The young man had sharp brows and bright, star-like eyes. One hand rested casually on the Nichirin blade at his side while the other hung loosely by his hip.
The moment Iron Tail saw Raiden, his first thought was simple.
What a handsome young man. Was he the one who saved me just now?
Is he a Demon Slayer?
Thankfully he arrived in time, or that strange pot might have swallowed me whole.
Iron Tail silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Raiden calmly observed the pot sitting on the stone steps. It remained perfectly still, as if it had never tried to devour Iron Tail moments earlier.
Seeing that its owner had no intention of showing himself, Raiden decided not to waste time.
Behind him, Iron Tail only heard the clean sound of a Nichirin blade leaving its sheath.
Then the pot that had been sitting on the steps suddenly vanished.
A moment later, the bushes beside them rustled violently.
A ceramic pot rolled out of the foliage and stopped nearby.
A voice filled with irritation came from inside it.
"Who are you? I was in the middle of creating exquisite artwork, yet you dared to interrupt me."
A dark shadow shot out of the pot.
Gyokko's true form appeared before Raiden.
His face had a grotesque and difficult to describe structure, with several tiny hands waving beside it. The bizarre appearance made Raiden raise an eyebrow.
Honestly, this creature really is something else.
Upper Moon Five, Gyokko.
Race: Demon.
"You are a Hashira, aren't you? A pleasure to meet you. My name is Gyokko. Shall we have a conversation before we begin fighting?"
Gyokko stretched out his small hands and gave a courteous bow, attempting a strangely gentlemanly gesture.
"Quick, leave!"
Before Raiden could respond, Iron Tail suddenly grabbed his sleeve from behind and whispered urgently.
Raiden turned his head slightly, puzzled.
Leave?
What for?
Gyokko had practically delivered himself to him.
Seeing Raiden's lack of concern, Iron Tail's hands trembled.
"His eyes... there are numbers in them... He's Upper Moon Five!"
Cold sweat formed under Iron Tail's mask.
He knew exactly what the words Upper Moon meant.
Why were Hashira constantly replaced?
Why did the swordsmiths forge Nichirin blades every single day, yet there were never enough?
Because of demons.
Because of the Twelve Kizuki.
Every Upper Moon had killed Hashira before. Their titles were carved from the lives of countless Demon Slayers.
And now one of them stood right in front of them.
Iron Tail was already struggling to remain calm.
If this had been a normal demon, standing behind Raiden would not have been a problem. Swordsmiths forged weapons for the Demon Slayer Corps and deserved protection.
But this was different.
This was an Upper Moon.
At minimum, a Hashira was needed to fight such a monster.
Although Iron Tail could not clearly see Raiden's sword speed earlier, the young man did not look like a Hashira at all.
He had to return to the village immediately.
He needed to warn the chief that the village's location had been exposed and request help from a Hashira.
After hearing Iron Tail's warning, Raiden finally understood the swordsmith's fear.
He gently patted Iron Tail's hand.
"I know. Leave it to me."
"You know?"
Iron Tail froze.
If he knew the enemy was an Upper Moon, why was he so relaxed?
Was he just trying to comfort him?
Iron Tail believed it had to be that.
After reassuring the frightened craftsman, Raiden turned back to Gyokko.
He smiled casually.
"Your pot looks pretty good. How about we become friends?"
Iron Tail nearly lost his balance.
That crooked pot was far from attractive.
More importantly, hadn't Raiden just said he would handle it?
How did things suddenly turn into making friends with a demon?
A Demon Slayer befriending a demon made no sense at all.
Iron Tail pinched his arm hard.
Was he dreaming?
Had exhaustion from the past few days finally caused his mind to break?
Meanwhile, Gyokko twisted his misshapen body in excitement.
"Of course. It would be my honor to have a friend with such refined taste."
The six small hands around his head waved enthusiastically.
Ding.
Friend successfully added.
Upper Moon Five, Gyokko.
Detected friendship level: Initial stage.
Random reward granted.
Obtained skill: Blood Demon Art, Blood Prison Pot, Mastery Level.
Would you like to fuse the skill now?
No.
"Blood Prison Pot..."
Raiden's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the system panel.
If he remembered correctly, this was the technique Gyokko once used to trap Muichiro Tokito.
If Gyokko had finished Muichiro immediately instead of giving him time to regain his memories, the Swordsmith Village might have been completely destroyed.
This reward was not bad at all.
As long as it wasn't something useless like aptitude or comprehension, making friends with Gyokko was definitely worth it.
"Not just that one," Gyokko continued eagerly. "What do you think about this pot?"
He produced another ceramic pot from somewhere and held it up proudly.
"I put a great deal of effort into this one."
In Gyokko's eyes, this pot was even more beautiful than the one currently housing his body.
Surely Raiden, a man with such refined taste, would appreciate it.
People like that were incredibly rare.
For a moment, Gyokko almost felt reluctant to kill him.
Then again, turning him into part of his artwork would also be wonderful.
"Ugly."
Raiden's smile disappeared as he answered calmly.
They were already friends now.
There was no need to pretend.
Besides, the pot really was ugly.
Earlier he needed to make friends first.
Now that the goal was achieved, honesty cost nothing.
The forest suddenly fell silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Gyokko's expectant expression froze.
Just moments ago Raiden had praised his pot.
Now he called it ugly.
Was this man serious?
Before they became friends, he said it looked beautiful.
After becoming friends, it was suddenly ugly?
Was this really how humans treated their friends?
Gyokko could not understand.
Had the meaning of friendship changed while he spent centuries as a demon?
Still unwilling to accept it, Gyokko asked stiffly,
"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."
"I said it's ugly. Hideous. Completely ugly."
Raiden repeated himself.
Behind him, Iron Tail stared in shock.
He could not keep up with Raiden's behavior either.
Moments ago Raiden was smiling and befriending an Upper Moon.
Now he was openly insulting it.
Was he deliberately provoking the demon?
As the pale face of Gyokko slowly turned red with fury, Iron Tail swallowed nervously.
He did not know if he would survive today.
But one thing was certain.
The Upper Moon demon standing before them had just been thoroughly enraged.
---