Under the night sky, Hirai's West District lay in ruin.
Wind swept through the broken streets, lifting dust and dry leaves into the air. The sounds that once lingered there seemed to vanish all at once, as if even the act of breathing had been swallowed by the tension of death.
The sudden appearance of the Wolf Fang Demon should have triggered chaos.
Instead, with Raiden's arrival, everything stopped.
His white hair reflected faintly under the moonlight. His figure appeared slender, almost delicate, yet the breeze that stirred his clothes carried a quiet authority.
The Wolf Fang Demon had possessed no remarkable Blood Demon Art, only sharpened fangs and brute aggression. There had been no need for conversation.
Raiden did not waste words on things beneath him.
The demon's headless body dissolved into black smoke within seconds, dispersing into the wind.
Even in death, the Wolf Fang Demon never understood what had happened.
Did he draw his sword?
"The locations of the remaining demons."
Raiden lifted his gaze toward Hozhi, Haruto, and Danki, who were still frozen in shock.
He offered no explanation. The mission was simple. Clearing obstacles took little effort.
The three did not answer.
Raiden's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Hm?"
Haruto jolted as if struck.
"There's one at the Izakaya," he stammered. "Three in the East and South Districts. Another near the Golden Pavilion Temple."
His thoughts were in chaos.
A demon they once struggled to suppress together had died in an instant. He had not even clearly seen Raiden draw his blade, only a flash of golden light.
This was not the strength of a typical Kinoe rank.
Raiden gave a small nod and leapt toward the urban district without another word.
Hozhi swallowed.
"This is the Kinoe Slayer you mentioned?" he asked, voice unsteady.
What he had just witnessed felt closer to the power of a Hashira.
Too clean. Too effortless.
Haruto nodded stiffly. "The Kasugai Crow announced it clearly."
He turned to Danki. "You heard it too."
"Danki?" Haruto nudged him.
Danki finally reacted, eyes unsettled.
"Do you think he heard me earlier?" he muttered. "When I said he ran away?"
The absurdity of his earlier doubts struck him now.
All his speculation had collapsed the moment the Wolf Fang Demon's head hit the ground.
Since its first appearance, that demon had weighed on their hearts like a mountain.
To Raiden, it had been no more than a passing inconvenience.
"He doesn't seem like someone who cares about petty remarks," Haruto said quietly.
Danki exhaled in relief.
"Let's move. The Wolf Fang Demon is dealt with. We check the other areas."
Even as he said it, the word dealt with felt unreal.
When they had rushed here, he imagined a desperate battle, perhaps even death.
Instead, it had ended before it began.
"I'll come with you," Hozhi said.
Demons were territorial by nature. A powerful demon's lingering aura would discourage others from entering the area for a time.
By the time they returned to the Izakaya, another shock awaited them.
The Hiding Demon, which had harassed Haruto repeatedly with its ability to burrow underground, lay dead.
No shattered walls. No visible signs of struggle.
Only a pool of thick, dark blood remained on the floor.
The conclusion was obvious.
It had died as quickly as the Wolf Fang Demon.
Haruto stared at the stain, a strange mix of relief and helplessness washing over him.
The creature that once pushed him into exhausting battles had been erased without spectacle.
Raiden's strength was reassuring.
It was also humbling.
They left immediately for the East District.
The East District housed three demons. Individually, none rivaled the Wolf Fang Demon, but together they posed a real threat. When confronted by Demon Slayers, they would cooperate.
One lower rank, two mid tier. Even Hozhi approached them cautiously in the past.
When they arrived, silence greeted them again.
The Fire Fox Demon's territory was scorched.
Cherry trees once in bloom were reduced to charred trunks reaching toward the night sky. The earth was split with deep cracks, smoke rising faintly from the ground as lingering heat radiated upward.
The Crying Demon's dwelling, once filled with piercing sound capable of disorienting even trained Slayers, was unnaturally still. Even the wind seemed muted there.
In the narrow alley once claimed by the Shadow Demon, darkness thinned.
Black mist dissipated slowly as moonlight filtered between buildings, touching the ground in pale fragments. The oppressive presence that once clung to the space had vanished.
There were no bodies left intact.
Only remnants.
Three demons who once tormented the district had been removed so thoroughly it was as if they had never existed.
Hozhi, Haruto, and Danki stood in silence.
They had spent months navigating these threats cautiously.
Raiden had erased them in a single night.