The estate was quiet.
Lights were on in many rooms, and torches had been lit recently in the yard, but there was no sound.
"I smell blood!"
Yuma Mizuno's voice was low, full of regret.
Kei Takamoto looked a little better, watching their surroundings warily. "What should we do now?"
What was done was done.
He knew the only thing they could do was kill the demon and stop more people from getting hurt.
"Find the demon and kill it! This way!"
Aoki said and walked quickly towards the smell of blood.
Kei Takamoto opened his mouth.
He wanted to ask about the plan.
But Aoki was already walking away. He pulled the distraught Yuma Mizuno and followed.
They walked across a plaza. A tall, black building stood ahead.
A burly man sat in front of the building. He stood up quickly when he saw them.
"You again!"
"You dare come back!"
He looked fierce and spoke angrily.
Yuma Mizuno forced himself to focus and said quickly, "He's the leader of this gang, Tohara!"
Aoki asked, "How many people are there?"
Yuma Mizuno said, "When we came during the day, there were over a dozen people blocking us! We think there are at least thirty core members."
"No wonder there's so much blood."
Aoki looked past Tohara at the black building.
It stood silently in the middle of the lawn, the door closed, without a light. It looked like a sleeping beast.
The smell of blood came from inside.
Tohara slowly pulled out a gun. "I was going to find you. I didn't expect you to come to me."
Kei Takamoto stepped forward. "Tohara, do you know what you're doing?"
"Of course I do! I'm going to kill you!" Tohara said coldly.
Aoki stopped Kei, who was about to speak.
"Let me handle this!"
Kei glanced at him and nodded, stepping back.
Aoki looked at Tohara. "Besides you two, were the others eaten?"
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto paused, then their eyes widened.
Tohara was furious. He pointed the gun at Aoki.
"It's all your fault! It's because of you! You killed them!"
"Thank you," Aoki said.
Tohara, Yuma Mizuno, and Kei Takamoto were confused.
Aoki added, "Sending scum like you to hell is a great deed. Thank you for letting us share the credit."
Tohara's face twisted. He moved his finger to pull the trigger.
Pfft!
An arm pierced his chest, tearing his heart.
"Evil must be destroyed. You'll go with them!" Aoki said.
Tohara's expression went from confusion to fear to resentment, then to nothing. He fell slowly.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto were stunned.
They hadn't expected Aoki to kill him so suddenly.
Clang.
The door of the black building opened. A huge figure walked out slowly. A harsh voice echoed in the night.
"Hehehe, Demon Slayers, you're too late! I've already ea..."
Pfft!
Sharp claws tore through scaly skin. A hand plunged into the demon's head. The harsh voice stopped.
"Devour!"
Aoki said softly. An invisible vortex formed around his hand.
The demon didn't struggle. Its body twisted, broke apart, and was devoured by the vortex.
[Killed a demon, gained 15 experience.]
"Huh? 15 experience?"
Aoki was surprised.
Judging by its aura, the demon was strong. He had expected 50 experience or more.
He only got 15.
"Did I misjudge its strength, or..."
Aoki had a bad feeling.
His predictions could be wrong, but not by that much.
The experience gain had probably been cut again.
"And no Martial Artist experience."
That wasn't surprising.
Martial Artist gained experience through fighting.
This wasn't a fight. It was a one-sided slaughter.
Aoki closed the system and walked towards Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto.
"Okay, it's over!"
They looked blank, opening their mouths but saying nothing.
After a moment, Yuma Mizuno looked at the body on the ground.
"What, what about him?"
"Isn't the Hidden supposed to handle it?"
"No, I mean, you killed him, but we have rules..." Yuma Mizuno stammered.
Aoki said, "Don't worry. I killed him. Just report the truth!"
The Demon Slayer Corps forbade killing humans.
But he wasn't in the Demon Slayer Corps. He was just working with them.
He suspected Kagaya Ubuyashiki had chosen him for this reason.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki wasn't rigid or inflexible. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let a demon join the Demon Slayer Corps.
Of course, the truth didn't matter.
He was sure Kagaya Ubuyashiki wouldn't turn against him because of this.
He had slaughtered hundreds of people in Asakusa.
The Demon Slayer Corps knew that.
"Thank you for your help today!"
Aoki said goodbye and vanished.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto stared blankly.
"So, the plan? What was the plan?"
"Didn't he say? Go in, find the demon, and kill it. Oh, and kill anyone who gets in the way."
They looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
After a moment of silence, Yuma Mizuno said, "I think Tohara and his gang deserved to die!"
They had killed dozens of people over the years.
They were worse than many demons.
"I agree!"
Kei Takamoto said quickly, "But we have to report this truthfully."
Yuma Mizuno nodded.
The body was there. They couldn't hide it. Also, hiding the truth was using a mistake to cover up a mistake. It would only make things worse.
"We have to report the truth."
Kei Takamoto said, "But we should also state our views, so Master and the others understand the situation better."
"Let's do that!"
Yuma Mizuno took a deep breath.
"...Tohara and his gang worked with the demon, helping it hurt many people. They were no different from demons. We believe killing them was the best thing to do..."
After a moment, the black crow flew into the night sky with the report.
---
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