Daki, sent flying earlier, watched Raiden advance step by step, her expression holding not even a trace of fear.
Her older brother Gyutaro had already appeared on the battlefield. As long as he wasn't killed, she could resurrect herself at any time. Once Gyutaro dealt with that Pillar, Raiden would surely fall too.
"It seems your older brother gives you a lot of confidence," Raiden said, his voice calm as he stepped closer.
"Hmph," Daki scoffed, still seated on the ground and looking a bit disheveled, but her tone was full of certainty. "Begging for mercy now won't save you. That Pillar won't last much longer. Once he falls, you'll die with him."
Over the years, many Pillars had forced her to call for her older brother, and without exception, every one of them had died. None had ever survived. In Daki's mind, even if Raiden was strong, beating her older brother's Blood Scythe was only a matter of time.
"No wonder your brother said you're missing a screw," Raiden remarked with a shake of his head as he approached. "He was not exaggerating."
Raiden appeared before Daki in an instant, as though he simply walked through empty air.
Daki tried to resist, but her sashes that once posed some threat proved useless now. Every thread was sliced apart in midair before it could get close. She saw no motion of Raiden drawing or sheathing his sword; it was as if an invisible force surrounded him, cutting each sash without effort.
Raiden's power had surged again — or perhaps he had never truly held back. Fighting her earlier must have been a game, and now he was no longer playing.
Daki's eyes widened. Raiden's strength far exceeded her expectations. Could her brother still win?
Of course he could. Gyutaro would definitely win.
Yet before she could react, Raiden moved like a ghost through the battlefield and severed her head with a swift, precise motion.
Despite her resistance, none of her sashes came close to his body. She could only watch in horror as her fate unfolded.
"Wait… you can't!" she shouted as Raiden held her by the head.
"Not a bad idea," Raiden said coolly as he examined her detached head. If it weren't for his interest in Gyutaro's Blood Demon Art, he would have ended them both long ago. Then she wouldn't still be talking.
Carrying Daki's head, Raiden returned to the main battlefield.
Gyutaro had completely suppressed the Sound Pillar. Even with Tanjiro and the others assisting, the Pillar was steadily retreating.
"It looks like your friends aren't doing well," Raiden said, glancing toward the struggling fighters.
Daki, having given up resisting, glared weakly at the fight before her. "You love beauty, don't you?" Raiden suddenly said.
Daki blinked in confusion. Love beauty? Of course she did. She admired beauty, devoured beautiful things, and used their essence to enhance her own allure.
"Look at this." Raiden extended his hand, presenting several thin, glimmering threads. Daki frowned, still uncertain what he meant.
"These threads," he continued, "combined with the fighting spirit in my body, can produce an ice poison. If it enters a wound, it drastically slows healing. Even for an Upper Rank like you, recovery would take half a month."
Raiden's ice-blue fighting spirit flowed from his fingers into the strands, making them sharply visible against the air.
In reality, the combination of the threads with the Blood Demon Art he'd claimed from Doma wasn't as deadly as he claimed. He spoke with intention, knowing Daki would hear him.
Daki swallowed hard as realization dawned. Her previous smugness faded, replaced by creeping fear. She wasn't afraid of death, but the thought of her face ruined horrified her. A half month with disfigured features felt unbearable.
"What do you want to do?" Daki asked, voice trembling.
"Do what? If your beautiful face were scarred, you'd probably scream loudly, wouldn't you?" Raiden replied, stepping closer.
The ice-blue strands hovered just inches from her skin. Daki's eyes narrowed.
"Brother!" she screamed, sharp and desperate.
Her cry instantly drew Gyutaro's attention to Raiden's side. The Sound Pillar and Zenitsu were blasted back by Gyutaro's sudden surge of power.
Raiden leapt to Uzui Tengen's side. He glanced at Tengen's purple left arm, injured and bearing poison, and said, "Didn't I tell you there was poison on that scythe? How did you get wounded so quickly? Are you capable?"
Uzui's face flushed bright red. He wanted to shout back, but the reminder that Raiden stood unscathed while he himself was injured left him fuming in silence.
"Brother, he's going to ruin my face!" Daki wailed, as if Raiden's threat was his sole purpose.
Gyutaro stared coldly at Raiden. "This will only enrage me further. You and these others will die more miserably."
"Relax," Raiden said with a shrug, "I simply want to be friends. What do you think? Consider it."
This was his second offer of friendship to Gyutaro, and it would be his last. The worst that could happen was no reward and a failed attempt. His patience for polite offers had long worn thin.
Tanjiro and Zenitsu were already used to Raiden's unconventional approach to befriending demons. Inosuke didn't see anything odd about it — he only noted that Raiden had grown much stronger and his desire to spar with him using Beast Breathing had only increased.
"Friends? With that demon?" Uzui Tengen finally spoke up, tension in his voice. He could understand befriending a Pillar — Pillars were wild forces in their own right, after all — but a demon? That seemed unthinkable. What use could friendship with a demon serve? He did not believe a demon valued such a thing.
"Don't joke," Uzui continued, gritting his teeth against the poison spreading in his body. He planted himself in front of Raiden with his dual swords ready. "If we're friends, then I'll hold the front line. You can try to decapitate it."