"Hideko...my Hideko..."
A young woman stood on the street, wailing, while her husband, his face full of anxiety, repeatedly stopped passersby.
"Excuse me, have any of you seen a girl wearing a red hydrangea kimono?"
"Excuse me, has anyone seen a seven-year-old girl this tall?"
But no matter how anxious he was, the passersby could only shake their heads helplessly.
Sure enough, a child was missing.
Haruto walked forward with a heavy heart, trying his best to ask in a gentle tone, "Excuse me, where did your child go missing? Perhaps I can help."
As if grasping a lifeline, the man gripped Haruto's hand: "Right on this street! We just turned our heads, and Hideko was gone!"
"Are there any other clues? This street is too broad a range."
His hand was gripped painfully by the man, but Haruto didn't even frown, continuing to ask gently.
"Clues..." The man lowered his head, unable to speak, but his wife behind him suddenly looked up as if realizing something: "It's goldfish! Hideko said she wanted to see goldfish! She must have seen a goldfish scooping stall!"
But... Haruto frowned.
Goldfish scooping activities usually only appeared at summer festivals; it was too cold in winter, and goldfish scooping stalls wouldn't open.
And he hadn't seen any so-called goldfish scooping stalls along the way... But besides that, these careless parents couldn't provide any other valuable clues.
They could only pull at their hair in anguish and frustration, placing their hope on the police officers stationed nearby.
Just vanished into thin air on the main street?
That was absurd. If it was a demon, it must have some way to silently take these children away from their parents.
But there was nothing strange around here... Wait.
He squinted his eyes, looking at the roof of a street stall.
What was that round object reflecting the moonlight?
Was it a... pot?
Why would a pot be placed on the roof?
Because it was too far away, he couldn't sense any aura, so he could only walk towards it to get closer and observe the pot.
"Haruto-san!" Kanroji's cheerful voice rang in his ears.
"Any discoveries?"
"None so far."
Haruto mused, "Then please trouble Kanroji-san to tell the other members that your main task is still to maintain order among the people on the street, and try to prevent any more child disappearances."
"Please rest assured, Haruto-san!" Kanroji Mitsuri nodded solemnly, causing her beautiful triple braid to sway: "We will watch over those children carefully!"
After Kanroji Mitsuri left, Haruto looked up at the roof again, and suddenly his pupils contracted.
The pot... it was gone?
The three Hashira quickly converged at the street corner.
"It's the pots!" Kyoujurou said loudly, "I saw some strange pots on the road!"
Sabito nodded gravely: "I was just about to say the same thing. Along a long stretch of road, I actually saw several identical pots."
Haruto took a deep breath, quickly forming hand seals in front of his chest.
Breath of the Stars, Third Form: Detailed Star Worship.
His consciousness spread out like a surging tide, and in his conscious world, these strange pots were indeed tainted with a faint demonic aura!
And an agile dark shadow was rapidly moving through the vicinity of the bluestone street, using these pots as footholds.
"It's a demon! There's a demon moving rapidly between these pots!"
Kyoujurou decisively slashed the pot in front of him, while Sabito waved to the surrounding members: "Tell everyone! Destroy all these pots you can see!"
Haruto suddenly opened his eyes, gripping his sword hilt: "Follow me!"
The command was issued swiftly. The Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen destroyed the beautiful pots one after another, but some members seemed to disappear into the night.
The three Hashira pursued into an alley, just in time to see a dark shadow emerge from the mouth of a pot.
"Oh dear, I've been discovered."
The dark shadow turned around, its ugly appearance startling all three of them.
It was a grotesque creature with fins on its head, and many tendrils resembling human hands grew on its head, constantly wriggling as it turned, sending shivers down their spines.
But the ugliest part was its face; on that human-like face, where eyes should have been, there were mouths, and two eyes, one in the center of its forehead and one where its mouth originally was.
In those ugly pupils, the characters "Upper Moon" and "Five" were written respectively.
"It's an Upper Moon Demon of the Twelve Kizuki!" Sabito's face was grim.
Kyoujurou's expression was also not good: "The people of Tokyo suffer too much." The fear brought by the former Lower Moon Two hadn't subsided, and now an Upper Moon Five appeared; it was truly one wave after another!
"It's truly..." Haruto was dumbfounded: "Unbelievably ugly!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" The demon, who was about to retract its head and flee, heard Haruto's words and extended its head again, angrily retorting: "It's your taste that's terrible, you brat!"
Sabito flew forward, a streak of azure blade light flashing, but it cut through empty air.
The demon swiftly retracted its head into the pot, and in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
Such a demon, capable of moving rapidly between pots... The three of them exchanged grim glances... It needed to be eliminated immediately.
Even if... it was an Upper Moon Demon... Kanroji Mitsuri had run quite far. She heard the transmitted orders and was diligently destroying the strange pots on the roadside and rooftops.
A scream seemed to echo from a distant place behind her. She turned her head vigilantly and called out, "Takao-san?"
The Demon Slayer Corps swordsman who should have been not far from her was now completely silent.
"Takao-san!"
Kanroji shouted again, but besides the noisy human sounds around her, there was no other sound.
This was bad. Had Takao-san... She suddenly whipped her head around, hearing the sound of a jar rolling on the bluestone ground.
No, not a jar... It was a pot.
The pot rolled to her feet, then stood upright, and an ugly head emerged from its mouth.
"Look, look, look " A shrill voice came from its mouth, sounding very irritating: "How beautiful, what perfect hair color. If it were made into a work of art, it would surely be loved by many people "
He floated high, revealing the black torso that connected his body to the pot: "This guest... are you interested in participating in the creation of a work of art?
I, Gyokko, will surely make you very beautiful ~"
Kanroji's eyebrows shot up.
This fellow, from his tone to his intonation, exuded a sarcastic air!
He even specifically pointed out her hair color! He must be mocking her!
An infuriated Kanroji Mitsuri drew her whip-like Nichirin flexible sword from her waist and suddenly slashed at Gyokko!
The demon "whooshed" into the pot, causing Kanroji's flexible sword to cut through empty air.
However, the flexible sword was incredibly agile; its tip quickly hooked back, and with a snap, it shattered Gyokko's hiding place!
"My pot—"
An angry roar sounded from behind her. Kanroji turned around, and another pot had appeared there at some unknown point!
Gyokko emerged from it, his two eyes, upper and lower, filled with malice.
"How dare you break my pot! You, a person utterly devoid of artistic sense, are merely passable in appearance!
For someone like you, I have the best solution..."
He opened his palm towards Kanroji, and a black pot appeared in his hand.
"That is... to drown in a water hell and become one of my most exquisite works!"
Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Pot!