The bright lights drowned the crowded buildings.
People in fancy suits and kimonos walked along the brick-paved ground, browsing the shops and stalls on both sides of the streets.
The buzz of conversations and laughter hummed through the nightlife.
However,
Beneath the light-drenched surface.
Darkness never sleeps.
"Ah... Hah..."
In the dark alleyway, a faint moan can be heard.
Whooosh!
A figure wearing a wide black leather military coat and a white military cap was standing in the shadows of the alley.
"How many do I have to kill you for that person?"
He reached out and tightened the white gloves on his hands, his slender fingers casually holding a pistol.
He has a pair of scarlet eyes in the black sclera. In its pupils, two kanji characters were emerging.
[Rank][Two]
This is the [Lower Moon Two, Rokuro.]
Rokuro grinned maliciously, sneering at the injured man crawling on the ground.
The pistol in his hand clicked back and forth as his thumb played with the hammer.
"Hahahaha...!"
"Cough! Cough!" The young officers felt his body shiver in fear, horror, and tears coloring his eyes. He panted as he tried to move away and gripped his wound to stop the bleeding in vain.
Rokuro lowered his head. Sharp lines divided his face, and his fangs became too big to hide in his mouth.
"...those eyes, I don't like those ominous eyes..." His voice was suppressed with anger and hate.
"Damn him! I'll get my revenge!"
That seems to open the floodgate as he let loose and roared his hatred and rage, his body trembling at his inability to kill the source of his vengeance.
"That blonde flashy gold hair!"
"Damn him! Damn him!"
"That guy deserves to die!!"
Howling into the night, Rokuro raised his pistol and opened his mouth. Then, he put the barrel of the gun inside his own mouth!
"Eh?!"
In the eyes of the terrified man, Rokuro pulled the trigger.
Bang!!
The loud gunshot was accompanied by the splatter of blood, like a flower blooming, as it marks both walls of the alley.
The warm blood slowly dripped down, making a caricature of roses are red.
The impact of the bullet caused Rokuro's head to jerk back, and his white military cap fell to the ground.
From the ground, the man could see through the hole Rokuro shot himself.
Slowly, Rokuro straightened his head and lowered his eyes. He dusted himself and picked up the hat from the ground and put it back on.
"Phew... I'm calm now." His extreme anger in his voice was gone, replaced by this still water tone.
He finally noticed the man again and raised his pistol.
"Thanks."
"Go to hell!!" The man spat.
Bang!!
A gunshot rang, startling a few crows that cawed and flapped their wings as they flew away from the telephone poles as the drama was over.
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—Location: Unremarkable Building—
Several people wearing the standard Demon Slayer uniforms were standing on the streets in front of the unmarked building.
Their location is quite deserted, as few people take a walk in this neighborhood, which is perfect for the Corps to hold a secret meeting.
Some passers-by cast strange glances at them, especially at the kanji "destroy" written on their back.
Among them stood a woman with a peculiar appearance.
She has pink hair that fades into green at the tip and is wearing the standard uniform with the chest open to make a sideboob window. A simple white haori draped over the uniform to complete the set.
She has big round green eyes and long black eyelashes that sparkle in the light and a beauty mark under each eye.
She touched her hair uneasily.
'As expected... it's too distracting...'
This is the [Mizunoto Rank Member, Kanroji Mitsuri.]
Mitsuri played with her hair as she tried to calm her nerves. She looked over to Kyojuro and the regal man that accompanied him.
Her eyes instantly caught on Tanjuro, who was standing calmly with his hair swaying lightly in the wind. His simple clothing and two katanas on his waist make him the perfect picture of a samurai of old.
Tanjuro's appearance seemed to captivate the young slayer, as sparkles came out of her eyes.
'What a handsome uncle! So calm!'
'So awesome!'
She had never seen Tanjuro in the Corps before, but he seemed so reliable!
Mitsuri took a deep breath and fanned her face to cool down.
'I have to be calm too!'
She had been training with Kyojuro before passing the final selection. Now, Kyojuro took her on as an apprentice, following and assisting Kyojuro in every mission.
Tanjuro stood separate from the squads, his eyes scanning their surroundings. The warm light didn't offer comfort on this cold night.
'Something's wrong.'
Ever since he arrived here, he had noticed the staring from beyond what his eyes could see.
The character "danger" was floating above his head, but the target was not him or any of the members.
It's intense hostility directed solely to Rengoku Kyojuro.
"Where is it?"
Tanjuro murmured softly as he tried to pinpoint the location of the hatred, but it seems to have cloaked itself well, making it difficult for Tanjuro to track.
"Rengoku-sama!"
One of the members shouted his greeting. He was holding a map and gave it to Kyojuro.
"We have searched the outskirts of Tokyo and found nothing, sir!" He reported.
"What do we do now?" Another member chimed in.
Kyojuro rubbed his chin as he observed the map and the marked areas on the map, thinking about the best course of action he should take.
After a moment, he laid out his order.
"Make a group of three; each group take a kasugai crow and spread out our search in the city!"
"When you find the demon, have your kasugai crow notify me immediately!"
"I'll rush over to you right away!"
Kyojuro raised his head and clenched his fist up, his voice filled with assurance and compassion.
"Remember! Prioritize the safety of the civilians!"
"Let's protect the peace here!"
""OOOUUU!!!""
"Ye-Yes!" Mitsuri imitated his movement along with the members, shouting together their pumped-up energy.
'Rengoku-san is so reliable!'
As they went to prepare, some of them were still nervous. Mostly the rookies and ones that are not confident in their skills.
They never scattered for investigation before; now they have to search for the demon, who is likely to be stronger than them.
Kyojuro noticed the struggling members. He put away his map and made his way to each of them with a smile and confidence and a hearty voice.
"Don't worry!"
"We will kill that demon in no time!"
He reached out and slapped their backs, which echoed in the streets.
Then he turned around and waved his hand, his hair swaying from the motion.
"Move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
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Tanjuro was walking with Kyojuro and Mitsuri in their own search area.
Tick.
Tanjuro stopped as he strained his twitching ears. He instantly locates the source of the sound in one of the buildings.
'There.'
Tanjuro looked at the window of a bookstore on the other side of the street.
Tick, tick, tick.
The moving of the hand on the stopwatch would have remained unheard by normal people, unless they were really close.
"Tanjuro-san?" Mitsuri turned her head in confusion at Tanjuro. She followed his gaze. "What's wrong?"
"Kyojuro, Mitsuri." Tanjuro stared at the closed bookstore, his eyes narrowed.
"We need to—"
Tick!
BOOOMM!!!
The stopwatch hand hit its mark.
The dazzling fire rose up, expanded, and devoured everything!
A deafening explosion rang out, and a shock wave knocked off everyone in the vicinity!