chapter_0383

[Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!]

On the screen, a large man with red eyes was laughing, baring his teeth.

[So, the so-called Demon Slayer Corps has been hunting us down? Trying to instill fear in us!?]

[Ludicrous! I’ve never even heard of or seen such people!!!]

[If such people really existed, there’s no way someone like me would still be alive!!!]

[Tomorrow at 3 PM! I will launch a terror attack in Buenos Aires!!!]

[If you truly exist, come and kill me!!!!]

Fen Miao stared intently at the video she was watching for the tenth time.

‘…A terror warning. Tomorrow at 3 PM. Could this be real? Where was this video uploaded from?’

Static—

A signal came through the radio attached to her shoulder.

Beep-beep.

-“Hey, Cat! Did you see that demon bastard’s broadcast!? Isn’t that Venom? The one who ran off crying after getting smacked by us before!?”

-“…Analyzing it now.”

-“I’m wrapping things up here in Romania. Find his location and send it over right away!”

-“…Understood.”

She responded briefly and ended the call. Turning her gaze back to the screen, she watched the video again.

[We are far stronger and far more numerous than you could ever imagine! Until now, you hunted us while hiding, but now, we will hunt you!!!]

-“Holy crap, the world’s really going to hell… A demon broadcasting a terror attack warning?”

-“Turns out he’s a lowly B-rank demon called Venom…”

-“But if those guys start swarming out all at once, won’t that be a serious problem?”

-“Yeah, did we poke the hornet’s nest for nothing? Wasn’t it more efficient to keep hunting in secret like before?”

-“…Something feels off about all this.”

The chat window above the demon’s broadcast scrolled rapidly.

‘They’re right.’

Fen Miao bit her lip.

Whether B-rank or not, if a large group of demons carried out simultaneous terror attacks, the damage could still be catastrophic.

Thus, quickly locating the demon who issued this terror warning and neutralizing him before the attack was critical.

But it wasn’t easy.

This was already the seventh demon to broadcast a terror warning.

‘I’d even borrow a cat’s paw right now.’

But her codename was “Cat.”

And currently, three of her clones were working beside her, typing away on keyboards.

Each of the three clones monitored a different screen simultaneously—news channels, social media feeds, and CCTV footage capturing demon activities.

Even so, it was hard to keep up with the timing.

‘It’s frustrating.’

She had joined the Demon Slayer Corps through the introduction of Jin Yuha.

It was the perfect place to align with her goals: avenging her family killed by demons and eradicating all demons from this world.

She believed she could do anything to achieve those goals.

But reality was harsher than expected.

The Demon Slayer Corps members were all monsters in their own right, while she had barely taken her first steps.

Thus, she was still confined to the role of a lookout and hadn’t been allowed out in the field.

‘They said I was doing well just by managing this…’

But such words weren’t much comfort.

Sigh—

Fen Miao pressed her temples and focused again on tracking the demons’ locations.

She didn’t resent the commander’s decision to reveal the existence of the Demon Slayer Corps to the world.

‘Like nuclear weapons, just the knowledge of our existence can make the world safer.’

She had agreed with that sentiment.

But now was the early stage of their revelation. Until their deterrence was proven effective, chaos and backlash were inevitable.

It was a risk they had to endure.

But,

‘If I make a mistake here and create a gap in that deterrence…’

The initial damage might become unavoidable.

Her powerlessness frustrated her deeply.

Just then, another demon appeared on the screen and started broadcasting. This time, the location was the heart of Tokyo.

[Heh-heh-heh… Fear us… In 30 minutes, I will destroy the entire Aozora Department Store.]

‘Another terror warning!? And this time, only 30 minutes!?’

It seemed that broadcasting their faces and warnings was becoming a trend among demons.

A shallow tactic to spread fear.

But there was no way to stop it.

‘No…’

The senior members of the Demon Slayer Corps were already dispatched across various regions. Even if one of them dealt with a demon and returned, it would be cutting it close.

‘…Should I step up?’

But if she took action now, handling another potential terror attack elsewhere could be delayed.

‘What am I supposed to do…’

Her mind went blank for a moment.

~♬

Suddenly, soft piano music played through her earphones.

“What—what is this!?”

[Hehe, Fen Miao, you seem very stressed, don’t you?]

“W-Who are you!?”

[It’s me, Shin Se-hee from Utopia.]

“…Shin Se-hee?”

[Yes, last time, during the Demon Gate incident, your Demon Slayer Corps helped us, right? So, this time, we’re here to help you.]

Ah.

For a moment, Fen Miao was speechless, her mouth agape.

[Mind if I borrow your servers for a bit?]

Before her eyes, the screens rapidly reorganized, summarized, and initiated simultaneous tasks.

And then, a holographic image of Shin Se-hee appeared.

[Alright, let’s get started, shall we?]

A bright smile spread across Shin Se-hee’s face.

[The joint operation of Utopia and the Demon Slayer Corps begins now.]

.

.

.

Slice—!

“Damn it!!! Are the demons on drugs today or something!? They’re coming out of the woodwork!!!”

A fox-masked warrior swung their sword roughly, slashing through the neck of a demon. The sweat running down their back in the freezing Russian winter felt ice-cold.

“Fox! Right after this, we have to head straight to Japan! Finish it quickly!”

“What the hell, how long has it even been since we arrived in Russia!?”

“That crazy bastard announced he’s blowing up a department store in 30 minutes!!!”

The news blaring through the comms made the fox clench their teeth. After already rushing through three terror sites, now they had to portal jump again.

The trio of demon hunters quickly finished cleaning up the scene and made their way to the spatial transfer device, their footprints disappearing in the blizzard.

________________________________________

Upon arriving at the next location with no time to rest, they were greeted by Japan’s humid air and a growing crowd gathered in front of the Aozora Department Store.

Hovering in the air was a hologram of an old woman laughing wickedly.

[ Hehehe… So you really came. But it’s too late. We’ve already planted bombs in the department store, and the civilians are trapped inside. ]

The demon’s taunting made the demon hunters bite their lips in frustration.

‘Damn it.’

They’d been warned this might happen, but facing it in reality felt suffocating. This was a completely different league from their usual demon hunts.

Hoo—

The fox-masked hunter exhaled shortly and asked the large bear-masked companion beside them.

“Bear, your stamina?”

“Thirty percent.”

“Can you save everyone?”

“I have to.”

“Great. We’re screwed.”

The difference between “can” and “have to” was just a few words, but the meaning was worlds apart. It showed how desperate the situation was.

Crack, crack.

“Fine, no holding back. Let’s end this quickly before these demon bastards get any crazier.”

Just as they were summoning the last bits of their strength—

“Boost—!!!”

A woman’s voice suddenly rang out from above, filling their bodies with energy.

“What the—?”

“What’s going on?”

“Huh?”

The demon hunters all looked up at once. Standing on the rooftop was a figure with green hair, perpetually smiling eyes, and a soft, almost squishy-looking physique that radiated warmth.

It was Lim Ga-eul, a supporter from Utopia, waving down at them from above.

“Hey, seniors! I’m here to help!”

Her sudden appearance left the fox-masked leader in disbelief.

Leap—

Lim Ga-eul gracefully jumped from the rooftop and landed softly behind them.

“Utopia… is here to help us?”

“Yep, that’s right!”

“Then, where’s everyone else?”

“They’re all scattered at other locations! Everything’s chaos right now, isn’t it?”

Sigh.

The fox chuckled dryly under their mask.

‘Never thought someone would come to help us. Not even once.’

“This is new.”

Smirk.

For those used to fighting alone in the dark, this was the first time a light had shone down on them.

“Alright, rookie. Think you can properly support us?”

“After being stuck with juniors all the time, working with seniors is a breath of fresh air. Leave it to me!”

Similar scenes were playing out across the globe.

.

.

.

[ Hahaha! Demon hunters! Are you afraid of us!? ]

In China, a demon was shouting maniacally in front of a camera when—

Whack!

Something hit him square on the back of the head.

[ Urk!? ]

The demon stumbled and collapsed. Standing behind him was a figure that made viewers around the world erupt in cheers.

“…Pathetic. Was this the guy making such a fuss on camera?”

-LOLLLLLLL

-It’s Mad Dog!!!

-Why is she here!?

-This is hilarious, demon just got smacked mid-speech

-Hell yeah!!!

-UTOPIA! UTOPIA! UTOPIA!

.

.

.

[ Now then, watch as I hurl this massive boulder at that orphanage! Demon hunters, try to stop it if you can! ]

Whoooosh—!!

The demon threw a boulder the size of a house, and the demon hunters arriving late to the scene froze in dismay.

Stopping the boulder wasn’t the issue—it was that the debris could hit the children in the orphanage if they weren’t careful.

Then—

Clanggggg—!!!

A metallic sound filled the air.

The enormous boulder, flying toward the orphanage, suddenly veered off course and slammed into the ground.

“Who said you could do that?”

Crack, crack—!

Boom!

Lee Yoo-ri blocked the boulder with her shield, then turned her head back.

“Seniors, are you all okay!? Support has arrived!”