"Mr. Luochuan!" Tanjiro cried out in pleasant surprise.
He had no idea how much the Presence of the Demon King had shocked Tamayo and Yushiro; he simply felt that Mr. Luochuan's every movement had become more elegant.
Luochuan nodded toward Tanjiro. "Relax. I have no ill will toward demons like Lady Tamayo. I simply wish to make a friend of her."
Tamayo stared at Luochuan without speaking. Beside them, Zenitsu gave Luochuan a strange look. It seemed Luochuan had said the exact same thing before killing those other demons. The moment a demon agrees to be friends is the moment their head leaves their shoulders. Are these two demons about to die as well?
Seeing the still-wary Tamayo and Yushiro, Luochuan shrugged. He roughly understood why they were so guarded. He had tried his best to restrain the aura of the Presence of the Demon King, but the majesty in his every gesture wasn't something that could be changed instantly.
"It seems I must show some sincerity," Luochuan said. Leaning against the stairs, he tilted his head slightly.
Boom!
A Temari ball whistled past Luochuan's ear, smashing into the wooden house and blasting a massive hole in it. Following that single strike, countless more Temari balls were hurled into the room. But this time, they caused no further damage.
Schwing!
Every ball that passed Luochuan was sliced in two, falling to the floor. Watching the cleanly cut Temari balls, Tamayo's whole body shuddered. So fast! Did he just draw his blade?! She looked at Zenitsu, who was still out of the loop, then shifted her gaze back to Luochuan. It was him, without a doubt.
Luochuan slowly turned around. He would deal with these two first before discussing friendship with Tamayo.
Outside, the Temari Demon, Susamaru, sensed her balls being destroyed and narrowed her eyes. "The Demon Slayer inside has some skill... I'm getting even more excited. What do you think?" Her smile was morbid.
"Be gentle. Don't get dirt on my clothes," the Arrow Demon, Yahaba, replied, leaning away with a look of disgust.
Amidst the swirling dust and smoke, a figure slowly stepped out from the gap made by the handballs. Susamaru didn't care who it was; she excitedly threw two more Temari.
Schwing!
Sensing her balls were destroyed again, Susamaru refused to believe it and increased her throwing speed. Yet, without exception, every ball aimed at the figure was split in half. She squinted. How is this possible? Her balls followed no predictable pattern. One hit might be luck, but splitting them one after another meant luck had nothing to do with it.
Yahaba also realized something was wrong. He moved behind Susamaru, the eye-arrows in his palms locking onto the dark shadow in the smoke.
> [Temari Demon: Susamaru]
> [Race: Demon] / [Rank: Shin (辛)]
> [Skills: Blood Demon Art—Manipulating Temari (Proficient)...]
>
> [Arrow Demon: Yahaba]
> [Race: Demon] / [Rank: Shin (辛)]
> [Skills: Blood Demon Art—Koketsu Arrow (Proficient)...]
>
As Luochuan's figure moved from hazy to clear, Susamaru and Yahaba's movements suddenly froze. The word "Master" almost slipped from their lips. Who is this? Why does he carry the silhouette of Lord Muzan? It wasn't exactly Lord Muzan, but there was a resemblance in certain parts that they couldn't quite name.
The demons' expressions shifted from arrogant to terrified and uncertain. Every movement and look from Luochuan reminded them of the being they feared and worshipped—Muzan Kibutsuji! Although Yahaba's eye-arrows were locked onto the approaching Luochuan, his fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Would you like to be friends?" The light, airy words made Susamaru and Yahaba freeze.
Friends? A human and a demon... friends? Had their ears failed them, or was this man insane? Did he not know how tempting a living human was to them?
Susamaru took a deep breath and threw her ball with sudden violence. Regardless of why he had the Demon King's aura, she only believed in one King: Lord Muzan! This imposter had to die!
The Temari shot out at high speed. Knowing he had skill, she produced two more balls in her hands. But as she prepared to throw them again, she stopped. Where is he? He was just there!
She instinctively tried to look for him, but she suddenly found that her head wouldn't move. Furthermore, a familiar face appeared right in front of her.
"Next time, remember not to interrupt people's conversations. It's impolite."
Looking at the handsome face with its usual slight smile, Susamaru's vision slowly drifted downward. Below her neck was no longer her familiar body, but a palm drenched in blood.
"Temari..."
Inside the room, Tanjiro—who was about to go out and help—stood rooted to the spot. Is this the Mr. Luochuan I know? Watching Luochuan hold Susamaru's head in his hand while whispering softly, Tanjiro's eyes went dull. If he only looked at their heads, he might have thought a couple was sharing a tender moment. But Luochuan's blood-stained hand crushed that fantasy ruthlessly.
The usually refined and smiling Mr. Luochuan... is he this cold and decisive when he kills demons?
Beside him, Zenitsu's gaze wasn't as shocked as the first time, though he was still amazed. So far, no matter the rank of the demon, they couldn't last a single move against Luochuan. Zenitsu had seen the routine so often he was familiar with it.
Step 1: "Want to be friends?" Demon nods. Demon dies.
Step 2: "Want to be friends?" Demon refuses. Demon gets beaten until it nods. Demon dies.
Luochuan watched Susamaru turn into black smoke and disappear, then turned his gaze toward the Arrow Demon. "Have you made up your mind?"
He didn't care for the Temari Art—throwing balls lacked style. The Arrow Art, however, was interesting.
Yahaba swallowed hard. Susamaru loved to play, but her strength was real. Lord Muzan had sent them together because they were peers in power. But now, she was dead?! He hadn't even seen how she died. He just saw Luochuan vanish, and then her head was in his hand. If it was her, then what about him?
The crushing pressure made Yahaba's brain short-circuit. But as Luochuan's indifferent gaze swept over him, he snapped to attention and stammered, "I... I am willing... to be your friend..."
Ding!
[Successfully added Arrow Demon: Yahaba as a friend!]
[Intimacy: Acquaintance. Random reward obtained.]
[Gained Skill: Blood Demon Art—Koketsu Arrow (Proficient)]
[Fuse now? No.]
Seeing Yahaba nod, Zenitsu instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them, sure enough, Yahaba's head was rolling on the ground. The expression on the demon's face was one of total bewilderment. He didn't understand; he had agreed to be friends—why did this happen? Is this how you treat your friends?