"Thump--!"
Consecutive, tangible red and black sonic ripples spread wildly outwards from the dead end in all directions of the entire Mount Sagiri.
The original imposing aura of the waning Lower Rank underwent an utterly unreasonable qualitative change after that drumbeat.
A soaring crimson and black demonic aura pierced the sky!!
Deep in the woods, some distance from the dead end halfway up the mountain.
"Clang! Clang clang!"
Sparks flew everywhere.
[Flame Hashira] Shinjuro Rengoku and [Sound Hashira] Tengen Uzui were back to back, fighting fiercely amidst a dense horde of demons.
To be honest, the two pillars looked rather disheveled, their haoris covered in mud and their bodies bruised.
They were surrounded by more than a dozen strangely shaped evil spirits, three or four layers deep.
Although these demons look haphazardly and lack the oppressive aura of the Upper Rank demons that makes you want to kneel down and write your will at first glance, the aura emanating from each of them is absolutely at the level of the Lower Rank demons!
"This is unbelievable! I definitely didn't check the almanac before I went out today!"
Tengen Uzui wielded those two enormous, exaggeratedly designed swords.
While slicing two demons who tried to ambush him in the lower body into several pieces with extremely elegant movements, he shouted complaints at the top of his lungs.
"Where did this ugly duckling social gathering even come from? These kinds of monsters are everywhere, like cabbages!"
"This makes my magnificent festival look incredibly cheap, okay?!"
Tengen Uzui's face, which was always adorned with a flamboyant smile and elaborate makeup, was now filled with irritation.
The severed ghost hand, before it even hit the ground, sprouted a new one from the fleshy tissue on its cut surface.
"Stop complaining, Uzui!"
Shinjuro Rengoku took a sudden step forward, his Nichirin Blade, burning with flames, slashing out in an extremely domineering circle of fire, instantly forcing back the three demons that were charging at him head-on.
This once boisterous middle-aged man, who had succumbed to alcoholism, now had a frighteningly clear gaze.
"These guys have no intention of fighting us to the death!"
"They're stalling for time, like a swarm of annoying flies trying to stick us here forever!"
Just as Shinjuro was about to use his Breathing Style to clear the area, a deep, muffled taiko drum sound came from above.
Immediately afterwards, that chilling aura, truly belonging to the Upper Rank, swept through the forest like a stench of blood.
Shinjuro's heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the demonic aura rising from the mountainside.
"Absolutely terrible!"
The veins on Shinjuro's forehead bulged, and he roared.
"How could such an outrageous monster aura be emanating from halfway up the mountain!"
"If I remember correctly, weren't there a few reckless lowlife brats who ran over there just now?"
As pillars, they usually couldn't even remember all the faces of the lower-ranking team members, let alone call them by name.
In Shinjuro's memory, he had just encountered three unlucky guys in ordinary uniforms at the foot of the mountain, who seemed to be running wildly in that direction.
Upon hearing this, Tengen Uzui's annoyance instantly turned into astonishment, and even the magnificent twin swords in his hands paused for a moment.
"What a joke! That level of oppressive power would leave even me, the grandpa, skinned alive!"
"If those unlucky guys whose names we don't even know had run into them, they'd probably be nothing but dust by now!"
"No! We have to go save them!"
Shinjuro gritted his teeth, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands, trying to tear a hole in the impenetrable encirclement and break through.
However, the Lower Rank demons sent by Muzan had clearly received a death order.
They were like a pack of mad dogs who knew nothing of fear.
Seeing that Shinjuro intended to withdraw from the fight, they immediately let out a piercing roar and charged forward one after another, recklessly.
One demon blocked Shinjuro's blade with its chest, while the other two demons clung tightly to his thighs.
"Get out of my way! You nuisance bugs!"
Shinjuro cursed angrily, flames leaping wildly across his sword, but he couldn't completely eliminate the clingy creatures in a short time.
At the same time.
At the Mount Sagiri, there was a secluded wooden cabin with a faint light.
A cold night wind howled past, swirling up a few withered leaves.
Giyu Tomioka sat cross-legged on the highest eaves of the wooden house, his deep blue eyes appearing particularly cold in the night.
His [Transparent World] perception network has been covering the entire Mount Sagiri like a holographic radar.
Just now, a scene that made him want to curse appeared clearly in his mind.
The four powerful but still expected spots of light halfway up the mountain merged into a massive energy body radiating a blinding red light in a very short time!
This is the real Upper Rank One who has been hiding his true strength and making a fool of them all!
Giyu's fingers tightened suddenly around the hilt of the knife.
His usually expressionless face finally showed a crack that was hard to hide.
Regret, like spilled bitter melon juice, spread wildly through his heart.
"I actually... got scammed?"
Giyu mentally berated himself.
Muzan, that old fox who lived for a thousand years, was even more cowardly than a mouse.
They actually pulled off an extremely clever "reverse feint" right under his nose!
They sent a dozen or so Lower Rank minions to steal their home on the mountaintop, but instead disguised a real Upper Rank as a split Lower Rank and threw it halfway up the mountain as bait!
Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, actually stepped right into this clumsy trap and sat there dumbfounded on the roof for ages!
"If my foolish misjudgment causes those ordinary swordsmen at the forefront to lose their lives..."
Giyu's breathing became somewhat heavy.
He didn't even recognize what the young team members looked like, nor did he know their names.
But he knew that it was a fellow member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
If those people were crushed into mincemeat because of his inaction, he would never have the face to lift that Nichirin Blade again.
"No, we can't just sit here and wait to die."
Giyu stood up.
His unusually colored haori fluttered in the night wind.
"Mr. Himejima."
Giyu's voice traveled precisely into the house through the cracks in the roof.
"Something terrible has happened halfway up the mountain! A real Upper Rank has gone mad there!"
"I have to go! Those Lower Rank scum who are sneaking around outside are in your hands."
Inside the wooden house.
The towering Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima, resembling an iron tower, was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
He clasped his hands together, with a huge string of red Buddhist prayer beads hanging from his thumbs.
Upon hearing Giyu's words, Himejima slowly opened his unfocused, whitish eyes, and two streams of tears, like wide noodles, flowed down his cheeks.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha..."
The sound of Himejima is powerful and deep.
"Go, Tomioka. Go and save those young souls trapped in despair. It's so pitiful..."
While weeping, Himejima picked up the exaggerated meteor hammer and broad axe placed beside him with his large hands.
"As for this house, as long as I, Himejima, have a breath left, those rats hiding in the shadows will not be able to set foot inside."
"I will use this weapon to help them clearly see the path to hell."
With the personal promise of the Demon Slayer Corps' strongest shield, Giyu no longer had any worries.
The huge weight on my heart has finally been lifted.
He took a deep breath of the cold air.
The lungs emitted a deep, roaring sound like a tsunami, as a massive amount of oxygen was instantly squeezed out, unleashing a terrifying burst of power from the deepest recesses of the muscles.
"You have to hold on... you bunch of arrogant fools."
Giyu silently recited a sentence in his heart.
The next second.
"Snap!"
The tiles beneath his feet shattered under the terrifying force, turning into countless fragments that flew in all directions.
Aquamarine ripples exploded around him.
Giyu Tomioka transformed into a blue lightning bolt that tore through the dark night.
With an incredible, terrifying speed, it swooped down towards the dead-end alley halfway up the mountain, where the red light was shooting into the sky.