I, the spiritual mentor of beautiful girls from all over the world

The moment the words fell, Sanemi Shinazugawa's muscles tensed up, and his back bulged beneath his uniform, almost tearing the word "annihilation" apart!

He suddenly looked up, and in his bloodshot eyes, a furious rage, a mixture of humiliation and resentment, instantly ignited, a rage powerful enough to consume everything!

(Are you kidding me?!)

(You woman... what gives you the right to order me around?!)

His teeth were clenched so hard they were grinding together, and his nails were digging deep into his palms, almost drawing blood.

That pride, crushed in public, gnawed at his heart once more like a venomous snake.

However, just as he was about to explode, about to shout "I refuse"—

That cold, icy sensation of the tip of the Nichirin Blade pressed against my throat;

That absolute sense of powerlessness as one's own breathing technique was silently disintegrated;

Those purple eyes, devoid of any emotion, as if looking at a lifeless object…

The nightmarish scene from two months ago, like the most vicious curse, exploded in his mind!

"Huh...huh..."

Shinazugawa's chest heaved violently, his heavy breathing suppressed in his throat. He forcefully swallowed back the anger that was rising to his lips, word by word.

In the end, he simply lowered his head and stared at the ground, expressing his final and only form of resistance through silence.

Tokito Muichiro, standing to the side, tilted his head, and for the first time, a clear look of "thinking" appeared in his usually empty eyes.

(The most ferocious attack, coupled with the most elusive movement...?)

(...Yes, that's a very reasonable configuration; it will be very efficient.)

He came to a cold, emotionless conclusion.

Shinobu Kocho ignored their inner monologues and continued to issue commands in her emotionless voice.

"The second team, led by the Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka and the Serpent Pillar Obanai Iguro, also consists of a 50-man Class A squad responsible for monitoring the 'Yoshiwara Red-light District'."

Obanai Iguro let out a cold snort, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

After all, although he was unhappy with the group assignments, from a tactical perspective—

His unpredictable and cunning Snake Breathing, combined with Giyu Tomioka's expansive and defensive Water Breathing, can indeed form a well-rounded combination that is a headache for demons.

"The third team, Love Pillar Mitsuri Kanroji and Sound Pillar Tengen Uzui, you two will lead an elite squad of one hundred swordsmen, consisting of A and C swordsmen, as a mobile force, stationed at the center of the two areas, ready to provide support at any time."

"And Mr. Jimeijima, the Rock Pillar, stayed behind at the Butterfly Mansion as before to protect the Master."

As soon as he finished speaking, Beimingyu Xingming, who had been holding his hands together and weeping uncontrollably, slowly uttered a Buddhist chant.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha..."

His voice was heavy as a mountain, yet it carried a hint of all-knowing compassion.

"Leaving the two strongest fighters as the last line of defense to protect the cornerstone... Shinobu, your judgment is sadly calm."

"Old monk, I obey."

This short sentence carries more weight than any lengthy discourse.

The fact that one of the most recognized "strongest" personally endorsed the rationality of this tactical arrangement dispelled the last remaining doubts in the hearts of all the other Pillars.

Kanroji Mitsuri's face instantly fell.

Although she knew this was the most reasonable arrangement, not being able to go on a mission with the beautiful and strong Shinobu still made her feel so wronged that she almost cried.

Uzui Tengen raised an eyebrow, a graceful smile curving his lips.

"Oh? This arrangement sounds quite lavish."

He was internally raging: 'Hey, this grouping is so tacky! What's with putting me, this old man, with that love-struck troublemaker?'

'However… Butterfly, that woman, seems to have calculated everyone's fighting style and strengths and weaknesses to the extreme. Tch! What an unreasonable monster!'

After making the arrangements, Shinobu Kocho raised her eyes and slowly scanned everyone present.

That gaze was calm, yet it carried an invisible, suffocating pressure.

"Lastly, and most importantly."

"Your task is simply to 'discover' and 'monitor'."

"Once the location of the Upper Moon Demon is confirmed, do not alert it, do not engage in battle, and immediately send out the highest level of warning signal."

Then, wait.

"Wait for me to come and kill him with my own hands."

These words, like a depth charge, exploded in the hearts of all the pillars!

what? !

Are you suggesting that we, the six pillars, along with two hundred elites, just go there to act as informants and cheerleaders?

And then you send her alone to fight the Upper Moon?!

This isn't confidence; this is utter arrogance!

Even Himejima Gyomei, who had been chanting sutras with his eyes closed, slowly opened his tearful eyes and asked in a heavy voice, "Shinobu... are you sure? Upper Moon demons are no ordinary beings. It would be best if we all joined forces."

Shinobu Kocho's face was expressionless.

She simply stated a fact calmly.

"Mr. Beimingyu, how much of my strength do you think I used two months ago?"

"... "

Beimingyu Xingming fell silent.

All the pillars present fell silent.

Yes... how much of her strength did that woman, who was like a ghost, actually use back then?

The thought of the breathing technique that was silently disintegrated and the completely incomprehensible spatial movement sent a chill down everyone's spine.

perhaps…

She truly has the ability to single-handedly defeat an Upper Moon demon.

This idea struck all the pillars as absurd, yet...they couldn't refute it.

After the meeting, the members, with extremely complex emotions, accepted their orders and dispersed.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki slowly walked out of the basement with a gentle smile on his face.

"Ren, your plan is bold and interesting."

"However, I'm a little curious, why didn't you include Purgatory in your plan? His flames are one of the most powerful attack forces of the Demon Slayer Corps."

Shinobu Kocho lowered her head slightly and replied respectfully, "My lord, I originally intended to mobilize Mr. Flame Pillar."

“But you said that three days ago, Mr. Flame Pillar and Tanjiro Kamado’s team received a mission to go to the ‘Mugen Train’ to investigate the disappearance of passengers there.”

"Now that the mission has begun, disrupting his plans is not the best solution."

“Is that so…” Kagaya Ubuyashiki nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

...

That night, at the Butterfly House.

That former pharmacy has now been transformed into a huge, futuristic information center.

A huge map hangs on the wall, with countless threads crisscrossing to form an intricate network called the "Butterfly Web".

Shinobu Kocho stood alone in front of the map.

Her gaze fell on the red line on the map that represented the "Infinite Train".

She recalled her conversation with her lord during the day, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She pulled up all the missing person reports along the "Infinite Train" line.

A series of cold, hard data points were presented before her eyes.

[Number of missing persons in the past month: 42.]

[Frequency of disappearances: Once every three days, with 1-3 people disappearing each time, showing a steady upward trend.]

[Record for most missing persons: Seven days ago, eight people disappeared overnight.]

Shinobu Kocho's fingertips tapped lightly on the table.

This data... is not right.

Something is wrong.

There is an upper limit to how much food a Lower Moon demon can hunt.

They need time to process things, and they also need to hide themselves.

Such frequent and large-scale disappearances have far exceeded the scope of what a Lower Moon demon could cause.

The man's voice echoed in her mind again.

The voice was languid, yet it seemed to contain all the truths of the world.

"Be patient, remember, behind any inexplicable anomaly data lies an undiscovered, higher-level pattern."

"When your enemy starts behaving in ways that don't fit its 'normal model,' don't be glad it's made a mistake."

"You need to think immediately about whether a higher-ranking predator has already entered the fray."

A higher-ranking...predator.

Shinobu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Something called "premonition," a mixture of coldness and heat, suddenly rose within her.

She didn't believe that Kyojuro Rengoku would lose to a mere Lower Moon demon.

But that's exactly what she's worried about.

If, on that train, besides the lower moon which serves as an "appetizer"...

And what about the real "big fish" that were attracted by this "feast"?

This thought made her heart pound uncontrollably.

That's not fear.

It's exciting!

It's that morbid excitement that hunters feel when they finally catch the scent of their ultimate prey, an excitement that can set their blood on fire!

[Special thanks to readers KQ Daxian (Killing Horse Queen), Mulan Handong (Twilight Winter), and Wang's Disdain for their book reviews! I was incredibly moved after reading them! This book is performing terribly; I'm only writing 3-4 words a day, working 14 hours a day, earning 30 yuan a day, and it's at the bottom of the list in its category, with no app recommendations. So your words are like a lifesaver for me! They gave me the motivation to keep writing!]

Chapter 61: Yui: I'm going to launch an awesome attack on Sora-chan!

She didn't make a fuss.

They didn't notify anyone.

She simply turned around silently, walked to the clothes rack, took down the carefully preserved haori with butterfly wing patterns, and put it back on.

The moment the haori fell, the cold killing intent that belonged to a hunter was no longer concealed.

"Kanzaki."

Her voice startled Kanzaki Aoi, who was organizing files.

"Yes, Lord Shinobu!"

Shinobu Kocho didn't turn around, but spoke in a tone devoid of any emotion, as if reciting a supreme command:

"Activate the highest level of emergency response plan."

"If I do not report that all is well within a day through my personal messenger raven."

"Report to the lord immediately—"

She paused for a moment, and in her deep purple eyes, it seemed as if countless streams of data were flashing through them at high speed. Finally, she uttered those words, one by one, that froze Kanzaki Aoi's soul.

"—'Mugen Train, Upper Moon confirmed to be present.'"