It had started so quickly.
The Demon Slayer Corps was given almost no time to react. It seemed Muzan Kibutsuji was severely lacking in patience.
But one had to admit, the difference in power between demons and humans was immense.
With just that one Blood Demon Art that summoned aquatic creatures, the demon that had appeared was enough to inflict heavy losses on the ordinary Demon Slayers.
It couldn't be helped. Blood Demon Arts were things that defied human and scientific explanation. Unlike humans, who could only rely on swords and Breathing Styles, demons had a much more diverse range of attack methods.
---o---
[Light Curtain Commentary]
[Conan Edogawa: "There they are, the Upper Ranks. That pot must be Upper Rank Five. As for the old man next to him, although I don't know his specific identity, the only Upper Rank we haven't seen yet is Four."]
[Mai Sakurajima: "Upper Rank Four? No way. That old demon doesn't look like an Upper Rank Four at all."]
[Loco: "I have said it many times: do not let the surface of things blind your eyes. Jotaro Kujo is a delinquent, but do you think the essence of his heart is that of a school bully?"]
[Otto Apocalypse: "Indeed. It seems these two Upper Ranks were sent specifically by Muzan. He should be aware of Star Platinum's weakness by now. In other words... are these two demons meant to specifically counter Jotaro Kujo?"]
[Josuke Higashikata: "Counter him? Jotaro-san has only fought a handful of times, and Star Platinum's greatest weakness has been exposed, but... trying to defeat Jotaro-san and the invincible Star Platinum with just that is far too wishful thinking!"]
---o---
[On Screen]
"Heheh, so this is the Jotaro Kujo that Lord Muzan mentioned? I hear you and that demon from Asakusa come from the same place..."
The misshapen demon with misplaced eyes and mouth, fins on its head, and numerous small arms growing from its head emerged from the pot, speaking to Jotaro Kujo in a tone that was just begging for a punch.
The sudden appearance of the demon put Shinobu on high alert. She drew her blade, her expression grim as she watched the demon before her.
The "Upper Rank Five" in Gyokko's eyes was quite conspicuous. So, Muzan Kibutsuji really was in Asakusa; otherwise, an Upper Rank would not have come here directly.
And if he was an Upper Rank, then the old demon next to him was likely no small fry either.
"Yare yare daze." Jotaro Kujo felt no goodwill toward the suddenly appearing demon. "So, you're one of this world's original demons, not one of DIO's minions?" he said, his tone unfriendly.
As the inheritor of the Golden Spirit, Jotaro would naturally not let a woman fight such a nauseatingly repulsive demon.
Adjusting the hat on his head, Star Platinum appeared behind him. Clearly, Jotaro had now entered a combat stance.
"S-So scary! What a terrifying human!" The elderly Hantengu trembled even more violently. Although he and Gyokko couldn't directly perceive Star Platinum's existence like Kokushibo and Akaza, who had neared the "supreme state," their demonic senses and spiritual power, far surpassing that of ordinary humans, allowed them to clearly feel the mysterious and powerful force behind Jotaro.
"Oh my, oh my, so this is the mysterious power Lord Kokushibo spoke of? So you have it too. However... there is a flaw in this power, isn't there?"
"Though my eyes cannot see it, it is limited by distance. Neither you nor that DIO should be able to attack an enemy more than two meters away, correct?"
Unlike the frightened Hantengu, Gyokko, who seemed to have no concept of life or death, continued to provoke Jotaro Kujo.
Unlike the top three Upper Ranks, when he and Hantengu worked together, no one could get close to them.
"Hey, Jotaro Kujo, you can't use Breathing Styles, can you? You look tall, but your physical strength is probably only a little better than an ordinary person's, right? In that case... you should die with a single touch."
Gyokko flashed a wicked smile at the approaching Jotaro. Without the power of a Stand, he could trample a weakling like this as he pleased.
Jotaro, however, remained unfazed. He pointed a single finger at Gyokko and said flatly, "Well, you're welcome to try and touch me."
As the distance closed, the blue aura around Jotaro Kujo became more and more distinct, almost solidifying in the eyes of Gyokko and Hantengu.
Two meters. That was Star Platinum's range. Any being that stepped within that range had almost no chance of defeating it!
But Gyokko, who already knew Star Platinum's effective range, would naturally not let him get that close.
A pot appeared in his hand out of thin air. Blood Demon Art: Thousand Needle Fish Kill! Yet again, it was an aquatic creature. Countless ferocious small fish materialized, opening their mouths to spit needles at Jotaro Kujo.
The needles were coated with a toxin that could paralyze an opponent's nervous system. If hit, Jotaro, who did not have a high resistance to poison, would instantly lose his ability to fight.
As Upper Rank Five, Gyokko was clever. Knowing Jotaro might dodge, he deliberately waited until Jotaro was closer to release his attack.
It was a gamble. Gyokko didn't know Star Platinum's exact range, so allowing Jotaro to approach was a dangerous move.
However... how could Jotaro Kujo, who was already on high alert and in a battle stance, fall for such an insidious trick?
Star Platinum's range was indeed a shortcoming, but it was its only one. In terms of speed, power, and precision, Star Platinum was at the pinnacle of all Stands.
"ORA! ORA ORA ORA—"
In the audience's view, Star Platinum's fists became a blur of afterimages, using knuckles harder than steel to shatter or deflect every single needle.
On screen, Gyokko only froze for a second, as he could not see Star Platinum in his own vision.
The next moment, Star Platinum pushed off the ground, launching Jotaro's body straight toward Gyokko.
"ORA!"
With Star Platinum's roar, the power of this punch was far beyond what Gyokko could handle. Fearing for his life, Gyokko immediately activated his Blood Demon Art and vanished, leaving only the trembling Hantengu behind.
Jotaro was slightly surprised, but he redirected his fist, smashing it viciously into Hantengu's head!
"BOOM!!!"
A massive impact sound echoed. Before Star Platinum's fist, the upper half of Hantengu's body was sent flying.
Blood instantly splattered across the ground, but because Star Platinum blocked the spray, Jotaro's clothes remained mostly clean.
"A Blood Demon Art? He just abandoned his own comrade," Jotaro muttered. While his knowledge of demons and this era wasn't as extensive as DIO's, he was familiar enough.
He wasn't surprised by Gyokko's actions. The behavior of these demons was even more despicable than DIO's; nothing they did was unexpected.
"That... that was terrifying! That one punch, even if it didn't kill me, would have left me gravely injured."
Emerging from another pot elsewhere, beads of sweat were clearly visible on Gyokko's forehead. It was clear just how frightening Star Platinum's punch had been to him.
However... this confirmed Star Platinum's attack range. It seemed the information was true. As long as he maintained his distance, he could easily deal with Jotaro.
The rest he would leave to Hantengu. After all, Gyokko was just support; his strength among the Upper Ranks was inferior to Hantengu's.
What?
The audience outside the light curtain was a bit confused. Hadn't Hantengu just been obliterated by Star Platinum's punch?
Although a demon's body was resilient, he had been physically torn in half. Even if he wasn't dead, he should have lost his ability to fight...
"How hateful... to bully the weak!"
An angry voice came from the screen. Hantengu's 'corpse' had, at some point, transformed into four figures.
The four clones, symbolizing Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure, had appeared due to Hantengu's "death."
This time, the pupils that had been unclear in his elderly form became sharp and visible. The characters for "Upper Rank Four" appeared before the audience.
Well, what do you know. That decrepit old man really was Upper Rank Four. Just as Loco had said, you can't judge a book by its cover.
Just as the audience was marveling, another change occurred on screen.
The appearance of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure turned the two-on-one fight into a five-on-one.
Gyokko hid far away, using his Blood Demon Art to harass Jotaro, while Hantengu's four clones each had their own abilities.
The fan in 'Pleasure's' hand was identical to Princess Iron Fan's. A light wave was enough to blow the approaching Jotaro thousands of miles away. If Jotaro hadn't used Star Platinum to desperately cling to the ground and everything he could grab, there's no telling where he would have been blown.
The Khakkhara staff in 'Anger's' hand was even more astounding. Having learned from the Thunder God next door, he could summon lightning from thin air, allowing him to attack without getting close to Jotaro.
'Sorrow' relied on his superb martial arts skills, locking the still-recovering Shinobu Kocho in combat.
'Joy' flew in the sky, occasionally hitting Jotaro with a supersonic attack. Even Star Platinum couldn't completely block this kind of sound-wave attack.
With the coordinated efforts of the four clones, plus Upper Rank Five constantly harassing him, they had actually managed to fight Jotaro to a stalemate.
"ORA!" Jotaro punched away a sneak-attacking goldfish. Star Platinum held fast to the ground, ensuring he wasn't blown away.
"Yare yare, this Blood Demon Art is disgusting. It's filled the land with disgusting sea creatures. After this fight, I don't think I'll ever be able to eat seafood again!"
Jotaro, not yet a marine biologist, felt extreme disgust and revulsion toward the various fish creatures Gyokko was creating, to the point where he was starting to hate everything from the water.
But disgust was one thing. Just as Gyokko had said, they had grasped Star Platinum's weakness, while Jotaro knew nothing of their Blood Demon Arts. If he wanted to defeat these two demons, he would have to find another way.
Although he didn't know how these demons learned of Star Platinum's range... it seemed their understanding of Star Platinum was still somewhat skewed.
Stabilizing himself once again, Jotaro Kujo looked at the clones that had split from Hantengu.
He then fixed his gaze on 'Pleasure'. That fan was the primary reason he couldn't close the distance.
"Hahaha! How ridiculously comical! What's wrong? You lose your ability to fight as soon as the distance increases slightly?"
"Just as Lord Muzan said, no matter how strong a human is, they are no match for a demon."
Seeing Jotaro's pathetic state, the four emotion-clones began to mock him.
They now controlled the battlefield. If they wanted, they could wear Jotaro down to death. Moreover, Upper Rank Four had not even used his full power yet.
This time, it wasn't just Jotaro Kujo. Under his and Gyokko's power, the entire Demon Slayer Corps would be completely erased from history.
The taunts continued to reach Jotaro's ears. He silently pushed himself up from the ground.
However, due to the prolonged exertion, he was running low on stamina. He could only kneel on one knee, panting heavily, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"What? You don't dare to approach us now, for fear of being blown away? Fool!" 'Anger' saw that Jotaro was at his limit. His staff crackled with lightning, his anger laced with disdain.
Through it all, Jotaro remained in the same position, his hat obscuring his face, preventing anyone from seeing his expression.
The four clones saw this and assumed he had lost the will to resist. 'Pleasure' was the first to approach Jotaro, intending to deliver the final blow while ensuring he remained outside Star Platinum's range.
"Hmph." However, as 'Pleasure' drew near, Jotaro chuckled. The disdain in his voice stung the heart of Upper Rank Four.
He coolly tilted his hat to the side, revealing an "as expected" expression. "Just as I thought," he explained. "As the embodiment of 'Pleasure,' you'd be the first one to come over and mock me when I'm in this state."
His calm voice, filled with an air of invincibility, echoed in 'Pleasure's' ears. A sense of foreboding welled up inside him.
How could this be? Even if Jotaro still had the strength to charge at him, he could just blow him away with the fan. So where was this ominous feeling coming from...?
Pffft—
His head was pierced out of thin air. Though he was clearly outside Star Platinum's range, 'Pleasure's' head was instantly impaled as if it had run into something.
It had appeared. Star Platinum's seemingly useless but always clutch ability—Star Finger!
By charging power and then extending its index and middle fingers to stab the enemy, it was one of Star Platinum's few long-range attacks.
While its range exceeded two meters, it wasn't particularly long, and the need to charge it beforehand meant even Jotaro almost forgot about it.
However, against demons who couldn't see Stands, it was a rather practical skill...