The night was quiet over the headquarters of the Demon Syer Corps. The moon illuminated the wooden rooftops and the narrow paths inside the compound, and everything seemed normal—at least from the outside.

  Jack stood alone on top of one of the roofs. Since the meeting ended that morning, he hadn’t been able to get what happened out of his head. The Hashira’s gazes, Sanemi’s words, and Giyu’s silence—all of it kept spinning in his mind.

  He sighed as he looked up at the sky and said,

  “I must prove to them that I’m not a traitor.”

  At that moment, his thoughts suddenly stopped. Something strange reached his nose. It wasn’t the smell of blood, and it wasn’t like the scent of demons he was used to. It was different… somewhat cold.

  He froze in pce, yet he didn’t feel fear at all. He quickly started running to follow that unsettling scent. After miles of running, he suddenly stopped.

  His hand moved closer to his sword as he looked at a man standing on a rooftop, smiling as if an old friend had come to visit him. His multicolored eyes reflected under the moonlight, and a small fan rested in his hand.

  It was Doma once again.

  He smiled even wider when he saw Jack standing in front of him and said,

  “Oh? You look surprised.”

  Jack didn’t say anything, but he tightened his grip on his sword. Doma ughed lightly.

  “Rex. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it the moment I arrived.”

  Jack stepped forward and said,

  “What do you want, you bastard?”

  Doma smiled again.

  “You know… Akaza-dono is very angry with you. I wonder why.”

  Jack’s expression changed. Then Doma added,

  “I was thinking… maybe I should kill you before he does.”

  Before Jack could respond, the atmosphere suddenly changed. Another scent arrived. This time it wasn’t cold—it was heavy and hostile.

  Doma stopped talking for a moment, then smiled.

  “Ah… it seems he has arrived.”

  A shadow appeared above the nearby trees, then jumped onto the roof with a force that slightly cracked the ground beneath.

  He stood there, staring directly at Jack.

  It was Akaza.

  Two Upper Moons standing directly in front of Jack—something that had never happened in the history of demons. Even the Hashira themselves had never made the Demon King send two Upper Moons to fight a single member of the Corps… or rather, to rush to kill him.

  Jack knew he had changed fate in the world of demons, but he didn’t know he had become their number one target.

  Akaza spoke in a low voice filled with anger:

  “Step away from him.”

  Doma looked at him with a smile.

  “Akaza-dono, you’re always so serious.”

  Akaza stepped forward.

  “I said step away.”

  Jack stood between them, feeling the pressure growing heavier. He had never expected that one day he would stand between two Upper Moons at the same time.

  Somewhere else inside the headquarters, Giyu Tomioka suddenly stopped while walking.

  He felt something.

  Demonic energy… nearby.

  He froze for a moment, then frowned and said,

  “Two?”

  He immediately pced his hand on his sword and rushed toward the source of the energy.

  The scene returned to the rooftop.

  Akaza suddenly disappeared from his spot, and in a blink he appeared in front of Jack, delivering a direct strike.

  Jack quickly raised his sword to block it, but the force of the blow pushed him several meters back. Part of the roof shattered beneath his feet.

  Doma ughed as he watched.

  “Yes, this is much better, Akaza-dono. You’re strong.”

  Akaza prepared to attack again, his eyes on Jack. Just as he was about to deliver the second strike, Doma suddenly appeared in front of him at lightning speed and said,

  “Akaza-dono, it seems you forgot that Muzan-sama told us that whoever arrives first should kill him. And I believe I arrived first, didn’t I?”

  Akaza looked at Doma angrily and said,

  “I told you to step aside, you bastard. That boy is mine alone.”

  Doma ughed softly while spinning his fan.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Akaza’s eyes burned with rage. The air around him began to tremble with hostile energy.

  “I told you before—this boy is my prey.”

  For a brief moment, Doma’s smile disappeared. That rarely happened, as he was used to his constant cold smile.

  His gaze became slightly colder, and he said in an unusually calm tone,

  “Akaza-dono… don’t make me repeat myself.”

  The air suddenly trembled with a cold demonic energy. Even Jack felt a chill run through his body.

  It was clear that Doma had begun to lose his patience slightly, but he quickly returned to smiling. However, this time the smile wasn’t as cheerful as before.

  He pointed at Jack and said,

  “Don’t you see? The game has already begun, and it would be embarrassing to steal someone else’s role.”

  Akaza’s anger only grew stronger. He stepped forward and said,

  “Then let’s settle this by force.”

  Doma smiled once again.

  In a fsh, Akaza’s strike nded toward Doma, making half of Doma’s head disappear instantly. It quickly regenerated, and Doma said with a serious face,

  “Akaza-dono, Muzan-sama won’t like this, believe me. If you want to become Upper Moon Two, that should be between us. But right now we’re on a mission… did you forget?”

  Akaza replied recklessly,

  “I don’t care about what you say. Either the boy is my prey, or I’ll kill you here, you bastard.”

  This time Doma responded without a smile—something that rarely happened.

  “Akaza, watch what you say and leave the boy to me. This is the st time I will talk about this matter.”

  As Doma turned toward Jack, Akaza unched another powerful strike at him. But Doma vanished instantly, then appeared behind Akaza and said,

  “I told you this was the st time, didn’t I?”

  While the two Upper Moons were on the verge of colliding nearby—something that had never happened between the Upper demons in this world—Giyu Tomioka was rushing toward the source of the energy after sensing the immense pressure spreading through the night.

  As for Jack, he might have been living his final moments in this world.

  He stood between two Upper Moons… and surviving there was something beyond impossible…