Inosuke, on the other hand, threw his head back and laughed wildly.
Seeing that, Zenitsu hurried over and asked, "Did you save me just now?"
But Inosuke looked completely baffled.
Still, Zenitsu knew there was no time to waste.
"Never mind that. Let's hurry and save Tanjiro!"
The two of them rushed toward the sounds of fighting coming from the forest.
Before long,
they arrived at the battlefield.
At that moment, both sides had reached a critical point.
Tanjiro faced the two demons, gripping his sword with both hands as he prepared to strike.
The two demons moved first.
The Bat Demon opened its massive jaws. "Blood Demon Art—Sound Wave Resonance!"
The female demon beside it followed immediately. "Blood Demon Art—Iron Manipulation, Chaotic Flowers!"
It was the same familiar pincer attack.
Tanjiro handled it calmly, but Lin Fan sensed something wrong and urgently warned him, "Watch your footing! That one has activated its Blood Demon Art!"
At those words,
Tanjiro had no time to think and immediately leaped into the air.
"Thanks for the warning!"
From where he had been standing,
the ground suddenly burst open. A pair of hands shot out from beneath the earth, reaching for Tanjiro.
At the same time, blades came slashing in from both sides.
"This is bad, Tanjiro's in danger!"
Watching from the side, Zenitsu broke out in a cold sweat for Tanjiro, but it was already too late to help.
Meanwhile, Inosuke had drawn both swords and was about to charge in.
But at that very instant,
Tanjiro held his sword with both hands in midair. "Water Breathing—Eighth Form—Waterfall Basin!" He gripped the blade and slashed downward with all his strength.
The blade fell.
As it severed the pair of hands on the ground, a pillar of water shot skyward from below, enveloping him within it.
The incoming blades could no longer advance through the water column, and even the sound waves were obstructed.
Within the pillar of water,
Tanjiro found his chance. He saw the Thread of Opening and pushed his breathing to its utmost limit, expanding his lungs to the extreme.
"Now, Total Concentration!"
He gathered all his strength into one point, bursting through the water pillar as his body spun and darted across the ground.
The three demons struck at once, trying to stop him.
But Tanjiro blocked them all with sword techniques as he moved. Once he reached them, he unleashed, "Water Breathing—Tenth Form—Constant Flux!"
His body moved like a Dragon, while rushing water gathered around his blade and formed a lifelike water Dragon.
As Tanjiro swung his sword, the water Dragon swept past the three demons one after another.
"That's impossible..."
In the end, the three demons could not escape their fate of being beheaded. The moment their heads flew into the air marked their deaths.
Tanjiro sheathed his sword and, without hesitation, prepared to rush outside to save Zenitsu and the others.
But when he turned around, he saw Zenitsu and Inosuke standing in the woods, staring at him blankly.
Only after seeing that they were unharmed did Tanjiro finally relax and let out a long breath.
"It's great that you're both alright."
"Eh... eh?! Tanjiro, aren't you ridiculously strong?!"
Zenitsu hurried over, completely stunned.
He knew Tanjiro was strong, but he had never expected him to be this strong!
Even Inosuke, who was usually poor with words, rarely offered praise. "You really are strong..."
Faced with the compliments, Tanjiro merely scratched his head and flashed a bright smile.
Inside the sword, Lin Fan continued gathering Demon Power and providing Nourishment.
At the same time, the system prompt sounded in his mind once again.
[Ding! Detected that Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji has developed fear. Obtained 1,000 Emotion Points!]
As usual, Lin Fan said to himself,
Thanks for the generous donation, Boss Muzan. A whole thousand Emotion Points!
To be honest, with Tanjiro's current strength,
Lin Fan felt that he could already fight the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. With the boost from Demonification, defeating some of the lower-ranked Lower Ranks
should not be much of a problem.
Still, looking at the Emotion Points he had accumulated again, Lin Fan felt a little troubled over what ability he should unlock next.
Outside,
after the three regrouped, the Kasugai Crow flew back.
It began leading them once more.
As they walked along the country road, Tanjiro kept an eye on the two people beside him.
Zenitsu seemed fine, but Inosuke clearly did not look uninjured. Thinking that this had all happened because of him,
Tanjiro could not stop feeling guilty.
"Ajudamaru, please. Heal Inosuke's injuries."
They said practice made perfect.
He used to politely ask for my opinion. Now he was getting straight to the point, huh?
Still, Lin Fan did not refuse.
"Alright. Place your hand on him."
Hearing that, Tanjiro suddenly placed his right hand on Inosuke's shoulder.
Inosuke abruptly turned his head and demanded, "What are you doing?"
"I want to heal your injuries. Please endure it," Tanjiro answered honestly.
This also caught Zenitsu's attention.
He had been the last person to receive treatment. He had not watched carefully last time, so this time he had to find out exactly what was going on.
As they spoke,
countless wisps of black smoke gathered into black threads, winding from the sword's hilt around Tanjiro's arm and connecting to Inosuke's shoulder.
Then Lin Fan began channeling Demon Power and activated healing.
Inosuke, who had been about to resist, immediately quieted down. He could clearly feel warmth spreading through his body.
The faint pain from his injuries gradually disappeared as well.
In the blink of an eye,
when the black threads dispersed, all his injuries had been completely healed.
Only then did Tanjiro remove his hand.
Inosuke examined his body, twisting himself into all sorts of difficult poses. "My injuries are all healed? Hahahaha... What was that just now?"
"That was my most important companion, Ajudamaru," Tanjiro replied with a gentle yet serious expression.
Having witnessed the whole process this time, Zenitsu became even more interested in this so-called Ajudamaru.
That sword really had consciousness.
Did it have a human form? Was it male or female? Was it good-looking...
His thoughts drifted further and further astray.
Meanwhile, Muzan in Infinity Castle still wore an expression twisted to the extreme.
So he really had been hiding his strength!
Sending ordinary demons would be useless no matter how many went. Then send a Lower Rank!
A Lower Rank had conveniently already arrived near that area!
Can This Be Drawn Too?
Following behind the Kasugai Crow, Tanjiro and the others traveled until they reached the residence in a village. A wisteria pattern was printed on its gate.
The Kasugai Crow flapped its wings and landed in Tanjiro's hand, then cried out, "Rest! Rest! The injured must rest until they are fully recovered!"
"But our injuries have already—"
Tanjiro had just started to speak when Zenitsu covered his mouth from behind. "You idiot! We finally get to rest!"
As for Inosuke, he had no such worldly desires. He had only one thought right now.
How could he eat this Kasugai Crow?
Lin Fan noticed that as well. However, Inosuke's Kasugai Crow indeed seemed never to have appeared, so there seemed to be only one reasonable explanation.
He had eaten it!
After being busy nonstop for so long, Tanjiro was feeling a little tired as well. He could only close his mouth and obediently walk forward.
He knocked on the gate marked with the wisteria pattern.
Knock, knock!
At the sound, the gate opened a crack, and an elderly old man stepped out.
Tanjiro greeted him politely.
"I'm very sorry to disturb you at this hour."
After seeing their attire, the old man already knew who the three were.
"You are demon slayers, correct? Please follow me."
With that, he turned and led the three into the residence.
They were provided with food, lodging, and medical treatment. However, when the doctor came to examine them,
he found that none of them were injured at all. In fact, they were in remarkably good condition. Even so, the Kasugai Crow did not bring them a new mission.
Late at night,
the three lay on tatami mats.
Zenitsu looked at Inosuke's uncovered face on the far right, his expression twisted as though constipated. "Whenever I see that face of yours that looks like a woman's, I feel a little sick."
"Who told you to look?!"
Inosuke pouted and snapped back.
But after he said that, the atmosphere became strangely silent.
A moment later.
Before you continue