Boom!
The nearby brothels shattered like fragile wood as Gyutaro and Tengen clashed. The speed of their movements untraceable by normal human vision. At another area, Tanjiro faced off against Daki—struggling heavily to match her.
The female demon, despite not being as strong as her brother, posed a great threat to him. Her sash reminded him of Rui's threads. They were very dangerous and deadly.
Not quite far from them, Tengen narrowly dodged Gyutaro's sickles. His eyes were red from tiredness and blood smeared his face.
He never expected that they'd encounter an Upper Moon. Two in one at that.
'Gods, this isn't flamboyant.'
Cursing inwardly, he held his second sword with his underarm, bracing against the impact of Gyutaro's sickles crashing down on him.
Boom!
Coughing and wheezing, he felt the poison from the sickles spreading through his body. If it had been any other Hashira, they'd have been paralyzed however his own training and upbringing had increased his poison resistance to a near perfect degree.
'It still stings, though.'
Grinding his teeth, he fought back with everything he had, surprisingly matching Gyutaro even with just one arm. After hearing reports about Douma and realizing how weak the Hashiras were, he had resumed his training and even took it to a higher level—thus, his current prowess.
"Beauty is so unfair." Gyutaro groaned, pressing even harder. "You must have a lot of girls fawning you huh? Irritating."
Tengen grinned back. "I've got three wives. Jealous?"
Honestly, he pitied the demon and felt like its hate against him was justified. Their beauty was just that far apart.
"Arrrggghhh!!!" Growling, the demon attacked with intense ferocity, instantly suppressing the Hashira and injuring him the more.
However, Tengen only smiled.
"Your doom—"
Boom!
The sword held by his amputated hand suddenly flashed. It appeared before Gyutaro who instantly blocked with his sickle but was unexpectedly pushed back by several steps.
"Huh?"
Gyutaro frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy.
"Musical Score."
Tengen whispered, suddenly attacking Gyutaro. The attack pattern and power were the same, however, something unsettled Gyutaro. It was as if Tengen was always a step ahead.
During the fight, Tengen had analyzed Gyutaro's movements and broken it down into rhythms. After which he was now able to predict the demon's movements.
"Tanjiro. Now!"
Shouting so the boy could hear, he spun the chain connecting his swords. Gyutaro suddenly felt his hair stand on end. At that moment, he knew—he was going to die.
Tanjiro too, dashed towards Daki at stunning speed, his sword already touching her neck.
Just then—
A soft chilly wind accompanied by the scent of wisteria descended on the whole district. It wasn't heavy, nor did it thicken the air.
However, something about it made the heart tighten. It made the lungs scream in panic and the body shudder in terror.
Tengen turned his head slowly.
He saw him. For the first time in his life, he saw 'that' demon.
Douma.
He wore a red top with large, long sleeves adorned with golden edges and a wide-legged trousers which tightened below his knee. Two golden fans were in his hands, adding to his magnificence.
However, something was off.
'I thought they said he always smiles?'
Douma was staring at him with a blank expression—something he probably didn't even realize. Then, as if snapping out of a daze, he smiled.
"Eeeeeehhhh???" He made an exaggerated surprised sound, covering his mouth with his fan.
"I didn't know Hashiras could be this strong. Almost killing my siblings."
Tengen shuddered, finding it weird for a demon to refer to others as siblings.
"I finally get to meet you."
He smiled, despite his nervousness.
However, Douma ignored him. Instead, he appeared before Gyutaro, startling them both. His hands gently brushed the demon's green hair.
"Poor boy. You did well protecting your sister."
In the next second, he reappeared with Daki, who was sobbing on his chest.
"B-big brother..."
His hands gently trailed their wounds which healed instantly.
"Hmm. You must have hurt her quite a bit right?"
He turned to Tanjiro who had a look of horror and determination on his face.
"So it's only fair I do the same."
Douma appeared before him, then paused. And sniffed the air.
"You reek of wisteria. You must be quite close to Shinobu." He stepped back, hands dropping in disappointment. "Awww. This spoils the fun. I want to kill you. But Shinobu will be sad."
Turning to Tengen, his eyes showed greater disappointment.
"You also. I've seen you with her. Ahh, this is pathetic. I feel uncomfortable."
He felt like ripping them to shreds. And even the thought alone made them shiver. Could they read his thoughts? He didn't know. It was probably intuition.
"Saa, we'll be leaving then..."
He turned around, holding the siblings in his arms, then disappeared as he quietly whispered.
"I hope we never meet again."
Tengen and Tanjiro shivered upon hearing his whisper, feeling a bit of dread.
...
[Infinity Castle]
Thrumm!
Nakime struck the biwa once, alerting all the Upper Moons of his presence. The Demon Lord.
"You're here."
He said calmly, eyes drifting to them all. Then, he focused on two.
Gyutaro and Daki.
"You two..." His blank expression turned into a scowl. "You were almost killed by an Hashira."
Daki shivered, feeling the pressure of his gaze.
"He was very strong. And he was almost immune to my brother's poison."
Muzan's eyes narrowed.
Daki suddenly lost her legs. She fell to the ground with a thud, blood pooling beneath her. Gyutaro tried to support her, but he was teleported directly before Muzan, the former gripping his throat tightly.
"Is what she said true? You're that useless?"
At his corner, Douma's brows twitched subtly. He didn't enjoy Muzan's act.
Gyutaro choked, unable to reply. However, he didn't need to reply. Muzan already searched through his memories and realized what had happened.
Tossing Gyutaro aside, his eyes shifted to Douma.
"You." His voice sharpened. "When did you become so soft to save other demons?"
Douma tilted his head, a silly smile hanging on his face.
"Eto... I have no idea. Thinking is such a hassle."
Muzan didn't accept that.
"You've watched several Lower Moons and a few Upper Moons get killed in the past few decades. Yet, you didn't intervene. Why now?"
Akaza watched in silence, feeling like something else was at play. Even Gyokko was silent. Only Hantengu's sobbing filled the space.
Douma's smile slowly receded. His eyes narrowing in deep thoughts.
"I guess I acted because they're mine."
He answered honestly.
His reply stunned everyone. Mine? That was an unfamiliar concept. Especially for someone as twisted as Douma. His words surprised the Upper Moons, however, it made Muzan wary.
Why?
He appeared before the Upper Moon—claws digging into the latter's face.
"You cannot own anything."
He spoke in a voice filled with oppression. All the Upper Moons, Kokushibo excluded, suddenly found themselves unable to breathe. Muzan was fully expressing his demonic authority over demons.
"Everything in this world belongs to me. And you, Douma, are an empty demon. You do not feel any form of attachment. Is that understood?"
Douma smiled perfectly despite the claws stabbing into his face. He didn't mind the pain. It was just that—pain.
"Understood, Lord Muzan."