"Hey there, are you a newly turned demon?"
Seeing that the other party didn't respond, Douma tilted his head to the other side and continued to greet him warmly.
The demon shadow at the end of the alley turned around, still tearing at a bloody arm in his mouth.
This was a burly demon, with strange black, shattered patterns on his ferocious face, and a pair of spiraling, ox-like horns on his head.
"Hmm? Is this area your territory?" The Ox-Horned Demon didn't stop eating, responding in a muffled voice.
"I've never seen a demon that looks so much like a human. Could it be a defective product?"
"Eh?!"
Douma blinked his rainbow-colored eyes, covering his mouth with his right hand, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Calling me a defective product, that's too hurtful," he said, his eyebrows drooping, showing an extremely sad expression.
Feeling that the time for sadness was about right, he instantly switched back to his carefree, smiling face.
"Well, it seems you're an outsider demon?"
"Would you mind finding another place?"
"Doing as you please around here makes things difficult for me, you see."
Douma casually fanned himself, and though he was complaining, his face remained smiling.
"I am a wandering gourmet," the Ox-Horned Demon bared his teeth, picking up a head from the ground. "I'll leave after staying here for a while…"
"So, you can get lost and don't disturb me while I'm eating!"
Douma, however, put on a surprised look, raising a hand to point at the head:
"Oh my, are you eating my follower?"
His memory was excellent; he never forgot anyone he had seen.
He had seen this girl about three times at the Monastery, and she had confided in him about her family's misfortunes. She was a very pitiable child.
"To be eaten like this, it's truly tragic."
Douma showed an expression of pity, and then, with great ceremony, shed two lines of tears.
"But you have also escaped the suffering of this life and, as you wished, gone to the eternally blissful Paradise."
He spoke comforting platitudes in a gentle and kind tone, just as he usually did when listening to his followers' confessions.
After completing his duties as a cult leader, Douma looked up at the demon before him, his expression still compassionate, but his rainbow-like eyes were clear, devoid of any emotional color.
"Well, you're very mean, sir, eating my lovely follower."
"And here I've been holding back from eating them myself," he said, showing a wronged expression.
"You're so annoying!" the Ox-Horned Demon roared impatiently.
He seemed to be full of compassion, yet his eyes were empty. This guy's behavior was so bizarre it even gave the demon goosebumps.
"Speaking of which, I also ate someone wearing similar clothes yesterday," the Ox-Horned Demon arrogantly held up the head in his hand. "It seems they're your livestock?"
"I ate one here last night, and another one delivered itself today…"
"Very delicious," he grinned, licking the corner of his mouth.
Feeling… a subtle displeasure.
Douma covered his lips with his iron fan, his face gradually becoming expressionless.
"I know they are indeed very foolish~"
"But isn't it also impolite for you to come uninvited and steal things from someone else's home, sir?"
After speaking, he suddenly swung his right arm, and the golden folding fan in his hand scattered beautiful ice crystals.
"Blood Demon Art: Wisteria Lotus."
Several ice vines with delicate ice lotus flowers twisted like snakes, binding the Ox-Horned Demon tightly.
"Are you looking to die?"
The Ox-Horned Demon bared his fangs, making no movement, and the ice vines on his body suddenly shattered, scattering in tiny pieces all over the ground.
"Eh?" Douma tilted his head, looking puzzled.
At that moment, the Ox-Horned Demon suddenly stomped the ground and charged over, clenching his fist and swinging it towards Douma's head.
"His speed isn't very fast…"
Douma lightly leaped to the side, avoiding the powerful blow.
The Ox-Horned Demon's massive fist slammed hard into a wall behind him, and the wall instantly became covered in fine cracks, then collapsed with a crash.
"Oh, I see~" Douma smiled, covering his mouth with his fan, his voice still light and gentle.
"It shattered very evenly, so it doesn't seem to rely on brute force. This must be your Blood Demon Art, right?"
"Can it shatter anything it touches? It feels quite dangerous~"
As he spoke, he swung his folding fan, and countless sharp ice petals swirled towards the opponent, interspersed with mist-like tiny ice crystals.
"Blood Demon Art: Scattered Lotus."
Such a wide-ranging attack was impossible to dodge, and the Ox-Horned Demon was quickly engulfed by a large number of petals.
Although ice petals constantly shattered into tiny ice crystals, before breaking, the blade-sharp petals would leave a wound on the opponent's body.
When the petals dispersed, the Ox-Horned Demon stood disheveled, covered in bloodstains of varying depths, and one of his arms that had been guarding him was broken.
"Blood Demon Art: Mysterious Winter Ice Pillars."
Without waiting for his opponent to react, Douma swung his folding fan sharply downwards.
Over a dozen sharp ice pillars rapidly descended from mid-air, pinning the Ox-Horned Demon firmly to the ground.
"What, is he really that weak?" Douma closed his folding fan and rested it against his chin, muttering softly.
"Weak? How could that be… You bastard!"
Veins bulged on the Ox-Horned Demon's body, the ice pillars piercing him shattered one after another, and his broken right arm regrew.
"Oh? Do you still want to fight? You can't beat me, so let's not fight anymore~"
Douma waved at the Ox-Horned Demon, saying with a grin.
His emotions never lasted long. After that slight displeasure dissipated, he no longer wanted to fight.
However, his response was an even faster surprise attack. The Ox-Horned Demon charged forward, fists clenched, and even the flagstones on the ground showed uniform and fine cracks.
Douma quickly jumped onto the nearby eaves, looking down, an expression of lingering fear on his face.
"So dangerous, so dangerous, I almost got hit~"
Although he said that, the opponent's speed was nowhere near his own; otherwise, he would have been more serious.
"Forget it, let this child play with you."
Douma felt a bit bored, so he closed his fan and summoned a Crystallizing Children.
The little ice person was much more decisive than Douma, using various Blood Demon Art in succession, forcing the Ox-Horned Demon to flee everywhere and struggle to survive.
Douma, meanwhile, jumped off the eaves and walked to the killed follower, picking up her head and placing it back on her body, even carefully adjusting it to a pleasing angle.
"This is good, you're still very beautiful, Miss," he comforted her in a gentle voice.
Hmm, he felt a bit disgusted by what others had left, so he wouldn't eat it.
Douma stood up; the battle on the other side had already ended.
The Ox-Horned Demon had his head and limbs severed, and the Miko, holding a fan made of ice crystals, stood nearby, mercilessly showering the opponent with ice crystals.
"Oh dear, are you alright?" Douma looked down at the demon, dismembered on the ground, with a concerned expression.
"This child really doesn't understand gentleness," he bent down and patted the little ice person's head.
"How could this be…" The Ox-Horned Demon's head rolled once on the ground. "How could I be defeated by you!"
"I was recognized by Muzan Kibutsuji, acknowledged by Muzan Kibutsuji as having the chance to join the Twelve Kizuki!"
"Really?" Douma covered his mouth with one hand, putting on a surprised expression.
"I'm really sorry for defeating you~"
"You must feel very bad, right? I didn't mean to~"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me~"
"Shut your damn mouth!!" The Ox-Horned Demon's voice cracked with anger. "You can't kill me! Let me go, I'll leave right now!"
"Yes, I can't kill you," Douma licked his lips, saying with a regretful expression.
Because Muzan Kibutsuji doesn't allow demons to devour each other in private.
Every demon's body contains the Demon King's blood, and eating it would definitely be a great boost, but unfortunately, it's not allowed.
It is said that the Twelve Kizuki have the ability to directly kill other lower-ranked demons, but he had never seen it.
"How boring. Oh well, time to forage."
Douma recalled the Miko, and after taking a few steps, he suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath him.
A city that seemed to stretch infinitely suddenly unfolded before his eyes.