𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳

20. SUNSTRUCK HIGH

[幽玄]

Something must have been loose in Sakurai's head. She didn't think before attacking an upper moon, besides about the fact that he had killed a lot of people already with the fresh smell of blood in the air. Last time she went in, mocking a demon, she got pummeled through three buildings and near broke her neck.

But she was aware of the shed nearby, and she knew there was Kanamori and Haganezuka nearby. They could even be working within it. If somehow she could alert the mist hashira to her presence...

No, there's another one in the village too. It's... four? Five? Why so many? There was no way that many Kizuki had showed up, it was mathematically impossible—unless somehow their ranks had been bolstered so suddenly.

"You're not even fazed now that Muzan-sama is aware of you? Shouldn't you be scared for your life before me? We're hunting you down!"

Her worried expression from observing the fish demons and trouble surrounding her turned to him with a smirk. "You're after me? For what? Is Muzan scared?"

His tongue waggled in mocking laughter. "Did you miss the part where I turn you into a piece of abstract art by taking your fingernails one by one?"

"You haven't hurt me yet."

"You must be a Hashira if you noticed me. Want to see examples of art?" Out of a pot popped out a grotesque display of swordsmen, driven through with swords and their limbs skewered and placed at bent angles. Half of their masks remained, showing their empty, dead expressions drooping low with soulless eyes.

A quiet gasp could be heard in the woods, but she couldn't react to it audibly. Kotetsu?!

She leapt at him enraged and his pot once again. "I'm not a hashira, you're just detectable because you're scum!!"

He dodged by slipping into his pot, and another one swiveled on the spot as it appeared else where with the kizuki popping back out.

"Out of the way," the misty voice of Muichiro snapped, moving past Sakurai with the same intent but his pot swiveled again and he appeared on the roof of the shed.

"You're not even gonna let me finish explaining?"

Sakurai looked back at the presence she sensed, Kanamori and Kotetsu. "Are you okay? Get away from this place if you can!"

"The mountain is crawling with demons!" Kanamori explained.

Her brow raised in alarm. Then all the smiths were in danger... Mitsuri was gone which meant only Tanjiro and Genya were left to fight the other uppermoon. More than that, the sword smiths weren't fighters and if the guards had been killed they'd be left to fend for themselves.

"The chief and everyone—"

"Stop ignoring me!" Sakurai was surprised as Gyokko had her wrapped up in his technique before she could react. A vase of water swept under her feet and trapped her in suspended currents, blowing bubbles from her nose.