"The ritual has begun."
"The ritual has begun."
"The ritual…"
Hearing the middle-aged man and woman muttering, Tomioka Giyu was startled. Just as he was about to ask,
the two suddenly began to struggle violently, tearing off their clothes and breaking free from Tomioka Giyu's grasp.
Seeing this, Tomioka Giyu did not continue to pursue them. He wanted to see what the two intended to do.
The middle-aged man impatiently flipped off the pot lid.
Then, both of them simultaneously reached their hands into the pot, which was still steaming hot!
Tomioka Giyu was shocked and blurted out, "Wh-what? Two corpses?!"
"And their expressions haven't changed at all?!"
Indeed, the middle-aged man and woman seemed completely oblivious to pain, each carrying a corpse as they walked out of the house.
Tomioka Giyu did not stop them; instead, he stealthily followed them.
He had a premonition, or rather, a guess, that something even more unexpected might happen soon.
But when Tomioka Giyu arrived on the village street, he was instantly shocked, his pupils constricting sharply.
The center of the village was, at some point, filled with people!
Each of them held a child's corpse in their hands, kneeling in a circle.
In the center of the circle stood a little boy who looked only a dozen years old. His expression was indifferent, and he gazed up at the sky.
Tomioka Giyu rubbed his eyes, thinking to himself, "He's red? No, why have all these people turned red? Hmm? This place…"
Suddenly, Tomioka Giyu seemed to realize something and abruptly looked up at the sky.
At this moment, the sky was cloudless, and the entire moon was clearly visible, but it was red!
"It's…it's not that those people and houses turned red, but the moon turned red? How is this possible?!"
As Tomioka Giyu was shocked, he also withdrew his gaze and looked again at the circle formed by the villagers.
But the moment he looked, a chill shot up his spine!
All the villagers turned their heads, staring at him with their lifeless eyes, and the children's corpses in their hands had already disappeared.
Even more terrifying, the little boy standing in the center of the circle had also vanished!
Suddenly, a voice devoid of any emotion sounded from behind Tomioka Giyu.
"Are you looking for me?"
Tomioka Giyu did not hesitate. He drew his sword, turned around, and delivered a decisive horizontal slash!
Blue light flashed, and Tomioka Giyu knew he had missed.
The little boy stood less than two meters away from him, silently watching him.
"Another outsider. But you seem stronger than the previous ones, though the outcome will be the same."
Tomioka Giyu didn't want to waste words with it. As long as he cut off its head, everything would be resolved.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form…"
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness came over him, and the world in Tomioka Giyu's eyes became increasingly red.
Eventually, he couldn't see anything at all, only a expanse of red.
After staggering to steady himself, Tomioka Giyu immediately understood.
It wasn't that the moon had turned red at all; it was his own eyes that had been affected.
"But when did I get hit?" Tomioka Giyu was puzzled.
"Was it when I first saw that little boy? But I never even came into contact with that little boy."
"Wait a minute, contact?"
Suddenly, Tomioka Giyu recalled the scene when he first arrived at the village entrance. That's right, only she had touched him!
Tomioka Giyu took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Using a harmless little girl to lower our guard, what a clever trick!"
"I suppose the previous team members all fell here because they were caught by this move of yours."
"Hahahaha!" The little boy laughed sinisterly, then coldly said, "I have to say, you are indeed different from the guys who came before. Very smart!"
"But the outcome won't change. Stay here forever and become my servant."
Tomioka Giyu was not in a hurry to act. Having suddenly lost his sight, he needed a moment to recover.
However, he had long imagined what to do if he ever encountered a demon that could block his vision.
So he had undergone special training for this and had even consulted the Stone Hashira, but when the time actually came, he still needed a moment to adapt.
However, Tomioka Giyu did have a question he wanted to ask the little boy.
"You're quite bold. From what I understand, Muzan doesn't allow demons to form their own forces without permission. You really aren't afraid of death, are you?"
The little boy also showed no intention of attacking. In its opinion, this person in front of it would soon become its loyal servant.
But upon hearing Tomioka Giyu's question, it also asked with some confusion, "Who is Muzan? What does he have to do with me?"
Tomioka Giyu was startled and did not explain who Muzan was. Instead, he was secretly astonished, "Another demon that has escaped Muzan's control?!"
"Butterfly effect? A product of world derivation?"
Tomioka Giyu "tsk-ed" and immediately stopped thinking about it.
In short, the first thing to do was to get rid of it!
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
The clear sensation told Tomioka Giyu that he had hit it this time!
Pffft——
The little boy, already split into seven or eight pieces, did not disappear, nor was there any panic in his tone.
"Oh? How impressive. To be able to burst out with such speed when you can't see, so fast that I didn't even see it clearly."
"But…"
Before the little boy could finish speaking, Tomioka Giyu's sword was already heading for its still-speaking head!
Unfortunately, this strike missed, because all parts of the little boy turned into a puddle of blood.
Then they gathered together again, and a "brand new" little boy appeared.
"How rude, let me finish speaking. Every time I die, one of the villagers here will die, you know."
"I'm sure you heard it, that 'bang' sound just now!"
"Hehe, that was one of them exploding~"
"Of course, those team members you mentioned are no exception. When you kill me, you are killing…"
Before he could finish, the little boy's head was once again cut off by Tomioka Giyu!
Bang——
Hearing the sound, Tomioka Giyu's heart sank. What this guy said was most likely true!
"How decisive, but… do you really not care about their lives?"
"The previous outsiders said they came to save these villagers."
"But you, you kill them without hesitation. How cruel!"
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