The Librarian caught up with Keizo as he was leaving and asked for more details about the disappearances. Keizo explained that he didn't know much, only that people who went out at night would vanish without a trace by the next day. Searches would only turn up their personal belongings and some strange holes in the ground.
The Librarian nodded slowly. He understood now. The so-called "disappearances" were simply a demon's feeding activities.
"I'm going out for a bit. Don't wait up for me," he said to Tamayo and Hakuji. He then retrieved a long, cloth-wrapped object from his back.
Is that... a sword? Keizo's eyes widened in shock. He never would have imagined that the gentle and refined Librarian would carry a blade.
Securing the sword at his waist, the Librarian gave a wave and departed. Keizo started to call out but froze. He had clearly sensed it: the moment the Librarian took hold of the sword, a sharp, brilliant aura flashed from him—scorching and magnificent, as if it could incinerate all evil.
"He should be fine," Keizo muttered to himself, swallowing hard.
After leaving the Soryu Dojo, the Librarian walked slowly through the streets. It was late at night, and the roads were empty of pedestrians. The only sounds were his own breathing and the occasional sigh of the wind.
Glancing around, he pushed off lightly with his feet and leaped onto a rooftop. Though his eyes couldn't see it, his senses could. Following the guidance in his heart, he ran towards a corner of the town.
Meanwhile, in the direction the Librarian was heading, the five drunkards who had been beaten by Hakuji were stumbling along, supporting one another.
"Ow, boss, it hurts so bad."
"Shut up, you think I don't hurt?" the leader grumbled, touching the bruises and swelling on his face and wincing in pain. He couldn't believe his bad luck tonight. A mere fifteen-year-old kid had taken down all five of them. What's more, from the way the kid fought, it seemed he had been holding back.
As he mulled over how to get revenge, a chill ran down his spine. One of his lackeys beside him started chattering his teeth, his words slurring.
"Boss, it's so late. We should find a place to rest."
Anger flared on the leader's face. He slapped the back of the lackey's head. "What, you believe that childish ghost story about people disappearing?"
"N-no..." the lackey quickly stammered.
"Then that settles it. Once I'm healed up, I'll find a chance and cripp-cripp-cripple that kid..."
The leader's words trailed off, getting stuck on the last word. His men looked at him, confused. Cripple? One of them turned to see what was wrong.
What he saw bleached the color from his face. At some point, a bizarre creature had appeared on his boss's head. It looked like a blue jellyfish, with two large, aqua-blue eyes and seven or eight soft tentacles. It seemed almost cute, utterly harmless.
Of course, that was before considering what it was currently doing. The blue jellyfish had opened its lower body, revealing a gaping maw the size of a human head. It had swallowed the upper half of the drunkard leader's head, leaving only his mouth and a small portion of his face visible. Through its translucent body, the lackey could clearly see bubbles forming on his boss's head. Like being doused in high-concentration acid, his head was rapidly corroding, being converted into nutrients.
The lackey's mouth flew open, a scream about to erupt. Just then, a dark shadow fell over him. Looking up, he saw a look of utter despair dawn on his face. At some point, a blue jellyfish had appeared above each of their heads.
It's over. With that final thought, the world went black.
The blue jellyfish digested with incredible speed. Within minutes, they had consumed most of the five drunkards' bodies. As if controlled by an unseen hand, they only digested the flesh and blood, leaving the indigestible textiles untouched.
By the time the Librarian arrived, only the drunkards' feet remained undigested. Upon seeing the five blue jellyfish, the Librarian's brow furrowed. It was the first time he had seen this method of hunting; it didn't seem to be direct consumption by the main body. The jellyfish themselves didn't emit a life force; they felt more like controlled organs.
A remote-controlled Blood Demon Art?
As the Librarian pondered this, the jellyfish suddenly stopped their digestion and detached from the corpses. They floated into the air, their forms melting into puddles of liquid. The five puddles then converged into one. The unified liquid twisted and morphed, finally taking on a humanoid shape. It was the form of a woman.
Seeing her for the first time, the Librarian's eyes showed a flicker of confusion as he tried to identify her. Could this female demon be the third one mentioned in the mission?
Just then, the jellyfish-turned-woman opened her eyes. The characters for "Upper Rank Two" were visible in them. At that moment, the Librarian knew his guess was correct. This Upper-Rank Two was the very demon that gave Muzan such confidence.
Her pupils shifted, as if she was still adjusting. Then, a somewhat grating voice spoke.
"Librarian. It has been a long time."
The voice that came from her mouth was Muzan's.
Muzan?! The Librarian was surprised. He didn't understand how Muzan could project his voice through another's body. Nevertheless, this confirmed one thing: Muzan was afraid of him. He was unwilling to face him in his own body and had to resort to using a medium.
"You just wait in that little town. Soon, very soon, I will come to take your life," the woman's expression twisted into a mask of extreme ferocity, her words filled with hatred and rage for the Librarian. "It won't be long..."
She tried to say more, but her words were cut short. The Librarian's Nichirin Sword flashed out, slicing her body into several pieces. He had no interest in listening to Muzan's empty threats. If Muzan truly intended to come for him, he would not show mercy. He would indeed teach them a painful lesson.
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