The Eternal Paradise Faith, led by the Doma, advocates for the salvation of humanity by sending them to "Paradise"—which means, simply, killing them.
To a normal person, this belief is utterly absurd, but the twisted Doma views it as the absolute truth. He believes that true happiness can only be achieved through death, and thus, his act of eating humans is correct.
The Eternal Paradise Faith is clearly a cult, and Doma is well aware of the need to avoid unwanted attention, keeping the number of his followers restricted to just over 200. The headquarters is also extremely secluded, and the cult members usually maintain a low profile.
Unfortunately, it was still discovered by the Demon Slayer Corps. Aomori and the other Hashira gathered at a nearby Demon Slayer safe house, the Wisteria House, to discuss the plan to eliminate Upper Rank Two.
"All the Hashira are present. Excellent," Aomori said, feeling relieved to see everyone safe.
However, the Hashira noticed a bandage wrapped around Aomori's arm, with faint bloodstains visible beneath it.
Kanae was the first to ask, "You're injured?"
Aomori, who hadn't shed a single drop of blood even when fighting them, was actually injured?
Who drew first blood?
"It's nothing," Aomori clearly didn't want to discuss it. He unrolled a map of the Eternal Paradise Faith Headquarters and began to explain the key points of the mission.
"First, according to my observations, Upper Rank Two is not the only one inside the headquarters. He has two other Upper Rank Demons beside him—Upper Rank Five Gyokko and Upper Rank Four Hantengu, to be precise. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of the other two Upper Ranks appearing as well. If we launch a full-frontal assault, we might suffer heavy casualties."
"Seriously? I don't believe it." Sanemi, who had just defeated Upper Rank Six, was brimming with confidence and didn't think the Upper Rank Demons were that formidable.
"I am estimating the worst-case scenario. We cannot afford too many losses here; after all, we still have to face Muzan, who is our ultimate target," Aomori said, adjusting his glasses.
"Then we could use the sun and attack at the height of noon," Obanai suggested.
"That brings me to my second point. The Eternal Paradise Faith has been entrenched here for over a hundred years, and they have excavated a large number of underground tunnels and secret chambers. If they escape underground, it will be extremely difficult for us to eliminate them all with the manpower we have. Therefore, we can only launch a fierce assault in the dead of night, leaving us with countermeasures while also avoiding scaring them off. Given their usual arrogance, they definitely won't flee immediately, which gives us a chance to kill them all."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"So, the next problem is, how do we minimize casualties in a direct fight against them?"
No one spoke this time, using their eyes to urge Aomori to quickly elaborate and stop keeping them in suspense.
"Ahem, and that is..."
...
It was early morning, two hours before sunrise.
Doma, the leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith and Upper Rank Two of the Twelve Kizuki, was enjoying a pleasant conversation with his beautiful female followers.
Suddenly, the building began to tremble violently.
"Earthquake! Run!" The cult members living in the headquarters were jolted awake from their sleep. Without even having time to dress properly, they rushed outside in a panic, only to be apprehended and corralled by a group of masked figures in black.
Sensing that there were no longer any living humans inside, Aomori, the "Excavator," increased his energy output.
13 Totem Pole!
One by one, the totem poles rose, completely shattering the headquarters building.
"Hahaha, they actually came. This is fun," Doma, smiling placidly, was buried in the rubble.
Taking the Eternal Paradise Faith Headquarters as the epicenter, all buildings within a two-kilometer radius were utterly demolished. The residents had been evacuated to safety beforehand. Thankfully, this area was secluded with few inhabitants, or Kagaya would have been financially ruined covering the damages.
Aomori, having cleared the area, issued the command: "Sanemi and Muichiro, one o'clock direction. Gyomei and Giyu, ten o'clock direction. Everyone else, straight ahead. As per the plan, commence operation!"
The Hashira scattered.
In the ruins of the northeast corner, Gyokko, who looked like a pot, was disguised as a vase, waiting quietly for his prey to arrive.
The unfortunate demon was unaware that Aomori had already revealed all his intel.
When Sanemi and Muichiro sprinted to the location, both their eyes lit up simultaneously.
Feigning ignorance with perfect coordination, the two immediately unleashed their Second Form Breathing Styles with full power as they passed Gyokko, executing their combined technique.
Wind-Mist Combined Technique, First Form: Wind Scroll Cloud Dissipation!
The whirlwind storm descended again, and Gyokko was instantly decapitated.
In the original story, Gyokko, the Upper Rank Five, was defeated solo by Muichiro Tokito, so being instantly killed by two Hashira was highly plausible.
Solving the Upper Rank Demon so easily made Sanemi recall what Aomori had said earlier: "To minimize casualties, we must be fast! When you see an Upper Rank Demon, do not hesitate—unleash your full power immediately. We must cut off their claws before their reinforcements arrive. We, who know their information, have the capability to instantly kill the two Upper Ranks besides Upper Rank Two."
"He really was instantly killed."
Sanemi sighed in amazement, then noticed Muichiro had run far ahead and quickly followed him: "Hey, wait up!"
Three minutes after the start of the battle, the Demon Slayer Corps secured their first victory.
...
On the other side, Gyomei and Giyu found Hantengu.
Hantengu appeared as a frail old man with a large, swollen forehead and two horns, resembling a Hannya mask.
Giyu, a man of fierce action and few words, immediately raised his Nichirin Blade and slashed him four consecutive times, forcing out all four of his clones.
The four clones were named Sekido (Anger), Karaku (Pleasure), Urogi (Joy), and Aizetsu (Sorrow), representing Hantengu's four primary emotions.
One held a scepter that could summon lightning, one held a large fan that could conjure gales, one could emit sonic screams, and one could project shockwaves from his hands.
With varied methods, combining offense and defense, this was the expected standard of an Upper Rank Demon.
Against the combined attacks of Hantengu's four clones, the defenses of Gyomei and Giyu appeared impregnable.
Stone Breathing, Third Form: Stone Skin!
Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!
In the original story, both these techniques had successfully blocked Muzan's ultimate attacks. Dealing with a mere Upper Rank Four was easily within their capabilities.
Hantengu's main body had long since shrunk and fled. As long as the main body remained alive, the clones could not be killed, so Gyomei and Giyu were only responsible for containing them.
The one responsible for taking the head was Aomori, who had been using Mind's Eye to search for Hantengu's main body.
"Found him!"
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash - God Speed!
Aomori also gave his full power in his Kakado state. His lightning-wrapped body pierced through Hantengu's fist-sized main body, leaving a scorched path behind him.
"I don't want to die!" Hantengu's main body desperately tried to clutch its neck, but it was all in vain. It stared hatefully at Aomori's retreating figure.
Suddenly, its gaze fell upon Aomori's bandaged arm, and its pupils constricted. Before it could say anything, it vanished, along with its clones.
Five minutes after the start of the battle, Upper Rank Four Hantengu was defeated. The Demon Slayer Corps secured their second victory.
...
Sensing that the presences of Gyokko and Hantengu had vanished one after the other, Doma, who was surrounded by four Hashira, showed a look of distress: "It seems this mission has failed. I hope Muzan-sama won't be too angry."
At the same time, he frantically cried out to Muzan for help in his mind.
Doma hadn't sent enough people to Paradise yet; he didn't want to die.
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]