The night was as black as spilled ink.
At the summit of the mountains, the howling wind howled like ghosts and wolves, nearly snapping the lone pine tree on the cliff edge.
A burly figure stood casually at the very edge of the cliff, looking down at the vast forest swallowed by darkness.
His muscles bulged out in an ominous bluish-gray hue, covered with eerie black lines that looked like they had been branded by a hellish iron.
His name is Split-Blade Demon.
He chose the name himself because he loved the crisp "snap" sound when a blade broke; it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard.
On his shoulders, which were much broader than those of an average person, he carried a large cleaver that was nearly three meters long and proportional to his body.
"Ha..."
The Split-Blade Demon opened its massive mouth and yawned listlessly. Its breath carried a strong smell of sulfur and blood, causing the air in front of it to distort.
Boring.
This is so damn boring.
Since he was fortunate enough to obtain that person's blood more than a hundred years ago and became a candidate for the Lower Rank, this connected mountain range has become his exclusive hunting ground and his private canteen.
In his eyes, the so-called Demon Slayer Corps was nothing more than a group of laughably weak insects who kept rushing to their deaths.
Their sole purpose is to occasionally add a tiny bit of variety to his monotonous "eating" process.
His crimson pupils darted around, looking down at the forest shrouded in night below.
His Blood Demon Art, also known as Beast Lord, allows him to sense and control the will of all birds and beasts within his domain. This is an invincible power belonging to a king.
He liked this feeling, liked being a high and mighty god, ordering his "subjects" around, playing with them, and crushing those lowly prey who dared to trespass into his territory.
Just now, his "subjects" discovered a group of exceptionally "delicious" prey.
Even from a distance, he could smell the sweet, top-quality wine emanating from them, a scent born of fear, exhaustion, and pain.
"Crunch... crunch..."
He slowly stretched his muscles and bones, and his bones made a series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds, like a sleeping beast waking up.
"It's time to wrap up the game."
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of haphazard, shark-like teeth, a cruel smile on his face.
"I wonder if this time I'll find an opponent who can pique my interest even a little! If it's Pillar, that would be even better!!"
He laughed wildly, his massive body transforming into a bluish-gray shadow as he charged into the depths of the forest!
With each step he took, the hard stone ground cracked, and the trees along the way were smashed to pieces by the violent aura emanating from him!
The so-called Demon Slayer Corps was merely a tool he used to elevate his status among demons.
If he can take down one or two pillars here, that lord will definitely look at him with new respect!
At that time, becoming a true Upper Rank demon will not be a dream!!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest.
A figure moved silently through the rugged and complex mountain forest, like a ghost.
The red and white haori was stretched into a straight line by the night wind as it moved at high speed.
Giyu Tomioka's expression remained calm as always, but deep within his icy blue eyes burned a fire called "anxiety".
After completing the previous mission, his Kasugai Crow brought urgent intelligence that a large number of Demon Slayer Corps had gone missing.
Without a second thought, he rushed over at full speed.
[Transparent World]
In an instant, his world changed.
Everything around me slowed down and became clearer; the veins of the trees, the direction of the wind, and even the trajectory of every speck of dust in the air were all clearly visible.
He could "see" that a dozen faint flames, representing the breath of life, were being enveloped by a huge and evil darkness a few kilometers ahead.
The flames were visibly dimming and going out one after another.
That was his companion, who was dying.
The source of that darkness was a Demon Aura he had never experienced before, filled with violence and arrogance.
The intensity of that aura even faintly resembled that of an Upper Rank.
"Found it!"
Giyu's eyes narrowed, and the anxiety in his heart turned into a cold killing intent.
He took a deep breath, his lungs instantly filling with a large amount of air, and every cell in his body seemed to be ignited at that moment!
[Water Breathing - Ninth Form - Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent - Chaos!]
His speed instantly reached its maximum!
Each push off the ground was like a ripple on a calm surface of water, making his figure elusive as he moved at high speed, transforming into a shower of water droplets, silently rushing towards the center of the battlefield.
"Huff... ha... huff..."
Murata slumped down on a blood-soaked open space, staring blankly at everything around him.
They fought their way out of the endless horde of beasts, but before they could even catch their breath, true despair arrived.
That was a... monster.
A monster whose mere presence made Murata struggle to breathe.
"Haha! So this is the Demon Slayer Corps? They're... too weak!!"
The arrogant laughter of the Split-Blade Demon echoed through the deathly silent forest, like poisoned knives piercing the hearts of every survivor.
Murata saw the blood-covered leader struggle to his feet, using his nearly broken Nichirin Blade to support himself.
He still stood in front of everyone, his not-so-tall back now feeling as reliable as a mountain.
"Cough... cough..."
The leader coughed violently, and with each cough, large mouthfuls of blood gushed from his mouth.
But his eyes remained fixed on the demon before him, without flinching.
"Oh? You can actually stand up?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Split-Blade Demon's eyes, which then turned into a deeper mockery.
"Your strength is not bad; out of the hundreds of Demon Slayer Corps I've killed, you'd rank in the top three. Too bad... you're going to die here today!"
Before the words were even finished, the figure of the Split-Blade Demon vanished!
His speed was so fast that Murata's eyes couldn't keep up with his movements at all!
"Wind Breathing - Second Form - Claws-Purifying Wind!"
With a roar, four enormous claw-shaped wind blades appeared out of thin air, tearing through the air and grabbing at the Split-Blade Demon from four tricky angles!
However, the Split-Blade Demon merely sneered, and with a speed that appeared slow but was actually extremely fast, it drew a simple arc with the giant blade in its hand.
"Clang!!"
All the wind blades shattered like glass the moment they touched that arc!
The leader was once again thrown back by that irresistible force; this time, he didn't even have the strength to stand up.
It's over...
Everything is over.
Murata closed his eyes in despair. Was this... their end?
The man used all his strength to barely keep himself from collapsing. Half of the bones in his chest were probably broken. Every breath was accompanied by excruciating pain.
He stared intently at the demon before him, his mind racing.
We can't confront them head-on!
This guy's strength is overwhelming!
His most prized "Wind Breathing" was as brittle as paper in the face of his absolute power!
The only chance of winning is speed!
"Ha!"
He roared, squeezing out all the remaining power in his body. He transformed into a green whirlwind, moving at high speed around Split-Blade Demon. His Nichirin Blade left afterimages as he continuously slashed at Split-Blade Demon's neck from the side and behind!
However, to his horror, no matter how fast he was or how tricky his angle was, his opponent's door-sized broadsword could always anticipate his attacks and block them from an unbelievable angle!
"Haha! Useless! Your little tricks are nothing but child's play in front of me!"
The laughter of the Split-Blade Demon was full of contempt.
"I'll show you what real... speed and power are!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the man felt an unprecedented, suffocatingly terrifying aura explode from the body of the Split-Blade Demon!
That aura was so evil, so immense, that he felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his throat, making it incredibly difficult to breathe! His scalp tingled with fear!
The body of the Split-Blade Demon sank slightly, its scarlet pupils locked tightly on the man!
We're being watched!
The alarm bells in the man's mind went off like crazy. Without thinking, he immediately pushed his Wind Breathing to its limit, preparing to slip away!
But it was too late.
The figure of the Split-Blade Demon suddenly disappeared from his sight.
The next second, a terrifying gust of wind carrying the scent of death crashed down on his head!
The man suddenly looked up, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints in an instant.
He saw that the bluish-gray demon god had appeared directly above him at some point, raising his huge cleaver high with both hands and slashing down at the top of his head with a terrifying aura capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks!
As the enormous blade fell, it violently rubbed against the air, creating a visible, distorted gale!
There's no way to dodge it! This move has sealed off all his escape routes! Both the speed and the angle have been calculated to the extreme!
"So... this guy... was playing us from the very beginning?"
A huge shadow completely enveloped him.
Feeling the terrifying power that could shatter him and the ground beneath his feet, a surge of overwhelming resentment welled up in the man's heart!
He didn't want to die!
"Ahhh--!"
In his final moments, he unleashed all his rage and resentment, raising his Nichirin Blade horizontally above his head in a final, futile act of resistance.
Then he saw it.
A figure appeared in front of him without warning.
He was a young man wearing a different colored feather robe. He just stood there quietly, his back view lofty and serene.
[Water Breathing - Eleventh Form - Nagi]
The young man slowly raised the Nichirin Blade in his hand.
There were no flashy special effects, no rushing water, and not even a wisp of wind.
Centered on him, an absolutely still realm unfolded silently.
The massive blade, carrying immense power, seemed to freeze in time the moment it entered this area.
All the violent power, the invincible momentum, and the gale-force winds that tore through the air were completely and gently soothed at this moment.
The giant blade remained motionless before the young man's blade, unable to advance even an inch further.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
For the first time, disbelief and horror, as if seeing a ghost, appeared in the crimson pupils of the Split-Blade Demon!
"What... what is this?!"
Murata opened his eyes in despair and saw a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
That man, who seemed like a god descended to earth, simply stood there and turned that attack, which was capable of destroying everything, into nothingness.
It's Water Hashira!
It's Mr. Giyu Tomioka!
Giyu Tomioka slowly raised his eyes, his icy blue pupils calmly looking at the demon before him, who was stunned by shock, his voice completely undisturbed.
"You shouldn't have attacked them."