A jet-black blade flashed across the night sky. It first sliced a temari ball in half, then, as Luke leaped, carried on to sever the Demon's neck.
Before the other Demon could even react, Luke's figure flickered again. Another slash fell, beheading the Arrow Demon as well.
Two Demons were killed within a single second. Their mangled remains crashed down from the air with dull thuds, while Susamaru's head rolled to Yushiro's feet, sending an icy chill down his spine.
Luke flicked the blood from his blade. "I told you, this place isn't very safe... I'll give you three seconds to decide. If time runs out, I'll assume you don't want to live."
His Charm stat was not particularly high, making it less useful in emergency negotiations. Fortunately, he also understood the art of physical negotiation.
While Yushiro stood there stunned, Prison Demon was already resting against his throat. Luke looked at Tamayo and began counting down. "Three, two..."
"Don't! I'll go with you!"
Tamayo made her decision instantly, not daring to hesitate for even a moment. The man before her was clearly a walking killing machine. The Demon Slayer Corps wanted her, not Yushiro. If she hesitated, this man would absolutely strike.
"See? That wasn't so hard."
Luke sheathed Prison Demon. "You have five minutes to pack. Gather whatever research materials you need, and I'll take care of transporting them."
Though Susamaru and Yahaba were not members of the Twelve Kizuki, they were still Muzan's direct subordinates. That made one thing clear: Muzan was somewhere in Asakusa, and he had already discovered Luke.
What puzzled Luke was that, despite finding him, the Demons of Muzan's faction had not attacked him. In that brief exchange, the two Demons had not targeted him at all. Their target had been Tamayo.
Luke could not make sense of it. Even if Muzan was furious over Tamayo's betrayal, shouldn't he be prioritizing Luke, the Demon slayer?
Besides, wasn't Muzan looking down on him a little too much? He already knew Luke's record, yet he had sent this kind of fodder after him?
"Yushiro, go to the study and bring out all the books from the second cabinet."
Tamayo did not understand why Luke had given such an instruction, but she did as he said. She guessed he might have some kind of vehicle that could help transport her research materials.
Once she calmed down, she too realized how grave the situation was. Those two Demons had clearly not come after the Demon Slayer. They had come for her.
Muzan had discovered that she was here!
Which meant that every additional second they remained here would put them in greater danger.
"Move quickly. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that you'll leave Asakusa alive."
Though he found Muzan's decision to send Susamaru and Yahaba baffling, Luke remained on high alert.
His whereabouts had been exposed. If Muzan's faction wanted to, they could quickly gather their strongest available forces and surround him.
Never mind what kind of slaughterhouse Asakusa would become then—Tamayo, the MVP of the original story's final battle, would definitely be eliminated by the Explorers.
In fact, Luke had already been surprised when he received the hidden mission. In his eyes, the enemy Explorers had been far too inefficient. He had originally assumed Tamayo and Yushiro were already dead.
They had been in this world for three days. Three whole days! Knowing full well that Tamayo was hiding in Asakusa, a group of Explorers with strength comparable to the Upper and Lower Ranks had somehow failed to find her. Luke thought the other side was absurdly incompetent.
If the Explorers in Muzan's faction knew what Luke was thinking, they would have coughed up blood in rage.
Did they not want to find her? Yushiro's Blood Demon Art was highly effective at concealing them, making them difficult enough to locate in the first place. More importantly, was a moronic boss like Muzan really that easy to serve?
During their first few days as members of the Twelve Kizuki, they had lived under Muzan in constant terror. One unlucky Demon had even been executed outright because something he said displeased Muzan.
The weaker Explorers Muzan had transformed were better off, since Muzan could not be bothered with them and simply let them fend for themselves. But these newly appointed Twelve Kizuki were held to Boss Muzan's exacting standards.
They had practically no freedom now. Everything they did had to cater to Muzan's whims. The Explorers who went to Yoshiwara had only been permitted to act freely after offering Muzan a treasure that could block sunlight, putting him in an exceptionally good mood.
They had done their best to search for Tamayo within their tiny allowance of freedom, but they simply could not find her. It drove the Explorers in Muzan's faction mad with frustration.
Even now, several Explorers were earnestly and cautiously trying to persuade Muzan to eliminate Luke—or at the very least, Tamayo.
But Muzan's volatile and brutal temperament made him nearly impossible to reason with. They were terrified that he would suddenly say, "Are you telling me how to do my job?" and have them executed on the spot...
In the end, hearing Tamayo's name merely irritated Muzan. He casually sent two subordinates to try capturing or killing her. His attitude was that success would be nice, but failure did not matter. He had not taken Tamayo seriously at all.
The Explorers could not exactly tell Muzan that Tamayo would eventually develop a drug with fatal side effects for him and ultimately kill him. Left with no choice, they could only give up on the idea of killing Tamayo.
At the end of the day, Muzan still did not entirely trust the strength of the new Twelve Kizuki. And while he would never admit it aloud, the power Luke had displayed during the day... had made him a little wary.
He had once watched Luke from afar atop the city, and every cell in his body had instinctively screamed danger. The last time he had felt that way... had been the last time.
So Muzan planned to summon his veteran employees—his outstanding employees from Upper Ranks One through Five—for a meeting, then send suitable personnel to deal with Luke.
Luke naturally had no idea how complicated things were within Muzan's faction. He simply stayed alert, prepared for a possible encirclement at any moment.
Yet even after Tamayo had packed everything, no other Demons attacked. Luke was left completely baffled.
He wondered whether the enemy Explorers were idiots, or whether they were looking down on both him and Tamayo.
Still, not having to fight Muzan's faction in Asakusa while protecting Tamayo was a good thing. Luke walked over to the pile of books. "Is this everything?"
"All the materials essential to my research are here. The other books aren't necessary."
Tamayo understood that they needed to travel light if they were fleeing, so she had abandoned the ordinary books.
Luke nodded. Then, under Tamayo and Yushiro's astonished gazes, he swept his hand over the stack of books, and the entire pile vanished.
An Explorer's storage space was useful in that regard. He did not need to carry luggage while traveling. Luke did not have much junk in his own storage, so there was just enough room for Tamayo's research materials.
"Was that... a Blood Demon Art? No, you're a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman, aren't you?"
Unable to contain his curiosity, Yushiro studied Luke from head to toe. But no matter how he looked at him, Luke was clearly not a Demon.
"Let's use the cover of night to leave. First, we get out of Asakusa."
Luke did not explain. He could not exactly explain the miraculous ability of a storage space. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Luke, the Demon Slayer Corps' new Thunder Hashira."
"So you're Mr. Luke. I am Tamayo, and this child is Yushiro. We'll be relying on your protection during this journey."
Tamayo spoke politely. She understood the current situation. Though Luke looked rather violent, he was still a reasonable Demon Slayer Corps swordsman—a man on the side of justice.
And Muzan was currently in Asakusa. There could be members of the Twelve Kizuki here as well. Without Luke, she and Yushiro would be in grave danger if they were pursued.
Since they had already been exposed and were already in danger, going to the Demon Slayer Corps was instead the safer option.
More importantly, killing Muzan had always been her dream. Luke said the Demon Slayer Corps was preparing for a final battle against Muzan, and she was willing to contribute her strength.
Luke did not waste time on further pleasantries. He quickly led Tamayo and Yushiro away, but even after they left the city, they did not encounter a single Demon attempting to intercept them. It left him deeply puzzled.
He used a few gold nuggets to buy an automobile from this era, then placed several barrels of fuel in the remaining space in his storage. They now had transportation.
"Is the Demon Slayer Corps... rich?"
Yushiro was baffled when he saw Luke casually produce a pile of gold nuggets.
"A wealthy merchant I saved gave them to me as thanks. I'm just using them as travel expenses."
Luke casually explained. It took him quite some time to get the car moving. Naturally, he had driven in his previous life, but those cars had all been much more advanced—even more advanced than vehicles in the Kengan world. He had never driven such a primitive car before.
After Luke drove Tamayo and Yushiro out of the city, a Kasugai Crow descended from the sky and landed on the car's roof. It looked at the two Demons in confusion. "Lord Thunder Hashira, are these the Demons you captured for the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane?"
"Ah! The crow talked!"
Yushiro jumped in fright, then quickly came to his senses and nervously grabbed Tamayo's arm. "Lady Tamayo, he really does have bad intentions! He's a Demon trafficker! He's going to capture us and keep us penned up!"
"Yushiro, do not be rude. Hasn't Mr. Luke already made his intentions perfectly clear?"
Tamayo found Yushiro's lack of common sense deeply troublesome. "Be quiet. Don't cause trouble for Mr. Luke."
Then she politely bowed to the Kasugai Crow. "Mr. Crow, we are not evil Demons. We are traveling to help the Demon Slayer Corps."
She was not confused by the crow's earlier question. An invitation to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was likely confidential, after all. It was certainly not something everyone would know about.
"Help the Demon Slayer Corps?"
The Kasugai Crow's limited intelligence overloaded. It looked at Luke. "Lord Thunder Hashira, what is going on?"
"Just tell me the general direction, then go back and report to the Master. Tell him that I met a kind Demon in Asakusa named Tamayo, an exceptionally skilled doctor. She'll help us develop medicine to deal with Muzan. The Master will understand."
Luke remembered that Kagaya Ubuyashiki knew of Tamayo's existence. In the original story, he had also sent a Kasugai Crow to invite Tamayo before the final battle.
"This..."
The Kasugai Crow hesitated, but its duty of relaying information ultimately made it accept Luke's order. It flew into the sky.
"Mr. Luke..."
After the Kasugai Crow left, Tamayo was confused again. "You didn't invite me on your Master's orders?"
She had long heard that the Demon Slayer Corps' Master possessed exceptional wisdom and was well-informed despite rarely appearing in public. When Luke said he wanted her, she had assumed the order came from the Corps' leader.
But now she realized that did not seem to be the case. This had simply been Luke's unilateral decision after discovering her, which made the entire arrangement feel far less secure.
For a moment, she was even considering how to tactfully ask Luke to let Yushiro leave while she went with him alone.
"Don't worry. The Master is a smart man. He'll understand your strategic value and approve of this."
Luke continued, "And no matter what happens, since I extended the invitation, I'll keep you safe."
"You... Mr. Luke..."
Remembering Luke's terrifying strength and Lady Tamayo's warning, Yushiro corrected himself when he spoke. "You're not the one in charge of the Demon Slayer Corps. What makes you think you can guarantee Lady Tamayo's safety?"
Luke drove on, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead. His tone was calm. "Because I'm strong. That's enough."
Even if Kagaya Ubuyashiki did not yet know Tamayo, it did not matter. He was a smart man. Luke had just achieved the greatest record the Demon Slayer Corps had seen in centuries. Even for Luke's sake, he would take Tamayo in.
This world had always been one where strength did the talking. Without demonstrating strength and value, one had no voice.
That was why Luke had no intention of playing the weak and hiding his strength in this world. He had steamrolled Mount Fujikasane at lightning speed, then pacified Yoshiwara the very next day.
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