All across the forest, the Demon Slayers erupted into cheers as Rose and Raven announced the result.
It was a hard-earned victory.
Laughter and sobs blended together as swords slipped from trembling hands and bodies collapsed onto the ground. Some laughed until their throats hurt, others cried without shame, as if they had truly saved the world after an epic battle.
Exhaustion, relief, and joy flooded the clearing all at once.
For now… it was over.
On the other side, inside the Luchan suit, Akira let out a small breath.
"Well… seems like they won."
Behind him, Erika shifted slightly. Her voice came from just over his shoulder, quiet, but sharp.
"Yeah… but why did you let them win?"
Akira answered immediately, as if it were obvious.
"They won by their own strength. I don't know what you're talking about."
Erika snorted. "Don't lie. I know you're faster than that. If you really wanted to stop them, you could've caught up."
"I was carrying something heavy," Akira replied flatly. "I literally couldn't go any faster."
Erika blinked. Then she smiled, softly.
A smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Ohhh…?" she said sweetly. "What do you mean?"
"I…I mean," Akira stuttered, "I was carrying the weight of the hopes and dreams of all the Demon Slayers here."
Inside the suit, Erika's fist tightened.
Still smiling, she said calmly, "Just wait until we get back to our room. I'll deal with you there."
"Hey, let's talk about this rationally…!" Akira protested.
But the truth was simple.
The Demon Slayers were growing stronger.
Yet Akira and Erika were growing at an even faster pace, thanks to EXP Overclock.
If this continued, the gap would only widen until victory became impossible for them.
This plan… was their closest chance.
And if it failed, there would be no second opportunity.
So, Akira let them have this win.
As promised, Akira prepared a grand feast for everyone.
Every Demon Slayer attended, and even several Hashira joined in as well. The atmosphere was lively, filled with laughter, chatter, and the clatter of plates.
Rengoku laughed thunderously, his voice echoing across the gathering.
"HAHAHA! THAT TRAINING WAS EXCELLENT! I HAVE NEVER FOUGHT A GIANT PLUSH MONSTER BEFORE! I WANT TO FIGHT IT TOO!"
Tengen crossed his arms, nodding appreciatively. "It was flamboyant. I still don't get how something so soft can hit that hard."
Mitsuri clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling. "It was sooo cute though! I kind of wanted to hug it while running away!"
Erika nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I get it. It's really soft and cute."
Obanai spoke curtly from the side. "Everyone keeps saying it's strong. I want to fight it."
Sanemi scoffed. "Yeah. How strong could it really be? I want to see for myself."
Akira smiled lightly. "Well, sure. We can all train together during our free time if you want."
After all, Akira and Erika had already been training with the regular Demon Slayers these past days and had grown stronger, but sparring with Hashira could push their strength to an entirely new level.
Rengoku slammed his fist into his palm. "I APPROVE! A STRONG HEART IS FORGED THROUGH DIFFICULT TRIALS!"
The other Hashira nodded in agreement, clearly looking forward to fighting Luchan themselves.
In the background, the Demon Slayers continued enjoying the feast. After such brutal training, emotions overflowed. Some laughed, some cried, talking about how hard it had been and how they somehow survived.
At last, they could rest, or so they thought.
"Only Akira's training is over," Sanemi said bluntly. "The Hashira training will continue. In fact, let's resume tomorrow."
The moment those words were spoken, the cheers turned into fresh waves of despair, as Demon Slayers across the feast began crying all over again.
Back in their room at the Butterfly Mansion, Akira and Erika entered together and sat down on their beds, both letting out tired sighs.
"It's finally over," Erika said.
Akira nodded. "Yeah. Now I can finally find some peace. It's been a long week after all, we trained a lot."
For a moment, silence settled in.
Then Akira suddenly spoke. "Hey, Erika."
Erika, already lying back on her bed, replied lazily, "What?"
Akira turned his head toward her. "Did you have fun?"
She frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean piloting Luchan," Akira clarified. "Did you have fun doing that with me?"
Erika let out a small groan. "It was painful. At least you could move around. I had to sit there in that cramped space; it was awful."
Akira tilted his head. "But I thought vampires liked cramped spaces."
"This is this, and that is that," Erika shot back.
Akira hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "You don't like being in a cramped space with me?"
His tone sounded unusually downcast.
Erika panicked instantly. "N…No! It's not like that! I like being in a cramped space with you, wait!"
She froze.
Only then did she realize what she had just said.
Her face turned bright red as Akira burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! I didn't say anything, you said it yourself!"
Erika clenched her fists. "You know… you've been doing this a lot lately."
She narrowed her eyes. "Seems like I should teach you a lesson."
With that, she jumped at him for her bed to his bed, pinning him down onto the bed.
"W–Wait, I'm sorry! I was just playing around!" Akira said quickly.
"Nope," Erika replied flatly. "You have to pay the price."
Akira tried to escape, twisting his body, but Erika didn't let him go. Before he could react, she leaned down and bit his ear.
"Bawwyaaa!?"
Akira let out a strange sound. "W–Why do you always bite my ear!?"
Erika didn't answer. She just nibbled again.
"Bawwyooo!"
Yes. Erika had finally found his weakness.
Akira's ears were sensitive.
After knowing him for so long, the only two weaknesses she had discovered were his fear and aversion toward creepy crawlies, and this. She didn't want to involve insects in this situation, so the only punishment she could use was biting his ears.
If this had been before, she would have felt embarrassed doing something like this. But after biting him and drinking his blood so many times already, she had become desensitized to it. Now, she didn't mind teasing him like this at all, especially after how much he had been teasing her lately.
Akira tried to fight back, but Erika's ribbons wrapped around him, holding him firmly in place so she could do whatever she wanted with his ears.
The only things that remained were Akira's screams and his laughter.
From the room below them, Shinobu, who had finally returned to her own room to rest after a long, exhausting day, couldn't help but feel irritated by the sounds coming from above as she tried to sleep.
Her eye twitched.
"…I am definitely going to poison them one day," she muttered with murderous intent.
Back in the room, Erika finally had her fill. She teased him a little more as she drank his blood straight from his ear, then pulled back with a satisfied expression.
"Yep. That's good," she said casually.
Akira blinked, still lying there. "What kind of vampire drinks blood from the ear?"
Erika straightened slightly and replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "There's a good blood vessel in the ear. It's safer than the neck." She paused, then added with a small smirk, "And it's more fun this way. So the ear is good."
As she said that, she released him from her ribbons and began to get up.
But just as she was about to rise from the bed, Akira, now free, suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back down with him, hugging her tightly against the mattress.
"Kyyaaa?!"
Erika let out a small scream.
Her first thought was immediate and instinctive.
"He's going to bite my ear for revenge!"
But… he didn't.
Akira didn't bite her.
He didn't move at all.
He simply held her there, arms wrapped firmly around her, his grip warm and steady.
Confused, Erika looked up at him.
Akira was staring off slightly, his expression unfocused, almost troubled, like he was thinking about something important and couldn't quite put it into words.
"…What is it?" she asked quietly.
Akira hesitated, then spoke slowly, as if even he wasn't fully sure what he was asking.
"Well… the thing is… can I hug you like this for a while longer…?"
He said it with a strange uncertainty, as though he himself didn't understand why he wanted it so badly.
Erika didn't react at first.
Then the meaning of his words finally hit her.
"…Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"