A burst of distorted clock-ticking sounds rang out, and the whole world fell into stillness.
A fierce ghost with a face full of curly beard was suspended in the air not far from Jotaro, his face filled with fear and ferocity.
Jotaro stepped briskly to his side.
"Ora!"
Star Platinum punched and broke the opponent's spine, then its eyes focused into the distance.
The fierce ghost had just fled and had only managed to run nearly a thousand meters. At the end of the street was a hunched figure. This ghost hadn't spoken from beginning to end. It seemed he became Jotaro's target simply because he happened to flee along Star Platinum's search path.
"Ora!"
Star Platinum held a small three-inch-long dagger in its hand, the very one that crazed loli held before.
Passed on by Matsumoto Jun, it somehow ended up in Star Platinum's hand.
The flying dagger shimmered with cold light as it was thrown, accurately striking the ghost's head.
Star Platinum had already discovered that shemale-like ghost, who was still holding the injured loli. But the stopped time was about to end, and he couldn't keep both of them.
After the battle with Muzan, Jotaro hadn't slacked in practicing time stop.
The time stop which was previously less than one second had already been increased to around two seconds, and soon he would break through the three-second mark.
However, two seconds was still too short. Time began to flow again.
The curly-bearded ghost growled lowly, only feeling an unbearable weight on his back, instantly crashing to the ground.
"Boss! Spare… spare my life! I'll never eat humans again."
"I'll tell you all the information you want! Please, spare me."
Jotaro stood right in front of him, and the immense pressure made his head completely bury into the ground.
Jotaro, face dark, spoke, "I have a few questions to ask you."
"Not just a few, thousands, tens of thousands, I'll answer everything without hiding anything," he said with a flattering smile and trembling shoulders.
"First, just now I think I heard you mention something about the 'Upper Moons.' Who are they?"
The bearded ghost immediately answered, "They are the subordinates of that lord, some of the most powerful among all demons."
"There are six Upper Moons in total, and they have numbers in their eyes representing their identity."
This answer made Jotaro somewhat satisfied.
He nodded and said, "Second, the lord you mentioned, is it Kibutsuji Muzan? Why don't you call his name directly? Is that out of respect, or…"
The bearded ghost replied, "Impossible! In my eyes, he's just an incompetent leader. The only one I respect is you, boss. Hehe."
Sensing Jotaro's gaze turning cold, he stopped the flattery and answered seriously.
"That's because of a curse. We demons can't speak his name directly, otherwise the curse is triggered and we'll be killed by him."
"Last question." Jotaro asked in a deep voice. "Where is Muzan?"
The bearded ghost answered, "You want to find that lord? Although I don't know his exact whereabouts, I can provide some useful information."
He slowly lifted his head, looking at the loosened soil under Jotaro's feet, and smiled slyly.
Jotaro frowned and said, "What is it? Keep talking."
"Hehehe, even if I tell you, it's useless. You'll never find that lord."
The loose soil suddenly cracked into countless thin crevices, and a huge amount of red liquid gushed out.
"Because today, you'll die right here!" The curly-bearded ghost revealed a ferocious face, shouting excitedly.
"Hehehehe, this is my Blood Demon Art, Corrosive Strong Acid. My blood can even melt rebar. As long as a tiny bit touches you, your body will dissolve into blood water!"
Scalding blood erupted from the ground.
"You have nowhere to run! I alone wiped out a Hashira. When that lord finds out, he'll definitely give me more of his blood! It's great you didn't escape!"
He was overjoyed, looking like he already had the victory in hand.
The blood, like strong acid, was about to touch Jotaro's body, yet he remained expressionless.
"Yare yare… intelligent people are often pessimistic because they've already seen through the cruelty of this world."
"But arrogant fools are always immersed in false hope, smiling at a collapsing fate, as if their ignorance could change destiny."
"It's really great, because until now, you've only broken a single spine."
The distorted clock-ticking sounded again…
When the world resumed movement again, the boiling blood had already submerged the curly-bearded ghost completely.
"Impossible!" He shouted in disbelief.
Why had his position switched with Jotaro's? That corrosive blood was secreted from his own body. His body had high resistance to his own blood. But it was only the blood, not Star Platinum's fists.
"Ora ora ora ora!"
Star Platinum's fists rained down on the demon's body, smashing all the bones in his body.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
He cried out in pain and begged, "Boss! Stop! I'll tell you everything I know! Please spare me!"
Jotaro, face dark, slowly walked toward him.
"Boss! I may not have achievements, but I worked hard!" the curly-bearded ghost struggled, "I answered so many of your questions! For the sake of my obedience, forgive me. I'll even take you to that lord! How about it?"
Jotaro suddenly stopped and said, "Forgive you? Indeed, you answered a few of my questions seriously. Forgiving you isn't a big deal."
The demon saw hope and immediately sighed in relief. But Jotaro's next sentence made his heart leap into his throat.
"However, I refuse."
"What?!" the demon screamed. Star Platinum had already grabbed his head.
"Ora ora ora ora ora!"
———
"Wow, what happened here? All the people in this town are dead."
Other Demon Slayer Corps members who received intel rushed to this Town for support. The bloody scene full of corpses made several members vomit on the spot.
"According to intel, there was more than one demon here! Everyone be careful! Stay alert and gather demon intel!" The leading swordsman shouted.
"Captain! There's a survivor here!" a team member waved and pointed to a nearby street corner.
The captain immediately ran over upon hearing that. In front of him was a one-armed swordsman, dazed and leaning against a wall, deep in thought.
"What's your name? Tell me what happened here!" The captain asked immediately.
The one-armed swordsman came back to his senses and slowly said, "Matsumoto Jun. Seven demons attacked this town. They all used Blood Demon Arts. I couldn't resist. This arm was cut off by them."
The captain frowned and said, "Impossible. You're a Rank Mizunoto swordsman. Facing such demons, you shouldn't have survived."
Upon hearing this, Hiramatsu Jun suddenly became agitated.
"It's true! I encountered a god! That man was like a deity. He saved me."
Other Demon Slayers exchanged confused glances.
"You're shaken. Calm down for now."
"No!" Hiramatsu Jun shook off his hand and insisted, "He was definitely sent by the heavens to save us. I even received divine revelation."
He reverently pressed one hand together in prayer and muttered, "Ora ora ora!" That was what the god said to me."
"Quick, notify the Kakushi!" the captain said, looking at his still-bleeding forehead. "His brain may have suffered trauma. Let the Kakushi treat him first."
"Then we'll ask him for a detailed report."
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