Chapter 126: Douma's Hidden Mission
However, Amane had no intention of forcing the matter.
Since they had already set out, all she could do was pray that everyone who had departed would return safely.
After exchanging a few more brief words, Murata slowly left the Ubuyashiki Estate.
For the time being, Murata's task was still to wait for each Hashira to return and relay the message to them. Therefore, he planned to immediately seal off every route the Hashira might take on their way home.
It was the most effective method.
Beneath the blue sky, Murata suddenly raised his head despite his limp.
As he looked toward the sun, he suddenly remembered the scene of Ren fighting demons in the darkness of night.
At that time, Ren's bearing had been extraordinarily imposing. He hadn't looked anything like the younger boy who was considerably shorter than Murata.
Hiding behind Ren, Murata had been deeply moved when he saw him continue fighting silently despite being covered in wounds.
He sighed.
"Dragon Hashira, you have to survive. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty for the rest of my life..."
...
Entertainment District — Gyokko's House
Three Upper Rank demons had gathered there, each wearing a completely different expression.
Hantengu was crying.
Daki was furious.
As for Douma, he wandered around Gyokko's house as though he were sightseeing.
"Douma-sama, you have to stand up for me! I fought outside for so long, yet Lord Hantengu didn't even take a single look!"
Daki complained tearfully.
Beside her, Hantengu's legs hung limply as he cried as well.
"It wasn't my fault! It was my legs' fault! They went weak, so I couldn't go out!"
Daki immediately erupted in anger.
"If you can't shit, you blame the toilet? As an Upper Rank, all you do is make excuses! What kind of Upper Rank are you?!"
"That's enough, little sister."
Gyutaro, who was hidden inside Daki's body, hurriedly tried to mediate. He was worried that if Daki lost her temper, she might simply cut off Hantengu's head, which would cause even more trouble.
At that moment, Hantengu started accusing Gyutaro of bullying the weak again...
Listening to their endless excuses and arguments, Douma was so bored that he was practically about to fall asleep.
After a long while, he smiled.
"I'm hungry."
The air fell silent for a moment.
Daki didn't immediately react.
She remembered that Douma had just eaten at her Kyogoku House, hadn't he?
Could he really digest food that quickly?
But hadn't he completely missed the point?!
Douma continued,
"There's no point complaining to me. After all, I'm not the one who died. It was you three—Numbers Four, Five, and Six."
The moment he finished speaking, Daki and Hantengu's expressions froze.
Douma really was completely unconcerned.
He simply said whatever came to mind...
And Douma wasn't wrong.
This matter truly had nothing to do with him.
In Douma's eyes, although Daki and Hantengu were also his friends, he wasn't short of friends.
Douma remained completely confident in his ability to make friends.
After all, Lord Akaza was still around, and their relationship was extremely solid!
Everyone else would die, but he and Akaza wouldn't.
Because they were Muzan's left and right arms.
Killing them would be like Muzan cutting off his own limbs.
After a moment, Daki's expression slowly returned to its usual coldness.
Since she couldn't morally restrain Douma, there was no point pretending anymore.
Douma suddenly laughed.
"Lady Daki, Lord Hantengu, we've now confirmed that Ren hasn't escaped the Entertainment District yet. I'll guard the exits of the district. After that, the two of you can search for him together."
"But we don't know where he is."
There was a hint of grievance in Daki's voice.
She had already experienced how terrifying her opponent was during yesterday's battle, and now she had to fight again today.
She really didn't want to fight Ren anymore!
Hantengu also desperately covered his mouth, looking completely helpless.
"Why? Why do all of you keep forcing me? Wuwuwu..."
Douma spoke casually.
"It's simple. You only need to find those three women, right? After all, aren't the members of the Demon Slayer Corps very concerned about something called 'emotions'?"
Upon hearing Douma's words, Daki's face turned pale.
Yesterday, she had indeed found those three female shinobi first, and she had indeed used them to lure Ren out.
But this old fox conveniently neglected to mention that she had nearly been cut down by him!
Judging from Douma's lazy demeanor, it was obvious that he simply wanted to slack off. He clearly had no intention of taking Muzan's mission seriously.
Daki couldn't help clenching her fists.
Damn Douma! He's forcing me to go to the front lines!
And her teammate was still a useless coward.
A powerful Upper Rank Four who didn't even dare show himself when it was time to fight.
The Twelve Kizuki had truly rotted to the core.
Every employee only wanted to slack off and push their work onto lower-ranked demons.
If the mission failed, she would still be the one whose head got cut off.
Being an Upper Rank was so frustrating!
But there was nothing Daki could say.
Who told her that she was at the very bottom of the Upper Ranks?
The boss had already spoken.
Did she dare contradict the boss?
In the end, all her countless complaints condensed into a suppressed resentment that escaped between her lips.
"Yes."
Douma clapped his hands.
"Good. Then it's settled. You and Lord Hantengu go find him. I have something else to take care of."
"Another mission?"
Daki suddenly remembered something.
She recalled that Nakime had only teleported her and Hantengu away.
She hadn't teleported Douma.
In fact, if Douma joined the battle, Ren would probably be captured immediately, wouldn't he?
So Douma wasn't leaving because of some other mission?
Within Daki's field of vision, Douma was rummaging through Gyokko's house, apparently searching for something.
After a moment, he pulled a brightly colored oil painting from beneath a pile of rubble.
"This is it."
Douma gazed at the masterpiece, an innocent smile on his face.
"The flowers on it are so beautiful!"
Daki followed his gaze.
There, on a clean but yellowed sheet of paper covered in a thin layer of dust, the artwork was still relatively well preserved.
A pale blue flower could vaguely be seen swaying on the canvas.
As the oiran of the Kyogoku House, Daki had seen countless varieties of flowers since childhood.
Yet she had never seen the flower depicted in this painting.
Moreover, the brushwork was smooth and elegant.
It was unquestionably the work of a master painter.
Is this someone's fantasy?
Daki wondered.
But in the next instant, her heart suddenly began pounding violently.
It was excitement originating from the deepest level of her cells.
They trembled.
They screamed.
They cried out with joy.
A strange fragment of an image flashed through Daki's mind.
Within the illusion, a benevolent doctor was speaking to her.
He promised to cure her illness, then mentioned that he was still missing one medicinal ingredient.
And that ingredient was the Blue Spider Lily.
"This is the Blue Spider Lily!"
Daki cried out in shock.
She couldn't believe that a painting of the Blue Spider Lily was actually hanging in Gyokko's house.
No wonder she had never seen the flower before!