Inside a luxurious estate, a dozen people surrounded Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto, all holding weapons. The atmosphere was tense.
"Everyone, listen to me! The man in the house is a man-eating demon! He's hurt many people!"
Yuma Mizuno was a young man with shoulder-length hair. He looked ordinary, but his eyes were determined.
A burly man with a scarred face held a shiny sword, cursing. "Get lost! We don't need outsiders interfering in our business! Get out now, or we'll get rough!"
"You're helping evil!"
Kei Takamoto frowned.
The demon was in the house ahead. It was daytime, the best time to kill it.
But these people were blocking them. They couldn't act.
"What did you say?"
The burly man's face darkened. The others looked dangerous.
Yuma Mizuno pulled Kei back.
"Let's go outside first!"
Kei was reluctant, but he had to give up.
The burly man watched them leave, then turned and entered the house, smiling obsequiously.
"Master, I chased them away!"
A huge shadow lurked in the darkness of the room. A harsh voice sounded. "Demon Slayers!"
...
Time passed. Night fell.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto hid in a corner, looking troubled.
They looked at each other and sighed.
They thought it was a simple mission, but they had run into this.
"Has the support from headquarters arrived yet?" Yuma Mizuno looked at the sky.
"They should be here soon."
Kei Takamoto had a mohawk and a rebellious air, but his troubled expression ruined the effect.
After a while, Yuma Mizuno couldn't sit still.
"Damn it! It's dark. The demon might do something. We have to watch him!"
He regretted making a scene during the day.
But they didn't have enough information. They hadn't expected this.
Kei said, "Then let's split up..."
Caw caw caw!
A crow's cry interrupted him.
They paused, then looked excited.
"Is that the support from headquarters?"
"They're here just in time!"
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew past, and a figure appeared beside them.
Aoki looked at their uniforms. "Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto?"
"That's us."
Yuma Mizuno nodded quickly. Suddenly, his eyes widened. He pulled Kei back, looking at Aoki in fear. "You, you, you're..."
Aoki's expression didn't change. He waved at the crow in the sky.
He had expected this when he learned it was a support mission.
He enjoyed the convenience of the Demon Slayer Corps' information, so he had to deal with the trouble too.
"Aoki is a demon, but he's also an ally..." The Kasugai Crow flapped its wings.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto listened to the explanation. They looked at Aoki's uniform and relaxed a little, but they were still wary.
Aoki didn't mind. He got straight to the point. "Tell me about the mission!"
They perked up, looking serious.
Yuma Mizuno said, "We got a mission to investigate rumors of a demon eating people here.
After two days of investigation, we found a demon, but as we prepared to act, something happened..."
He looked bitter and described what had happened during the day.
"Humans are interfering?" Aoki wasn't surprised.
Demons saw humans as food, but some demons used humans.
"Did you find out what's going on?" he asked.
They nodded.
It wasn't complicated.
The people were working with the demon. They collected food for the demon, and the demon eliminated their enemies.
Aoki looked strange. "Those people, are they the Iguro family?"
"Iguro?" Yuma Mizuno paused, then shook his head. "No! They're the Tohara family."
"Right, they don't act like the Iguro family. The Iguro family should be gone."
Aoki shook his head. "Do you have more information about the Tohara family?"
"Yes!"
Yuma Mizuno nodded.
They hadn't wasted their time during the day.
Calling them the Tohara family wasn't accurate. They weren't a family. They were a gang made up of people with different surnames.
The leader and some key members were named Tohara.
"So they're all bad people!" Aoki looked thoughtful.
According to their information, dozens of people had died, probably killed by the Tohara gang.
They should all be hanged!
"What should we do now? It's dark. We should act quickly!" Yuma Mizuno looked anxious.
The support was a demon, which was unexpected, but they had to trust him.
Aoki said, "Let's go. Take us to the demon."
"Huh?"
They paused.
"Don't worry. I have a plan," Aoki said.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto looked at each other, surprised and pleased.
He had a plan so quickly, even in this difficult situation.
The support was strange, but surprisingly reliable.
"Okay! Follow me!"
Yuma Mizuno said quickly.
Soon, they were on the west side of town.
There was a large, luxurious estate.
"Is this it?" Aoki looked at the grand gate.
"Yes!"
Kei touched his mohawk. "The Tohara gang used the demon's power to collect a lot of wealth. They're the richest people in this town."
Aoki sniffed. "I smell a lot of blood!"
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto gasped.
"Blood?"
"Did someone get hurt?"
They looked grim.
They hadn't killed the people, but they felt responsible.
If they had killed the demon during the day, this wouldn't have happened.
"Things might not be as bad as you think."
Aoki comforted them and walked forward.
The gate was closed.
He didn't open it. He jumped over the wall.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto forced themselves to focus and followed.
---
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