A shock Boar's Head would remember for a hundred years

"What was that sound?!"

The demon inside the mansion whipped his head toward the strange commotion. Moments later, a water dragon burst through the wall and charged straight at him.

"Lucky me. I guessed the right direction."

Chinatsu tightened her grip on her Nichirin Blade and leaped into a slash at the demon before her. The water dragon, strengthened by who knew how many rotations, opened its jaws as though letting out a ferocious roar.

Constant Flux was Water Breathing's finishing move. Each rotation built on the last, continually increasing its power and speed. It was a technique that could rival Flame Breathing's "Rengoku."

Facing the fully powered water dragon, the demon's eyes widened, and he hurriedly twisted his body to dodge. Though more than half his body was torn open, he managed to cling to life.

Chinatsu came to a stop and quickly turned to face the demon, who now had a massive hole in his body.

The Drum Demon had once been Lower Rank Six, the weakest of the Twelve Kizuki. But his potential as a demon was limited. Although his strength had grown rapidly after he first became a demon, earning him a Lower Rank position, he had failed to keep that momentum. Muzan had cast him out of the Twelve Kizuki, leaving him stronger than the weak but weaker than the strong.

"You... who are you?!"

The Drum Demon gritted his teeth and shouted at Chinatsu. His body was gradually regenerating, though the process was slow and visibly strained.

"Buddy, take a look at my sword. What could I possibly be besides a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?"

As Chinatsu quipped, she turned to look at a corner of the room, where a boy covered in wounds huddled in terror.

Good. As long as he's still alive.

Chinatsu breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, then turned her attention back to the demon before her. His head was lowered, and he was muttering obsessively, "My Blood Demon Art is powerful... my Blood Demon Art is powerful... I'm powerful... I'm powerful..."

He raised his hands and struck the drums growing from his body, producing a series of booms!

With every beat, the room beneath Chinatsu's feet rotated. Fortunately, she already knew about this trick, so she did not stumble.

"Your Blood Demon Art can assimilate the surrounding building and turn it into your own domain. From that perspective, it isn't weak. It has a lot of potential."

Chinatsu spoke calmly. Hearing her praise, the Drum Demon involuntarily stopped beating his drums. He had worked so hard just to earn Lord Muzan's approval. Though it was not Muzan praising him now, it still made him immensely happy.

And in that instant of happiness, a ripple of clear water swept toward him and passed through his neck.

Draw, slash, flick, sheath.

The Drum Demon's head fell to the floor. Without sparing him another glance, Chinatsu called to the wounded boy.

"Can you walk on your own?"

"I... I can. Thank you. There are other children in this mansion..."

"Don't worry. All the demons are dead, so it's safe here now. I'll bring some people back in to search in a moment."

Chinatsu waved for the boy to follow her. It was time to head outside.

The Drum Demon's Blood Demon Art really did have potential, but potential was worthless if it never amounted to anything.

At this point, it would take at least a Lower Rank to make her feel she was in a real fight. Demons below that level could not even beat Tanjiro going all out in the original story.

After the rumbling finally died away, Chinatsu prepared to leave the mansion. But before she could get outside, a boy wearing a boar's head mask came running up and blocked her path.

"You... you... you stole my prey!!!"

Chinatsu stared blankly at him for a few seconds, then ignored him and continued toward the exit.

"You're ignoring me?!"

The Boar's Head Boy launched himself at Chinatsu, trying to tackle her to the floor. She merely tilted her body slightly. Not only did he fail to knock her down, but he ended up getting intimately acquainted with the floor instead.

Just as the boar-headed boy tried to get up, Chinatsu grabbed his clothes and lifted him like a little chick.

"You... how are you so strong?! What did you grow up eating, woman?!"

"People~"

Chinatsu tried to scare the boar-headed boy, but it clearly had no effect. She pursed her lips in annoyance, then tossed him outside as she approached the mansion's entrance.

The boar-headed boy traced a perfect arc through the air, then hit the ground with a clatter and rolled a full seven hundred and twenty degrees.

"Are you all right?!"

Tanjiro hurried over to check the Boar's Head Boy's injuries. But before he could do anything, the boy sprang up on his own, looking absurdly lively, and began yelling at the mansion.

Chinatsu soon emerged from the mansion. Coming out as well were Chinatsu and the wounded boy.

"Sis!"

"Tanjiro, there might still be injured people in this house. Go inside and search again," Chinatsu told him.

Tanjiro had a keen nose, and it was not only useful against demons-he was excellent at finding people, too. He immediately set off, with Zenitsu and the boy and girl following him. They had a feeling this place was about to become even more dangerous than the inside of the mansion.

"Fight me!!!"

The Boar's Head Boy held a Nichirin Blade in each hand. His blades looked different from the usual ones, with notches along their edges that made them resemble saws.

The Boar's Head Boy had made those notches by pounding his Nichirin Blades with a rock. Nichirin Blades were made from a special material, and when paired with a Breathing Style and refined swordsmanship, they could be extraordinarily hard and sharp. But when subjected to blunt force, they could still be chipped by repeated blows from a rock.

Watching the Boar's Head Boy, Chinatsu calmly drew her own Nichirin Blade, its clear azure surface gleaming.

The Boar's Head Boy excitedly tightened his grip on his twin swords. He loved challenging strong opponents. He had originally intended to deal with the Drum Demon himself, but now that Chinatsu had killed him, he had shifted his goal to challenging her.

"I won't go easy on you! Beast Breathing, Second Fang: Slice!"

With a shout, the Boar's Head Boy leaped into the air and unleashed a remarkably straightforward attack at Chinatsu.

Beast Breathing was not one of the Basic Breathing Styles, but an original style that could be classified as a branch of Wind Breathing. That alone was enough to show that the Boar's Head Boy before her really was a genius.

But then again...

A genius? Sorry, who wasn't?

Even Chinatsu's casual exhale was a Total Concentration breath. With her Nichirin Blade in hand, she slashed at the Boar's Head Boy charging toward her...