Seeing what had just occurred, Tanjiro, who had initially wanted to remind Lucas to deal with the Drum Demon, silently swallowed the words on his lips.
Lucas's blade was still as fast and terrifying as ever.
After the demon named Kyogai was dealt with, Tanjiro left the haunted mansion along with his younger siblings. The battle was over, but the aftershocks still lingered in the air like a storm that had just passed.
Inosuke trailed behind the group silently, but his eyes remained fixated on Lucas's back. His gaze wasn't one of fear, but burning desire—desire for battle.
He knew that Lucas was powerful, incredibly so. Dangerous, even. But that didn't dampen the fire in his heart. No, it only fueled it further. He wanted to challenge Lucas again. He had to.
This persistent look remained on Inosuke's face as they walked out of the mansion together.
The moment he stepped into the sunlight, Inosuke turned abruptly, eyes locking on the box strapped to Tanjiro's back—the box that carried Nezuko.
A distinct demon scent was coming from it.
His muscles tensed, hands gripping his twin Nichirin Blades tightly. He sprang forward with sudden ferocity.
"Stop!" Zenitsu shouted, throwing himself in front of the box to shield it.
Tanjiro, still recovering from his injuries, could only watch with wide, panicked eyes. He wasn't fast enough to intervene this time.
But Lucas had anticipated everything.
Without saying a word, he raised his hand and made a subtle motion to the left.
A ripple in the air—like a red arrow forged of pure force—shot from his fingers and struck Inosuke mid-charge.
"Boom!"
Inosuke was blown sideways, his blades spinning from his hands and lodging deep into the bark of a nearby tree.
"We're all comrades here," Lucas said casually. "No sudden moves."
Tanjiro let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked at Lucas with genuine gratitude.
Inosuke, though knocked away, no longer seemed interested in the box. His intense focus shifted entirely to Lucas.
From beneath the boar mask, his wide, glowing blue eyes were locked onto Lucas with a mixture of awe and frustration. A puff of white steam escaped the snout of his mask as he exhaled.
"I want to duel with you!" he bellowed.
Lucas turned his head slightly, raising a brow. "Duel? That sounds boring."
Without another glance at Inosuke, Lucas walked straight toward Zenitsu, who was still frozen in place.
At this point, Inosuke might have had better technical combat proficiency than Tanjiro, but to Lucas, he was still far from being a true challenge. With just the power of his Red Clean Arrows, he could keep Inosuke at bay indefinitely.
Lucas reached Zenitsu and gently tapped his head with two fingers. "Someone was about to cut you down, and you just stood there?"
Zenitsu blinked in confusion. "In the Demon Slayer Corps… you're not allowed to attack your teammates…"
Lucas's eyes twitched slightly in disbelief. Was this guy serious?
Zenitsu scratched his head sheepishly. But then, he suddenly remembered something—something important. The long-tongued demon!
"Oh! That's right!" he said excitedly. "Lucas, I fought a demon! I… I killed it!"
But before he could continue, his eyes widened in shock, pupils shrinking.
"Behind you!"
The warning came too late—for the attacker, at least.
Just as Zenitsu spoke, the demon that had attempted to ambush them was blown backward at an even faster speed than its original attack. It slammed into a tree with a deafening crack.
Boom.
The sound alone made Zenitsu flinch in pain. That had to hurt.
Lucas, unfazed, turned his head slightly and asked in a calm tone, "What were you saying?"
Zenitsu stood frozen, staring at Lucas with wide eyes.
Did he… just knock a demon away without even drawing his sword?
Was Lucas really that strong now?
Suddenly, the story of how Zenitsu had defeated the long-tongued demon didn't seem so impressive anymore.
"It's nothing…" Zenitsu mumbled, the joy draining from his expression.
"Brother Zenitsu killed a demon!" the small boy standing beside them suddenly announced.
Zenitsu panicked and quickly pulled the boy aside, but his eyes unconsciously flicked back toward Lucas, watching his reaction.
"You killed it?" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow.
He wasn't questioning whether the demon was dead—he wanted to know how it was defeated.
Zenitsu nodded slowly, a bit embarrassed but still proud.
Lucas paused for a moment, studying Zenitsu's face.
If Zenitsu admitted it outright, that meant he had killed the long-tongued demon consciously, without fainting or going into an unconscious combat state.
That was… unexpected.
The long-tongued demon had power similar to the Glutton Demon they had faced earlier. If Zenitsu had taken it down by himself…
Then that meant Zenitsu was nearing the strength level of the Upper Rank demons. That was no small feat.
"Zenitsu, you're amazing," Lucas said with a rare, genuine smile.
Zenitsu's ears twitched. He could detect the sincerity in Lucas's tone.
Hearing those words of praise from Lucas—who he deeply admired—made the corners of his lips curl into a smile.
He was impressive, after all!
Just as Zenitsu basked in the compliment, a familiar voice bellowed from behind.
"Do you dare to duel me openly!?"
It was Inosuke again.
During the conversation, Inosuke had already launched more than ten separate attacks on Lucas. But each time, he'd been knocked away effortlessly by invisible forces, unable to get even close.
Now, red-faced beneath his boar mask, he was visibly frustrated.
"A fair duel!" he shouted.
Lucas slowly turned to face him. "Fair?"
"Yeah! Don't use that… that thing—whatever it is!"
Inosuke flailed around, trying to describe the mysterious power that kept knocking him away. But he had no words for it.
"If you want a fair fight with me," Lucas said with a glint in his eye, "you'll have to become my friend first."
"Friend?" Inosuke froze. The word bounced around in his mind.
It was clearly a foreign concept to him.
Still, he nodded firmly. "Okay! I'm your… friend!"
[Bite]
[Successfully added Inosuke Hashibira as a friend!]
[Detected friendship level: mere acquaintance. Generating random reward…]
[Acquired Skill: Beast Breathing – Seventh Fang: Spatial Awareness (Mastery)]
[Would you like to fuse this skill with your current abilities?]
[No]
Lucas chuckled softly. That was some decent luck. Inosuke's combat sense wasn't just wild—there was genius buried in his madness.
"Very well," Lucas said. He casually flicked a Red Arrow into the air, and the lingering force binding Inosuke vanished instantly.
Inosuke's eyes gleamed with excitement.
He leapt forward, dual serrated Nichirin Blades slashing down at Lucas with the burning energy of a setting sun behind him.
Lucas didn't budge.
He calmly placed his left hand on the scabbard of his blade and pressed his thumb upward ever so slightly.
Zheng!
The blade clicked with a sharp metallic note.
Inosuke suddenly felt a chill.
His eyes widened. Lucas, who was a good distance away just a second ago, was now standing right in front of him.
He froze on the spot.
On instinct, he crossed his blades defensively in front of his body, staring at Lucas in disbelief.
So fast! Faster than any beast he had ever encountered! His eyes couldn't even track the movement.
If he'd hesitated for even a moment longer… Lucas's blade would've reached his throat.
"You lose," Lucas said calmly, turning his back without even waiting for a response.
"I didn't lose! I—"
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed through the forest.
Inosuke turned his head, and the rest of his words died in his throat.
Behind him, a massive tree—one so thick it would take several people holding hands to wrap around it—had been cleanly sliced at its base. It now lay flat on the ground, a cloud of dust rising in the golden sunlight.
Lucas hadn't attacked him—he'd struck the tree instead. Just a demonstration. But the message was clear.
Even Inosuke, as lacking in common sense as he was, understood what that meant.
If Lucas had targeted him instead of the tree…
He wouldn't be standing right now.
There was no contest. Lucas outclassed him in both speed and destructive power.
Even the little boy who had defended Zenitsu earlier was left stunned. He had thought it was incredible that Zenitsu killed a demon…
But Lucas?
He had effortlessly destroyed a tree larger than any he'd ever seen, using a single stroke of his blade.
This man's strength… was on a completely different level.
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