In the great battle earlier, the giant tumor and Haku's Water Lily Bodhisattva had been blown apart one after the other, filling the air with a cold, blood-scented mist. Even though the fighting had ended some time ago, the pale red mist still lingered, mingling with the morning fog and obstructing their vision.
Just then, a figure passed through the blood-red mist and approached Shinji and Ryuhei Ubuyashiki.
The moment he saw the newcomer, Shinji froze. For a moment, he couldn't place who it was. The man simply looked familiar.
Ryuhei Ubuyashiki, however, had lost his usual composure. His voice rose as he cried out in terror, "Yoriichi Tsugikuni! H-how can you still be alive!?"
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
Shinji was taken aback, then quickly understood.
The man's Warring States-era samurai garb, the flame-shaped Curse Mark on his forehead, and the protective charm earrings hanging from his ears all matched the features of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the founder of the Breathing Technique. That was why he'd looked familiar at first.
But Shinji soon felt the same shock as Ryuhei Ubuyashiki. "How is he still alive?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni approached with unhurried steps.
One hand rested on his sword, his eyes half-lidded and his expression calm, as if he were taking an evening stroll.
Ryuhei Ubuyashiki seemed to realize something. "N-no, that's not right! You're not Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"
Shinji felt a chill run through him.
The scene before him was simply too bizarre.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the progenitor who had created the Breathing Technique, should have been dead for centuries. So it wasn't just Shinji who was shocked—even Ryuhei Ubuyashiki, a local in the Demon Slayer World, was utterly baffled.
But then Ryuhei Ubuyashiki seemed to guess the newcomer's true identity.
Yet realizing who it really was did nothing to ease his terror. His voice trembled