— — — — — —
Ratatatatata—!
The sharp burst of gunfire echoed through the night air of Edo.
Massive searchlights swept across the dark landscape, illuminating the rivers and roads. In their stark beams, red-eyed monsters crawled out of the river one after another, surging forward in waves like a living tide.
Ratatata—!
Soldiers in brown-yellow uniforms crouched behind sandbag bunkers, eyes wide with terror but fingers steady on the trigger. The guns roared, spitting out bullet after bullet. Each round tore into the advancing demons, punching holes straight through them with explosive force.
One by one, the monsters dropped. But the soldiers' faces only grew more hopeless.
Because those monsters didn't stay down.
In just a few seconds, they were back on their feet—and the gaping holes in their bodies were healing before the soldiers' eyes.
"M-Monsters! They're actual monsters!!"
A soldier screamed, voice cracking with fear.
Behind the lines, a man in a dark military uniform barked into a telegraph, frantically trying to contact the "Temporary Imperial Residence."
"We need air support! Get the bombers in the air again! Send reinforcements, now!"
The operator beside him hesitated, clearly rattled. "Sir, after yesterday's attack, half of Edo's buildings are already in ruins. If we bomb again, the whole city could—"
Click!
The officer pressed the barrel of his pistol against the trembling operator's head, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
"Send the damn message or die right here. Your choice. Do it!"
But then—
BOOM—!!
An explosion ripped through the roof above them. Shards of wood and concrete rained down. In seconds, most of the men in the room were dead. The lucky few who weren't killed outright were knocked to the ground, dazed and bleeding.
"Cough—cough! What the hell was that?!" the officer wheezed, struggling to his knees. "Do those demons have bombers now?!"
He looked up.
A massive hole had been blasted into the ceiling. And through that hole, someone was crouching on the cracked floorboards, pale-skinned and shirtless, his body covered in deep blue tattoos.
He was watching them like a cat watching a dying mouse.
Upper Kizuki Three—Akaza.
"A d-demon?! Wait, those eyes... Are you one of the Upper Kizuki?!"
The officer fumbled for his pistol, hand shaking.
Akaza tilted his head, eyes lighting up as he noticed the rank insignia on the man's uniform.
"Well, would you look at that? Caught a big fish tonight. You're the one who's been bombing me these past few days, aren't you?"
Bang!
The officer didn't hesitate. He put the pistol to his own head and pulled the trigger, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" as his body crumpled to the floor.
Akaza stared at the corpse for a moment, then curled his lip in annoyance.
"Scared I'd eat you, huh? Boring."
He stayed where he was, crouched among the wreckage of the command post.
"According to that traitor woman from the Demon Slayer Corps, there's a Hashira nearby..."
Akaza smiled.
"Heh... now that's interesting. Fighting a Hashira is way more fun than slaughtering these grunts."
"I hope they send two or three at once. That'd be even better."
He looked up through the hole in the roof, gazing at the overcast sky.
"Cloudy again today... good. Saves me the trouble of hiding from the sun."
And so, in the middle of the shattered command center, Akaza waited patiently—for the Demon Slayers to arrive.
Not far from the command post, in the shadowy forest beyond Edo, a large crow landed on a tree branch and delivered a message.
Stone Hashira Himejima Gyomei took it, scanned the contents, and turned to Flame Hashira Rengoku Kyojuro beside him.
"The Lord just sent word. Upper Kizuki Three is holed up in that command post ahead."
"Did Ryo provide the intel?" Kyojuro asked, eyes lighting up. "Finally, a real fight with an Upper Kizuki!"
His breathing quickened. Fiery red marks began to appear across his face—Demon Slayer Marks, a manifestation of high-level breathing techniques that drastically enhanced physical abilities, though at great personal cost.
Gyomei noticed and sighed. "Amitabha... Rengoku, those marks may make you stronger, but they shorten your lifespan. Don't overdo it."
But Kyojuro just grinned through the discomfort. "It's alright. Ryo can relieve the side effects later. And if we're fighting an Upper Kizuki, I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Gyomei sighed again. "I still don't know if he was right to teach you the Marks... or the Transparent World."
He couldn't help but think of Ryo—the man who had doubled the Demon Slayers' fighting power in just five days by flooding them with intelligence and resources. Gyomei owed him a debt he couldn't forget.
"Oh, come on," Kyojuro laughed. "You've awakened the Marks too, haven't you? Besides, Ryo said I've got the potential to fight Upper Kizuki Three... one-on-one. I want to see if he's right."
"Amitabha! That's exactly why I came with you—to stop you from doing anything reckless!"
"Well then, thank you! After the fight, I'll buy you a grilled eel bento!"
"It's a deal!"
Weapons in hand, the two Hashira laughed and marched straight toward Akaza.
---
Outskirts of Edo, at one of the estates owned by the Ubuyashiki family.
Ryo sat in the main room, calmly polishing his Zanpakutō.
Around him, members of the Ubuyashiki household were buzzing around telegraphs and messenger crows, keeping track of Edo's rapidly worsening situation.
Just then, a well-dressed middle-aged nobleman stormed into the room, his face twisted with anger.
"Yagami," he snapped, "the military's taken heavy losses again. One of our air bases was completely wiped out by that... that Kokushibo creature! How can you still hesitate to send the Demon Slayers to exterminate those damn monsters?!"
Before he could finish—
Slash!
Ubuyashiki Kagaya burst into the room just as the man's head hit the floor. His lifeless body collapsed beside Ryo, who hadn't even stood up.
Kagaya sighed deeply. "These nobles really don't know when to shut up. I tried to stop him, I really did."
Ryo didn't even glance at the body. He turned to Kanae, who stood quietly nearby.
"Kanae, send another message to the Upper Kizuki. Tell them this noble's estate is worth a visit."
The nearby staff didn't even flinch. They were used to it by now.
Lately, Flower Hashira Kocho Kanae had become the unofficial "double agent" between the Demon Slayers and the demons. Ryo joked that she had turned into the "All-You-Can-Eat Noble Buffet."
A single message under her name was enough to wipe out an entire noble household.
Kagaya sighed again. "You're going to wipe out all the great families in Edo at this rate."
Ryo smiled and pulled a pocket watch from his coat, checking the number "10" engraved inside.
"That's the plan. Sacrificing a few nobles gives us precise control over the Upper Kizuki's movements. It's a small price to pay."
"Besides, if these nobles are so eager to run over here and get themselves killed, isn't that their way of offering their hearts for humanity?"
Kagaya could only smile bitterly. He had no counterargument. Ryo was far more ruthless than he ever could be—but it was precisely that ruthlessness that had kept the demons contained within Edo.
Even the Upper Kizuki were starting to resent Edo's leadership. They'd been battered by bombs, guns, mortars—whatever the military could throw at them. Sure, they could regenerate, but having shrapnel stuck in your body was still a miserable experience.
And every time a noble was targeted, the Demon Slayers got another shot at a decisive ambush.
In a way, these nobles really were offering their hearts for humanity.
Well... their hearts were being offered, anyway.
Ryo finished cleaning his blade and asked casually, "Kagaya, are they still suppressing information about what's happening in Edo?"
Kagaya hesitated, then nodded solemnly.
Ryo's smile sharpened as he sheathed his blade.
"Ah, then we'll probably be getting a few more visitors today. Can't wait."
---
On a mountain far from the chaos, the Kamado family home.
Nezuko had just returned from a supply run and handed her father a stack of newspapers.
"Here you go, Dad—today's papers."
"Thank you, Nezuko. You've been a great help," Tanjuro Kamado said, passing her a cup of water. "Sit down and rest for a bit."
Nezuko poured herself a glass and flopped into a chair. Tanjuro, meanwhile, skimmed the front page—and his expression froze.
{Effects of the Great Kanto Earthquake Continue.}
{Edo Still Cut Off from Communication. Provisional Cabinet Scrambling to Respond.}
{Now in its third day, the earthquake is being called the worst natural disaster of 1923.}
{Several European nations have issued statements of condolence.}
Nezuko blinked in confusion.
"An earthquake? Is it really that bad, Dad? I mean, they said it's the worst in decades, but we haven't felt anything up here..."
Tanjuro just gave her a gentle smile and patted her head.
"Nezuko, go get your brother. We're heading to Edo."
Nezuko stared, baffled. "Wait, what?! During an earthquake?!"
Tanjuro chuckled softly. "Don't worry. We're just going to help with logistics. Carrying firewood and things like that."
"But what about Mom and the kids? If we leave, there won't be anyone to—"
Before she could finish, Tanjuro pulled out a package he'd received days ago and placed a thick stack of yen bills on the table.
Nezuko's eyes widened. She remembered that package—Ryo had sent it.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
She turned and bolted toward the coal shed.
"Onii-chan! We're going on a trip—hurry up and get changed!"
"Huh??" Tanjiro called from inside, totally confused. "What trip?!"
.
.
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