Facing such a straightforward attack from the demon, Kanao, relying on her extraordinary vision, easily predicted its movement.
She took a light leap forward and drew the sword at her waist.
“Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peony of Futility.”
In an instant, Kanao unleashed nine consecutive strikes from four directions, piercing the same spot on the demon.
As the sword technique was executed, it looked as beautiful as peony petals drifting in the air.
As Kanao landed gracefully, the demon that had taken her blow had already turned into dust and dissipated into the air.
Kanao calmly sheathed her sword.
She suddenly turned her head to look toward a deserted spot in the distance, remaining silent.
10 seconds.
20 seconds.
30 seconds…
Well, Chika couldn’t wait any longer.
She stepped out from behind a large tree.
Kanao wasn’t surprised; she had noticed Chika’s presence long ago.
However, due to her childhood trauma, she was still very much a “silent girl.”
Upon seeing Chika emerge, Kanao gave a professional smile before turning to leave.
Chika had intended to greet her, but decided against it after some thought.
Now wasn’t the time.
It was enough just to be a familiar face.
As for warming the heart of the silent girl, she’d leave that to Tanjirou; he was more suited for it, and besides, Kanao was his love interest.
After thinking it over, Chika turned back the way she came.
Just as she chose to leave, Kanao, who had already taken a few steps in the other direction, turned her head slightly to glance at Chika again.
“Constant Breathing…
What an incredible person…”
Kanao spoke those few rare words before turning away to continue strolling through Mount Fujikasane.
Chika ran quickly and soon returned to their starting point.
Before they had set out, Chika had asked Tanjirou to check for any nearby demons.
Tanjirou’s answer was that he couldn’t smell any, but whether due to the protagonist’s aura or the convergence of the world line, Tanjirou eventually encountered this vicious demon.
Currently, he was protecting an examinee, staring solemnly at the monster.
“There shouldn’t be a demon that has lived this long here.
The demons here should only be those that have eaten two or three people, and they are supposed to kill each other…”
All the demons that opposed me were eaten by me—about fifty of them?
I’ve eaten plenty of humans too.
Counting you, there have been fourteen of Urokodaki’s disciples…”
A swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps can earn the title of ‘Hashira’ by slaying fifty demons.
The demon before them had not only eaten fifty demons but also a large number of humans, reigning supreme in this area of Mount Fujikasane.
His words continuously grated on Tanjirou’s nerves.
Tanjirou gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with fury.
Just as Tanjirou was about to charge, a series of rapid footsteps and a shout rang out.
“What are you waiting for?
Attack!”
In that instant, a streak of bright red fire appeared in Tanjirou’s vision.
A searing flame flashed past, slicing the vicious demon’s body in two.
[Hinokami Kagura: Circular Dance]!
The demon let out a sharp, piercing roar.
This strike wasn’t fatal since it hadn’t hit the neck, but the intense pain made it feel as though having its head cut off would have been preferable.
When sword techniques from various Breathing Techniques hit a demon, the pain they feel varies.
Water Breathing: Very gentle.
The slashes are clean and refreshing.
Among them, “Blessed Rain After the Drought” allows a demon to die without any pain.
Hinokami Kagura: Wounds cannot heal immediately and are incredibly painful.
Even someone as strong as the Demon King Muzan would be on edge and express his displeasure.
Against this demon, Water Breathing would have been perfectly sufficient, but that felt too easy on it.
Send it to hell cleanly and refreshingly?
To hell, yes, but forget about it being refreshing.
Chika’s “Hinokami Kagura: Circular Dance” sliced the demon in half.
Due to its unique nature, the severed parts could not pull themselves together to regenerate.
“Damn it!
Damn it!
DAMN IT!!!”
While struggling, the demon unleashed countless arms toward Tanjirou.
Chika simply swung her blade a few times; even the ripples of flame merely brushing against the demon’s extended arms made its screams intensify.
Beside Chika, Tanjirou took a deep breath.
He had his own views on killing demons. Get faster updates on g.com.
He wouldn’t hesitate to kill a man-eating demon, but he would choose to end its life in a single strike whenever possible to give it a quick death.
Now, Tanjirou still felt he should inflict pain on this demon.
However, facing such an atrocious monster, even Tanjirou felt that killing it with Water Breathing would be too lenient.
Tanjirou took a deep breath, shifting from the “Constant Breathing” state of Water Breathing to the state of “Hinokami Kagura.”
Tanjirou stepped forward and charged at the demon at high speed.
With a flash of fire, the demon’s head was severed.
Amidst the pain, the demon turned into dust and vanished into the air.
“Phew!”
Tanjirou let out a long breath and immediately adjusted his breathing back to Total Concentration Water Breathing.
The Demon Slayer Corps examinee who had been protected behind Tanjirou watched the two of them in stunned silence.
After a moment of shock, his myriad thoughts condensed into a single stammered sentence.
“So…
so strong…”
If it were just a low-level demon, he believed he could have won after a struggle, as he had also completed his training under a Trainer.
A Trainer wouldn’t have let him leave if he didn’t have the skill to defeat a low-level demon.
But against that hideous monster just now, let alone winning, he didn’t even have the courage to muster the will to fight.
“With my strength, it’s impossible to defeat this demon!”
Driven by this deep-seated fear, he had chosen to run.
Yet, the two people before him had dealt with such a powerful demon so effortlessly.
“Are they really new recruits like me?”
He swallowed hard, his legs still trembling slightly.
Beside him, Chika calmly sheathed her sword, turned to look at him, and reached out her hand.
“How are you?
Can you stand up?”
“O-Of course!”
He scrambled up from the ground with trembling legs.
After calming down slightly, he felt even more that the two people before him were extraordinary.
It is well known that the ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps members, from lowest to highest, are Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, and Mizunoto.
Above these ten ranks is the strongest title, ‘Hashira’.
Perhaps these two could become ‘Hashira’ in the future!