The bat demon and the black dog demon sat on the ground, resting while still shaken from their earlier fright.
Believing they had escaped danger, the two remained completely oblivious to the true threat that was fast approaching.
From about two hundred meters away, Horitake and Shinobu Kocho concealed themselves in a tree. Horitake, in particular, kept a close watch on the demons using his Spirit Vision from afar.
To prevent the black dog demon from catching their scent, they had deliberately chosen a position downwind, ensuring the breeze wouldn't carry their smell toward it.
For now, Horitake and Shinobu had two tasks: keep eyes on the demons and wait.
Yes, wait—for the perfect moment to arrive.
Since Shinobu lacked Spirit Vision and couldn't observe the demons from such a distance, she stayed by Horitake's side, feeling a bit idle.
When boredom set in, the mind tended to wander, and soon enough, Shinobu noticed a potential flaw from earlier.
Frowning slightly with concern, she whispered ever so softly to Horitake, "Horitake-san, I have a question."
Horitake's voice was equally hushed. "What is it?"
"Earlier, when those two demons were outside your room, they were fooled by your impersonation of Hantengu because you had Hantengu's main body with you, and the dog one could smell his scent.
But couldn't it smell your scent as well?
That demon has an incredibly keen sense of smell. If it detected both Hantengu's scent and yours inside the room, wouldn't it grow suspicious?"
It was an excellent question—sharp and straight to the point.
Horitake glanced at Shinobu and quietly explained, "You know, Shinobu-nee, it really couldn't smell me. My scent is far too faint.
How could it be otherwise when I'm a user of Heavenly Thunder Breathing? Once I activate it, any odor on my body is completely obliterated by the heavenly thunder. Even inside me, heavenly thunder flows constantly.
That makes my scent so faint it's practically undetectable.
Hantengu, on the other hand—as Upper Rank Four—carries an intensely thick demonic aura.
The contrast is stark, and combined with my intimidation, even a demon with sharp senses would overlook my presence entirely and focus only on Hantengu."
Shinobu nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation.
Horitake raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. "No more talking, Shinobu-nee. That black dog demon has extremely sensitive hearing—I suspect the bat one does too.
We're still a fair distance away, but let's avoid any sound at all. If they notice us, everything will be ruined."
Shinobu nodded again and fell silent, patiently awaiting the right moment.
And what moment was that?
The break of dawn, of course!
They would strike just as the sun was about to rise!
Time ticked by slowly. Not only were Horitake and Shinobu idle, but the bat demon and black dog demon were as well.
As the eastern sky grew brighter and brighter, the two demons finally grew restless.
The bat demon stood first, brushing the dirt off his backside. "Looks like Lord Muzan won't be contacting us tonight. We'll wait until tomorrow evening.
The sun's almost up—we shouldn't stay here. Let's hurry and find a safe, dark place to hide."
The black dog demon rose as well. "Yeah, time to go.
No matter what, finding Lord Hantengu tonight means we have something to report.
It's better than coming back empty-handed, right?"
"True enough."
Completely unaware of the impending danger, the two demons chatted idly as they wandered through the forest, searching for a spot shielded from sunlight.
From afar, Horitake watched them closely and judged that the moment was near.
He checked the wind direction, confirming they remained downwind so the black dog demon wouldn't detect them.
Then he signaled to Shinobu with his hand. She nodded in perfect understanding.
The two moved silently forward—carefully, slowly, cautiously—closing in on the demons.
The plan was proceeding smoothly. They were now quite close. Given that both Horitake and Shinobu far outclassed the demons in strength, and with Horitake's meticulous caution, the pair remained utterly oblivious.
The demons seemed to have found a promising hiding spot.
The black dog demon pointed ahead and asked the bat demon, "What about over there? It looks safe, and no sunlight will reach it during the day."
The bat demon hesitated, his indecisiveness kicking in again. "Hmm… Isn't there something more convenient? This place is decent, but it feels like it's missing something."
"Come on, you damn bat, good enough is good enough! We're out in the open for the day—what more do you want to pick and choose?"
"Let's look a little more. We can keep this as a backup. If we don't find anything better, we'll come back here!"
"I can't stand you sometimes. Time's running out—the sun's almost up."
"I know, I know—stop nagging!"
The two demons continued wandering through the forest, searching for the ideal daytime shelter.
Hidden nearby, Horitake decided it was time.
He signaled to Shinobu once more.
She nodded, checked the wind and surroundings, then silently slipped away to the other side without alerting the demons.
By the way, Horitake's backpack was now carried by Shinobu—which meant the boxed-up Hantengu was with her as well.
The pair split up: Horitake taking the lead role, Shinobu in support.
Unnoticed, Horitake had drawn extremely close to the demons. They still showed no sign of detecting him.
Perched in a tree behind them, Horitake watched the still-fussy bat demon and the increasingly impatient black dog demon, gathering his strength.
In an instant—whoosh!—Horitake exploded forward with blinding speed, charging straight at them!
To avoid revealing his identity, he relied purely on his physical prowess this time—no Heavenly Thunder Breathing, no purple arcs of lightning crackling across his body.
The bat demon and black dog demon suddenly heard the sharp whoosh of air from behind. Panic surged through them!
Who could have approached so silently!?
From the sound, this attacker was coming right at them!
Whoever it was, their strength far surpassed theirs!
It was too late!
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