A jet-black blade arc sliced through the night sky, first cutting a handball in two. As Gusion leaped, the blade then severed the neck of a demon.
Before the other demon could even be shocked, Gusion's figure flashed again, another slash falling to decapitate the Arrow Demon as well.
In just a single second, two demons were slain, their bodies crashing heavily to the ground. The handball demon Susamaru's head rolled to Yushiro's feet, sending a chill down his spine.
Gusion flicked the blood from his blade. "I told you, it's not safe here… I'll give you three seconds to decide. If you take too long, I'll assume you don't want to live."
He didn't have much charisma, so his negotiation skills weren't very effective in emergencies. Fortunately, he understood how to negotiate physically.
While Yushiro was stunned, Gusion had already pressed his blade to the boy's throat, counting down as he looked at Tamayo. "Three, two…"
"Wait, I'll go with you!" Tamayo made her decision in an instant, not daring to hesitate for a moment. She could sense that the man before her was a killing machine. The Demon Slayer Corps wanted her, not Yushiro; if she hesitated, she was sure he would act.
"Well, that's a refreshingly quick answer." Gusion withdrew his blade. "You have five minutes to pack what you need—gather your research materials, and I'll help you take them."
Although Susamaru and Yahaba weren't members of the Twelve Kizuki, they were still Muzan's direct subordinates. This made it clear that Muzan was in Asakusa—and Muzan had discovered him.
What puzzled Gusion was that after discovering him, Muzan's subordinates hadn't attacked him directly. Instead, those two demons had targeted Tamayo.
That didn't make sense. Even if Muzan was furious at Tamayo's betrayal, shouldn't he have prioritized attacking a demon slayer like Gusion first? Was Muzan underestimating him? He was well aware of Gusion's record—so why send such small fry?
"Yushiro, go to the study and bring out all the books in the second cabinet."
Tamayo didn't understand why Gusion gave such an order, but she obeyed anyway. She guessed he might have some vehicle or something to help her transport her research materials.
Once she calmed down, she realized how dire the situation was—they hadn't attacked the demon slayer but had gone straight for her. Muzan had found her!
With every second they lingered here, the danger grew.
"Move quickly, or I can't guarantee you'll get out of Asakusa alive," Gusion said. Although Muzan's choice of attackers was odd, he stayed highly alert.
This meant his whereabouts were exposed. If Muzan wanted, he could quickly assemble his strongest forces to hunt Gusion down.
If that happened, Asakusa would become a battlefield, and Tamayo, an MVP in the original story, would almost certainly be taken out by the other explorers.
In fact, when Gusion received this hidden mission, he was surprised by how inefficient the enemy explorers were. In his mind, Tamayo and Yushiro should have been dead already.
Three days had passed since everyone entered this world. In three days, with the knowledge that Tamayo was hiding in Asakusa, none of the explorers with upper and lower moon level strength had found her. Gusion thought the opposition was utterly incompetent.
If the Muzan-side explorers could read Gusion's mind, they'd be furious.
Did they not want to find her? Yushiro's Blood Demon Art was excellent for hiding, and Muzan—well, serving a capricious boss like him wasn't easy. In their first few days as new Twelve Kizuki, they'd been living in fear, and one unlucky demon was even executed for displeasing Muzan.
The weaker explorers Muzan had turned were mostly ignored, allowed to roam freely. But the new Twelve Kizuki were held to much stricter standards, with hardly any freedom. Everything had to be done according to Muzan's whims. A few who went to Yoshiwara were only granted freedom after presenting Muzan with an artifact that blocked sunlight, which greatly pleased him.
They'd done their best to find Tamayo within their limited freedom but still hadn't found her, much to their frustration.
At this very moment, several explorers were painstakingly trying to persuade Muzan to eliminate Gusion—or at the very least, Tamayo.
But Muzan's unpredictable, violent nature made him impossible to communicate with. One wrong word and he might snap, "Are you telling me how to do my job?"—and then execute them…
So Muzan, annoyed at hearing Tamayo's name, casually sent two subordinates to try and kill her. If it worked, great; if not, oh well. Tamayo wasn't worth his attention.
The explorers couldn't tell Muzan that Tamayo would eventually create a drug that could kill him. All they could do was give up on the idea of killing her for now.
To put it bluntly, Muzan didn't fully trust the new Twelve Kizuki's power yet. And though he'd never admit it, Gusion's display of strength earlier had made him a little wary.
Standing atop the city, Muzan had looked at Gusion from afar, and every cell in his body warned him of danger. The last time he felt like this… was a long time ago.
So Muzan planned to summon his old hands—the Upper Moons One through Five—for a meeting, and then send appropriate people to deal with Gusion.
Gusion, of course, knew nothing of the complex politics within the Muzan camp. He just kept his guard up, ready for a sudden ambush.
But even after Tamayo finished packing, no other demons attacked. Gusion was baffled.
Were the enemy explorers just stupid? Or did they really look down on him and Tamayo?
Either way, not having to fight Muzan's forces in Asakusa while protecting Tamayo was a good thing. Gusion walked over to the pile of books. "Is this all?"
"All my essential research is here. The other books aren't necessary," Tamayo replied. She knew that, on the run, she had to travel light, so she left the ordinary books behind.
Gusion nodded, then, to Tamayo and Yushiro's shock, swept his hand over the books—and they disappeared.
Storage space—one of the explorer's most convenient abilities. No need for luggage. He didn't keep much junk in his space, so there was plenty of room for Tamayo's research.
"Was that… Blood Demon Art? No, you're a Demon Slayer swordsman, right?" Yushiro asked, unable to contain his curiosity, examining Gusion up and down. But no matter how he looked, Gusion didn't seem like a demon.
"Let's go while it's still night. We need to leave Asakusa," Gusion said, not bothering to explain. He couldn't really explain the magic of his storage space anyway. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Gusion, the new Thunder Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps."
"So you're Mr. Gusion. I'm Tamayo, and this boy is Yushiro. Thank you for taking care of us," Tamayo said politely. She understood their current situation—Gusion might look fierce, but he was still a rational swordsman, a man of justice.
And with Muzan in Asakusa, and probably other Twelve Kizuki around, it would be extremely dangerous for her and Yushiro to be hunted without Gusion.
Since she was already exposed and in danger, joining the Demon Slayer Corps was actually the safer choice.
Besides, killing Muzan had always been her dream. If Gusion said the Demon Slayer Corps was preparing to fight Muzan, she was eager to help.
Gusion didn't waste time on pleasantries, quickly escorting Tamayo and Yushiro out of the city. Still, no demons tried to ambush them, which left Gusion even more puzzled.
He used gold bar to buy a car, filling his storage space with a few barrels of gas for transportation.
"Is the Demon Slayer Corps… wealthy?" Yushiro asked, baffled as Gusion casually produced a pile of gold beans.
"A rich merchant I rescued gave them to me as thanks. I just use them for travel expenses," Gusion explained, fiddling with the car for a while before getting it started. He'd driven before in his past life—much more advanced cars, actually. Compared to those, these old cars were a real challenge.
After leaving the city with Tamayo and Yushiro, a Kasugai crow swooped down onto the car roof, eyeing the two demons in confusion. "Thunder Hashira-sama, are these the new demons you've captured for the Mountain Fujikasane selection?"
"Ah! The crow's talking!" Yushiro jumped, then, realizing what this meant, grabbed Tamayo's arm nervously. "Lady Tamayo, I knew it—he's a demon slave trader, here to capture and cage us!"
"Yushiro, don't be rude. Hasn't Mr. Gusion already made his intentions quite clear?" Tamayo scolded, clearly exasperated by Yushiro's lack of sense. "Be quiet, and don't trouble Mr. Gusion."
She politely bowed to the crow. "Mr. Crow, we're not evil demons. We're here to help the Demon Slayer Corps."
She wasn't surprised by what the crow said—being invited to headquarters was likely confidential, not something everyone would know.
"Help the Demon Slayer Corps?" The crow's limited intelligence overloaded. It looked at Gusion. "Thunder Hashira-sama, what's going on?"
"Oh, just give me general directions and go report back to the Oyakata-sama. Tell him I found a skilled and kind demon named Tamayo in Asakusa, and she's going to help us develop medicine against Muzan. The Oyakata-sama will understand."
Gusion remembered that Kagaya Ubuyashiki knew about Tamayo's existence; in the original story, he'd sent a crow to invite her before the final battle.
"Uh…" The crow hesitated, but its duty to report won out, and it soared into the sky.
"Mr. Gusion…" Now Tamayo was confused. "Wasn't it your Oyakata-sama's order for you to invite me?"
She'd heard about the Demon Slayer Corps' Oyakata-sama's wisdom, so when Gusion said "I want you," she assumed it was an order from the top.
But now she realized this was just Gusion's own decision after finding her—hardly reassuring.
She began to consider how to politely suggest that Yushiro leave, while she alone went with Gusion.
"Don't worry, the Oyakata-sama is a wise man. He'll understand your strategic value and approve," Gusion said. "Anyway, since I invited you, I'll protect you myself."
"But Mr. Gusion…" Yushiro wanted to protest but remembered Gusion's strength and Tamayo's instructions, so he changed his tone. "You're not the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps. How can you guarantee Lady Tamayo's safety?"
Gusion stared into the darkness ahead as he drove. "Because I'm strong. That's enough."
Even if Kagaya Ubuyashiki didn't yet know Tamayo, he was a smart man; after Gusion's recent achievements, he'd definitely accept Tamayo for his sake alone.
This world always respected strength. Without showing your value, you had no say.
That's why Gusion never bothered to hide his abilities—he'd already blitzed through Mountain Fujikasane and settled things in Yoshiwara the very next day.