Gusion rested one hand on the hilt of the Mazuko Blade, motionless, ignoring Hinatsuru's warning. He stepped forward, grabbed the receptionist woman by the shoulder, and directly threw her out the door.
He glanced indifferently at Hinatsuru. "Try to evacuate the crowd. It's daytime now, so it should be much easier."
Hinatsuru looked at the man in front of her, a bit surprised. She thought, Why are you so calm? Do you even understand the situation? I'm the one trying to save you here!
What is going on with the Demon Slayer Corps these days? Are all the newcomers they recruit this clueless? Not only did he ignore my hint, but he even dragged me into the mess, exposing my undercover identity as a kunoichi.
What surprised her even more was that she hadn't expected another demon to be lurking in this shop. The man walking down the left staircase was a customer who had visited their store two nights ago, which didn't fit with their previous suspicions about the demon's identity.
After investigation, she had basically confirmed that the demon was the oiran of the shop, so why were there other demons here?
Demons rarely act together; most work alone. If Yoshiwara is like a cafeteria for demons, which demon would want to share it with others?
Worst of all, the long-haired man in pink descending the left staircase was emitting a deeply dangerous aura—clearly, that of a Twelve Kizuki-level demon!
How could this be? Are there two Upper Moon-level demons in this shop?
But Hinatsuru's shock wasn't over. There was a new sound from the right staircase.
"Haha, Moose, be content. After all, that's a third of their total fighting strength."
A burly, bald man descended the right staircase, shirtless and even holding a courtesan in his arms as he spoke. Yet the courtesan made no sound, and on closer look, her upper body was drenched in blood.
"Cannon, mind the situation a little, will you? I don't want to get stained by your filth during the fight later."
The long-haired man, Moose, frowned and locked his gaze onto Gusion below.
"Tch, life is for enjoyment. If you're so abstinent, why don't you just join the other side?"
Cannon sneered, tossing the courtesan away like garbage. She rolled to Gusion's feet, her beautiful eyes wide open in terror.
Hinatsuru's anger surged at the sight. She wanted to attack in fury, but the aura erupting from the two demons made her back go cold.
"Run... run quickly..."
She grabbed Gusion's arm, trying to pull him into the sunlight because she had suddenly realized—both these demons were Twelve Kizuki-level!
She had never imagined that Yoshiwara would contain two—or even three—Twelve Kizuki. Fortunately, their husbands had sent them to investigate first, or the Demon Slayer Corps would have suffered unprecedented losses by charging in blindly.
She wanted to pull the new Demon Slayer out, planning to use the advantage of daylight and attack the building from outside. Even if they were weaker, they'd still stand a chance.
But what baffled her was that, not only did this new Demon Slayer seem oblivious to her words, but despite her strength, she couldn't budge him at all.
She had used all her strength in her panic, but the other party hadn't moved an inch, steady as a mountain.
Just as her mind was overheating, a new change occurred.
Outside, the sky... darkened.
"Heh, did you think we'd just wait for someone to walk into our trap without any preparation?"
The long-haired Moose sneered. "Even though you're alone, you should be worth the price. You look strong, after all."
Gusion glanced at the dusk outside. This didn't surprise him; just as he knew fighting demons during the day was advantageous, demons also knew sunlight was deadly.
Before each mission world starts, Explorers receive a prompt, and, depending on their mark's permissions, have time to prepare items for the next world.
Knowing they were entering the Demon Slayer world and planning to side with Muzan, of course, they'd find a way to get sunlight-resistant items.
The outside was probably covered by some kind of shielding item. Judging by the range, it was likely a one-time use item; otherwise, if it were reusable, even a rare purple-grade item wouldn't have such a large effect.
It wasn't that he looked down on the other camp's Explorers, but Gusion thought that if they could afford legendary-grade items, they wouldn't bother with such tricks—they'd just come after him directly.
"What kind of Blood Demon Art is this!?"
Hinatsuru exclaimed in shock. She couldn't understand what was happening. If demons weren't afraid of sunlight anymore, wouldn't the Demon Slayer Corps be in even more danger?
Gusion stood at the entrance, face calm. "So, you're the new Twelve Kizuki?"
"Twelve Kizuki?"
Cannon snorted. "That's a thing of the past."
As he spoke, both he and Moose, under Hinatsuru's startled gaze, brushed their hands over their eyes—revealing numbers.
Moose's eyes showed "Lower Rank Seven," and Cannon's, "Lower Rank Eight."
"How is this possible!?"
Hinatsuru looked at the numbers in disbelief. The Twelve Kizuki are so named because there are twelve: Upper Six and Lower Six.
But what was she seeing now? Lower Seven and Lower Eight!
Could it be that Muzan had increased the number of the Twelve Kizuki!?
"Heh..."
As Hinatsuru was in shock, she suddenly heard a laugh from the man beside her. The chuckle grew louder and louder, turning into mad laughter.
Hinatsuru let go of Gusion's hand in confusion, thinking, Did this rookie just lose his mind from fear?
"What's so funny? Facing death, have you gone mad?"
Cannon grinned viciously, striding down the stairs. They were Muzan's newly certified Lower Kizuki. Though their numbers were only seven and eight, that didn't mean they were weaker than the original six Lower Moons—just that they hadn't met the originals for a swap.
In terms of pure ability, these Explorers with superhuman stats were stronger than any original Lower Moon, though still weaker than an Upper Moon.
Gusion covered his face, seemingly suppressing his emotions; his laughter gradually faded, but Hinatsuru still noticed the upturned corners of his lips.
"Sorry, I'm just a bit too happy."
Gusion lowered his hand. In this world, killing an enemy Explorer has a chance to drop a Dead Man's Chest, and killing a Twelve Kizuki guarantees a chest. If both overlap, killing these two Explorers in front of him would net him all their wealth.
That was... truly wonderful.
Cannon leaped from the stairs, wielding a massive hammer, smashing down at Gusion's head: "Die!"
They were willing to use items not only because Gusion had found them during the day, but also because they judged his strength to be considerable—possibly even a Hashira.
Given their side-mission and camp features, if they killed Gusion, they could get his Dead Man's Chest—a guaranteed profit.
Their scouting skills indicated the opponent was a top-tier first-rank with overall stats above 27—rich enough to make the item investment worthwhile.
Cannon had originally been an Explorer with only 20 overall stats. After gaining demon power, he now had 28, plus super regeneration and tough skin, making him a first-rank powerhouse.
In the past, he wouldn't have dared face an Explorer like Gusion, but now he was the stronger one—truly relishing Muzan's power.
Time seemed to slow. He saw his hammer approaching Gusion's head, almost picturing Gusion's skull splattering.
But in the next instant, Gusion ducked, and then all Cannon saw was a flash of black—then a sense of spinning dizziness.
Cannon's bald head rolled across the floor, eyes still filled with confusion and lingering malice.
Gusion, crouched down, had already sheathed his blade, reached out, and closed the eyes of the courtesan in front of him.
As he slowly stood up, an invisible aura rose, enveloping the entire space.
In Moose's eyes, the man rising before him was like a towering peak, a mountain of pressure crashing down, making his heart nearly stop.
Gusion tilted his head slightly, glancing at Moose. "Weren't you going to surround and kill me? Come on, all at once."