The night air hung heavy over the Entertainment District, thick with the remnants of Daki's shattered illusions. Lanterns swayed, casting fragmented light across the cobblestone streets, illuminating debris and the faint trails of demonic energy. Karina, still mindful of her wound, moved with deliberate steps, violet eyes scanning the alleys and rooftops. The upper-tier threat of Daki had been momentarily neutralized, but a new pressure pressed upon the battlefield—something darker, more lethal.
From the shadows emerged a figure unlike any Karina had faced before. Gyutaro, Daki's twin, moved with a predatory grace, his elongated form twisting unnaturally as he stepped into the open. A faint metallic sheen glimmered along the edges of his clawed hands, and the air around him carried a poisonous undertone. His crimson eyes, sharp and calculating, immediately fixed upon Karina.
"You," he hissed, voice low but dripping malice. "The foreign slayer… the one my sister couldn't finish. You are the true threat."
Karina's stance shifted instantly, every muscle taut, her blade at the ready. She sensed the difference immediately—Gyutaro was no mere extension of Daki's power. He was lethality embodied, focused entirely on her, the variable in their long-planned supremacy.
Tanjiro and Inosuke positioned themselves defensively, but Karina shook her head subtly. "This is my fight," she whispered, voice calm yet firm. "Do not overextend. Observe and be ready."
Gyutaro lunged with a speed that defied expectation, his dual daggers slicing through the night air in arcs designed to overwhelm. Karina's violet eyes tracked every movement, her Arcane Breathing pulsating subtly as she anticipated the assault. Arcane – Mirage Blade. Illusory arcs converged on his attack, deflecting and countering with precise calculation.
Yet Gyutaro was relentless, adapting instantly, his poisoned blood trailing in thin, lethal lines that hissed on the cobblestones. Each strike was designed not just to wound, but to poison and incapacitate. Karina twisted her body with fluid precision, deflecting, redirecting, and cutting through the poisoned air, each motion calculated to maintain distance and exploit openings.
"You're… different," Gyutaro snarled, voice sharp with recognition. "I can sense it… something unnatural. Something human, yet… beyond."
Karina's violet eyes met his without hesitation. "I am exactly what you feared. The variable that cannot be predicted, controlled, or defeated by arrogance."
A sudden strike brought them within inches of each other, metal against metal, sparks scattering into the night. The poison in Gyutaro's blades hissed, trailing lines across Karina's defenses, yet she adapted instantly, bending reality subtly with Mirage Blade arcs to redirect the lethal paths.
Tanjiro and Inosuke remained nearby, ready to intervene, yet Karina's movements were precise, every strike and parry a lesson in control and anticipation. Gyutaro's focus on her, singular and absolute, left him vulnerable to minor interference—an edge Karina noted with strategic awareness.
"This ends quickly," she murmured, voice low, eyes flickering with calculated intensity. "Not with strength alone, but with precision and inevitability."
Gyutaro paused, sensing the subtle shift in the battle's balance. The foreign slayer was not just surviving; she was shaping the fight, dictating tempo and control. A predator meeting a predator, yet one whose skill surpassed centuries of arrogance.
The air thickened with anticipation. Every step, every movement, every breath carried the weight of consequence. Karina's wound throbbed, a sharp reminder of vulnerability, yet her resolve remained unbroken. This confrontation was more than survival—it was a declaration: the variable would not yield, and the Upper Rank's dominance could be challenged.
Above, the lanterns flickered as though the night itself watched, waiting for the first decisive strike. Karina's violet eyes glimmered faintly in the dim light, Mirage Blade ready, every thought and motion honed to the singular objective: face the brother, withstand the poison, and remain the variable no Upper Rank could anticipate.