Chapter 65: Humans and Demons
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In the luxurious manor, more than a dozen people surrounded Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto, all holding weapons. The atmosphere was very tense.
"Everyone, listen to me! The evil spirit in this house is a man-eater and has killed many people!" Yuma Mizuno, a young man with long hair, had an ordinary appearance but very determined eyes.
A tall, rough man with a sinewy face held a bright long knife and cursed, "Get out! We don't need outsiders interfering in our affairs. Leave quickly, or we won't be polite!"
"You are aiding the evildoers!" Kei Takamoto frowned. The evil spirit was in the front room, and it was still daytime. This was the best chance to get rid of it. But because of these people's obstruction, he couldn't take action.
"What did you say?" The rough man's face darkened, and the others' eyes became dangerous.
Mizuno pulled Takamoto. "Let's go outside and talk."
Although Kei Takamoto was unwilling, he had no choice but to give up. After the two left, the rough man turned around and entered the back room with a flattering smile. "Master, we drove them away!"
A huge shadow lurked in the room, and a harsh voice sounded: "Demon Slayers!"
…
Time passed, and night fell.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto were hiding in a corner, their faces full of distress. They looked at each other and sighed.
They thought it was just an ordinary mission but didn't expect to encounter such an unexpected situation.
"Have the people from headquarters sent for support arrived yet?" Mizuno looked up at the sky.
"It should be soon." Takamoto had a Mohawk hairstyle and an unruly temperament, now almost completely destroyed by his distressed expression.
After a while, Mizuno couldn't sit still. "No! It's already dark. That demon might act. We have to keep an eye on it!" He regretted alerting the snake during the day. But with insufficient information, they had no idea things would be like this.
Takamoto suggested, "Then we'll divide into two groups…"
Caw Caw!
A crow's call interrupted his words. They were stunned for a moment, then expressions of surprise appeared on their faces.
"Have reinforcements from headquarters arrived?"
"They came just in time!"
A gust of wind passed by, and a figure appeared beside them.
Aoki looked at the team uniforms the two wore. "Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto?"
"Yes, it's us." Mizuno nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, his eyes widened. He pulled Takamoto back two steps and looked at Aoki in horror. "You, you, you are…"
Aoki's expression remained unchanged, and he waved to the crow in the sky. Knowing this was a support mission, he had guessed this would happen. Enjoying the convenience of the Demon Slayer Intelligence, he naturally had to endure corresponding troubles.
"Aoki is a demon and a cooperative ally…" The crow flapped its wings. After listening to the explanation, Mizuno and Takamoto relaxed but were still wary.
Naturally, Aoki wouldn't argue with them. "Tell me about the mission!" he said directly.
When it came to business, both of them perked up and became serious.
Yuma Mizuno explained, "We received a mission to investigate rumors of an evil spirit eating people here. After two days of investigation, we found traces of a demon, but just when we were about to act, an accident happened…"
With a bitter expression, he briefly described the situation they encountered during the day.
"Encountered human obstruction?" Aoki didn't make a fuss. In the eyes of demons, humans are food, but some demons take advantage of humans.
"Have you found out what happened?" he asked.
The two nodded. The situation wasn't complicated. The people had a cooperative relationship with the demon, collecting food for it, and the demon eliminated their opponents.
Aoki's expression turned a bit strange. "Those people don't have the surname Iguro, right?"
"Iguro?" Mizuno was startled, shook his head, and said, "No, their surname is Doihara."
"That's right. They behave differently from the Iguro family. The Iguro family should have been destroyed long ago." Aoki shook his head. "Do you have more information about the Doihara family?"
"Yes!" Yuma Mizuno nodded. They hadn't wasted time during the day. The Doihara family wasn't a single family but a gang composed of people with different surnames—a gang of criminals. The leader and several key members were named Doihara.
"They're all evil!" Aoki said thoughtfully. According to their intelligence, the Doihara group was suspected of dozens of deaths. They all deserved to be sent to the gallows.
"What should we do now? It's already dark; we'd better act quickly!" Yuma Mizuno looked anxious. Although the reinforcement being a Demon was unexpected, they had no choice but to believe him.
"Let's go. Take us to find that demon," Aoki said.
"Um?" The two were slightly stunned.
"Don't worry, I have a plan," Aoki reassured them.
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto exchanged surprised looks. Faced with such a difficult situation, there was a solution so quickly. Although the identity of the reinforcements was strange, they seemed reliable.
"Okay! Please follow me!" Yuma Mizuno said hurriedly.
A moment later, the three of them arrived at the west side of the town, where a vast and luxurious manor stood.
"Is it here?" Aoki asked, looking at the magnificent gate of the manor.
"Yes!" Kei Takamoto touched his hair. "Doihara and his gang relied on the power of the Demon to collect a lot of wealth. They are the richest people in this town."
Aoki sniffed lightly. "What a strong smell of blood!"
Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto were shocked. "Blood smell?"
"Has someone been killed again?"
Their expressions suddenly turned very ugly. Unexpectedly, they were still a step late.
Aoki said, "Such a strong smell of blood cannot be produced by the death of just one or two people!"
"More than one or two people died?" Their faces turned pale. Although they didn't kill the people, they felt responsible. If they had killed the demon during the day, this wouldn't have happened.
"Things may not be as bad as you think." Aoki simply comforted them and walked forward. The gate of the manor was closed. He didn't open it but jumped directly over the wall. Yuma Mizuno and Kei Takamoto forced themselves to cheer up and followed.
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