"G-Grown-ups?!"
Xiang Kai's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the figure whose upper half was shrouded in shadow. Instinctively, he dropped to his knees and bowed low to Lucas.
His trembling body pressed against the floor. Why… why was Lord Muzan here?
He had been so close. Just a little more, and he would've swallowed that thin blood and earned a place once again among the Twelve Kizuki.
All he needed was Muzan's blood and recognition.
Tanjiro, adjusting to the shifting space of the demon's lair and waiting for his chance, paused in confusion. His eyes narrowed as he saw Xiang Kai suddenly kneel in submission.
"What's going on?"
Was the demon… afraid?
A thick, choking scent of fear filled the room. It was a smell Tanjiro had encountered many times before—on villagers, on victims, even on weaker demons—but never this intense. Never this overwhelming.
What could strike such fear into a demon this powerful?
Was there another, stronger demon in the room?
Tanjiro's body tensed. He'd already struggled to fight Xiang Kai. If someone stronger appeared, his chances of survival were slim.
He sniffed the air, seeking the new demon.
Then he froze.
"…Mr. Lucas?"
The scent came from the direction of the kneeling demon. The fear radiating from Xiang Kai was directed at—Lucas?
Tanjiro blinked, puzzled, and sniffed again. No mistake.
The ghost was afraid of Mr. Lucas.
But how? Was Lucas truly so powerful that even this terrifying drum demon would tremble before him?
Lucas walked forward, calm and relaxed, toward Xiang Kai.
He hadn't expected such a dramatic reaction.
As Xiang Kai looked up and saw Lucas's face clearly, something clicked. But still, he didn't dare make eye contact. He lowered his head even further, body trembling more violently with each approaching step.
"Would you like to be my friend?" Lucas asked gently.
The voice was nothing like Muzan's. It was younger, lighter, and carried no malice.
Xiang Kai blinked. That wasn't Muzan's voice.
He snapped his head up, anger suddenly replacing fear as he realized the truth.
This wasn't Muzan.
"Imposter!"
With a furious snarl, he raised his hand and slammed the drum embedded in his chest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three claw-like shockwaves tore through the floorboards, ripping toward Lucas with incredible force.
"Mr. Lucas, watch out!" Tanjiro shouted instinctively.
He had fought this demon before and knew how dangerous those drums were. The rhythm and placement of the strikes controlled the entire battlefield. If Lucas wasn't careful, he could be seriously hurt.
But before Tanjiro could finish his warning, Lucas vanished.
In a blink, he was gone from where he stood.
Crash!
Xiang Kai's body was hurled backward like a ragdoll, smashing through a wall and tumbling into the debris.
Tanjiro's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
So fast… terrifyingly fast…
He had barely survived his fight with the drum demon, struggling to adapt to the constant rotation and manipulation of the room. But Lucas had blown Xiang Kai away like a leaf in the wind.
They weren't even in the same league.
Lucas walked over to the crumpled body on the floor and squatted on Xiang Kai's chest.
"Would you like to be friends with me now?" he asked again.
Xiang Kai stared up in horror.
How… how was he this fast?
Tanjiro had thought Lucas passed through the shockwaves, but Xiang Kai knew the truth—Lucas had reached him before he'd even finished activating the drum.
It was a level of speed that made no sense.
Just as Lucas waited patiently for a reply, a loud voice echoed from the corridor.
"The boar charges! The boar charges!"
Bang!
The back door exploded into splinters.
Inosuke stood panting in the wreckage, twin swords ready. His eyes scanned the scene, and when he saw Xiang Kai beneath Lucas's foot, he grinned.
A target.
He crouched low and lunged straight toward Lucas.
But without even turning his head, Lucas extended his right hand casually behind him.
"Stop messing around. We're having a conversation."
Inosuke didn't understand what Lucas meant. He kept charging forward—until a force struck his side like a hammer.
Wham!
Inosuke felt the impact before he understood it. As he twisted to evade, another invisible force slammed into him from the other side.
Crash!
He was launched straight into the wall. The wooden planks cracked and buckled under the pressure, but the attack didn't stop there.
Lucas's red energy—shaped like an arrow—held Inosuke in place, pinning him to the wall like a specimen on display.
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free.
Finally, Inosuke's dazed gaze fell on Lucas.
It's him?
This man had done that? That pressure… that shockwave…
Inosuke's breath caught in his throat. He hadn't sensed a trace of killing intent. Not even a flicker of danger until it was too late.
Back on the ground, Xiang Kai was frozen with disbelief.
That attack… just now… that wasn't normal strength. That wasn't swordsmanship.
"That was blood demon art!"
The realization sent ice down his spine.
That couldn't be.
He was sure of what he saw—Lucas had just used blood demon art. But… how could a human use such a thing?
Xiang Kai desperately tried to rationalize it.
But the aura… the power flowing from this man's body—it was undeniably blood demon energy.
Was this man like Kokushibo, the terrifying Upper Moon demon who combined breathing techniques with demon blood arts?
No. Even Kokushibo, for all his might, reeked of demonic aura.
Lucas… didn't.
What was he?
"Let's go back to the question," Lucas said, looking down at him once more. "Would you like to be friends?"
Xiang Kai's body trembled. His pride shattered, his fear overflowing.
"I… I would."
> [Bite]
> [Successfully added the former Lower Moon Six Drum Demon, Xiang Kai, as a friend!]
> [Detected that intimacy with Xiang Kai is at 'acquaintance' level. Random reward granted.]
> [Skill acquired: Ghost Drum (Revised)]
> [Would you like to fuse the Ghost Drum (Revised) skill now?]
> [No]
"Not bad," Lucas said, clapping his hands and rising from Xiang Kai. "I gained something useful."
The Ghost Drum likely referred to the drum embedded in Xiang Kai's body. From past experience, Lucas assumed he wouldn't physically grow drums himself. Instead, the power would be integrated through another means.
Xiang Kai, grateful for the reprieve, tried to sit up—only to realize something was horribly wrong.
He couldn't move.
He tried to lift his hand.
Nothing.
A cold dread spread through his body as he looked down… and saw that his head had been severed.
His mouth opened slightly, as if to ask when it had happened.
But no words came.
Lucas had killed him without him even noticing.
On the other side, Inosuke stopped struggling.
He had been watching Lucas the entire time. He hadn't missed a single movement… or so he thought.
When? When had Lucas drawn his sword?
Inosuke stared at Lucas's back in awe and confusion. Even now, he hadn't seen the strike that killed Xiang Kai.
The red arrow that had pinned him vanished, and he dropped to the ground with a soft thud.
His instincts, honed from years surviving alone in the mountains, screamed in warning.
This man was dangerous—unfathomably dangerous.
Not just strong.
Deadly.
And for the first time in a long time, Inosuke felt something unfamiliar rising in his chest.
Fear.
---
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