A thin line of blood slowly appeared across Daki's pale neck. A beat later, her head tilted, then dropped cleanly off.
Right then, a thunderous voice rolled through the smoke.
A figure burst out of the thick haze.
"Lord Tengen!"
Makio and Suma spotted the newcomer and shouted with joy.
Tengen noticed them instantly and rushed over. "So you were here. Where's the demon?"
Suma sprang up in tears and latched onto Tengen's head.
"Lord Tengen, Suma thought she'd never see you again…"
Makio yanked Suma off without hesitation and tossed her aside, then faced Tengen alone.
"Lord Tengen, that demon's already been dealt with."
Following her gesture, Tengen looked over and saw Daki kneeling on the ground, her arms wrapped around her own head.
Her lips still moved, muttering in disbelief.
"How is this possible… I'm an Upper Rank…"
"You're too weak."
Vincent Fox flicked his blade, shaking off the blood, but he did not relax for even a second.
"How is this possible? I'm Upper Rank! Look at my eyes. The kanji are right there. Upper Rank. Six!"
"Even Six shouldn't be this pathetic."
Tengen stepped closer, feeling the demonic aura radiating off her, and could not help shaking his head.
"Too weak. You're not the one I'm looking for."
Daki's face froze.
"Y… you…"
Her head trembled, then rolled away again.
"Brother! Come out! My head got cut off!"
"If you don't come out, I'm going to die!"
"Brother!"
Her shriek echoed through the night as her body suddenly warped.
It slumped forward, and grotesque bulges began to rise along her back.
"So much killing intent… This is the real demon."
Tengen's eyes widened.
At the same time, he slashed out with both blades.
"Gone?"
He stared at the spot where she had been.
Daki was no longer there.
"Tengen, they ran!"
Tanjiro caught the thick demonic scent and shouted.
"Chase!"
Vincent Fox moved first, following the trail of shattered pavement.
They burst out onto the main street, and sure enough, a shadowy figure came into view.
A man had appeared from nowhere. He was holding Daki's head and pressing it to the severed neck.
"What an idiot. Getting your head cut off by trash like that?" the man said, voice twisted with contempt. "They're just human insects."
He wiped a hand across the wound.
In an instant, the flesh sealed perfectly.
"Brother, it's them! Kill them!"
Daki spotted Vincent Fox charging in, and also Tengen closing fast behind him.
"Yeah, yeah," the man drawled. "You useless little sister. Always dragging me down."
Then he stood upright.
And when his eyes landed on Vincent Fox and Tengen, his pupils flared wide.
"Smooth skin. Fancy clothes. You two must be rich."
His grin stretched, ugly and vicious.
"Disgusting. Could you do me a favor and die? Just die, okay? Standing there makes me sick."
Two grotesque sickles appeared in his hands.
The way he looked at them turned even more bloodthirsty.
"Oh, I'm making you uncomfortable?" Tengen laughed, then flicked a glance at Vincent Fox. "Lucky you."
He eyed the man up and down with open disgust.
"By the way, where'd you crawl out from? Did that demon girl give birth to you or something? Coming out full grown like that is revolting."
Tengen's gaze sharpened, locking onto the writing in the man's eyes.
"So you're the real Upper Rank Six. I've been looking for you."
The man's smile deepened.
"I'm Gyutaro. Remember my name. I'm the one who's going to cut your throats."
"Die while my voice rings in your ears."
Both sickles whipped forward at once, flying at the two of them.
Clang!
Vincent Fox swung his Nichirin Blade hard, knocking the sickle away.
Tengen did the same, unharmed.
The sickles tore through a wall and shot up into the night sky.
Gyutaro jerked his hands, and the weapons snapped back to him.
"Not bad. You two even managed to protect the civilians behind you. Talented."
He spat the word like it burned.
"Of course." Tengen lifted his chin. "I'm a man with three wives. But being called talented by an ugly demon like you doesn't excite me at all."
Holding a blade in each hand, Tengen glared at him with pure disgust.
"What? Three wives?"
Gyutaro looked like he had heard something horrifying.
His hands clawed at his own face until blood streamed down in messy lines.
"You're disgusting. I'll never forgive you!"
"Blood Demon Art: Full Blood Scythes!"
His blood-smeared hands snapped through the air.
Circular waves of blood shot toward them like blades.
"Tengen, cover the couple behind us!"
Vincent Fox growled low and stepped forward to meet the attack head-on.
"Don't give me orders, bastard. I'm Lord Tengen!"
Tengen cursed, but still planted himself in front of the two civilians.
Vincent Fox's blade flared red-hot as flames surged along the steel.
He swung again and again, cutting down the incoming Blood Demon Art.
The air filled with the rancid stench of evaporating blood.
A wall of fire formed in front of him, swallowing the blood waves before they could reach anyone.
Behind him, Tengen watched Vincent Fox's back with narrowed eyes.
Even he could not guarantee he would walk away unscathed from that kind of attack.
In that moment, Tengen realized something.
The man in front of him might be even stronger than a Hashira.
As the blood waves were erased, Tengen surged forward and tossed several black pellets.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The pellets exploded, swallowing the demons in smoke.
When the smoke cleared, a massive cocoon made of sashes stood in their place.
The cocoon unfurled.
Daki sat on Gyutaro's shoulder, and a vertical eye had opened on her forehead.
"We're one body, brother and sister."
She smiled coldly.
"And you're different. Different from the Hashira I've hunted."
"Maybe if we kill you two, that Lord will be very pleased."
Vincent Fox stared at them, expression calm as stone.
"One each."
"Fine." Tengen nodded.
And Vincent Fox moved.
In the same instant his body burst forward, he kicked hard, sending Daki flying off Gyutaro's shoulder.
"Cut her head off!" Vincent Fox barked, raising his blade toward Gyutaro.
"Stop ordering me, bastard!"
Tengen roared, crossing his twin blades.
"Sound Breathing, Fourth Form!"
"Constant Resounding Slashes!"
His blades flashed, and thunder cracked in the air.
With overwhelming force, he severed Daki's head again.
But Daki did not disintegrate.
Her body clutched her head and screamed in rage.
"Bastard! Why are you cutting my head off again!"
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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