The crimson fingernails grew closer, scorching the air with heat. The Rat Demon's face turned pale, cold sweat streaming down as it tried to retreat. A fresh blood hole on its forehead overflowed with brain matter and blood.
"I… I will die, I will die!" it whimpered, pressing back against the alley wall, realizing there was nowhere left to flee.
"I… I cannot say that man's name," the Rat Demon stammered, eyes wide with terror, unsure whether it feared Lucien or the mysterious figure it served.
"Cannot say the name?" Lucien clicked his tongue, a trace of surprise in his tone. Wang Xu had proven incredibly powerful, almost on par with Kibutsuji Muzan.
This was the effect of a blood curse. Any demon created under it could not speak the name or details of its creator; doing so would make the body collapse, self-destructing instantly.
Lucien himself could employ such a technique, though his power came from consuming Muzan. A cheat user rarely followed ordinary rules.
"Forget it. I won't make it hard for you; I'll see for myself," Lucien said, cooling the heat in his nails.
The fingers pierced the Rat Demon's skull, beginning to absorb it.
In an instant, the Rat Demon withered into ashes, its cellular memory streaming into Lucien's mind.
Whether human or demon, once consumed by Lucien, fragments of memory could be gleaned. Though incomplete, the insights were invaluable.
"Yoshiwara?" Lucien murmured, frowning. The Rat Demon's memories hinted at a city destined for disaster.
He casually removed his bath towel, and instantly black boxer briefs, a T-shirt, beach shorts, flip-flops, and a bicycle appeared.
Donning them, he pedaled toward Yoshiwara.
---
At the same time, in a luxurious hotel in Yoshiwara, Wang Xu rested on the top floor.
Over the last five months, he had created countless demons, yet none could withstand sunlight. Logically, they should have, given that he himself had adapted.
The only explanation was that they lacked the strength or spiritual will of Muzan's Upper Ranks.
The Demon Slayer Corps had not vanished entirely. Oyakata-sama's eldest son, Ubuyashiki Kiriya, and daughters Kanata and Kaina remained, alongside a handful of weaker demon slayers.
The corps had yet to reemerge, biding time. It would take at least ten years to regain its former strength.
The next day, the sun blazed overhead.
Wang Xu had planned a hot spring bath, but as he rose, he sensed a familiar aura.
A look of ecstasy crossed his face before he vanished.
---
On East Street in Yoshiwara, Lucien rode a bicycle with one hand, cigarette in the other, weaving through the bustling crowd.
Suddenly, he stopped, balancing on one foot, his amethyst eyes catching sight of a figure appearing in the street.
Surprise flickered across his face—not that Wang Xu had found him, but that he was standing boldly under the sun.
Wang Xu's expression mirrored the shock.
Clearly, Lucien was no ordinary human, but a demon adapted to sunlight, like him.
"You truly surprise me," Wang Xu said, his plum-red eyes locked on Lucien.
"You surprise me as well," Lucien replied.
The bicycle beneath him vanished instantly, and without words, both understood the other's transformation.
---
"Swish!"
A Gatling appeared in Lucien's hand, firing relentlessly at Wang Xu.
The street erupted into chaos, civilians fleeing in terror, but neither combatant cared.
To them, ordinary humans were mere ants—not even worthy as sustenance.
Psychologically hardened by harsh upbringings, neither felt mercy.
Wang Xu became a blur, leaping onto surrounding rooftops, advancing toward Lucien.
Lucien, however, held his ground, sweeping the Gatling in wide arcs, aiming to wear him down at close range.
Bullets penetrated Wang Xu's body, but he regenerated instantly.
Lucien's goal was not to kill outright but to exhaust him.
---
As Wang Xu closed the distance, threads extended from his hands, spinning like fans to block incoming fire.
"Ding, ding, ding…" Bullet casings clattered at Lucien's feet, buildings scarred with pockmarks.
Lucien's left hand maintained the Gatling while a Rocket Launcher appeared in his right.
He fired, forcing Wang Xu to vanish from the spot.
Explosions roared, flames and smoke billowing.
Calm and collected, Lucien's Gatling was passed to a new tentacle formed by cell division, continuing to fire while he loaded a warhead into the Rocket Launcher.
The Gatling had unlimited ammo, thanks to his previous kills, but the Rocket Launcher had only ten warheads, enough to injure Wang Xu.
---
Wang Xu retaliated.
His hands shaped like pistols, he shot razor-sharp threads faster and deadlier than bullets.
They dodged and weaved, each attack rattling through the cityscape.
"Boom…" The fifth Rocket Launcher warhead detonated, collapsing a seven-story building.
East Street was already riddled with destruction; the police arrived too late to intervene.
Lucien's Gatling continued, red-hot and smoking.
He aimed to wear Wang Xu down completely, even if it meant expending all 110,000 bullets.
---
Wang Xu, increasingly frustrated, had no choice but to defend.
"Shadow Rider Line," he muttered, enveloping himself in threads and creating two clones.
Lucien ignored the clones, Gatling fixed on Wang Xu's main body.
When the Gatling cooled, he would fire the Rocket Launcher or shift closer.
Although the Gatling did not need reloading, it had a one-minute cooldown.
The clones were fast but, in the nick of time, Lucien disappeared, leaving a single hand grenade behind—obtained from his past battles with Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke.
"Boom…" The grenade exploded, forming an eight-meter crater.
Both clones, caught close together, were obliterated, their upper bodies destroyed.
They intertwined, attempting to form a new clone, but the destruction left a clear warning.