Chapter 182: Golden Figure
At night, the streets of Yoshiwara were lit up bright as day.
The wooden buildings let a warm light filter through the paper of their windows, and the night wind came loaded with the scent of cosmetics and liquor.
On the balconies, girls dressed in their finest waved their handkerchiefs as they lured in customers:
"Sir~ come on up and have some fun~"
"Handsome~ I’m so lonely~ won’t you come keep me company?~"
"Hey, good-looking! You clean up nice—get up here quick and I’ll give you a discount~"
Out in the streets, merchants, nobles, and samurai walked in groups.
This was Yoshiwara, a place where, even after a violent incident the day before, the nightlife carried on undisturbed.
A nighttime city where the vanity of men and women, their desires, their love, and their hatred all wove together.
At the far end of the district, in a run-down quarter, a few drunks came stumbling out of a courtesan house when a shrill shriek echoed from deep in the alley, scaring them stone sober.
A small demon with bluish skin shot out of the darkness, barreling into the group.
"Who’s there?!"
"That doesn’t look human!!!"
"RUN!"
The panicked screams spread. The demon, with its ferocious face and protruding fangs, bounded along like a monkey gone mad.
Under its arm it carried an unconscious courtesan dressed in yellow, her long hair dragging across the ground.
"A demon! IT’S A DEMON!"
The crowd fled in every direction.
And amid the chaos, a golden figure leapt down from a rooftop and landed firmly in the middle of the street.
Zenitsu wore his classic bright-yellow haori, gripped his katana, and fixed his gaze with resolve.
Wrapped in that golden glow and holding himself calm, he looked like Zeus in the middle of the mayhem.
He locked his eyes on the demon and shot forward like an arrow:
"Stop right there, demon!"
His voice rang out full of power, in total contrast to his usual cowardly demeanor.
The demon roared and picked up speed. Even with the courtesan slung over its shoulder, it charged wildly, knocking over market stalls and toppling lanterns, sending flames bursting up in its wake.
Zenitsu chased after it without letting up. The edge of his blade flashed under the moon, slicing through walls, pillars, and signboards.
Every time he was about to catch it, the creature made a sudden turn to dodge him by a hair.
They left the street wrecked behind them, as if a hurricane had torn through it.
"RUN! There’s a demon coming!"
"H-Help! IT’S EATING PEOPLE!!"
The whole area was in chaos.
People fled and the courtesans scrambled for cover. A few of the gutsier men peeked through the cracks in their windows and, seeing the golden figure streak past at full speed, one vagrant recognized who he was:
"He’s a swordsman! It’s the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"Come on! Take that demon down!"
Hearing the shouts of support, Zenitsu’s heart bubbled over with joy, though he kept his expression serious.
Swish
He stamped down hard and closed the distance. His katana traced an arc through the air and slammed into the wall behind the creature, sending chunks of stone flying.
The demon roared again, smashed through a door with a headbutt, and forced its way into a lavish courtesan house.
Zenitsu launched himself after it.
Instantly, chaos took over inside.
The courtesans ran for hiding places, the customers crawled under the tables, and the Yarite crouched behind the counter with her head covered, trembling from head to toe.
The demon rampaged forward with the girl slung over it. Tables, chairs, and folding screens ended up smashed to pieces, leaving the room a disaster.
Zenitsu chased it down close behind, not letting up.
Swish
With a flash of his blade, he landed a cut on the demon’s arm, wringing a howl of pain out of it.
"Freak! Accept your fate!"
Roaring at the top of his lungs, Zenitsu swung a cut at the demon’s neck.
Letting out a ghastly roar, the demon dodged the edge and started tearing the place apart like it had gone insane. It rammed through the pillars and knocked over the mezzanines, bringing down an avalanche of splinters and dust.
When the smoke cleared, the demon had vanished, leaving only a pool of blood and gaping holes in the walls.
At the same moment, the screams rang out in the street again.
"It ran off!"
"Open the door!"
An instant later, Zenitsu emerged from the ruins. The moonlight fell over him and his haori swayed gently in the wind.
His face was covered in dust, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth, and his gaze was grim.
The chase continued down the length of the street until both of them disappeared from everyone’s sight.
Countless pairs of eyes stared fixedly in that direction.
"Is it gone?"
"Is the danger over?"
"What happened to that swordsman?"
"And the demon?"
The crowd murmured in terror.
A long while passed before a golden figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
Zenitsu advanced with heavy steps, his clothes in disarray and the blood on his lips already dry, but in his arms he carried the rescued courtesan.
The girl was still unconscious, her face pale but breathing normally.
The crowd went silent for a moment and immediately burst into cheers.
"A hero! He’s a hero!"
"He rescued the girl!"
"What an incredible swordsman!"
Zenitsu found himself surrounded by a group of people all firing questions at him at once.
Some of the bolder courtesans reached out to touch his chest, showering him with praise.
Holding the young woman, he didn’t even know where to put his hands. His face was red with embarrassment, but he forced himself to keep up his serious front.
"The demon got away..." he said in a low, frustrated voice. "It was cunning."
A wave of shock rippled through the crowd.
"It got away? Is it coming back?"
"Is it going to eat people again?"
Zenitsu took a deep breath. "It was going through a state of starvation—that’s the only reason I was able to wrench the girl away from it. Once it eats enough people and gets its strength back, I won’t be able to beat it."
"All of you..." He swept his gaze across the crowd. "...save yourselves however you can. That demon tends to hide in the shadows to hunt. Many of the people who vanished before for no reason were probably devoured by it."
Chaos broke out again.
"The courtesans and customers who disappeared got devoured?"
"Good heavens! Th-then what are we still doing here...? Let’s get out of here!"
"Yes, yes, yes! RUN!!"
The customers were the first to take off running: a night of fun wasn’t worth risking your life over.
The shop owners wore miserable expressions, watching helplessly as their profits went up in smoke. The courtesans huddled in the corners, trembling with sheer terror.
Seeing this scene, Zenitsu felt compassion in his heart, but he held firm to finish out the act.
He walked down the street carrying the young woman in his arms, giving the warning at every establishment.
Once he’d confirmed that everyone who needed to flee had gotten away, he leapt up to the rooftop and vanished into the gloom of the night, leaving behind a bewildered crowd and a Yoshiwara plunged into disaster.
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