"Mr. Iguro, Mr. Tomioka, please don't quarrel! Ren just arrived, don't let him see us making a joke of ourselves!"
As Mitsuri spoke, the group quieted down, though Sanemi still said, "Master, let me go. I happen to want to see just how powerful an Upper Rank is!"
Obanai added, "Master, I will go too!"
"Hmm..."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya lowered his head in thought for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at Ren. "Ren, what do you think? Who would you like to assist you?"
"I'd prefer Mr. Tomioka to come with me. I spent a few days with him, so I'm relatively familiar with him, and I know he's a very capable guy."
"Hehe, since you say so, then I will have Shinobu and Giyu assist you," Kagaya said with a smile.
"Next is the second matter of this meeting. Ren, I understand that during your battle with Upper Rank Two, you successfully awakened the Crimson Blade, and red marks appeared on your body."
"Yes!"
Ren nodded. The others, however, looked confused. Crimson Blade? Marks? What were those?
Kagaya pondered for a moment before speaking with a hint of pain in his voice. "There is something I need to tell you regarding the Mark. For now, I hope you can tell everyone how you awakened the Crimson Blade."
"That's no problem. The key to awakening the Crimson Blade is grip strength. As long as you pour immense power into the Nichirin Sword, raising the temperature of the blade and exciting the solar energy within, you can transform a purely ordinary Nichirin Sword into a Crimson Blade."
As he spoke, Ren stood up to demonstrate personally. He drew his Heavy Nichirin Sword and channeled his monstrous strength into it. In an instant, red light flashed, dazzling and brilliant.
The originally black Heavy Nichirin Sword instantly ignited with raging fire, transforming into a heavy flame sword. Scorching waves of heat swept out, raising the temperature of the entire meeting hall significantly.
Shinobu, who was closest to Ren, even began to sweat.
"Look, this is a Crimson Blade!"
"How magical! The Nichirin Sword can actually catch fire." Mitsuri's eyes shone as if she had discovered a new continent.
Rengoku Kyojuro also shouted loudly, "Umu! It is very warm! Like a raging fire! I can feel it! This sword is roaring like a dragon!"
"A burning Nichirin Sword, that truly is flamboyant!" Uzui Tengen nodded, but then changed the subject. "But what is the use of it?"
"The Crimson Blade can inhibit the regeneration of demons. It might not be very useful against ordinary demons, but it causes massive damage to Upper Rank demons. It might even be effective against Muzan!"
After Ren finished speaking, Shinobu added on his behalf, "When fighting Upper Rank Three, Ren used the Crimson Blade to sever its arm. Akaza's arm indeed did not regenerate, and he was forced to fight using his legs. Because of that, he was easily beheaded by Ren."
"So that's it!"
Everyone came to a sudden realization, their eyes lighting up.
The most troublesome thing about dealing with demons was that, aside from the neck, their other parts could regenerate infinitely. The swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps were ordinary humans; if they were touched, they died.
If demons lost that abnormal regeneration ability, they would undoubtedly be much easier to deal with.
"Namu Amida Butsu. With the Crimson Blade, it will be easier for us to deal with demons!"
"Master, we understand the Crimson Blade now, but what about the Mark? What is the Mark?"
"According to the past records of the Demon Slayer Corps, after awakening the Mark, a swordsman's physical capabilities will increase drastically, granting them a physique comparable to the Twelve Kizuki. Red markings will also appear on their faces; that is the Mark."
"It is said that whenever a marked swordsman appears, those around them will begin to awaken the Mark as well. However, there are no records in the Demon Slayer Corps on how to initiate the awakening of the Mark."
"Now that Ren has awakened the Mark, this should have been a good thing, but..."
At this point, Kagaya shook his head sorrowfully, but he still revealed the whole truth to everyone.
"But the Mark is a power that overdraws one's life. Anyone who awakens the Mark will not live past the age of twenty-five!"
"What? How can that be?!"
Shinobu's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared blankly at Ren. Her gaze was complex, and no one knew what she was thinking.
She knew that awakening the Mark placed a huge burden on Ren's body, but she never imagined the price would be so heavy.
In other words, from the moment he awakened the Mark, his life had entered a countdown.
"Shinobu, you performed a checkup on Ren. You should know that what I say is true."
"Yes, Master." Shinobu nodded and said through gritted teeth, "During the checkup, Ren's body temperature exceeded 42 degrees—the thermometer even burst. His heart rate exceeded 300 beats per minute and was still accelerating. Ren's physical constitution is far beyond that of ordinary people, but if others want to awaken the Mark, their body temperature would likely need to be above 39 degrees, and their heart rate would need to exceed 200 beats per minute."
"What? Under those conditions, let alone fighting, it's a question of whether a person could even survive."
"Huh? Is it that exaggerated? It sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?"
Sanemi shrugged indifferently. However, Giyu said, "I truly envy you for having a brain that thinks everything is so simple."
"Bastard! Tomioka, are you looking for a fight? Believe it or not, I'll..."
"Mr. Shinazugawa, please calm down!"
"Ren, you..."
Shinobu patted Ren's shoulder, momentarily speechless.
'You were lecturing me just now, yet you yourself won't live past twenty-five.'
Hearing Shinobu's murmur, the others also fell silent, looking at Ren with compassionate eyes.
He had slain an Upper Rank demon and saved countless Demon Slayer Corps members from death, yet such a person was destined to die young. How unfair this world was.
However, Ren himself looked as calm as ever. He knew that he would not die!
"Don't look at me like that. At any rate, I awakened the Mark to save my comrades. Being able to save people worth saving... even if I don't live past twenty-five, I have no regrets."
'And... I won't die!'
'Ren is so handsome! As expected of Shinobu's boyfriend!' Mitsuri thought to herself. Looking at Ren and Shinobu, she was already scheming how to set them up.
If Ren could read minds, he would definitely give her a thumbs-up; she truly was a gold-medal matchmaker.
Kagaya spoke up at the right moment. "Everyone should do what they can regarding the Mark. Even if you cannot awaken it, it doesn't matter. Everyone's life is the most important thing."
As he spoke, he stood up and took out a map of Japan, unfolding it in front of Ren. The map was marked with sky blue, orange-yellow, and crimson pens, representing the number and strength of demons in various regions of Japan.
The blue areas had few demons, and they weren't strong; the red areas not only had an extremely large number of demons but were also where the Twelve Kizuki appeared.
"Ren, generally speaking, the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps are stationed in different places to deal with demons in various regions. Take a look, which area would you like to be stationed in?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]