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Chapter 168: Daki: Would You Sleep With a Pig or a Dog?
"Hmph." The chicken, En, let out an indignant huff, turning her beak away and refusing to look at Suyan. Clearly, the grudge from the high-speed joyride was far from settled. Suyan didn't bother poking the angry bird, content to simply sit quietly and wait for the Kyogoku House staff to bring his food.
"Excuse me, sir. I am coming in~"
With the soft creak of sliding wood, the room's door opened. A young woman stepped inside, draped in a lavish, intricately embroidered kimono. Her hair was styled in a traditional, towering updo, heavily adorned with gold hairpins and vibrant floral ornaments. She radiated an aura of elegant, untouchable grace, appearing to be no older than sixteen. However, the most captivating thing about her was her impossibly beautiful face.
Even a man as well-traveled and experienced as Suyan couldn't help but stare blankly for a fraction of a second. Just one glance was all it took to confirm her identity.
Upper Rank Six, Daki.
Suyan let out a weary sigh. He had planned to eat lunch and take a quick rest before going out to hunt her, but here she was, delivering herself right to his doorstep.
Daki entirely misinterpreted his sigh. Assuming he was simply awestruck, she glided gracefully across the room, her every movement exuding charm, and knelt intimately close to his side. She exhaled softly near his ear, her breath fragrant like orchids. "Why the heavy sigh, good sir? Is something troubling your heart? Why not share it with me?"
Daki smiled, her eyes curving sweetly. Being this close allowed her to inspect him thoroughly, cementing her initial assessment. This man was unequivocally the most premium meal she had laid eyes on in all her centuries as a demon. Without exception. The unique, powerful aura rolling off his body made her heart race with excitement. She wanted to unhinge her jaw and swallow him whole right then and there.
But she restrained herself. A delicacy of this caliber deserved to be savored. The meat would taste best only when the prey was in a state of absolute, euphoric bliss. It was the exact same logic humans used when they massaged high-grade cattle and played classical music for them before slaughter.
Unfortunately for Daki, Suyan's next words shattered the mood completely, causing her to instinctively jerk backward in shock.
"Upper Rank Six, Daki, I presume?" Suyan asked calmly.
"Who are you!?" Daki scrambled back, putting distance between them as she stared at him with intense vigilance. The sheer shock of his statement snapped her out of her hungry trance. It was then that she finally noticed the creature perched on the table.
"A crow? No, wait... is that!? The Demon Slayer Corps!?" Daki narrowed her eyes, her head tilting sharply as she voiced her realization. "You're a Demon Slayer!?"
She quickly rifled through her memories of the seven Hashira she had devoured in the past. Every single one of them had traveled with these irritating communication birds. Combined with the fact that he had casually dropped her true identity, there was no doubt in her mind—he was a member of the Corps.
Oddly enough, realizing this actually made her relax. In her eyes, the only entities in existence worth fearing were the five Upper Ranks above her and the progenitor of all demons, Kibutsuji Muzan. Humans? They were far too frail. She had slaughtered seven of their strongest warriors without breaking a sweat. Rather than worrying about the man who was practically already on her dinner plate, she realized the real threat was the annoying bird. If it managed to fly away and report her location, the Corps would send endless waves of pests to harass her. She wasn't afraid of dying, but it would mean she'd have to abandon her alias and start over. She was far from finished enjoying the pampered, luxurious life of this generation's top Oiran.
With that thought, Daki locked her predatory gaze directly onto the chicken.
En instantly froze, cold sweat soaking her feathers. This beautiful woman is an Upper Rank!? The crow began internally screaming, cursing Suyan's stupidity. She knew Suyan was powerful—since he was Shinobu's man, he definitely possessed Hashira-level strength. But this was an Upper Rank demon! As a communication crow, En knew all too well that the Demon Slayer Corps hadn't managed to kill a single Upper Rank in over a century. Why couldn't Suyan have waited until she flew off to deliver the message before blowing his cover!? He should have at least waited for backup! I'm dead! I'm so dead! We're all going to die!
"C-Caw Caw" En weakly let out a very standard, entirely ordinary bird noise, desperately pretending to just be a regular crow.
"Hehe." Daki chuckled lightly at the bird's pathetic attempt to play dumb. "You're an amusing little creature. But don't worry..." Her warm smile vanished, replaced by a look of sheer, malicious darkness. "You are completely dead. I won't let you escape and ruin my perfect life."
"CAW!" Terrified out of her mind by Daki's murderous glare, En nearly soiled the table. She frantically flapped her wings, diving straight into Suyan's chest and burying her head deep inside his jacket like an ostrich. Right now, Suyan's chest was the only place in the world that offered even a shred of safety.
Suyan calmly stroked En's trembling feathers, soothing the terrified bird.
"Oh? You're awfully calm," Daki noted, genuinely surprised by Suyan's lack of reaction. "You know I'm an Upper Rank, yet you haven't tried to run. Do you realize you can't escape? Or are you arrogant enough to think you can actually kill me? Are you a Hashira? Because I'll have you know, I've eaten seven Hashira just like you."
Hearing this, the crow buried in Suyan's jacket shivered even more violently. Suyan patted the bird gently, then looked up at Daki.
"Tell me," Suyan asked, his expression entirely serious. "Are you a virgin?"
"Huh!?" Daki tilted her head, giving him a look of utter disgust. "Are those really your final words!?"
"Just answer the question," Suyan replied evenly. "It's highly relevant. Your answer dictates exactly how I'm going to deal with you."
Suyan actually held a small degree of sympathy for Daki. Despite being a man-eating monster, Daki and her brother Gyutaro were narratively designed to be the dark mirrors of Tanjiro and Nezuko—two siblings who had simply been abandoned by fate and twisted into demons.
Daki dug a pinky finger into her ear, looking at Suyan like he was a complete idiot. "What kind of stupid nonsense are you spewing? Tell me, if it were you, would you lower yourself to sleep with a pig or a dog?"
Suyan: ...
Her analogy was incredibly crude, but the logic was sound. It made perfect sense. Daki had been turned into a demon at the age of thirteen. Because of her striking beauty, a samurai had attempted to force himself on her while her brother was out. She fought back, stabbing the samurai in the eye with her hairpin. Enraged, the samurai retaliated by burning her alive, leaving her on the brink of death. When Gyutaro finally returned, they encountered the Upper Rank Two demon, Doma, who offered them his blood. Thus, they were reborn as the symbiotic Upper Rank Six.
Given that trauma, combined with the fact that humans went from being her peers to literal food the moment she transformed, it was entirely logical that she remained untouched. The only reason she continuously chose the profession of an Oiran was because it was the most idolized, pampered position a woman could hold in this era. If she had been born a century later, she undoubtedly would have been a pop idol.
"Or maybe," Daki sneered, "you're just like every other filthy, pathetic man? You're captivated by my face and want to sleep with me? Give up and die. I would never lower myself to mate with a pig. But... since you have such an incredibly beautiful face, I'll do you a favor. I won't use my Blood Demon Art to swallow you..."
Daki licked her lips, her eyes darkening with hunger. "I'm going to eat you myself. Bite by bite. I won't leave a single scrap behind. You will become one with my flesh forever. You should feel honored."
With that, Daki's lavish outer kimono slid off her shoulders, revealing a remarkably slender frame sporting incredibly heavy, disproportionate curves. She wasn't entirely naked, as the inner layers still covered her modesty, but the sight was nonetheless provocative. The kanji for "Upper Rank" and "Six" etched themselves into her eyes, and a mesmerizing, demonic plum blossom pattern materialized across her face.
The most dangerous change, however, was the six prehensile, fabric-like sashes that erupted from her back like a grotesque set of wings. The sashes shot toward Suyan with lethal speed, aiming to bind him instantly.
The sashes were fast, but Suyan was infinitely faster. In the blink of an eye, he reached out and snatched all six sashes simultaneously, crushing them in his grip.
"What!?" Daki gasped, genuinely shocked by his raw speed.
Before she could process what had happened, Suyan gave the sashes a violent yank. The sheer physical force traveled straight down the fabric, ripping Daki off her feet and pulling her directly into his arms.
"You bastard! How dare you!?" Now firmly trapped in Suyan's embrace, Daki erupted into a fit of aristocratic fury. "Who gave you permission to touch my noble body!?" She thrashed wildly, trying to break free from his grip. But no matter how hard she struggled, it was like she was trapped in a vice of solid steel. Realizing she couldn't break out by force, she shrieked, "Let go of me!!"
"Now, now, no need to be so aggressive. Why don't we have a nice chat?" Suyan murmured smoothly, reaching up to gently stroke her cheek.
"Who wants to chat with you!? Let me go right now! I swear I'll make you regret this!!" she threatened. Unfortunately for her, screaming threats while pinned helplessly in a man's lap completely undermined her intimidation factor.
Ignoring her screaming, Suyan grabbed the pot of sake from the table and tilted it directly over her head.
Seeing that he was targeting her flawless face, Daki completely lost her mind. What girl didn't care about her looks? "What are you doing!? Stop it!!" she shrieked.
Suyan paid her no mind. With one arm wrapped like an iron band around her waist, completely neutralizing her struggles, he poured the sake directly over her face.
"AHHH!!" Daki let out a piercing scream. It wasn't out of physical pain, but out of sheer, unadulterated humiliation.
Suyan calmly set the empty pot down and used his sleeve to aggressively wipe her wet face, scrubbing away the thick layers of traditional makeup. After a few moments, the heavy powders and rouges were completely washed off, revealing a remarkably pure, breathtakingly delicate face underneath.
"Much better," Suyan nodded in approval.
Daki felt like she was losing her mind. In Japan, a woman's makeup was effectively her second face. Some traditional wives never let their husbands see them without makeup, waking up hours early just to reapply it. Even though Daki's natural face was astonishingly beautiful—a true lotus emerging from clear water—having her makeup forcibly stripped away made her feel incredibly violated. She was shaking with pure, unadulterated rage.
But Suyan's next words sent her fury blasting through the stratosphere.
"Say, Daki," Suyan said casually. "Why don't you be my pet?"
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