Beneath the ruins of the collapsed building—
Something stirred.
From under the debris, Gyutaro and Daki emerged together.
The siblings stood atop the wreckage, scanning their surroundings.
No sign of the Demon Slayers.
They exchanged a glance.
Could it really be this easy…?
Even Daki began to doubt it.
Suddenly—
The ground beneath them trembled.
Sensing danger, both leapt into the air.
A flash of cold light burst upward from below.
Aoyama exploded out of the rubble—
Carrying the poisoned, immobilized Inosuke with him.
Not far away, Tanjiro, Uzui, and Zenitsu also climbed out from the ruins.
The owner of the Tokito House collapsed to his knees, pounding the wall and crying bitterly.
His life's work—
Gone.
Meanwhile—
Zenitsu, still asleep, staggered forward.
He raised his sword and pointed it at Daki.
"Hey… you need to apologize."
"To the girl you bullied."
"She didn't deserve that."
"She paid you… she shouldn't have been treated like that."
Daki laughed mockingly.
"You brat, stop lecturing me."
"You think someone as ugly as you has the right to talk to me?"
Her twisted worldview was rooted in her childhood.
In her eyes—
Only the beautiful deserved to live.
The ugly had no right to exist—
Let alone judge her.
"Oh?"
"In that case…"
Aoyama stepped forward, his gaze playful.
"As your customer—"
"I should have the right to speak to you, right?"
"…Oiran Daki?"
"You—!"
Veins bulged on Daki's forehead in fury.
Aoyama smiled.
Back when he posed as a customer—
He had ordered her around plenty.
That alone was humiliating.
But now—
She realized the truth.
He was a Demon Slayer.
She—an Upper Rank demon—
Had been toyed with by one.
If that person found out…
A chill crept up from her bones.
Ribbons burst from her body, filled with murderous intent.
She aimed to slice Aoyama into pieces.
But—
Aoyama stepped forward alone.
Blade in hand.
Meeting her attack head-on.
After their exchanges, he had already seen through her patterns.
To him—
Daki was no longer a threat.
Meanwhile—
Gyutaro was being held back by Uzui and the others.
With a Hashira present—
Even if they couldn't kill him yet—
Suppressing him was possible.
"Your ignorant, rude little head…"
"I'll be taking it."
Aoyama's voice suddenly echoed beside Daki's ear.
Her expression changed instantly.
Gyutaro sensed it too.
He tried to break away—
But Uzui blocked him with his blades.
"Either fight me in a flashy way—"
"Or lose your head in a flashy way!"
Gyutaro snarled.
"Then die right now!"
Blood blades formed around him and attacked relentlessly.
Tanjiro tried to block them—
But the cracks in his sword worsened.
At this rate—
It would break again.
Just before it shattered—
A flash of lightning cut through.
Zenitsu, using Thunder Breathing First Form, sliced the blood blades apart.
"Thank you, Zen—"
Before Tanjiro could finish—
A brilliant white flash cut through the battlefield.
Daki's ribbons froze midair.
Her body went still.
Her head—
Was severed once again.
That flash—
Was Aoyama's blade.
"Now that was flashy!"
Uzui praised loudly.
But Aoyama didn't relax.
Not for a second.
He leapt into the air again.
This wasn't over.
They were two-in-one.
Both heads had to fall—
At the same time.
Only then could they truly die.
He had already pushed his body to its limit.
This—
Had to end now.
Gyutaro sensed danger from above.
He threw his twin sickles upward.
"Total Concentration!"
"Breath of Light!"
"Seventh Form—Swift Light: Phoenix Feather Silence!"
Using his self-developed technique at this moment—
Aoyama's veins bulged.
His body screamed under the strain.
Just one more second…
One second is enough.
As the sickles neared his body—
Time seemed to pause.
His body slipped through the gap between them.
His hands trembled around his blade.
His teeth clenched.
His vision began to darken.
But—
He saw it.
His blade—
Sinking into Gyutaro's neck.
A warm liquid splashed across his face.
Blood.
Gyutaro's blood.
The ringing in his ears faded.
Darkness swallowed his vision.
His body crashed to the ground.
His last thread of consciousness snapped.
Silence fell.
Then—
Gyutaro's head hit the ground.
Only then did the world seem to move again.
"Cut… cut off…"
Uzui's wife whispered in disbelief.
He had—
In a single breath—
Decapitated two Upper Rank demons.
"Aoyama!"
"Aoyama-senpai!"
Everyone rushed toward him.
"Cut off… he cut it off!!!"
Gyutaro's severed head stared at his body.
He couldn't accept it.
"AHHH!!!"
From his headless body—
A final, enhanced Blood Demon Art erupted.
A massive storm of poisonous blood blades exploded outward.
Everyone scrambled to dodge.
Nezuko burst out of the wooden box—
Shielding Aoyama's body.
The entire Yoshiwara district—
Reduced to ruins.
"Mm…!"
Nezuko placed her hand on Aoyama's face.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Nezuko…"
Tanjiro called softly.
Uzui stepped forward and examined Aoyama.
After checking him carefully, he let out a breath.
"No major injuries."
"But he needs to be taken to the Butterfly Mansion."
"Shinobu will need to examine him properly."
His body wasn't critically wounded—
Yet he had collapsed after the final strike.
Uzui couldn't explain it.
Only Shinobu could.
From beneath the rubble—
A crying voice suddenly echoed.
"Tanjiroooo! Help me!"
"Why am I buried under here?!"
Zenitsu.
Half his face was covered in blood.
Tanjiro rushed over and started digging him out.
The battle was over.
But the cost—
Had only just begun to show.
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