BANG BANG!
Gunshots rang out again from the open ground outside.
To cover for Tanjiro and the others' attack, Genya kept firing at Ume, trying to draw her attention.
However, this was completely ineffective.
Faced with his bullets, Ume didn't even bother catching them herself this time—she simply let the silk ribbons floating behind her intercept them all.
This demon had already exceeded what conventional firearms could handle.
"I'll go!"
Seeing that Genya couldn't pin her down, Zenitsu suddenly shouted loudly from behind Tanjiro.
"Thunder Breathing · First Form · Thunderclap and Flash · Sixfold!"
Electric light exploded. Zenitsu quickly adjusted his breathing, his figure shooting toward the rooftop like lightning. Then his legs kicked fiercely against the roof beam, using the momentum to twist his direction, and charged at extreme speed toward a spot diagonally behind Ume!
Using this method to continuously adjust his position multiple times, constantly dodging the sweeps of Ume's long whip, Zenitsu finally circled around to her back, slashing at her neck from behind at maximum speed!
Meanwhile, Tanjiro above also launched his attack.
"Sun Breathing · Seventh Form · Burning Sun!"
Flames ignited along the blade once more. Tanjiro swung his Nichirin sword, flames wrapped around him, his figure spiraling downward toward Ume!
"Arrogant! Who do you think I am?!"
Facing this coordinated pincer attack from front and back, Ume in the center still showed no intention of moving to dodge.
"Blood Demon Art · Eightfold Ribbon Slash!"
Her smile growing increasingly ferocious, with Ume's roar, countless silk ribbons instantly burst from the ground all around the entire building in that instant!
[What kind of joke is this...]
In the distance, Genya looked up and froze on the spot upon seeing this scene, his hand reloading subconsciously stopping.
One, two, three, four, five...
Under the night sky, dozens of silk ribbons shot out from underground, forming a circle that surrounded the entire building.
And converging in the sky above the building's roof, they rapidly wove together into a massive dense net of silk ribbons, enveloping the entire building below!
"Tanjiro! You guys hurry—"
"All of you, DIE!!"
In the next instant, the ribbon net crashed down!
Under their sharp cutting, the entire building couldn't even hold out for a moment before being completely destroyed!
Broken wood flew everywhere, dust and smoke rose in all directions. In the blink of an eye, this dozen-meter-tall building was sliced into ruins!
"TANJIRO!!"
As the dust gradually settled, under the bright moonlight, Ume still stood in place, completely unharmed.
As for Tanjiro and Zenitsu, one was pinned to the ground by the ribbon net unable to move, while the other barely stood in place, covered in blood.
In the instant the massive net fell, realizing he couldn't escape, Tanjiro quickly twisted his body and curled up as much as possible on the ground.
At the same time, he held his Nichiren sword vertically before him, trying to use the blade's toughness to resist the ribbons' cutting.
Although he ultimately withstood Ume's assault and could even be considered unharmed,
he was also pinned firmly to the ground by these ribbons, unable to move.
As for Zenitsu, relying on his exceptional hearing, he had forcibly found a slightly larger gap in the net in the instant the ribbons fell.
After the ribbons descended, although his shoulder, arm, and even thigh had chunks of flesh sliced off, at least he wasn't cut into pieces...
"Oh? You two are quite capable..."
"Uwaa!"
Casually whipping the nearly combat-incapable Zenitsu away with one strike, Ume slowly stepped forward.
BANG! BANG BANG!
Behind her, gunshots rang out again, but Ume didn't even turn her head—the floating ribbons behind her blocked them all for her.
"Many demon slayers in the past, including your so-called Hashira, after I used this move, even if they weren't shredded, they were as good as dead. I didn't expect you could come out completely unharmed?"
"Ghk!"
Stepping on Tanjiro, who was pinned to the ground by numerous ribbons and completely unable to move, Ume raised her head, looking down at him with a haughty expression as he struggled to hold on, a mocking smile at her lips.
"Well, although your method was rather pathetic..."
"So, only three of you came tonight?"
Her foot pressed harder, forcing Tanjiro's arms to sink lower and lower.
At the same time, the sharp ribbons pressing down on him also gradually descended, cutting fine bloody marks on his cheeks and elbows.
"Who do you think I am? You think this few people can kill me?
Well, whatever. That's enough. I'm tired of wasting time with you here. I'll end this identity tonight... Alright, ugly thing, time to die."
"DEMON, TAKE THIS!!"
Just as Ume reached out to directly snap Tanjiro's neck, a loud shout suddenly rang out behind her.
"Lord Tengen?!"
[There's more?]
Ume spun around abruptly, only to see a tall man in bizarre clothing, holding two uniquely shaped short swords in his hands, charging rapidly toward her.
There was no doubt—it was Uzui Tengen, who had rushed here following the guidance of Tanjiro and Genya's Kasugai crows!
"What kind of messy makeup is on your face? Disgusting! Don't come near me!"
Feeling intense revulsion toward Uzui Tengen with just one glance, Ume didn't hesitate, swinging her long whip to attack him!
"Oh? You're actually an Upper Rank demon?!"
Under the night sky, the long whip in Ume's hand danced like a soaring serpent, attacking Uzui Tengen from front, back, left, and right at various angles, forcibly keeping him pinned in place.
"Not bad, you she-demon! Using such a long whip so well! You really understand combat techniques!"
His dual swords swinging rapidly, constantly blocking the attacks from Ume's serrated chain whip, Uzui Tengen shouted in admiration.
"But! I have more than just this level of strength!"
Shouting this, while swinging his dual swords once more, Uzui Tengen suddenly pulled out several black explosives from his chest, using his dual swords to flick them forcefully toward Ume ahead!
...
(In this story, due to years of harsh training under Michikatsu, Ume's strength has greatly improved compared to the original, roughly at the level of a Taisho era Hashira in normal state.)
(She can fight evenly with Hashira below the Stone Hashira in normal state, and even gradually defeat them using a demon's physical strength and regeneration advantage.)
(And Gyutaro is even stronger than this...)