Murderous look.
It froze instantly in the narrow alley.
The two murderous auras mingled and overlapped, forming an invisible net that tightly covered Tamayo and Yushiro's heads.
"Lady Tamayo! You must leave now!"
Yushiro's roar shattered the deathly silence.
His severed right arm was regrowing at a visible speed, but his handsome face was filled with an unprecedented ferocity and determination.
He shoved the still-standing Tamayo behind him, using his relatively intact body to form a fragile yet steadfast defensive line.
"Those two guys... are really strong!"
Yushiro gritted his teeth, and beads of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
In that instant, he clearly sensed the vast difference in strength between the two sides.
That flesh-haired kid's reaction speed is inhuman! My best skills of stealth and ambush are like child's play in front of him; he easily breaks them with a single slash!
And another...
Yushiro's gaze, filled with apprehension, fell upon the black-haired boy who had stood quietly the entire time, yet had exerted the greatest pressure on him.
That guy didn't even draw his knife.
But he just stood there, as if he were the master of this darkness, holding the life and death of everyone in his hands.
"I'll hold them off!"
Yushiro took a deep breath, his eyes burning with a desperate, frenzied rage.
"You gave me my life! Now, let me use this life to give you a chance to live!"
He knew perfectly well that he was no match for these two Demon Slayer.
But he knew even more clearly that the only reason he lived was to protect the adult behind him.
Even if I have to die, I must die before her.
"Yushiro, stop!"
Just as Yushiro was about to burn his life force and unleash his final Blood Demon Art, a cold hand gently pressed on his shoulder.
Tamayo's voice was very soft and ethereal, with a tremor she herself didn't even realize.
She slowly emerged from behind Yushiro, passed his resolute defensive line, and stood once again in front of the two Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen.
Her face was still pale, but her dazed eyes were now fixed intently on Giyu Tomioka, without blinking.
No.
It's not about staring.
Instead, through that aloof and handsome face, she saw a figure buried deep in her memories of hundreds of years, a figure that had long been blurred yet unforgettable.
It was him...
That man.
Four hundred years ago, there was a god-like man who wore a haori with a sun ring pattern, wielded a black Nichirin Blade, and single-handedly drove Muzan Kibutsuji to the brink of death.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Tamayo was fortunate enough to live under that person's protection for a period of time.
She will never forget it.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was usually quiet and reserved, like an ordinary country samurai. He didn't have the aura of a strongman and was gentle, even a little slow-witted.
But once he gripped the knife...
That soaring, invincible aura, as if it could trample the heavens and earth under its feet, would be released without reservation.
In that instant, his gaze would shift from gentle to... empty.
That is a true, indifferent "emptiness," where nothing is taken seriously.
It's not arrogance, it's not contempt.
Rather, it is a kind of absolute tranquility that comes from having long seen through the birth and death of all things in the world and having reached the end of martial arts and life.
That was the gaze of an "invincible person".
Tamayo once thought she would never see that look in her eyes again in her life.
But now...
She saw it again.
It was right there in the eyes of the black-haired boy in front of me.
Exactly the same.
The same taciturnity, the same restrained aura.
Similarly, beneath its calm exterior lies a bottomless, terrifying power that would make even ghosts tremble.
In Tamayo's mind, two figures separated by four hundred years perfectly overlapped at this moment.
Her mind went blank for a moment.
"Lord Tamayo?!"
Yushiro's worried call pulled her back from her distant memories.
Tamayo shook her head sharply, the dazed look in her eyes quickly fading, replaced by clarity and reason.
No, now is not the time to think about these things!
Regardless of the relationship between the boy and that man, they are now facing certain death!
We must escape!
Tamayo made a quick decision, a resolute glint in her eyes.
She suddenly raised her right hand, her five fingers forming a claw, and without the slightest hesitation, she fiercely grabbed at her slender left arm!
"Blood Demon Art - Blood Bewitchment - Sight..."
She would use her own blood as a catalyst to activate the Blood Demon Art that could confuse the senses and create illusions, thus creating an opportunity for herself and Yushiro to escape!
However, she hadn't even had a chance to utter her last word—
"Whoosh--!"
A streak of azure light, moving with incredible speed, even surpassing the speed of sound, flashed past everyone's eyes!
Two crescent-shaped sword energies appeared out of nowhere, one slashing at Tamayo's right hand that was grabbing her left arm, and the other slashing at her left arm that was preparing to cast a spell!
Giyu didn't even budge an inch!
Just as Tamayo raised her hand, he gently pushed the tsuba (handguard) with his left thumb, drawing the Nichirin Blade half an inch from its sheath before sheathing it again!
Iaijutsu!
It was so fast that even Sabito next to him could only see a blurry afterimage!
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Two soft sounds.
Everyone present witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Tamayo's right hand, which was reaching for her left arm, was severed cleanly at the wrist.
And her left arm, which she was about to use to perform the spell, was cleanly and decisively severed at the shoulder!
The cut was as smooth as a mirror. Before the blood could even spurt out, the two severed arms traced two parabolic arcs in the air and fell with a "plop" into the puddles a few meters away.
Dead silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop at that moment.
"Tamayo... sama..."
Yushiro's lips trembled; he couldn't believe his eyes.
Lady Tamayo... those hands that could create countless miracles and save countless lives, just like that... were cut off?
"Ahhh--!"
An unprecedented surge of anger and madness, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly overwhelmed Yushiro's reason!
"You bastard!!"
He let out a roar that sounded inhuman, his eyes bloodshot, and charged headlong towards Giyu Tomioka without regard for anything else!
I'm going to kill you!!
Despite Yushiro's ferocious attack, fueled by the burning of his life, Giyu's expression remained unchanged.
His eyes remained as calm as a frozen lake.
Just as Yushiro rushed in front of him, his claws about to tear open his throat...
Giyu moved.
Using the right foot as a pivot, the body, like a leaf falling in water, gracefully rotates to the side and backward.
"Water Breathing ★ Fourth Form ★ Striking Tide!"
A series of fine, continuous, azure-blue sword lights, like waves constantly surging, flashed past Yushiro!
"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"
A series of rapid, sharp sounds, like flesh being cut open, rang out almost simultaneously!
Yushiro, who was charging forward, suddenly froze. Then, his body, driven by rage, disintegrated in mid-air like a puppet being taken apart!
Arms, legs, waist and abdomen...
Except for his most important head, all other parts of his body were precisely chopped into dozens of uniformly sized pieces in that instant, scattering them all over the ground like a shower of flowers!
Water splashed everywhere.
Giyu slowly sheathed his sword, the blade pointing diagonally at the ground. The brand-new blade was half blue and half white, still spotless and without a trace of blood.
He didn't even glance at Yushiro once from beginning to end.
The alleyway fell silent once more.
Only the scattered pieces of flesh and blood, still writhing in vain, remained on the ground, bearing witness to what had just happened.
The Sabito was completely dumbfounded.
His mouth gaped open, his mind went blank, and he could only stare blankly at his companion.
If severing Yushiro's arm just now was a flash of inspiration driven by fighting instinct...
So everything Giyu just did was... a miracle.
It represents the ultimate and perfect control over power, speed, and skill.
To instantly dismember a raging demon into a pile of parts without harming its vital organs...
Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine!
Ignoring his companion's shock, Giyu strode forward, stepping over the blood and flesh on the ground, until he reached Tamayo.
Tamayo stood still, without moving.
She didn't even look at her severed arms.
She simply... watched him quietly.
Giyu slowly raised the knife in his hand. The beautiful blade, half blue and half white, gleamed with a chilling aura of death under the cold moonlight, and pointed precisely at her neck.
If we just advance one more inch, we can easily cut off the female ghost's head.
However, the blade stopped.
Giyu looked at the female ghost in front of him, who was unusually calm from beginning to end, even eerily calm. A hint of doubt, which he himself did not notice, flashed in his icy blue eyes.
His "Transparent World" was telling him some strange messages.
The female ghost before him, and her dismembered companion, were unlike any of the ghosts he had killed in the past.
The nauseating, bloody smell emanating from them, which was supposed to be "ghostly," was so faint it was almost undetectable.
Especially that brat, his aura is more like that of a human.
This means...
They haven't eaten people for a very long time, or rather, never have.
Giyu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
This discovery caused his previously unwavering killing intent to waver slightly.
Finally, his cold, emotionless voice slowly echoed in the deathly silent alley.
"Who the hell are you guys?"