Since then, Hera had spent the entire day in a daze.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not understand it.
She had only wanted to help the villagers. Everything she had done had been for their sake, yet her actions had been met with fear, suspicion, and hostility.
In the end, Hera quietly left the village.
She did not know where she was supposed to go, nor did she have any destination in mind.
After reaching the mountains overlooking the settlement, she stopped and looked back.
The village was small, peaceful, and full of simple people. They were warm-hearted, hardworking, and kind ordinary humans living ordinary lives.
Yet why?
Why did they harbor such fear and hatred toward a race they had never even encountered before?
Hera could not understand.
Poor Hera had worked tirelessly to learn human customs and integrate herself into human society. She had even disobeyed Kokushibo's instructions on several occasions, believing that coexistence might be possible.
And yet, this was the result.
Suddenly, the sound of chewing echoed through the forest.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Hera turned around.
A humanoid demon was walking through the woods while chewing on a chunk of flesh.
Seeing that Hera was also a demon, he paid her little attention and simply continued on his way.
"Are you going to eat humans?" Hera suddenly asked while grabbing his arm.
The demon froze.
After sensing no hostility from her, he answered honestly.
"Yeah. I need to become stronger."
His expression darkened.
"And then I'll get revenge on that bastard."
Hera's face remained completely expressionless.
The next moment
Boom!
She slammed him directly into a tree.
The entire trunk shook violently.
The demon nearly spat blood.
What the hell?!
You can't even joke around?!
You attacked without warning?!
The unfortunate victim was none other than Meng Xiyu the same demon who had previously been frightened away by Akaza.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The most terrifying part was that Hera had shown absolutely no killing intent beforehand.
No hostility.
No bloodlust.
Nothing.
It was as if her body had simply decided that he needed to be hit.
Fortunately for him, Hera did not follow up with another attack.
Maintaining her cold expression, she said,
"I'm going too. But you're not allowed to enter that village."
Meng Xiyu blinked.
Then he laughed.
What was this?
Even demons had rules about where they could and could not hunt?
Were the villagers down there somehow inedible?
Full of confidence, he walked up beside Hera.
"Today, I'm heading to that village at the foot of the mountain for a self-improvement journey!"
Not bad.
His intelligence had improved significantly.
In fact, he was almost ahead of his era.
Unfortunately, the moment he finished speaking
Hera grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air with one hand.
"…Eh?"
His feet dangled helplessly above the ground.
Blood Demon Art
Before he could activate his technique, Hera struck his abdomen with a swift palm strike.
Bang!
The impact instantly disrupted the flow of his strength.
Then she released him.
Thud!
Meng Xiyu crashed face-first into the dirt.
"You… you… you…"
He was so shocked that he could barely speak.
Only now did he realize that Hera's strength was vastly greater than his own.
Hera ignored him entirely.
Turning around, she began walking toward the opposite side of the village.
"Let's go."
She paused briefly.
"To that self-improvement journey you mentioned."
Meng Xiyu immediately got up.
He did not dare refuse.
For some reason, he felt that if he disagreed, he might not survive this chapter.
Far away, several hidden observers stared at the departing figures of the two demons.
Disbelief filled their eyes.
The Mugen TrainInside the Mugen Train, Tanjiro and the others sat somewhat awkwardly in their seats.
Across from them, Kyojuro Rengoku was devouring bento boxes at an astonishing speed.
"Delicious!"
"Delicious!!"
"Delicious!!!"
Every declaration rang through the carriage like thunder.
Although Tanjiro and his companions were not particularly shy, they still felt embarrassed by the curious stares directed toward their group.
Doesn't Rengoku-san notice at all?
Looking at Kyojuro's bright smile and unwavering confidence, Tanjiro fell into deep thought.
Perhaps he genuinely didn't.
Or perhaps he simply did not care.
"Rengoku-san," Tanjiro asked as the Flame Hashira reached for another bento box, "what exactly is our mission this time?"
Kyojuro paused.
His fiery eyes immediately focused on Tanjiro.
"You must do everything in your power to protect the passengers aboard this train!"
Tanjiro nodded.
"Then what about you?"
A broad smile spread across Kyojuro's face.
"I will protect everyone on this train!"
His voice carried absolute certainty.
For some reason, hearing those words made Tanjiro believe him completely.
Just as Kyojuro reached for his final lunchbox, a nervous train attendant hurried down the aisle and accidentally bumped into him.
The bento slipped from his hand.
Crash.
The box fell to the floor.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
The attendant's face turned pale.
Tears immediately welled up in her eyes as she repeatedly bowed in apology.
She was new to the job.
The previous attendant assigned to this route had mysteriously disappeared, and she had been transferred to fill the vacancy.
Well done, young lady!
Of course, Kyojuro had no intention of making things difficult for her.
"Not a problem!" he declared cheerfully.
He cleaned up the spilled meal himself and set the empty container aside.
The train continued racing through the darkness.
Throughout the journey, Kyojuro's sharp eyes remained fixed ahead.
He never once closed them.
Across from him sat Inosuke Hashibira, still wearing his boar mask.
He was staring at Kyojuro as well.
Although judging from the lack of focus in his gaze, nobody knew what he was actually thinking about.
Because it was nighttime, Nezuko had emerged from her box.
She sat beside Tanjiro, resting her head against his shoulder.
Before long, she had fallen asleep.
Zenitsu watched the scene from nearby.
Tears streamed down his face.
The jealousy was overwhelming.
The Mugen Train thundered forward through the night.
Meanwhile, Enmu was nowhere to be seen on the roof.
According to Kokushibo:
"Standing on a moving train roof just to enjoy the wind? That's ridiculous."
Of course, there was another reason.
Enmu had recently borrowed a rare manuscript from Kyogai titled Tasting Citrus.
Reading it on the roof risked having the pages blown away.
The manuscript itself seemed ready to cry.
"I practically gave it to him for free…"
As a result, Enmu had chosen a far more comfortable location.
Inside the driver's compartment, he leisurely read his book while sipping a rare blood-based beverage gifted to him by Kokushibo.
According to Kokushibo, it was supposedly one of Muzan's preferred drinks.
"So delicious~"
Enmu smiled blissfully.
"Muzan-sama's favorite drink~"
Standing nearby were four trembling humans.
Unlike most of Enmu's victims, they were not under the effects of his Blood Demon Art.
Instead, they had willingly entered into agreements with him.
After staring at them for several seconds, Enmu nodded thoughtfully.
"They need names."
Three seconds later, inspiration struck.
"Let's call them A, B, C, and D."
The four humans nearly collapsed.
Each of them carried selfish desires.
They sought something from Enmu.
In exchange, they would carry out tasks for him.
Enmu smiled.
Then
His Blood Demon Art activated.
The train continued speeding through the night.
One by one, the passengers drifted into dreams.
Without exception.
A carefully took a length of rope.
She tied one end around her wrist and the other around Zenitsu's.
Fortunately, Zenitsu's subconscious was relatively harmless while asleep.
If someone like Shinobu had been in his place, A might have regretted entering the dream immediately.
A flash of lightning illuminated the darkness.
Then
Zenitsu's dream began.
A vast peach orchard stretched beneath a clear blue sky.
Zenitsu and Nezuko were happily picking peaches together.
What did this dream symbolize?
Nothing.
It simply meant Zenitsu was thinking about peaches.
And Nezuko.
Mostly Nezuko.
A small river cut through the orchard.
Standing beside it, Nezuko looked troubled.
"Zenitsu-nii-san, I can't swim. What should I do?"
Zenitsu instantly turned red.
His brain nearly stopped functioning.
"N-No problem! It's only a tiny river! I can cross it easily while carrying you!"
He immediately crouched down.
Nezuko climbed onto his back.
Hidden behind a nearby tree, Jia Mei watched the scene with visible disdain.
"Tch."
She folded her arms.
"Stop pretending to be a helpless little girl. It's just a river."
Zenitsu stood up.
Then he jumped.
"Primary account successfully logged in."
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning erupted beneath his feet.
Jia Mei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Afraid she might lose sight of them, she hurriedly ran forward.
Then she finally saw it.
Zenitsu was carrying Nezuko while racing across a river over fifty meters wide.
Whoosh!
His entire body transformed into a streak of golden lightning.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash Godspeed!"
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
The flashes multiplied endlessly.
"Eighteen-fold!"
The river trembled beneath the storm of lightning.
Jia Mei stared blankly.
Then she looked at the enormous river.
Then back at Zenitsu.
Finally, she shouted in disbelief:
"You call this a small river?!"
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