"What did you say!?"
The name "Shinobu" from Lee's lips was like a drop of water splashing into boiling oil, exploding violently in Shinichi's ears and halting his descent into frenzy.
His scarlet right eye flickered intensely as reason and rage clashed fiercely within him.
He stared fixedly at Lee, a suppressed growl escaping his throat.
"What... did you say?!"
Glancing back at Maito, who was staggering to his feet not far behind, Lee's lips curled into a helpless smile before she turned to Shinichi's slightly twisted face.
Half-serious, half-joking, she said, "I said... your little butterfly... she's not dead, you know~"
Buzz—!
Shinichi felt as if an invisible hand had clenched his heart!
His violent aura faltered for a moment.
A glimmer of disbelief and fragile hope flashed in his scarlet eyes, only to be quickly replaced by deeper suspicion and fury.
"Are you... messing with me?!"
"No, no, no~" Lee quickly shook her head.
"Why would I lie to you? Maito here thought using that girl's death would provoke you, but I don't see it that way. Your little butterfly is indeed still 'alive.' It's just that..."
Lee deliberately drew out her words, lowering her head so his gray robe obscured her face, hiding the flickering gray eyes beneath her hood.
Then, slowly and deliberately, she continued, "Shinichi, you should be happy. From now on, she'll be able to stay by your side forever—because now... she's become one of us, our 'kind.'"
Kind?
Our kind?
The same kind... as Demons?!
The word "kind" struck Shinichi's heart like a bolt of lightning.
He froze as if electrocuted, his entire body stiffening instantly.
The violent aura around him receded like a tide, the scarlet glow in his right eye flickering violently before extinguishing.
The veins bulging on his face faded, revealing Shinichi's stunned and bewildered expression once more.
The blazing Nichirin Blade in his hand cooled rapidly under the pattering raindrops.
"No... impossible... you're... lying..." Shinichi's voice trembled, carrying a fragility he himself couldn't believe.
He wanted to believe Shinobu was still alive, but he couldn't fathom the idea that Shinobu—who hated Demons and had devoted her life to exterminating them—could become one?!
As expected, Shinichi was stunned by the sudden revelation, and Lee seized the moment to violently swing her gray robe.
"Blood Concealment Art: Sea of Mist!"
Whoosh!
Thick gray mist rapidly expanded from Lee, instantly obscuring Shinichi's vision as both Lee and Maito were swallowed by the fog.
By the time Shinichi reacted, it was already too late.
"Forest Breathing, Sixth Form: Hurricane strike!"
A green hurricane formed by the emerald glow of his Nichirin Blade violently churned through the gray mist.
Yet when the gale dispersed the fog, both Lee and Maito had completely vanished from Shinichi's sight.
At the last moment before the mist cleared, Lee's voice seemed to echo in Shinichi's ears.
"I didn't lie to you. I hope you can remain composed when you see your girl again. Also, that somewhat annoying female demon doctor is locked in the dungeon below. Be warned... Muzan-sama has now set his sights on that little demon girl. You Demon Slayer Corps should be careful."
Wind ceased, mist cleared, figures vanished—only the ravaged battlefield remained before Shinichi.
Gazing at the pockmarked earth, Shinichi's knuckles turned white around his Nichirin Blade.
His mind remained in turmoil, the impact of Lee words too overwhelming for him to stay calm.
"Shinobu..."
...
Bam!
In a dimly lit chamber, Lee's body slammed heavily against the wall as an unfeeling iron hand clamped around her throat.
"I told you not to interfere! Do you really think I won't kill you!?" Maito roared furiously at Lee.
Lee's expression remained unchanged as slender fingers grasped Maito's arm.
"Do you enjoy choking me so much? Though we're both demons now, didn't you martial artists ever learn about propriety between men and women?"
"Scram!!"
Enraged by Lee's words, Maito crushed her throat before hurling her against another wall.
However, Lee dissolved into gray mist mid-air, reappearing upside-down on the ceiling.
Her gray eyes gleamed with amusement as she finally let out a mocking laugh.
"Maito, should I laugh at your naivety? Do you really think seeking death will change anything? Why didn't we see this weakness from you during the past few centuries?"
"You know perfectly well there's no turning back from the day we abandoned our humanity! Didn't you say it yourself? This land beneath our feet isn't even our homeland! So why feel guilty!?"
Lee's voice suddenly turned impassioned.
Whoosh!
In another flash, she materialized behind Maito, pressing a rust-colored dagger against his throat.
Leaning close to Maito's ear, Lee's tone grew uncharacteristically vicious.
"Having come this far, don't waver now! If you could betray Shunichi Moriki a century ago, then betraying Shinichi should not be that hard no!?"
"Silence!"
Boom!!
Crimson bloodlust and eerie gray mist erupted simultaneously in the confined space.
Click~
The faint creak of an iron door opening seemed to pause the violent confrontation.
Staring at the slender figure standing at the doorway, Maito froze for a moment before finally loosening his grip on the bloodied blade embedded halfway into Lee's skull.
Meanwhile, Lee silently retracted the various sharp hidden weapons clutched between her fingers, even though Maito's body was already riddled with them like a porcupine.
The two powerful demons stopped fighting simultaneously, as if by tacit agreement.
The figure standing at the doorway paused for a moment, violet eyes curiously scanning both their faces before happily fluttering into the room on beautiful butterfly wings.
Outside the room, one grotesque demon after another writhed in agony on the ground, their bodies covered in dark purple lesions, foul-smelling blood gushing from their mouths and noses.
"Hmph! Look at the mess you've made! This girl has poisoned every demon in the County. When Mu— when that person finds out, what do you think will happen? Will that bastard freeze you into an ice sculpture, or will that six-eyed redhead slice you into a thousand pieces?" Maito sneered coldly at Lee.
Lee ignored him, instead beckoning with her hand, gray eyes fixed on the graceful purple figure.
"I wonder what expression that boy will make when he sees his little butterfly like this."
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