Chapter 124: Who Told You to Chase Me?
Although Suma wasn't good at fighting, she was exceptionally good at running away!
"Hinatsuru! Makio! Wait for me! Waaaaah!"
A sparkling shower of tears fell like rain as Suma fled without looking back. Before long, she had actually overtaken Hinatsuru and Makio.
Daki's expression turned cold, but she forced herself to remain composed.
"Hehe. So the Dragon Hashira isn't anything special after all. I thought you were impressive, but in the end, you still have to run away!"
However, Ren ignored her incessant chatter and continued running without looking back.
Ren understood clearly.
Two sounds from the string instrument meant two Upper Ranks.
One of them was Daki and Gyutaro.
Then who was the other?
It had to be remembered that the remaining Upper Ranks were all among the top four.
And now, with the three wives of the Sound Hashira beside him, Ren didn't dare be careless in the slightest.
He absolutely could not allow a single casualty.
At Daki's location.
"He's figured it out."
A sinister, hoarse voice came from Gyutaro, hidden within Daki's body.
Daki looked unwilling.
"So what if he figured it out? Can't you see that he's already afraid? Since you won't let me kill Ren, I'll kill those three women instead. I'll eat them right now!"
Boom!
Daki's obi unfurled like a waterfall, countless ribbons surging outward like tentacles stretching up from hell, aiming for the backs of Hinatsuru and the other two.
But at that exact moment—
A clear sound of a sword being drawn rang through the night sky.
Immediately afterward, a streak of fire flashed through the cold wind.
"Dragon Breathing, Second Form: Blazing Breath!"
Flames flickered violently beneath the pitch-black night sky.
From far away, Daki heard only the sharp hiss of something burning.
Then her obi suddenly went out of control.
The cold wind extinguished the flames.
Daki suddenly felt as though someone were pulling on her obi.
She couldn't retract it.
Then an astonishing scene unfolded.
Ren's eyes were wide, his feet planted firmly atop a thick mass of obi.
His sword descended.
Flames erupted once more.
The remaining fire illuminated the young man's face as Ren's movements flowed with effortless elegance.
That single slash was colder than the biting night wind.
Facing him, Daki felt as though she were confronting an overwhelming enemy. She hurriedly sent even more obi toward Ren.
But the young man's figure moved like a ghost.
Every attack missed.
Not one could touch him.
This was the first time since Daki had begun fighting that she had encountered an enemy she couldn't even lay a finger on.
On the other side, Ren continued severing countless obi while charging toward Daki along an extremely strange path.
Hot breath escaped his lips.
"Dragon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moving Step—Lotus of Elegance."
The young man's movements were graceful and captivating.
His footwork perfectly avoided Daki's attack trajectories, and after delivering the final blow, he effortlessly arrived beside her ear.
"Who told you to chase me?"
The words themselves were light, but the oppressive force behind them erupted in an instant.
Daki felt as though she had fallen into an icy cellar.
Her previous composure and grand ambitions vanished completely, replaced by fear that spread through her heart like a rising tide.
Oppression.
Power.
Sharpness like a blade.
Various terrifying auras crashed over her as though they intended to tear her apart.
Daki's face instantly seemed to melt. The tip of her nose reddened slightly, and she actually began to cry.
"I... I... I... Wuwuwu!"
Suddenly, a sound like boiling water erupted, filling the air with noise.
Ren's expression darkened. He raised his Nichirin sword again.
"If you cry again, I'll cut off your head!"
Daki's crying stopped abruptly.
"Then I won't cry! Can you not cut off my head?"
"Fine."
Ren lowered his Nichirin sword.
Daki slowly stopped crying as well.
But who would have thought that Ren would raise his sword again the very next moment?
He suddenly smiled.
"I lied."
A flash of Nichirin steel swept past Daki's eyes.
The blade severed her obi before continuing straight toward her neck.
A freezing sensation instantly spread through every vein in her neck.
When Daki looked at Ren again, the world before her seemed to turn upside down.
Daki didn't react.
Her neck didn't react either.
The next moment, she clutched her head and completely broke down.
"Liar! Waaaaah—! Brother!"
Her scalding cries erupted like boiling water, wave after wave, becoming almost unbearably shrill.
Ren had accomplished his purpose of buying time.
After cutting off Daki's head, he didn't wait for Gyutaro to emerge and take revenge.
He immediately struck again.
"Dragon Breathing, First Form: Soaring Dragon!"
He fled the scene at lightning speed.
Only Daki's lonely cries remained behind.
Seeing Ren retreat, Gyutaro chose not to emerge for his own safety.
He comforted Daki from within her body.
"It's fine, Mei. You only lost your head. Once you put it back on, everything will be fine."
"Think about it. What demon doesn't die after being decapitated? Isn't it incredible that you can still survive after having your head cut off?"
Hearing this, Daki cried even harder.
Ever since she had risen to the Upper Ranks, she had never suffered such humiliation!
She sobbed and complained,
"I'm really strong!"
"Damn Ren! I'll definitely tear him to pieces!"
Daki continued crying for several minutes.
In the end, she was still furious. She shouted toward a certain corner,
"Brother! Why aren't you coming out?!"
In a dark and damp corner, Hantengu was secretly curled up.
He desperately covered his mouth, tears streaming down his cheeks as his expression twisted with terror and despair.
"Ahhhhh—! I was almost discovered just now! I'm so scared~!"
Daki's face instantly flushed red with rage.
"You filthy little—!"
Although Hantengu covered his ears, he didn't hear what Daki was saying.
But the girl's crimson face already explained everything.
On this pitch-black night, beneath the bitterly cold wind, Hantengu's words—
I'm scared.
—made Daki feel even colder than Ren's Nichirin blade cutting into her.
Butterfly Mansion — Laboratory
Kiyo placed several brightly colored, plump rice balls in front of Shinobu.
"Shinobu-sama, you should eat something."
The room was silent.
Shinobu paced back and forth inside the laboratory, meticulously preparing and researching poisons for dealing with demons.
She hadn't closed her eyes for a very long time.
Seeing how haggard Shinobu had become, Kiyo cried out in distress.
"Shinobu-sama, you haven't eaten for three days. Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm fine."
Shinobu covered her head and suddenly stopped walking.
At that very moment, the movement of her hand froze.
A sharp pain suddenly struck her head.
This was proof of her loss.
The little girl's eyes were red, as though she had spent countless hours crying.
She could only numb herself through endless experiments, because this was the only thing Ren had left behind for her.
"I'm fine..."
Shinobu pursed her lips and forced a haggard smile.
Although she desperately tried to maintain the familiar image of the dependable "older sister," her noticeably thinner body deceived no one.
This girl's body had already reached its limit.
Shinobu seemed unwilling to let herself sink into the pain, so she shifted her attention and changed the subject.
"How is Kanao doing?"
Kiyo helplessly shook her head.
"Kanao-chan also says she isn't hungry, and she won't eat anything either. She's even thinner than you are now, Shinobu-sama."
Shinobu froze.
Then she pushed the rice balls back toward Kiyo.
"Give them to her. I'm not thin anyway. If she won't eat, then I won't eat either."