Wind Breathing (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Boom!"

A torrent of flames surged, the scorching light illuminating the dim wooden hut and the eyes of those who had died with their grievances unavenged.

"Ah!!"

The demon held in the hand of Masahiro instantly fell into the depths of final despair, the flames of Sun Breathing continuously burning every inch of his body.

He shrieked until he vanished into nothingness.

Only some dust remained.

Tsukiguni Yoriichi, who had arrived shortly after, witnessed the same scene.

Although his expression remained as calm as water, the sparks boiling on the surface of Tsukiguni Yoriichi's body revealed that his heart was not at peace.

Tsukiguni Yoriichi even took direct action, slaying the demon that had been left with a single breath of life.

"My apologies, Lord Sarutobi."

"I truly could not hold myself back..."

Tsukiguni Yoriichi's originally clear voice carried a hint of hoarseness; his good upbringing still led him to apologize to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

This was because he had promised to leave one demon alive for Sarutobi Hiruzen to use for various experiments.

But now, he had broken his word.

"It is nothing..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he glanced at the scene inside the hut, his own killing intent boiling as well.

"In any case, this fellow would not have survived regardless."

"It was only a matter of time."

Sarutobi Hiruzen would not hold a grudge against Tsukiguni Yoriichi over a single demon.

Even as an old man who had experienced brutal wars, it was difficult for Sarutobi Hiruzen to restrain himself when faced with such a scene.

Because compared to wars where humans slaughtered one another, the act of demons devouring humans and storing them as food was clearly even more unacceptable to human empathy.

"Come to think of it."

"I really must ask..."

"That Demon King..."

Tsukiguni Yoriichi's killing intent had never been this intense, not even when his own wife and child were killed by demons.

"What exactly does he consider life to be?!"

Because what lay before them was not just one or two people, but bloody, dried corpses including countless men, women, and young children!

Clearly, the Blood Mist Demon was not as noble as he had claimed, only devouring humans who lost their way on the mountain; those who accidentally wandered onto the mountain might not even number one a month.

But the number of mangled corpses before them, with just a cursory glance, was already several dozen.

"There will be an opportunity."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.

"Let's go..."

"Cremate this place..."

"Let's head to the next location; sooner or later, we will encounter Kibutsuji Muzan."

"Wind Breathing, Tenth Form: Great Gale!"

The Demon Slayer Corps swordsman's veins bulged all over his body, seizing oxygen at a rate far beyond that of an ordinary person with every breath, like firewood catching fire upon contact with air.

His heartbeat and blood flow were like a surging sea, whipping up visible sound waves!

The power within his body was ignited in an instant!

"Swish, swish, swish, swish!"

Countless green wind blades tore across the flat ground, dense and rapid like a gale.

The extremely close range left the opposing demon with nowhere to hide, the sharp elemental power slicing through the demon's tough skin, eroding every cell of the demon like swarming bees.

"Ah!!"

The opposing demon let out a painful shriek and instantly lost the ability to move.

The Wind Breathing swordsman pressed his advantage, maintaining the state of Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, and severed the demon's head in an instant.

"Hoo."

The Wind Breathing swordsman let out a sigh of relief, the boiling blood in his body slowly calming down, and the Demon Slayer Mark on his face fading slightly.

Since Tsukiguni Yoriichi had come to the Demon Slayer Corps and taught the Breathing Styles, not only were the techniques rapidly passed down, but many talented swordsmen also quickly awakened the Demon Slayer Mark.

For a time, the combat strength of the Demon Slayer Corps reached a peak.

With a certain number of marked swordsmen, even demons of Upper Moon strength could be slain, completely shifting the momentum between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons.

Except for a very small number of the most powerful or hidden ones, the demons in the Kyoto region had basically been rapidly cleared out by the Demon Slayer Corps over these past few days.

"Now then."

The Wind Breathing swordsman looked down at the demon's severed head. Although decapitation could kill most demons, there were a small number of powerful demons who could, to a certain extent, circumvent this weakness. Therefore, as a precaution, Breathing Style swordsmen would usually crush the head to ensure the demon was truly slain.

As a top-tier marked swordsman, the Wind Breathing swordsman had also spent a considerable amount of effort to take this demon down, as it clearly belonged to the ranks of the exceptionally strong.

"Squelch!"

The Wind Breathing swordsman looked on in shock at the pale arm that had burst through his chest. Waves of intense pain and weakness washed over him, and with just a single strike, he had lost all ability to fight.

"Lord Muzan!"

"You have finally arrived!"

The demon lying on the ground, who had been playing dead, spoke up immediately, his expression one of reverence and excitement.

"If I didn't come, I'd be waiting for a piece of trash like you."

"We demons would have been wiped out by the Demon Slayer Corps long ago."

Kibutsuji Muzan, wearing the skin of a human, appeared behind the Wind Breathing swordsman.

The swordsman drove his Nichirin Sword into the ground to keep himself from collapsing, but with his lungs pierced, he could barely breathe.

"Tell me, how many swordsmen like you..."

"Are still left in the Demon Slayer Corps..."

Kibutsuji Muzan's pale face was dark and gloomy. His mood had been very unpleasant lately.

First, one of his capable subordinates had vanished without a trace, and then the Demon Slayer Corps had inexplicably mastered a power called Breathing Style, which allowed the swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps to obtain physical abilities comparable to demons.

Even worse, the Demon Slayer Corps had also discovered a type of iron that could harm demons, known as the Nichirin Sword, making it much easier to kill them.

At first, this shift in the situation had startled Kibutsuji Muzan, and he had immediately gone into hiding, not daring to show his face.

But after observing these Breathing Style swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps for a while, he discovered that although the top experts among them could kill most demons, they were still nowhere near the power of the Demon King.

What put Kibutsuji Muzan even more at ease was that these fellows' power was obtained at the cost of their own lifespans.

Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen over the age of twenty-five had already died from burning through their life force after awakening the Demon Slayer Mark.

This put Kibutsuji Muzan, who possessed nearly infinite time, completely at ease.

Watching the Wind Breathing swordsman smile with disdain and hatred, Kibutsuji Muzan remained unmoved.

"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me..."

"I have already discovered it anyway..."

"The limitations of your power..."

Kibutsuji Muzan laughed maniacally.

"There is no way you can surpass me, the Perfect Being!"

The Wind Breathing swordsman, however, did not show the slightest bit of emotion, displaying utter contempt for the Demon King before him.

"An existence... like you,"

"Will eventually go to hell."

"I will be waiting for you..."

"Clang!"

The sound of a blade slicing through the air rang out, and the Wind Breathing swordsman instantly lost his head.

Kibutsuji Muzan, his face gloomy, retracted his right hand, which had transformed into a long whip.

"Swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps,"

"I will wipe you all out..."

"In the most brutal way possible..."

"That way, you won't be able to speak anymore."