there probably wasn't only one Upper Rank demon besides Gyokko.
Combined with what the little demon whose head Ren had previously cut off had said, there was a good chance that another one was nearby.
But those were still only guesses.
Ren needed to extract more concrete information from Gyokko.
The final day.
Gyokko arrived at the basement early in the morning.
Ren was already waiting there.
His Nichirin Sword was at his side, and the antidote Kochou Shinobu had prepared was secured around his waist.
His posture was perfectly straight.
He didn't look like someone who had been poisoned at all.
Gyokko walked up to Ren and immediately asked impatiently,
"Master Ren, seven days have passed. When can we finally begin creating the divine masterpiece you promised to teach me? Shouldn't we discuss the specific plan of execution?"
"Don't rush, Little Gyokko. I have a question for you."
Ren deliberately put on a mysterious expression.
After several days of interaction, the way the two addressed each other had changed.
Gyokko called Ren "Master Ren" because Ren's achievements in certain areas of art were so extraordinary that his techniques had deeply impressed Gyokko.
That was why Gyokko had begun calling him Master.
As for "Little Gyokko," that was simply because Gyokko wanted Ren to address him more affectionately.
Ren was also using the nickname to bring them closer together.
Ren leaned toward Gyokko's ear and said solemnly,
"Before a masterpiece is born, all preparations must be kept strictly confidential."
"So we have to make sure there is no one else around when we begin."
Gyokko solemnly nodded.
"Master Ren, you don't need to worry."
"During this period, whenever everyone sees me, they run away because I've been fighting over steamed buns. There won't be anyone around."
But Ren shook his head.
"Not just humans."
"There must be no demons either."
Ren affectionately patted Gyokko's shoulder and said seriously,
"Little Gyokko, as a great artist, you wouldn't want anyone peeking at your creative process, would you?"
Gyokko's mood immediately improved.
Especially when he heard the words great artist coming from Master Ren.
His smile stretched all the way to his ears.
"Yes, yes! Master Ren is absolutely right!"
"But rest assured. There isn't a single person or demon around!"
Ren looked at him suspiciously.
"Really?"
Gyokko nodded vigorously.
"Absolutely!"
"Even the demon my boss sent only arrived today, and he doesn't live here either."
"As long as I don't say anything, no demon will know I'm here creating art!"
Ren pursed his lips, half-smiling.
"What about your boss?"
"Your boss probably doesn't like seeing you do this sort of thing, does he?"
Hearing this, Gyokko became even more dismissive.
"That's fine too."
"My boss is busy conducting all kinds of experiments. He doesn't have time to bother with me."
As he spoke, a puzzled expression appeared on his face.
"Last time, I don't even know what happened. He kept calling me over and rewarding me with blood, saying I'd done a good job."
"At the time, I thought, 'Is my boss starting a side business or something?'"
"So, Master Ren, let's give this everything we've got!"
It had to be said that for the sake of his artistic creation, Gyokko had long since thrown Muzan's mission out of his mind.
The tension that had been hanging over Ren finally disappeared.
"That's good."
"That's very good."
Ren nodded.
Then his palm accidentally brushed against the hilt of his Nichirin Sword.
As an Upper Rank demon, Gyokko's senses had become somewhat dull after working continuously for so long.
But he could still sense killing intent.
He instantly noticed Ren's movement.
"Master Ren, what are you doing?"
Gyokko asked in confusion.
He had been discussing art with Ren for so long that he had completely forgotten that Ren was originally a Demon Slayer.
Gyokko even assumed that Master Ren had come up with some new artistic insight.
But the next moment—
Ren's Nichirin Sword shot toward him!
"Dragon Breathing, Fifth Form—Rising Wind and Clouds!"