The two walked down the street, looking at the neon-lit downtown area, which was instead completely quiet and deathly still.
"Let's just wander around. Wandering around is our job."
Suddenly, as they walked, they heard the sound of crying coming from not far away, sounding terribly desolate.
"Amane, don't be afraid. Our clothes have a repelling effect; if it's a Foul Demon, it won't do anything to us for now."
The two decided to head toward the source of the sound to investigate, shining their flashlights on the road ahead.
They saw a girl covered in dirt, whose clothing indicated she was from a nearby school.
"Great, I finally saw a living person."
Naoya and Amane were startled.
"Wait, what's going on with you? Why aren't you going home at night?"
"My name is Seyang Mizi. It's not that I don't want to go home at night; the subway station is sealed off, and I can't get back."
Hearing Mizi's explanation, Amane and Naoya both agreed she was truly unlucky.
"Well, you really are an unlucky soul. The whole city is sealed off now."
Amane squatted down.
"Your parents must be very worried, then."
Naoya retorted, "Then let them worry. It's not just the city that's sealed off; network communications are blocked too, or we wouldn't have to use walkie-talkies. Just think of it as an impromptu trip."
Amane noticed that Mizi's leg was bright red and blood was still flowing out.
"Your knee is bleeding!"
Mizi looked at her leg and offered an explanation.
"Oh, this? I accidentally took a fall while walking down the stairs. I was in such a hurry, I really was careless."
Naoya sensed something was wrong and immediately pulled the two of them back.
"Amane, take her and run right now! It won't do if our scent disperses or if we get tracked by the blood she's bleeding. Demons are extremely sensitive to blood!"
At that moment, illuminated by the streetlamp, a figure stood ahead. The three immediately stopped moving.
"No way! This is way too fast."
"Rare Blood! Rare Blood!"
Amane and Naoya pulled out their pistols and aimed them at the dark shadow, getting ready for battle.
"What! Rare Blood! You're actually Rare Blood?!"
Naoya suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, looking extremely shocked.
"Naoya-senpai, what is Rare Blood?"
"I don't have time to explain. In short, never let a demon consume someone with Rare Blood."
The three began to back away slowly, while the creature ahead kept shouting "Rare Blood" and stepped closer to them step by step.
Naoya raised his pistol, but the demon moved with incredible speed, flashing past Naoya in an instant.
"Amane! That thing's target is Mizi!"
Amane immediately pushed Mizi aside, causing the demon to lunge into empty air. Taking advantage of the moment before the demon reacted, Naoya drew his pistol and fired at it.
Shot by the bullet, the demon rolled on the ground in agony as its body began to rot.
"Get out of here fast, head to the company! Its target is Mizi!"
Amane took off his jacket to bandage Mizi's wound, then grabbed her and ran toward the company.
The Foul Demon rolling on the ground stopped, and its rotting skin slowly began to regenerate.
Naoya turned to run, but the demon had already reached his back.
The Foul Demon's arm turned into a sharp blade, stabbing straight into Naoya's abdomen before chasing after Amane.
"Dammit, does this demon have to chase... chase her? Why... why did you have to stab me?!"
He pulled out his walkie-talkie.
"Old man, it's Naoya. Right now, Amane... and a Rare Blood girl... are being... chased by a demon! Requesting... a Demon Slayer."
Naoya took off his shirt to bind his abdomen, then clutched the wall and hurried toward the company.
Amane stopped dead in his tracks because the Shapeshifting Demon had already appeared before them.
Amane drew his pistol and fired at the demon, but it still didn't stop the Shapeshifting Demon's movements—mostly because he couldn't hit it, and even if he did, it was useless.
The Shapeshifting Demon's arm transformed into a giant hammer and smashed down. Amane instantly jumped back to dodge the attack. The Shapeshifting Demon reached Amane with lightning speed and morphed its giant hammer into a sharp blade.
Just as the blade was about to slash into Amane's abdomen, the Shapeshifting Demon suddenly froze. Amane immediately widened the distance and looked over at Mizi.
Mizi's blood was spilling from her wound, and she was currently too terrified to move.
"What's going on? Whatever, it's a good chance."
Amane ran to Mizi, pulled her up, and fled the scene. The Shapeshifting Demon regained its mobility.
"You... you guys aren't going anywhere."
Suddenly, a short blade stabbed straight into the Shapeshifting Demon's head—it was thrown by Naoya.
"Naoya-senpai! Are you okay?"
Naoya ripped off his tie in frustration, clutching his wound with his hand.
"Amane, run!"
The Shapeshifting Demon pulled the short blade out of its head, tossed it aside, and charged forward. Naoya fired his gun, striking both of the demon's legs.
Disregarding his ruptured wound, Naoya grabbed the demon's ankles. The Shapeshifting Demon rotated its head 360 degrees, looked down at Naoya, and morphed its hand into a sharp blade to bring it down.
Just as it was about to pierce him, Amane used his own short blade to block it.
"You idiot! Why did you come back?! Get out of here!"
Amane pulled out his pistol, shoved it into the Shapeshifting Demon's mouth, and pulled the trigger. The shot blasted the Shapeshifting Demon's lower jaw away, forcing it to stagger back a few steps.
"Damn it, damn it! That Rare Blood got away, she got away! It's all your fault! I can't see her anymore!"
Amane helped Naoya up, but Naoya didn't thank him; instead, he grabbed Amane by the collar.
"If this goes on, both of us are going to die! This is the most foolish thing you could have possibly done!"
Thunder rumbled in the sky, and tears fell from Amane's eyes. Naoya released his grip on Amane's collar.
"If you die, what will happen to your family?"
By this time, the Shapeshifting Demon had already finished regenerating, walking toward the two step by step.
"My affairs are none of your concern. Amane, that Demon Slayer should be here soon. I'll stay behind to hold it off, you run!"
"But—"
Naoya ignored Amane, pulling out a pistol with only two bullets left along with a short blade, and charged forward to meet the enemy.
The Shapeshifting Demon instantly morphed its arms into sharp blades to counter.
Amane stood frozen in place as thunder crashed loudly across the sky. Within moments, Naoya had collapsed to the ground.
"Wasting so much time of mine, what bad luck. Go to hell."
Seeing Naoya at death's door and hearing the Foul Demon's taunts, Amane clenched his fists and broke into a sprint toward the Shapeshifting Demon.
A roll of thunder echoed as rain began to pour from the sky, and the scythe was about to descend.
Amane suddenly appeared in a flash and slashed. The Shapeshifting Demon staggered back a few steps.
The Shapeshifting Demon was slightly surprised, but quickly recovered and morphed its arm back into a sharp blade.
"You actually came back to throw your life away! Extra food for me, is it? Hahaha!"
Then, the Shapeshifter wore a look of utter disbelief. This guy, who looked like a weakling no matter how you looked at it, had actually blocked its downward blade strike.
Amane used his other short blade to hack off the Shapeshifter's arm.
*(What's going on with this guy? I'm actually starting to feel a little scared.)*
Amidst this sudden downpour, while Mizi was dragging Naoya to find shelter from the rain, she noticed that the very tips of Amane's hair had turned a shade of cyan.
The Shapeshifter fell into panic.
*(Why was he actually able to block it?! Ordinary blades should have been sliced right through by me.)*
The Shapeshifter immediately morphed its other arm into a shield to block.
Amane thrust his short blade straight through the shield. The rain falling from the sky swirled around the blade in Amane's hand, carrying a trace of lightning as it pierced directly through the Shapeshifter's neck.
"It's useless! My neck is as hard as wood, you can't kill me!"
Amane ignored it, instead driving the short blade all the way through the Shapeshifter's neck and pinning it directly to the ground, before turning around and walking away.
The Shapeshifter was thus pathetically pinned to the floor, and its severed arm failed to regenerate for a long time.
Amane ran over to Naoya immediately.
Then he pressed both hands over Naoya's abdomen, trying to stop the blood from spilling out, but it was all in vain.
Mizi shook her head and said, "I already tried, it's still no use stopping the bleeding."
"What... what just happened?"
Tears were already welling up in Amane's eyes.
"You're going to be fine, I'll take you away right now, the hospital will definitely be able to cure you."
"Hey, stop... crying. I hate... c-crybabies the most."
Naoya could barely keep his eyes open anymore.
"Amane, the truth is... I'm already past saving. I have... stage four cancer."
"What I can't let go of right now... is my mother... and my dad, who's in a vegetative state."
"Amane, I still... regret dragging you into this."
"Amane, go check on my parents for me, and... take all... the money I saved—"
"I'm just tired, and want to sleep."
The rain in the sky stopped, and Hideharu was hurrying toward the Rare Blood girl.
He saw Amane carrying another male past him, and from the clothing, it was a Kakushi member.
Hideharu inquired, "Where is that Rare Blood girl? Is she alright now?"
Amane stopped in his tracks.
"Why are you so slow?! You're asking if she's alright! Why aren't you worried about whether we're alright?!"
Hideharu recognized that the person before him was the one he had saved a few days ago. The person he was carrying was Kakushi member Jiro Naoya.
Hideharu looked back and saw a girl standing behind them, realizing that the girl in front of him was the Rare Blood.
"I'm sorry, things turned out this way because I was too late, and I'm also sorry I couldn't find your older brother."
"My brother's disappearance isn't your fault."
With that, he continued to carry Naoya away.
"Amane, wait for me."
Mizi followed along with Amane as well.
Hideharu watched them leave, then noticed that earlier, a portion of Amane's hair had changed from black to cyan. Turning back, he spotted the Foul Demon pinned to the floor by the short blade.
"Was that person just now named Amane? He restrained a demon without a Breathing Style?"