After the final selection days ago, Camellia and another explorer, Whirlwind, successfully joined the Demon Slayer Corps.
They'd thought they'd picked the wrong side, but during the selection they saw their side had a heaven-defying player, which rekindled their hope.
While waiting for their new swords, they trained hard in Breathing Techniques. Although they hadn't mastered them, their explorer bodies were strong enough to easily defeat ordinary demons and even earn End Coins as rewards.
This made them greedy—killing ordinary demons only netted dozens or hundreds of coins, but killing a Twelve Kizuki could earn rare or even purple loot boxes.
There weren't unlimited weak demons to farm, and time was limited. As the world grew more dangerous, they figured they'd try for a big score early, while they still had an advantage.
So they set their sights on Mount Natagumo's Lower Moon, Rui—the original's mini boss. Rui's strength made him the gatekeeper of the Twelve Kizuki. They thought he'd be a good test and loot source.
Not knowing how strong the Twelve Kizuki would be, they brought along the main character team for backup.
A little convincing brought Tanjiro on board, and Zenitsu was dragged along.
Ever since he met Tanjiro's sister, Zenitsu was determined to be his best friend.
At first, things went smoothly. With Tanjiro and Zenitsu, they swept through weak demons, even meeting Inosuke in the Drum House.
They felt set for a future of leveling up and looting boss chests with the protagonist squad.
Reality quickly doused them with cold water. On Natagumo Mountain, they did find the Fifth of the Twelve Kizuki—only to find two Fifths: one Lower, one Upper…
Worse, besides Rui, there was Enmu (Lower Moon One), with a god-tier support Blood Demon Art.
Enmu could put anyone to sleep instantly, and unless you killed yourself in the dream, you wouldn't wake up. Even if you did, you'd be vulnerable for an instant.
Enmu might not be able to exploit that moment himself, but with Upper Moon Five, Lower Moon Five, and seven or eight demon-side explorers, it was a slaughter.
Just meeting Enmu's gaze meant sure death.
So why were they still alive?
Camellia and Whirlwind suspected it wasn't because they were strong, but because they were weak. The enemy saw them as bait, useful for luring in better prey.
That's how Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui got lured here—and now he was caught in a desperate battle. The enemy explorers were masters of bait tactics.
Tengen was strong, and at first Camellia hoped he'd unleash his Mark and wipe out the enemy.
But reality was harsh. Tengen couldn't activate his Mark, and his advanced analysis technique was useless when under attack from so many sides.
Worse, Enmu hadn't even started using his ability yet—just Upper Moon Five's Blood Demon Art was enough to leave Tengen gasping for air.
At that moment, Tengen steadied his breath, holding his twin swords and facing Gyokko's words with a flashy smile. "Make me into art? I'm flashy enough—isn't that art already?"
He cut down an attacking explorer, decapitating them before they could react. "You filthy noise—so annoying."
The other demon-side explorers backed away, realizing that even a harried Tengen was far beyond their ability to fight directly. Demons had terrible teamwork anyway, let alone any sense of camaraderie.
Even though Gyokko and Enmu could have saved that explorer, they didn't bother.
There were nine demon-side explorers on Natagumo Mountain, each from different adventurer groups. Most didn't know each other before entering this world, but they all had one thing in common: they were weak.
They were mid-to-low-tier first-level explorers. Even with demon blood, they weren't strong—barely able to fight Rui, and they hadn't received Muzan's numbers.
Still, even weaklings could profit in this world—by leveraging the strong.
The top explorers, granted numbers by Muzan, had powerful abilities but little freedom. The rest could act freely.
So they suggested teaming up with Upper Moon Five and Lower Moon One to set a trap at Natagumo Mountain. If it worked, they could kill two or three Hashira—a huge haul.
With enough achievements, maybe Muzan would give them more blood and purify their demon bloodlines.
Who said you needed Upper Moon Three strength to kill a Hashira? With good teamwork, even the weak could slay the mighty.
They believed that, with this plan, even Gyomei could be taken down—if they caught him off guard, they'd rush in and tear him apart.
No miraculous comebacks—if Gyomei was controlled and downed, they'd swarm him.
"Tengen-san!" Tanjiro shouted, thrilled to see Tengen kill a demon. Ever the optimist, he was determined to break through, even in desperate straits.
"Kid, I'll open a way out—don't worry about me, just run for it!" Tengen called, wearing a smile that masked his certainty of impending death.
He always smiled to keep the newcomers from being too afraid. If even a Hashira lost hope, what chance did the rest have?
"I'll fight with you, Tengen-san!" Tanjiro insisted. He'd recently mastered the Hinokami Kagura in battle with Rui, but switching between Water and Flame Breathing made it hard to fight now, so he'd been carrying Inosuke and running.
"Grrr…" Nezuko, biting her bamboo muzzle, snarled like a little beast at the encircling demons.
"Don't be stupid—run, get help!" Tengen yelled, struggling to fend off Gyokko's attacks.
"Hehehe… still dreaming of escape?" Gyokko's tiny hands covered his mouth as he laughed. "You may be handsome, but you're not too bright. You can't see the difference between us—or my art. You have no idea what kind of perfect vase I'll make you into."
Water surged behind him as he summoned massive monsters, each over five meters tall.
Each fish monster radiated power, easily surpassing Lower Moon Five and rivaling Enmu.
Camellia's scouting tools told her these creatures were statistically as strong as Lower Moon One.
But these were just Gyokko's creations—he summoned dozens as he spoke, encircling the forest and making sure no one escaped.
A demon-side explorer chimed in with flattery. "Ah, Gyokko-sama's Blood Demon Art is always so beautiful—a true model of artistic perfection. If I could get one of your vases after this, I'd treasure it forever, basking in the height of art."
The flattery disgusted Tengen and the others, but Gyokko loved it. He nodded, looking at the explorer. "Hmm, you have a good eye. I'll give you a vase when we get back."
"It would be the greatest honor, sir. I hope to enjoy more of your art. Should we spread more news?" the explorer suggested. "If we kill them all now, there won't be anyone left for your next performance—everyone would regret missing your art."
He looked at the other explorers. "Don't you agree?"
They all nodded eagerly. "Yes, we want to see more of Gyokko-sama's art."
Gyokko, surrounded by praise, was delighted. He'd never enjoyed such treatment before. As a lonely artist, he'd always worked alone, rarely acknowledged by others.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with his art—those who didn't appreciate it just lacked taste.
But just days ago, Muzan had created a batch of new demons—demons with artistic sensibility, who quickly became his devoted admirers. It was thanks to their advice that he came to Natagumo Mountain for this bait operation.
At first, Gyokko had doubted their intelligence, but after arriving and being showered with praise, he was satisfied.
Following their suggestions, Gyokko let a few survivors escape to spread the word, drawing in more demon slayers and the Sound Hashira.
"If you all want my performance to continue, I'll gladly show you more art," Gyokko said, leaving Tanjiro and the others alone to run for help and lure in more Hashira.
Afraid? Hardly. He was Upper Moon Five. He'd eaten dozens of Hashira over the years. To him, Hashira were just raw material for his art.
As for the siblings he'd heard had died recently, he just thought they were too weak.
Muzan himself had summoned him the other day, but when he found out what Gyokko was doing, he allowed it, not summoning him to Asakusa.
And what did that mean? It meant Muzan trusted his strength and judgment, and believed he could kill more Hashira!