Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
-Location: Kyogoku House-
The light of the house was hypnotic to its customers.
On the backside of the house, there was a room being opened by a woman with a flustered expression as she knelt in the hallway and peered into the room.
"Okami-san." Her voice trembled. Her throat felt dry, and her arms felt weak.
Sitting inside the room with her head down while counting the bills, the weary-old landlady didn't turn around to face the servant.
"What is it?"
Omitsu's fingers moved quickly between the beads of the abacus.
"Tamako..." continues the servant. "She..."
"She's gone!" The woman took a few deep breaths as she relayed her concern, terrified.
"I can't find her anywhere... I don't think she's the type to run away on her own."
The servant's mind was a mess as her eyes seemed to recall something. "Could it be—"
The abacus sound stopped for a moment as Omitsu processed what was said, her brows furrowed with confusion.
Tamako is the attendant who tidies up the room for Warabihime Oiran, the courtesan, the girl who walks alongside the courtesan during her parade.
Last time, the girl cried herself to sleep about not being able to tidy up the Oiran's room.
Tack, tack, tack.
The sound of the abacus being clicked again echoed through the room.
"I understand," Omitsu responded. Her voice revealed no emotions, but the sound of the abacus kept going faster. "Don't worry about her."
"And don't mention it again; tell the others."
Seeing the landlady's apathy, the servant showed a worried expression on her face. She hesitated and wanted to persuade her. "Ma'am..."
"Go, now."
Omitsu's voice cut through the servant's objection, firm and decisive, leaving no room for argument.
"Yes, ma'am." The woman nodded and slowly closed the door and left the area.
Sobbing all the way back to her room.
Omitsu put down her abacus. She weakly leaned on the table and gripped the wood tightly with both her hands.
"...too much..."
Bang!
Clenching her fist, she slammed her hand down hard on the table.
"This is too much!"
Hearing the news of a missing servant, she recalled every rumor of girls who had gone missing or committed suicide during her tenure as manager of this establishment.
Especially in these past few months, someone has gone missing almost every night.
Even despite her efforts to meet the requirements, people keep dying frequently.
She decided she had enough!
"Warabihime." She murmured angrily. Omitsu took a deep breath and stood up to walk to the cabinet behind her.
She opened the drawer and reached in to take something out. Her gaze was fixed on it with manic expression.
Click.
The pitch-black gun reflected a heavy sheen under the candlelight in the room.
It is a simple revolver with a magazine.
Taking out a few bullets from the drawer. Her hand trembled slightly as she pushed the bullets one by one into the chamber.
"This is the last time..."
"...I'm done letting you do evil."
As the crisp sound of the gun being loaded echoed, Omitsu's eyes steeled themselves with determination.
...
In Daki's room.
A girl struggled in her bondage.
The pinkish-purple sash with intricate patterns swayed freely in front of her.
Her terrified expression seems to freeze on her face, with tears flowing down from the corners of her eyes. Tamako felt her body being flattened, yet no pain flared through her.
Her form was slowly imprinted onto the surface of the sash.
Tamako's mouth was bound by the sash, and she was unable to scream her lungs out. She struggled desperately, but it was no use.
Soon, she was completely flattened as if becoming one with the patterns of the sash.
However, if you look closely, the image of Tamako was still fluctuated by her struggles. Maybe Tamako is not dead yet, just unconscious.
Daki was dressed elegantly by the window. She prepared herself like a teenage girl meeting her first crush, eagerly waiting for the time Muzan-sama took control of her body.
As if Tamako's scuffle and life were not important.
If it weren't for Tamako suddenly coming in and interrupting her while she prepared for Muzan-sama's arrival, Tamako wouldn't have to be silenced.
Yes.
The day when Muzan-sama controls her body to examine the blue spider lily is today.
Daki eagerly awaits and urges the time to move faster already.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long.
Daki felt the blood in her body boiling up.
Here it comes!
Veins bulged along her neck, and her pupils rolled up as her emerald eyes instantly turned crimson red.
In a split second, Muzan opened his eyes and looked through Daki's perspective. Her gaze pausing as she took in the bustling night scene.
"Daki," Muzan's voice is feminine now.
"Where is the blue spider lily you found?"
Daki's head twitched, and she turned her gaze down to the flowers she held and examined them closely.
Twirling the flower in her fingers, she clicked her tongue and casually tossed it out of the window.
"Failure."
For a thousand years, Muzan has searched for all the flowers in Japan with blue coloring.
The plant Daki has found is no exception.
His heart was filled with frustration, and he felt the constraint brought by Daki's body.
When he took control of the body of his servants, his sensory abilities were greatly reduced.
Shameful.
Observing the world through the eyes of others.
While the main body can only curl up in the Infinite Castle.
It's all that guy's fault!
"Tch!" Muzan clicked his tongue as his anger clouded his eyes red.
'If it weren't for that monster, I wouldn't have to hide like this!'
Daki sees Muzan's condition from inside her own mind and purses her lips.
Muzan-sama's wrath kept getting worse and worse.
"Muzan-sama..." She spoke respectfully.
Her elaborate attire transformed into her demonic garb as she led him to her collection. "All the flowers and herbs that I found are over here. Please have a look."
All sorts of blue flowers have been neatly arranged on the table.
Her sash slipped through the gap in the walls and engraved her recent victim away.
Daki slowly sat down.
The merciless crimson eyes swept over the flowers in front of her one by one.
Checking the flowers briefly before tossing them aside.
Reflecting on all the recent events.
She felt increasingly restless as every flower was not her dream flower.
"You better not show up at this time!" Muzan thought resentfully.
---
"Over there."
"That's right." Tanjuro and Tengen were both gazing in the direction of the Kyogoku house.
Through their perception of the transparent world, the two of them could detect the anomaly that is demon physiology in the house.
Following them along, Giyu remained silent as he took in the brothel in front of him.
'I can't sense anything.'
The three of them exchanged glances and nodded.
Swish! x3
They turned into afterimages and disappeared from the spots simultaneously.
Some passerby looked in astonishment, rubbing their eyes vigorously.
...
Time passed.
The sky has turned pitch-black, appearing even more serene and tranquil under the illumination of the district lights.
Tap.
On the Kyogoku house roof, the three slayers landed and maintained a safe distance.
Their crows circled the sky, looking down at everything below from their aerial perspective.
Tengen signaled to the other two with his eyes, making a slight gesture to communicate his thoughts. 'Be careful and try to kill it with one strike.'
'Don't alert the enemy.'
'Minimize casualties.'
After relaying his orders, he brandished his two nichirin cleavers connected with each other by chains from his back. His eyes were solemnly fixed on the roof below.
Giyu gazes silently at the weird gestures Tengen was making. He turned to Tanjuro beside him.
His eyes showed confusion, as if asking, 'What is he doing?'
Tanjuro pursed his lips, as he didn't know either.
The reflected light from Tengen's blades distracted Tanjuro from Giyu's question.
He turned to see that Tengen raised his blades high above him, with white steam escaping from the corner of his lips.
)—Sound Breathing First Form!—(
)—Todoroki!—(
(tr. Roar!)
...
With Muzan.
One by one, the flowers were discarded, and Muzan's expression grew increasingly anxious.
"Useless..."
His face twisted in a scowl as she swept all the flowers off the table angrily, scattering them all over the floor. "It's useless! All of it!"
A thousand years of fruitless search, and he was losing his patience.
Bang!
She slammed her fist on the table, her face full of resentment.
She was about to stand up when her ears caught something.
She twitched her ears twice and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She looked up toward the roof.
A tiny splinter fell from the wooden beam above her and landed squarely on her face.
"This is..."
Just as Muzan was wondering, she reached up to wipe the dust off her face.
The wooden beam suddenly couldn't bear the heavy pressure and collapsed!
Boom!!
Dust swirled and splinters flew everywhere. The pale moonlight streamed through the broken roof into the dimly lit room.
Three figures walked out of the dust and observed the room around them.
The Transparent World users were already locked in toward the window side of the room.
"...demon slayers?" Muzan's eyes reflected their shadowy figures in them. She stood silently by the window as her reflexes allowed her to step back and dodge the debris of the destroyed ceiling.
At a moment's notice, even when he controls his servants' bodies, he's ready to bolt at any time.
After all, since he encountered that guy, he instinctively focused all his abilities on running away.
Dishonorable and cowardly? It doesn't matter.
Still, Muzan didn't pay much attention to the three figures.
As an Upper Moon, Daki has already devoured seven Hashira, while Gyutaro, who shares a body with Daki, has already consumed fifteen Hashira.
In total, there have been as many as twenty-two Hashira who have died in the Yoshiwara district.
It is a true mystery if the Demon Slayer Corps doesn't realize that the entertainment district is infested by demons.
Muzan patted her sleeves and leaped out of the window. The cold wind rushed into the room as the window crashed, and her entire body soared above the street. "I'll leave this matter to you, Daki—"
Thwip!
Puchi!
A grappling hook suddenly burst forth from the swirling dust.
Under Muzan's astonished gaze, it plunged into her abdomen and through the ribs and quickly hooked itself onto her flesh.
The iron wire rope behind the hook instantly reeled in, jerking her body in midair back toward the room.
"What!?"
Caught off guard, Muzan looked up as his view rapidly switched from the lights of the Yoshiwara district to crashing into someone's arms.
Muzan felt the grab but was dazed by the fast action.
The surrounding dust had blown away by the wind as she slowly raised her head. Her expression turned into shock!
'Tsugikuni... Yoriichi!!?'
In Muzan's eyes, Tanjuro's figure shines brilliantly against the moonlight. Muzan was close enough to see the faint red marking on the man's forehead.
"Don't rush to behead her; even if you cut off her head, she just spawned another demon!"
"You've read the mission report of the swordsmith village, right? This one is the same."
Tanjuro frowned as he instructed his colleague while using his grappling hook to bind Daki.
He didn't expect her to stay still and obediently let him tie her up.
Hearing Tanjuro's voice, Muzan gritted her teeth as his face turned paler with fear and his eyes began to tremble violently.
'That voice!'
'That appearance!'
Muzan's body suffered through spasms and shaking in fear and PTSD.
He could feel his five heartbeats loudly in his ears.
'WHY!?'
'WHY IS HE HERE!?'
Cough cough.
Muzan's mind crashed as he desperately wanted to scream his frustrations.
'RUN!!'
The only thing that was left in him was his instinct to split up and scatter himself into the wind.
Seeing the violent thrashing of the demon, Tanjuro and Tengen tensed up.
Immediately, Tengen positions his blades across the neck of the demon in case it slips out of its binding.
Muzan kept struggling and roaring as he split himself up.
Until...
He stopped.
As his vision still hadn't changed and his nightmare was still staring at him in the face. His heart felt as if someone clenched it in their hands as realization dawned on his mind.
'Why can't I split!?'