Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
The moon hung at its highest in the sky tonight. Its pale light shines with the bluish tint on the village below.
The number of people walking on the streets of the Swordsmith village gradually decreased, and as time passed, only the guard stood ready in their sentry post around the village to sound the alarm in case of an attack.
The lights from the house also gradually went out.
Clang!
"Oh ho ho..."
The round porcelain swayed and bounced in excitement on the rooftop.
Gyokko emerged from the pot, the number [4] engraved in his yellow pupils. His presence was different from before, having increased his rank through Muzan's forceful injection.
"If we destroy the Swordsmith village... we can greatly weaken the Demon Slayers~🎶"
Gyokko said to himself in an excited tone.
"If we weaken the Demon Slayers, then the Head of the Ubuyashiki family will be ours for the taking!"
"I knew it!"
Bang bang...
Gyokko's high spirit was shared through his whole being as he jumped around, creating banging sounds on the rooftop he was located on.
His gaze turned to look down on the street below, sweeping his eyes over the few pedestrians on the road.
"Next..." He excitedly stuck out his tongue and licked his lips exaggeratedly. "What kind of pot should I make first—"
Crack!
Before he could fantasize further, the rooftop under him suddenly made a strange sound.
"Huh?"
Gyokko looked down strangely.
The next moment, three heavy impact sounds came from below as tiles around Gyokko's pot mixed with the debris of the wooden beams and rose into the air forcibly by the huge impact!
Instantly, Gyokko was surrounded by three Hashira emerging from inside the house they rested in.
"What!?" Gyokko had an astonished look on his face. This sudden attack was completely without his notice at all!
The three figures, each holding a weapon, already executed their breathing technique the moment they saw what it was on their roof.
White steam overflowed from the corner of their mouth as they swung their weapons.
)—Flame Breathing Second Form—(
)—Nobori En Ten!—(
(tr. Rising Scorching Sun)
)—Sun Breathing Eight Form—(
)—Yōkatotsu!—(
(tr. Sunflower Thrust)
)—Stone Breathing First Form—(
)—Jamongan – Sōkyoku!—(
(tr. Serpentinite Bipolar)
Two blades instantly wrapped in dazzling red flames as they targeted the most vital organ they could see, which was the head and neck.
The other one doesn't hold a blade but two large dark red beads in his hands.
The muscles of his strong arms tensed with power beyond what normal humans produce, and he threw his weight forward.
Gyokko's eyes see all the actions in slow motion, the two blades wrapped in flames and dark red Buddhist beads quickly making their way to harm him.
BOOOMMM!!
The heavy multiple attacks instantly destroyed the roof they were on. A huge cloud of smoke rose up into the sky like a signal. The force generated wind pressure that blew away wood chips and roof tiles around them.
---
"What!? What happened over there!?"
"What was that loud sound!?"
The sentry on duty turned his head in surprise and looked at the location where the commotion came from.
Tecchin slowly stopped his walk. He hasn't gone far from the guesthouse that hosts the Hashiras. He squinted his eyes through his mask as he saw the smoke and the dust rise high into the sky.
"That...!!"
"That's the Hashira's guesthouse!" He exclaimed in surprise at his own conclusion.
"What?"
"Hashira? Why is the Hashira's residence blown up!?"
The swordsmiths were immediately shocked and exclaimed. They came back to their senses and looked at each other a few times, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.
Several possibilities ran through their minds that could have caused such an explosion.
After a while, Tecchin slapped his hands in a panic. He hurriedly ran and shouted.
"Quick! Go and inform the alarm guy!"
"There may be demons invading the village right now!" His urgency was heard by those around him.
The few people gathering before immediately dispersed and ran toward the sentry posts around the village, and one went in the direction of the center of the village.
The possibility of a demon attacking the village, even if it wasn't confirmed to be true, had to be reported.
The consequences of hesitating in such a scenario would be devastating!
---
The roof was... no, with the attacks just now, the roof has turned into debris.
The large swathes of dust that rose up, obscuring the vision with fog, made it very difficult to see.
Whoosh!
Clang!
The sound of porcelain impacting the ground was extremely faint compared to the explosion. Gyokko's face was paler than usual. Cold sweat flowed down his body as a chill went straight through his spine and into his head.
"What was that!?"
"Slayers? Are they all Hashira?!"
Gyokko's head poked out of the mouth of the pot, and he glanced at the place where he had been standing.
The sudden ambush made Gyokko doubt this operation in his mind.
"Why are there three Hashira in this village?!"
The wounds on his body were shallow, and they are already rapidly healing.
If he hadn't placed another moveable pot across the village earlier, then he would have come out of that attack differently.
He might have to use his trump card prematurely.
After calming down, though,
Gyokko slowly crawled out of the pot, waving his deformed baby hands, clenching them.
"But, hee hee, did you think Gyokko-sama would be thrown into a panic by this?" He mockingly speaks to no one in particular.
"I am an Upper Moon Four!"
He looked up at the roof where he was attacked.
Vaguely, Gyokko saw the shadows of three figures in the middle of the ruins. He couldn't help but shed a drop of cold sweat.
"Well..."
He turned around with his hands crunching his flesh and bone. Magically, a pot with a strange pattern materialized, and Gyokko threw it long into the distance.
"Temporarily retreating... is not bad."
He's going to take advantage of the panic and darkness to get away from the Hashiras first.
He planned to lure them away from the village and then wreak havoc inside the village with his summoned fish demons from afar.
The corners of Gyokko's mouth turned up slightly, and her shoulders moved up and down. She couldn't help but let out a triumphant laugh. His plan is perfect!
Whoosh!
As long as the Swordsmith village is destroyed, his mission is a success!
Humans are weak. Their physical strength and recovery have a limit.
When those three Hashira are exhausted...
"...What kind of amazing arts can I produce with these Hashira?"
Gyokko shuffled between the pots while talking to himself. He couldn't wait to find out the works of art he could make with these quality ingredients he stumbled upon.
If the plans failed, Gyokko was still confident in his own speed and turned those Hashira into one of his collections.
---
"He escaped."
"It's an Upper Moon demon, and it can move between pots."
Tanjuro stepped on the edge of the broken roof. His eyes locked in on the flickering figure of Gyokko through the dust and fog.
The kanji in the demon eyes was four, indicating a level up compared to his memory of Gyokko being Upper Moon Five.
The demon has the posture gauge bar on top of his head and two red dots.
Tanjuro was puzzled by this change but did not choose to pursue it. With Kusabimaru, pursuing and fighting the demon would consume too much of the "resurrection" power.
"Namu." Gyomei gripped his beads in prayer again. His eyes followed along with the demon's movement through the Transparent World.
It is only natural for those who have mastered the Transparent World to locate their prey escaping.
Shinjuro gripped his Nichirin blade tightly. He also turned his sight to look at the direction that Tanjuro and Gyomei looked at.
"I'll go after him." Shinjuro declared.