New flesh sprouted from Tetsuya's severed stump, rapidly regenerating until his arm was completely restored in the blink of an eye.
This was the sheer might of a demon—their exceptional regenerative ability.
Yet, in this exact moment, that power didn't bring Tetsuya even a shred of comfort or security.
A Hashira!
The cream of the crop among Demon Slayers. Within the Demon Slayer Corps, it was a title bestowed only upon the absolute strongest—those who had pushed their swordsmanship, techniques, and Breathing Styles to their absolute zenith, or those who stood at the very pinnacle of a specific field.
Out of the entire Corps, there were no more than ten of them at any given time.
And right now, one of them was standing directly in front of him!
If he were still human, seeing a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps would have been the ultimate reassurance. But he was a demon. To him, the Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, might as well be the Grim Reaper coming to collect his soul.
Tetsuya forced a strained smile. 'Running into a Hashira on my very first day out... My luck is just unbeatable, isn't it?'
Furthermore, Tetsuya finally had a rough idea of the timeline. Kanae Kocho hadn't been killed by Doma yet, meaning the start of the main anime plot was still at least four years away.
Seeing that Tetsuya wasn't saying anything, Kanae repeated her question. "Did you do this?"
The spacious room was littered with mangled corpses, dripping with fresh blood. The suffocating metallic stench was enough to make anyone gag, and a look of deep, sorrowful pity settled on Kanae's delicate face.
"What if I did?" Tetsuya replied flatly.
"Ah..." A trace of helpless resignation flashed across Kanae's features as she let out a long, melancholic sigh. He had killed too many people; she had no choice but to slay him here and now.
Bang!
Gripping her Nichirin Sword, Kanae lunged at Tetsuya. She was so incredibly fast that the sheer wind pressure tore at the air.
Tetsuya didn't dare lower his guard. Focusing entirely, he pushed his Sharingan to the limit to track her movements. If that Nichirin Sword managed to slice his head off, he would really die!
In the original timeline, the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, had instantly one-shotted Lower Rank Five, Rui. Excluding the Upper Ranks and Muzan Kibutsuji, the strength of a Hashira could easily crush any other demon.
Without any powerful souls to fuel it, his Blood Demon Art: Soul Manipulation was essentially just an oversized reserve battery. It wouldn't give him a significant boost in direct combat.
Swish!
A flash of cold steel struck, the whistling wind screaming in his ears as the sharp blade reflected in his pupils.
The icy edge closed in on his neck. Her freezing, bone-chilling killing intent gave Tetsuya full-body goosebumps.
'I can see it!'
Tetsuya's expression was grim. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan could perfectly track Kanae's movements. Throwing his body backward, he leaned his upper torso flat away just in the nick of time, letting the lethal blade sweep past his face.
Seeing her strike miss, a flicker of surprise passed through Kanae's beautiful eyes. 'So fast... No, wait. It's not his speed. His perception is incredibly sharp!'
Kanae made an instant deduction. The demon in front of her didn't even have the raw speed or reaction time of a Lower Rank. The only reason he managed to dodge her swing was by anticipating her attack before she even made it.
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Thwack!
Tetsuya thought he had completely evaded the attack, but a second later, a thin red line appeared across his right cheek. The skin split open, and fresh blood trickled down his jaw.
A sharp sting of pain shot to his brain. He gritted his teeth. He hadn't dodged it entirely after all.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
Kanae pressed the assault, wielding her Nichirin Sword with blinding speed. She unleashed a flurry of nine consecutive strikes from multiple angles that converged on a single point. The slashes resembled the layered petals of a peony—picturesque and utterly beautiful.
But to Tetsuya, that shower of fluttering flower petals might as well have been an executioner's descending guillotine.
Having finished testing the waters, Kanae was now fighting seriously.
His Sharingan could follow her movements, but his body just couldn't keep up! It was an absolute crushing gap in raw stats.
The edge of her Nichirin Sword closed in on his neck, coming within a mere four inches of his skin.
Yet, Kanae couldn't find even a hint of panic on Tetsuya's face. Following his gaze, she shifted her eyes just in time to spot the dark, hollow barrel of a gun aimed squarely at her. For a split second, an overwhelming sense of fatal danger washed over her.
"Die, monster!" John Deere roared. His eyes were entirely bloodshot as he gripped the handgun with both hands and squeezed the trigger with everything he had.
Bang!
A loud gunshot rang out, the bullet exploding from the chamber.
"Flower Breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!"
Kanae's expression changed. Adjusting her stance mid-air, she spun her body around. In the exact moment she channeled her breathing, she unleashed defensive circular slashes directly in front of her, the blade tracing the path of blooming plum blossoms.
Her Nichirin Sword collided with the bullet, showering the room in fierce sparks. The sheer kinetic impact forced Kanae back several dozen feet.
'What is going on?'
The small hand gripping her sword trembled slightly, and the warm smile slowly vanished from her face.
Was that human working with the demon? He had actually fired at her. If she hadn't reacted in time, those bullets would have been enough to gun her down.
'As expected of a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. She can even parry bullets. What an absolute monster,' Tetsuya thought to himself. Thank god he had kept an ace up his sleeve.
Earlier, right as Kanae had forced him to retreat, he had seized the split-second opportunity to cast a Sharingan Genjutsu on the president of the Black Dragon Syndicate.
At this very moment, in John Deere's eyes, Tetsuya and Kanae's identities were completely swapped.
Tetsuya casually bent down and picked up a semi-automatic rifle dropped by one of the dead syndicate members.
As the old saying went, even a martial arts master fears a stray blade. If cold steel was enough of a deterrent, introducing modern firearms into the mix completely changed the game.
Times have changed!
'A demon using firearms?' Kanae blinked in sheer disbelief. Demons were typically overly confident in their superior physical prowess and rarely ever bothered with weapons. This was her first time encountering anything like this.
Tetsuya had never actually fired a rifle before, but he wasn't completely clueless.
Thanks to the hyper-observation of his Sharingan, every single movement made by the Black Dragon Syndicate members had been deeply burned into his mind.
Soul Manipulation: Puppeteer!
Searching through the harvested souls inside him, Tetsuya picked out an elite gunman from the syndicate, instantly granting himself complete mastery over the weapon.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Flicking off the safety, Tetsuya aimed the barrel directly at Kanae and decisively pulled the trigger. A serpent of fire spat from the muzzle.
On the other side, John Deere mirrored his actions, aligning his sights on Kanae and creating a deadly crossfire.
The room lit up with muzzle flashes. Deafening gunshots shattered the quiet night as a relentless hail of bullets rained down on Kanae, effectively cutting off all her avenues of escape.
Kanae was getting more confused by the second. A demon utilizing firearms? A human who was nearly murdered by a demon actively helping that demon fight her?
Bang! Bang!
Her body was as light as a swallow. Using the scattered debris and furniture as cover, she dashed forward rapidly. She moved like an ephemeral phantom, skillfully weaving through the storm of lead to dodge the bullets.
Tetsuya kept a firm lock on Kanae, tracking her movements with the rifle. His bullets tracked her path, carving a trail of small holes across the walls.
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
Kanae executed a graceful aerial cartwheel, twisting her body to unleash a sweeping, horizontal slash at Tetsuya. The Nichirin Sword's trajectory was bizarre and unpredictable, leaving a trail of spectral flower petals dancing in its wake.
Swish!
Tetsuya raised his free arm to block. The blade cleanly cleaved his arm completely off, sending a geyser of blood into the air. He hastily retreated, continuing to fire the rifle at Kanae as he backed away.
The suppressing fire forced Kanae to fall back. She began darting in rapid circles around Tetsuya, attempting to disorient his aim.
'Behind me!' Tetsuya sensed a spike of killing intent at his back. He whirled around, shoving the scorching barrel of the rifle directly against Kanae's forehead.
Simultaneously, Kanae's Nichirin Sword rested flush against Tetsuya's neck, the blade glinting with a lethal, frosty chill.