"Hey!!"
Even Ijitsuzumi could sense something was off now. The Winged Lion had suddenly appeared, and the environment around them began to shift.
And those people who had appeared out of nowhere—
They all reeked of monster scent.
What's more, Tanjiro looked like he was under some sort of spell, calmly pulling that girl called Nezuko along as they walked toward the house.
"Hey!!! Those are monsters!!"
Ijitsuzumi grabbed Tanjiro's clothes and shouted.
But when Tanjiro turned back to look at her, his face bore only a serene smile.
"Yeah… I know."
"I just—when I used to live back home with Zenitsu and Inosuke, I'd sometimes wonder… if everyone were still alive, seeing them would probably make them really happy."
Tanjiro's eyes were fixed on the family he'd lost to Muzan.
"The Guildmaster told me—if I became the dungeon master, I wouldn't have to worry about any of that."
He looked at the familiar home and said softly:
"Just… rest. For a while."
"I know it's not real. I know it's impossible.
But it's something I've always wanted to see."
"Hey!"
Before Ijitsuzumi could argue further, Tanjiro turned to the Winged Lion and asked:
"Mr. Winged Lion, could you take Miss Ijitsuzumi to the Guildmaster's place?"
All the while, his gaze never left the direction of his home.
Ijitsuzumi didn't even get a chance to stop him—
A griffon swooped down from the sky, grabbed her by the shoulders with its foreclaws, and flew her away.
As she was carried off, she could only watch helplessly as Tanjiro and those clearly monstrous people entered the cabin together.
The Winged Lion followed him into the house.
Its massive body shrank down significantly as it passed through the door, becoming around the same height as Tanjiro, with features more akin to a youth.
"Tanjiro."
Inside the house, a slender man with a mark on his forehead looked at him gently and said:
"The Hinokami Kagura… You fulfilled its vow."
"Welcome home, Tanjiro."
"Yeah."
Tanjiro looked at the face of his father, long since gone from the world, and replied:
"I'm home."
Tanjiro let go of his guard, openly displaying his deepest desires to the Winged Lion.
And with Tanjiro's acceptance—
From high above, Ijitsuzumi could faintly see towering figures rising near the house.
One of them… bore a striking resemblance to the grotesque curse previously placed on her—the flayed demon.
It wielded an enormous blade.
New monsters were being born—
Born from Tanjiro's wish as the new dungeon master.
—
"Laios, what you said about these Hunters coming to put an end to the demon problem… is that really true?"
Marcille still eyed Kairo Retsu warily.
"It is."
Laios explained everything again, calming his companions just a little.
At the very least, he was trying to convince them that Kairo Retsu wasn't some destroy-the-world lunatic…
"Judging by the Dungeon's changes, looks like the dungeon master has already been replaced."
Senshi looked around at the shifting surroundings and commented.
"Must be Tanjiro."
Kairo Retsu said flatly.
"This kind of aesthetic? Definitely him.
Figures they'd pick the one of us with the least desire."
"The Winged Lion wasn't kidding."
Kairo Retsu grinned.
"It really is planning to devour us Hunters one by one."
"Looks like we're the grand feast it's saving for last."
He looked at Laios.
"Though I wonder… what kind of monsters will spawn in the Dungeon now that Tanjiro's in charge."
"New monsters?!"
Chilchuck's eyes went wide.
"That's seriously dangerous!"
"Ahaha, it's fine. It's Tanjiro, you know? He's too gentle for truly dangerous monsters.
Besides, it's hard to actually die in this Dungeon, right?"
Kairo Retsu waved it off.
"Let's go help the folks in here before we end up being made dungeon masters."
As he said that—
A loud crash erupted from above.
Ijitsuzumi had been airdropped by griffon—
Her impact thundered through the area.
Marcille looked up in disbelief and screamed:
"IJITSUZUMIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
Along with her scream, one of the monsters Marcille had previously summoned—a Wyvern—took flight and caught the falling Ijitsuzumi midair.
Ijitsuzumi, though disheveled, was unhurt thanks to her Felyne equipment.
But the moment she spotted Kairo Retsu, she shouted:
"HEY!!! That Guildmaster guy!! Your friend just got tricked by that weird lion thing!!"
"He summoned a bunch of weird monsters too!!"
Ijitsuzumi bristled.
"I saw a few of them heading toward the first sub-level!"
"Wait—just thought of something…"
Chilchuck's face froze.
"The elves probably still don't know the dungeon master has changed, right?!"
"If those guys get attacked now, they'll blame everything on Marcille!
And that means we'd be held responsible too!!"
His eyes went wide.
"We don't have time to hesitate!"
"Let's go! It's hunting time!!!"
Kairo Retsu couldn't hold back a huge grin.
"Let's hu— I mean, let's help our friends!"
—
While Kairo Retsu fired himself up—
On the other side, inside the Dungeon entrance, where the elves and adventurers led by Canary had been anxiously waiting—
A strange sound echoed through the halls.
Unlike any monster roar they'd heard before, it was a low, guttural growl that sent chills through their spines.
Then—
A massive, grotesque creature none of them had ever seen before came crashing through the Dungeon walls.
It was huge and ugly, like a ragged oni covered in dense fur.
Its arms bore long, wicked blades, and its whole body radiated an ominous red glow.
A Fanged Beast resembling a Flayed Demon…
The Goss Harag!
The elves were stunned by this never-before-seen monster.
Then, before their very eyes, it unleashed a sword style that flowed like water—
Water Breathing.
A Goss Harag that could wield Water Breathing techniques—
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