Hunter [61]: Sunshine Everywhere

Boom!

The loud noise caused everyone present to pause for a moment before they frantically ran outside. The hostess had already gathered people together, and with Uzui Tengen and his three companions holding the scene, the area was quickly cleared.

The boss and the hostess could only gape at the collapsed building.

"Don't worry, we'll compensate you for your losses at full value!"

Uzui Tengen's familiar tone suggested that, as someone who often used explosives in battle, this wasn't his first time making such a promise.

His words indeed put the boss and the hostess at ease. After all, the man in front of them, adorned with various valuable gems, was incredibly convincing.

"I knew it wouldn't be that simple."

Lin Jiu sighed. The roof of the nearby building had collapsed, allowing sunlight to pour in. Suddenly, a strip of ribbon formed a cover above.

This ribbon was Daki's doppelganger and naturally couldn't withstand sunlight. Within seconds, the ribbon turned to ash, but the few seconds it bought were enough for Daki to escape to another building.

Lin Jiu flicked two more bombs. The adjacent building began to collapse, and since these houses were made of wood, it started affecting the other structures.

"Damn it!"

Lin Jiu hadn't even faced Daki directly, and she was already cursing him.

Hearing her curse, then silence, Lin Jiu immediately said to Uzui Tengen, "She's probably hiding underground. I'll hold her off; you find the spot and blast open the ground."

Amid the wreckage, Lin Jiu found several earth tunnels. The openings were small and meant for Daki's ribbons. This didn't pose a problem for Lin Jiu, as he easily carved open the tunnels with [Dawn].

After a while, Lin Jiu reached a larger cavern—Daki's underground storage. She didn't immediately eat the young women she abducted but kept them imprisoned here.

The cavern, originally crisscrossed with ribbons, was now devoid of such structures because most of Daki's doppelgangers had turned to ash.

Lin Jiu finally faced Daki. Not only were her ribbons burned to nothing, but her face also bore burn marks.

Just like in the Pokémon world, even with some burn marks on his face, his looks couldn't be entirely obscured. The same was true for Daki. Coupled with her tear-streaked face, her charm only increased.

Lin Jiu rushed over and kicked her down. To prevent her from moving, he stepped on her and wiped Dawn's blade with the two remaining ribbons on her body.

Daki: "..."

She cried even more heartbreakingly. Lin Jiu didn't stop her; decapitating her now wouldn't kill her anyway. He was just buying time. If she wanted to cry, so be it.

Before long, Gyutaro emerged from Daki's body, glaring at Lin Jiu coldly. "So, you're the one who made my sister cry so miserably!"

"Brother, he's the one who bullied me! All my doppelgangers are dead!" Daki shouted from behind Gyutaro. The ribbon doppelgangers burned by sunlight couldn't regenerate, and even the wounds on her face wouldn't heal.

"How wonderful! Such a handsome face... strong physique, young and energetic! You must be very popular with the girls! So envious, why don't you just die? And it must be the most painful death, disembowelment! Skinning and dismemberment!"

Gyutaro muttered, his head drooping as he clawed at his face, his gaze filled with resentment and malice.

Lin Jiu sized up the guy in front of him and said flatly, "You do have quite a unique look."

"Blood Demon Art: Flying Blood Sickles!"

Gyutaro swung his twin sickles, unleashing countless blade-like blood slashes, which were not only numerous but also highly toxic. Lin Jiu had no desire to get hit.

So, the moment Gyutaro attacked, Lin Jiu flicked a bomb with force. Gyutaro's slashes were also slashes; when the bomb flew over, Gyutaro's sickle struck it, causing an instant explosion.

This combat style required training, and only Uzui Tengen could use it proficiently. Lin Jiu had always used them as throw bombs; using them like Uzui Tengen would probably injure himself too.

Boom!

The explosion's force dispersed Gyutaro's slashes and injured him.

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed in Lin Jiu's mind. He thought of something. The special bullets used by his Flame Sun Pistol, which had powerful explosive effects, were probably made using the same method as Uzui Tengen's bomb-sized explosives.

While pondering, Lin Jiu flicked another bomb with force. These specially made bombs could harm demons, and Gyutaro couldn't ignore them.

"So this is the fun of explosives? No wonder Su Xiao enjoys playing with bombs so much; it is satisfying."

Lin Jiu thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the explosions he was creating made it easier for Uzui Tengen on the surface to pinpoint their location.

"Breath of Sound, First Form: Roar!"

Uzui Tengen swung his twin blades, continuously pounding the ground. He had to move quickly because it was broad daylight, and most of the people on the street had already been scared away, leaving only a few fearless onlookers. While this made the battle easier, it also meant that the guards would arrive soon, which was their main concern as it could affect their demon-slaying mission.

Blood Demon Art: Rampant Rampage!

Gyutaro spun rapidly, brandishing his twin sickles, forming an impenetrable defensive shield.

"All the explosions were blocked."

Although Gyutaro's slashes caused the bombs to explode, the numerous slashes protected him from the blast's power.

"What other tricks do you have? If you don't, you can just die peacefully!" Gyutaro's lifeless eyes revealed a ferocious glare.

Lin Jiu threw a bomb over their heads and detonated it.

This made Gyutaro scoffed, "You don't seriously think you can use the dirt above to crush a demon, do you?"

Due to her severe injuries from the sunlight, Daki had not been participating in the fight and had been hiding behind him. At this moment, she suddenly screamed in panic, "Brother, stop him! It's daytime outside!"

"Don't panic! These few explosions won't be able to break through!"

Just as Gyutaro finished speaking, another loud explosion echoed from above, and sunlight streamed in. Uzui Tengen's figure leapt down. With two Hashira-level warriors watching over them, the sibling demons had no escape in the cavern and unwillingly turned to ashes under the sunlight.

[You have slain the Upper Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki: Daki/Gyutaro]

[Daki/Gyutaro are Upper Rank Six, a storyline character, you have gained 2.5% of the World Source, totaling 29% of the World Source.]

[Your talent Soul Condensation activated, permanently increasing a portion of your soul power. Current soul power does not meet the display value standard.]

[You have gained 250 Demon Slayer Corps contribution points. Current contribution points: 2270.]

=========

Whether it was due to the use of sunlight or Uzui Tengen's intervention, or a combination of both, the amount of World Source and contribution points gained was halved.

Lin Jiu had anticipated this and was not particularly reactive. Under the sunlight, demons die quickly, and he doesn't have a chance to collect demon blood. However, he didn't feel too bad about it, considering that the blood from such weak demons would likely produce low-quality demon blood potions. Gaining even two attribute points from it would have been fortunate.

The best target would be Upper Rank One Kokushibo, whose demon blood was the richest, second only to Muzan Kibutsuji. As for why he didn't go directly for Muzan Kibutsuji—besides the fact that Muzan was incredibly hard to kill—even if he managed to kill him, he would have to return immediately, leaving no time for Tamayo to create any potions.

"The guards are coming! Since we've already dealt with them beautifully, let's retreat," Uzui Tengen said to Lin Jiu.

The group withdrew from the red-light district. As for the compensation for the boss, someone else would handle it later; it wasn't their concern.

There were no unexpected incidents during this mission, and Lin Jiu was somewhat surprised not to see any other contractors. It seemed their plan to strike in broad daylight had caught the demon faction off guard.

Indeed, that was the case. After searching everywhere, the demon faction contractors learned that the remaining Demon Slayer Corps contractors had already completed their main storyline task and returned to the reincarnation paradise because someone had killed an Upper-Rank demon.

They were unaware that another contractor from the Demon Slayer Corps was still around. To be precise, the two contractors who knew had already died in the battle between Lin Jiu and Akaza.

This was a case of information disparity. Believing that there were no contractors left in the Demon Slayer Corps, the Demon faction contractors thought they could proceed with their plans without issue, as long as they followed the steps to complete their mission.

The demon faction contractors, still relieved that the final phase of the main storyline was not a faction-based conflict, were unaware that the storyline they knew had already been turned on its head. After all, only one Upper-Rank demon was left!

As for Muzan Kibutsuji, he was even more caught off guard. He had already sent Kokushibo to the location, keeping a close watch. If there was a chance to kill Lin Jiu, Kokushibo would not hesitate to act. But Lin Jiu and his team chose to strike in broad daylight, leaving Kokushibo with no way to intervene.

Attempting to intervene would result in joining Daki and Gyutaro in turning to ash on the spot.