"Haruto-nii…" she began, then trailed off, a hint of worry on her young brows. "If I use poison… will it make me seem insidious?"
"You're thinking about that?" Haruto raised an eyebrow, looking at her in confusion. "Insidious? When used to kill demons, what's insidious about it? Demons' bodies can regenerate endlessly, aren't they insidious?"
"What I mean is, compared to other Swordsmen's techniques, I can only win with poison and speed…"
Haruto sat down beside her, rubbing his nose. "Do you know about my past?"
Shinobu turned her face and shook her head.
"I initially learned Flame Breathing, and after two and a half years of practicing with a book, I barely passed the Fujikasane Mountain selection…"
Haruto recounted his past to her, all the way until he comprehended Breath of the Stars. "Stone Pillar Himejima-san said something at the time. He said that even the most powerful Swordsman, if they don't find a Breathing Technique and sword style suitable for them, is like a pearl covered in dust. What suits you is the strongest, and there's no hierarchy of high or low in Breathing Techniques used to fight demons."
"Haruto-nii, what if you hadn't comprehended Breath of the Stars back then?" Shinobu rubbed her eyes, propping her chin. "Would you still have insisted on being a Demon Slayer Swordsman?"
"Perhaps an attendant would also be a good path. You don't know, every time I was carried into a village, it was either by a young girl or a scrawny young man, huffing and puffing with every step… I was afraid they'd trip halfway and drop me." Haruto gestured to his height. "I'm different; I can walk as fast as a flying bird no matter who I carry."
Under his playful banter, Shinobu's slightly furrowed brows relaxed. She had been meticulous since childhood and knew that Haruto's words were all meant to guide her, so she showed a faint smile.
Before she could say anything, two figures streaked across the sky.
The steady Yan and the pure white Sora landed one after another on the newly planted cherry tree.
Yan glanced at Sora, and seeing that it had no intention of speaking, it opened its mouth and began, "Cloud…"
"Lower Rank Four, Nekomata, was annihilated in Mt. Kumotori. The demon slayer: Demon Slayer Corps Kanoe Swordsman Tomioka Giyu!" Sora immediately opened its mouth and loudly cut in.
"Giyu?" Haruto's smile had just appeared on his face, but then he felt something was off. "Nekomata?"
Wasn't Lower Four a plant manipulator who liked to spray blood sprouts?
"Assisting in the kill: Demon Slayer Corps Kanoe Swordsman Urokodaki Sabito! Urokodaki Sabito is at death's door and is being transported to the Butterfly Mansion. Please prepare the Butterfly Mansion!"
Sora's next sentence immediately wiped the smile from Haruto's face. He stiffly glanced at Kochou Shinobu, who immediately jumped up and, along with Kanae, who rushed out, went to prepare medicine. "Hoo… hoo…"
Tomioka Giyu's chest heaved. His lungs were expanded to their maximum, oxygen inhaled and then transported by blood to every bone and muscle in his body. Constant Concentration allowed his entire body to remain highly focused even while trembling.
Everything before him was a bloody red. The fresh blood dripping from the wound on his forehead stained his retina, making his vision somewhat blurry now.
Was the monster before him, with its arched back like a giant black cat, truly once a human?
Perhaps Muzan had caught a cat demon from somewhere, fed it blood, and transformed it into a demon?
"Giyu! Don't space out!"
Sabito's voice rang out to his left. Giyu jolted, rolling clumsily to the right, as a cat tail brushed past his cheek, leaving a burning sensation on his face.
Pull yourself together, Tomioka Giyu.
This was not an ordinary evil demon he usually encountered, but a genuine Twelve Kizuki!
He quickly glanced to his left; Sabito's condition wasn't much better. The fox mask he wore had long fallen off, and the blood from the wounds on his face, scraped by the cat's tail, mixed with sweat, making him look very disheveled.
Ha… ha… It was just a simple patrol mission, how did it escalate to this?
Giyu tightened his grip on his nichirin blade, once again repelling the attacking cat tail.
It's strange… this Lower Rank Four before him is strangely… strange to death!
It wasn't invested in this battle at all, as if it didn't want to get entangled with them. It wanted to leave, or it wanted to confirm some information here.
Fear? No, it didn't show a hint of timidity.
Only tension, urgency, and irritation.
As if it had some mission to report, it desperately wanted to leave this place.
Giyu and Sabito exchanged glances, understanding each other's thoughts perfectly.
Cannot let it leave!
A glint flashed in Sabito's eyes. With his left hand behind his back, he signaled Giyu, then raised his sword and lunged at the Nekomata.
Giyu's figure trembled, disappearing without a trace like a drop of water falling into the ocean.
One illusory, one real; one bright, one dark.
It was the same technique Haruto and Sabito used together to kill the Hand Demon!
Only today, the cooperating individuals were the more harmonious senior and junior disciples, and Sabito had moved from the shadows into the light!
He gritted his back teeth, his eyes sparkling, and a ripple of blue light danced in his hand.
Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!
The blade in his hand, like ripples on water, swiftly thrust towards the Nekomata's head from an angle. As the fastest move in Water Breathing, the blade approached the Nekomata's neck in almost the blink of an eye!
The giant black cat let out a purring roar. It stood upright, its body nearly two meters tall.
It twisted its waist, dodging the fatal blow, then immediately stretched its body, striking its sharp demon claws at Sabito's chest, not only tearing through his orange-yellow three-colored haori but also leaving deep, bone-visible claw marks on Sabito's chest!
The two thick tails behind the Nekomata lashed out violently, swinging like two iron rods and smashing hard into Sabito's chest: "Bang!"
"Crunch…" Sabito's chest caved in from the impact of the cat's tail, and he fell heavily to the ground.
"Water Breathing…"
Giyu's technique was ready, and the Nekomata's unguarded neck was right before him.
At this critical moment, all movements seemed to slow down.
His gaze swept over Sabito, whose chest was caved in, and he suddenly recalled a conversation they had earlier.
"Haruto has become a Pillar," Sabito said softly, looking at the Kasugai Crow circling in the sky.
"Mm," Giyu nodded.
"Are you collecting fifty demons?"
Giyu paused, then nodded heavily again. "Mm."
Sabito's smile was still as gentle. He reached out and patted Giyu's shoulder. "Keep it up."
"You can take it from me." The black-haired youth looked directly into his silver eyes. "Only you can take it from me."
Such arrogant words would have made anyone else raise their eyebrows.
But Sabito merely smiled, curving his lips. "There's only one Water Pillar. If I take it, you won't have it, you know~"
"The position of Pillar isn't that important to me," Giyu said, his thumb caressing the cold sword guard. "Don't make me feel like the Water Pillar is something I just picked up off the ground."
"Then… you'll have to work hard, you know," Sabito said, his eyes curving. "I'm not far off."
Giyu's eyes locked onto the Nekomata's neck, and he hesitated slightly.
Is this… what he deserved?
If he cut with this blade, the position of Water Pillar would fall upon him, but was this… what he deserved?
Sabito risked his life to attract the demon's attention, and he, like a thief, would easily snatch away a victory that belonged to him… Tomioka Giyu… could you really do that?
Giyu silently raised his head, his fingers white from gripping tightly.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux."
The twisting water dragon severed the Nekomata's head.
Giyu gently landed beside Sabito, lowering his head with a sigh.