Lu Li rested his hand on the hilt of Qiu Mo, remaining motionless. He ignored Hinatsuru's frantic warning and instead reached out, grabbing the front-desk woman by the shoulder and tossing her directly out of the main entrance and into the sunlight.
He glanced indifferently at Hinatsuru. "Focus on evacuating the crowd. Since it's daytime, it should be much easier."
Hinatsuru stared at the man in surprise. Why are you so calm?! Do you have any idea what's going on? I'm the one trying to save you!
What was wrong with the Demon Slayer Corps lately? Were the new recruits' observation skills this poor? Not only did he ignore her signals, but he also dragged her into the spotlight, effectively exposing her undercover identity.
What shocked her even more was the realization that there were other demons lurking in this shop. The man walking down the left staircase was a patron who had visited two nights ago. This completely contradicted their previous intelligence.
Through her investigation, she had been almost certain the demon was the Oiran of this house. So why was there another one? Demons rarely operated in groups; most were solitary predators. If Yoshiwara was a feeding ground, what demon would willingly share their table?
Most terrifyingly, the long-haired man in pink descending the left stairs radiated a presence that felt fundamentally wrong. This was undeniably the aura of the Twelve Kizuki!
How is this possible? Are there two of the Twelve Kizuki in this one house?
But before Hinatsuru could finish processing her shock, a new voice echoed from the right staircase.
"Haha, Mousse, be content. After all, this guy represents a third of the enemy's total combat power."
Descending from the right was a bald, muscular man with a bare torso. He was casually carrying a courtesan in his arms. However, the woman made no sound; upon closer inspection, her upper body was already a mess of blood and shredded flesh.
"Steel Cannon, mind the setting. I'd rather not have your filth rubbing off on me during the fight," the long-haired man, Mousse, frowned, his gaze locking onto Lu Li below.
"Tch. Life is meant to be enjoyed. If you're going to be such an ascetic, you might as well join the other side."
With a shrug, Steel Cannon tossed the courtesan aside like a piece of trash. She rolled to Lu Li's feet, her beautiful eyes wide and glazed with absolute terror.
At the sight of this, Hinatsuru felt a surge of righteous fury. She was about to charge forward, but in the next heartbeat, the combined aura erupting from the two demons caused a chill to race down her spine.
"Run... just run!"
She grabbed Lu Li's arm, trying to pull him toward the sunlight outside. She had just realized the horrifying truth: both of these demons were at the level of the Twelve Kizuki!
She never could have imagined that Yoshiwara would house two—possibly three—of the Twelve Kizuki. It was fortunate her husband had sent them to scout first; if the Demon Slayer Corps had marched in blindly, they would have suffered an unprecedented massacre.
Her plan was to drag this rookie outside. In the daylight, they could use the sun's advantage to dismantle the building from the outside. Even if they were weaker than the demons, they would have a fighting chance.
But to her bewilderment, the rookie didn't just seem deaf to her words—she couldn't move him a single inch. In her desperation, she had used every ounce of her ninja-refined strength, yet the man stood as steady as an immovable mountain.
While her brain was still struggling to process this, the world outside changed.
The sky... went black.
"Hehe. Did you really think we'd sit around without a plan, waiting for people to stumble into a trap?" Mousse sneered. "Even if it's just you alone, it should be a profitable kill. You look quite strong, after all."
Lu Li looked at the artificial twilight outside. He wasn't surprised. Just as he knew the sun was his ally, the enemy Explorers knew it was their death sentence.
Before every Mission World, Explorers received a preparation period. Depending on the rank of their Explorer Brand, they had time to purchase specialized supplies. Knowing they were entering Demon Slayer and choosing to serve Muzan, they would obviously secure items to counter sunlight.
The area was likely covered by a large-scale shading item. Judging by the range, it was probably a single-use consumable. Otherwise, even a simple sun-blocker of this scale would exceed the power level of Rare or Purple grade items if it were reusable.
It wasn't that he looked down on the enemy Explorers, but Lu Li figured that if they were rich enough to afford Mythic-grade gear, they wouldn't be using tricks; they would have just attacked him directly.
"What kind of Blood Demon Art is this?!" Hinatsuru cried out in shock. Everything happening exceeded her understanding. If demons had found a way to ignore the sun, wasn't the Demon Slayer Corps doomed?
Lu Li stood in the foyer, his expression placid. "So, are you the 'new' Twelve Kizuki?"
"Twelve Kizuki?" Steel Cannon scoffed. "That's an outdated term."
As he spoke, he and Mousse performed a synchronized gesture, their hands passing over their eyes. In Hinatsuru's horrified gaze, numbers materialized within their pupils.
Mousse's eyes displayed [Lower Moon 7], while Steel Cannon's eyes showed [Lower Moon 8].
"Impossible!" Hinatsuru gasped. The Twelve Kizuki were called so because there were exactly twelve: six Upper and six Lower.
What am I seeing? A Seven and an Eight?! Has Muzan increased the number of the Twelve Kizuki?!
"Heh... hehehe..."
Amidst Hinatsuru's shock, she heard a low chuckle from the man beside her. The laughter grew louder and louder until it became an unrestrained, manic roar of mirth.
Hinatsuru let go of Lu Li's arm, confused. Did this rookie go insane from the fear?
"What's so funny? Have you finally lost your mind at death's door?" Steel Cannon snarled, stepping down the stairs.
They were the "newly certified" Lower Moons. While their numbers were only 7 and 8, it didn't mean they were weaker than the original six. It was simply because they hadn't had the chance to initiate a "Blood Battle" for rank yet.
In terms of raw power, these Explorers—whose base attributes were already superhuman—were far stronger than any canonical Lower Moon. They were only inferior to the Upper Moons.
Lu Li covered his face with one hand, seemingly trying to suppress his emotions. The laughter died down, but Hinatsuru could still see the sharp, predatory curve of his smile.
"Sorry. I'm just... a little too happy."
Lu Li lowered his hand. In this world, killing enemy Explorers had a chance to drop a Dead Man's Chest. Killing a member of the Twelve Kizuki guaranteed a chest drop. With these two conditions overlapping, it meant that by killing these two Explorers, he would undoubtedly inherit their entire life savings.
That is truly... wonderful.
Steel Cannon leaped from the stairs, raising a massive, heavy war hammer and swinging it toward Lu Li's head. "Die!"
The reason they were willing to reveal themselves and burn an expensive item wasn't just because Lu Li had found them; they sensed he was genuinely formidable. Based on their assessment, they suspected Lu Li might already be a Hashira.
Taking down a Hashira while the faction-buff was active meant they could potentially loot his Dead Man's Chest. It was a guaranteed win.
According to their [Reconnaissance] skills, the man before them was a top-tier Tier 1 powerhouse with average attributes above 27. His inventory was likely overflowing with riches—more than enough to pay back the cost of their sun-shading item.
Steel Cannon was originally an Explorer with roughly 20 points in his attributes. After receiving Muzan's blood, his stats had jumped to 28. Combined with high-speed regeneration and hardened skin, he felt he had become an apex predator.
In the past, he wouldn't have dared engage someone like Lu Li. But now, he was the stronger one. He felt intoxicated by the power, marveling at how useful Muzan's blood was.
Time seemed to slow in his vision. He watched his hammer close in on Lu Li's skull. He could already see the man's head bursting like a ripe melon.
But in the next microsecond, he saw Lu Li drop into a low stance. Then, his vision blurred. He saw nothing but a single, pitch-black line. Then, the world began to spin uncontrollably.
Steel Cannon's bald head rolled across the floor, his eyes still wide with confusion and a lingering trace of sadistic glee.
Lu Li, crouched low, had already sheathed his blade. He reached out with his free hand, gently closing the eyes of the dead courtesan at his feet.
As he slowly stood up, an invisible, crushing pressure began to rise, saturating the entire room.
In Mousse's eyes, the man rising from the shadows looked like a towering peak. A mountain-like weight of suffocating pressure crashed over him in waves, threatening to stop his very heart.
Lu Li tilted his head slightly, his peripheral gaze locking onto Mousse.
"Weren't you going to surround and kill me? Both of you should come at once."
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