The piercing sound of metal clashing rang out, instantly sending sparks flying.
A sharp Nichirin Sword glowing with blue-green light spun through the air and deeply embedded itself into a nearby wall.
A massive figure burst out from the dark corner.
In the clear moonlight, its hideous form could be clearly seen.
Its body was as large and rugged as a bear's, covered in long, thick black hair.
On its muscular arms were a pair of terrifying, fearsome claws.
Beneath the dense fur was a face so horrifying that any normal person who saw it would surely have nightmares for days.
On its chest, half of what looked like a shrunken, mummified small demon was fused with that enormous body.
In its bright red eyes, the characters for 'Lower Three' were clearly engraved.
This deformed combination demon was actually a powerful Lower Rank demon!
Lower Rank Three - Oniguma!
However, at this moment, the face of this Lower Rank Three was full of shock and doubt.
The shriveled small demon face on its chest was also showing an expression of fear.
On its thick arm was a deep gash that went down to the bone.
Thick black blood continuously poured out.
At the wound, some force seemed to be suppressing demon ability to regenerate.
Otherwise, an injury of this level would have healed in the blink of an eye.
As one of the elite among the Lower Rank demons, Oniguma strength was certainly formidable.
In fact, it had risen to its current position by stepping on the heads of other Lower moon.
If not for Muzan's intervention, the previous Lower moon three - Mukago would have already been devoured by it.
But even though Oniguma was this powerful, its heart was now filled with shock.
The reason was none other than the power imbued in that Nichirin Sword just now, as well as the terrifying aura it contained, which deeply frightened Oniguma.
That aura was even stronger than that freak Lower Rank One - Enmu!
"With strength like this, it's impossible for him to be an ordinary demon slayer. Could it be that I've encountered a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps? Damn it, are the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps really this terrifyingly strong?"
While Oniguma was lost in thought, a blue-green figure had already gracefully arrived.
Skillfully using the wall to cushion his landing, with a powerful kick of his deerskin boots and a flourish of his wide haori, BANG!
Bending his legs, Shinichi landed steadily.
He raised his head and reached out to grasp the hilt of the Nichirin short sword embedded in the wall.
With a gentle tug, the Nichirin short sword slid out smoothly.
The cold gleam of the blade in the reflected moonlight was terrifying to the demon.
"Who are you?!" In his anxiety, Oniguma roared the question at Shinichi.
At the same time, it had already prepared itself to fully unleash its power for the battle.
Its muscles were taut and its thick black hair stood on end.
Shinichi had no intention of answering Oniguma.
Although the opponent was Lower moon three, in Shinichi's eyes, the current Lower moons were no different from ordinary demons.
It was just a matter of swinging the Nichirin Sword a few more times.
What Shinichi truly noticed was never Oniguma, but rather the presence hiding even deeper behind it - one with an even more powerful aura.
Or rather - an Upper Rank demon!
"What's the point of hiding? Since you're here, why don't you come out and meet me? I can smell your fishy stench clear as day."
Ignoring Oniguma, Shinichi taunted towards the area behind it after sheathing his Nichirin short sword.
"What? What do you mean?" Oniguma was stunned, and the shriveled small demon face on its chest also showed a confused expression.
"Ohhohoho~ To think I've been discovered. This is truly unexpected. My concealment was so perfect, there shouldn't have been any trace of my aura. What an interesting little brat~"
The sudden voice from behind startled Oniguma.
Just hearing that nauseating voice was enough to give someone goosebumps.
But that wasn't the main point - how could there be a voice behind it?
Whoosh!
Oniguma turn around, and what entered its sight was a strangely shaped long-necked vase with a narrow mouth.
It was truly bizarre - even though it was quite an eye-catching vase, if not for that sudden voice, Oniguma wouldn't have noticed it at all.
"What kind of demon is this?!" Oniguma's hideous face was full of question marks.
"Demon? Ohhohoho~ That's not a very nice term. Little one, you should say - the demon lord with the most gorgeous art and the best pottery skills. Because I... love... vases!!"
Crash!!
With that high-pitched exclamation of "vases", the long-necked vase suddenly began to shake violently.
Then came a series of slimy, strange sounds, like a bunch of dead fish being roughly dumped into a garbage can.
Under the gaze of Shinichi and Oniguma, a figure even more deformed and uglier than Oniguma crawled out of the vase's mouth, fully revealing itself in the moonlight.
Shinichi's pupils contracted slightly.
He was a bit surprised.
It wasn't that he never seen ugly demons before - having slain several hundred demons, Shinichi had seen many hideously ugly demons whose mere appearance was an assault on the eyes.
But a demon with such a bizarrely strange appearance as the one before him was truly a first.
Its body, connected to the long-necked vase, was slimy and like a mermaid.
Though its abdomen and muscles were firm, starting from where it connected to the vase's mouth, both sides were bizarrely covered in baby-sized arms, full of blue veins.
On its head was strange and disgusting purple mottled hair.
Most revolting of all was the demon's facial features.
It was a hideously ugly face that even his mom wont be proud.
Where there should have been eyes were instead two large green mouths with tongues hanging out, covered in sticky saliva.
Where the mouth should have been was instead a large bloodshot eyeball.
On the forehead was also a bulging eyeball.
In the eyeball on the forehead, engraved in the orange-yellow pupil were the characters for "Upper Rank".
In the eyeball where the mouth should be was engraved the character for "Five".
Upper Rank Five - Gyokko!
"Up-Upper Rank?" Oniguma stared in disbelief at Upper Rank Five before it, who was writhing its body and making disgusting noises.
To think an Upper Rank demon had been lurking behind it without it noticing at all - Oniguma was shocked.
When Oniguma had defeated Mukago, it had considered challenging Enmu.
However, that freak Enmu's Blood Demon Art was too disgusting, and the brutish Oniguma was no match for Enmu.
But if it came down to pure strength, the gap between Lower Ranks wasn't particularly large.
But now, faced with Gyokko, Oniguma truly understood the gap between lower moon and upper moon is incredibly large.
"The main character has finally arrived. Now I don't have to waste any more breath. What a pity - if only that bastard Doma had come today instead, it would have been even better!" Shinichi smiled slightly, then his body flashed.
In the next moment, his figure had vanished from where he stood.
A blue-green sword light instantly flared up.
"Forest Breathing, First Form: Iron Birch Slash!"
"Oh my! Why the sudden attack? What an ill-mannered brat. At a time like this, shouldn't you be making the most of your remaining time alive to properly appreciate my artwork? Once you've gone to the underworld, you won't be able to see such perfection again!"
Gyokko lamented, sounding as if he was truly regretful on the other's behalf.
Meanwhile, Shinichi could only laugh.
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