The Bright Red Nichirin Sword, awakened!

"Flame Breathing: Flame Tiger!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Dragon of the Solar Halo!"

The fire dragon and flaming tiger collided fiercely. This time, the flames did not explode. Instead, they mingled, finally breaking apart like water and spilling over the surrounding ground.

The ground beneath Chinatsu and Kyojuro had reached an absurd temperature. If anyone had a raw egg on hand, they could probably try using it as a frying pan. The egg was guaranteed to sizzle the instant it hit the ground.

Both fighters panted heavily on that scorching battlefield, their faces drenched in sweat-especially Chinatsu's.

Her constitution already consumed extra stamina in exchange for superhuman physical abilities, and Hinokami Kagura used even more stamina than ordinary Breathing Styles. After so many consecutive clashes, she had reached her limit.

Of course, Kyojuro was not doing much better. Earlier, only his hands had trembled; now, the impacts had left his entire body aching.

Chinatsu was far too strong, and her strength showed signs of continuing to grow. He had to exert an extraordinary amount of force to meet every one of her strikes. With his muscles constantly tensing and straining, it would have been stranger if they did not ache.

Neither of them knew how many blows they had exchanged. Their swords had moved too quickly to count, and every single strike could easily have killed a powerful demon, or even... a Lower Rank!

Kyojuro panted lightly. When several seconds passed without any sign of Chinatsu attacking again, he finally noticed something unusual on his end.

He looked down toward the hand holding his Nichirin Blade and discovered that the sword, which had originally borne only crimson streaks, was now entirely engulfed in red.

He had not unleashed a sword technique to produce those flame-like ripples of sword energy, yet looking at the Nichirin Blade, Kyojuro felt as though it was still burning. The aura demons feared had also grown several times stronger.

This was... the Bright Red Nichirin Sword!

Kyojuro had awakened his Bright Red Nichirin Sword, and naturally, Chinatsu had awakened hers as well. However, her Nichirin Blade was not completely covered in red. Part of it remained black, just like Yoriichi Tsugikuni's blade.

Feeling the demon-frightening aura radiating from the Nichirin Blade in her hand, Chinatsu broke into a smile.

She had finally unlocked the Bright Red Nichirin Sword, one of the three great cheats!

What was the greatest disparity between humans and demons in battle?

Blood Demon Arts?

No. Demons possessed special abilities, but the Demon Slayer Corps' sword techniques could also be considered special abilities.

Physical prowess?

Not that either. Demons certainly had powerful bodies, but with Total Concentration Breathing, members of the Demon Slayer Corps were not far behind them physically.

The greatest disparity between humans and demons was... regeneration!

If a human had both arms severed, there was no way to reattach them in this era. Even if they could be reattached, it would take time, and those arms would no longer be fit for intense combat.

But demons? Cut off an arm, and it grew right back with a snap. In the original story, Upper Rank Three had demonstrated the full extent of demonic regeneration during his battle with Kyojuro.

With a Bright Red Nichirin Sword, however, a demon's regeneration would no longer be such a troublesome ability. And getting cut by one hurt far more than an ordinary blade.

After Chinatsu and Kyojuro's "ceasefire," the Pillars who had gathered around the Training Ground after hearing the commotion also noticed the changes in their Nichirin Blades.

"Why do Master Rengoku's and Chinatsu's swords both look like that?!" Mitsuri cried in surprise, pressing both hands to her cheeks.

Shinobu Kocho tilted her head in confusion.

Giyu Tomioka remained silent.

Obanai Iguro's eyes narrowed.

Gyomei Himejima continued turning the prayer beads in his hands.

Sanemi Shinazugawa strode briskly over to Kyojuro, lowering his head to examine the Nichirin Blade up close and feel the aura it gave off.

"Rengoku, we need to report this to Oyakata-sama immediately!" Sanemi Shinazugawa said seriously.

"Yes. I can feel it too. The change in this sword will have a tremendous impact on the Demon Slayer Corps' future." Kyojuro nodded in agreement with Sanemi. He, too, believed they needed to report this immediately and discuss it.

The surrounding Pillars tacitly agreed, while Chinatsu was still immersed in the joy of finally unlocking one of the three great cheats.

"Bright Red Nichirin Sword~ Bright Red Nichirin Sword~ I finally got it to work. Now I'll have an advantage when I fight Upper Rank Three. So you use your fists as weapons, huh, you bastard? Come take a hit from my Bright Red Nichirin Sword..."

Chinatsu kept her head lowered, but a devilish smile spread across her face. Everyone looked utterly bewildered by her expression. Tanjiro awkwardly told them not to mind her. His sister smiled like that from time to time; it was perfectly normal.

Everyone was full of questions, thinking, Are you sure a smile like that can really be called normal?

Sanemi Shinazugawa turned toward Chinatsu, who was still smiling with her head lowered. The corner of his mouth twitched before he shouted at her, "What are you standing around for? You need to come too!"

Only after Sanemi's shout did Chinatsu return to reality from her delighted fantasies.

Although she currently had no title, she was essentially no different from a Pillar. Besides, she and Kyojuro had awakened their Bright Red Nichirin Swords by sparring with each other. By any reasonable measure, she ought to go along.

Chinatsu took a deep breath and pulled herself together. Fine, I'll go. Not going would only throw off my plan anyway.

Her purpose in fighting Kyojuro at the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters had not merely been to test whether she could awaken a Bright Red Nichirin Sword. She also wanted to spread the concept throughout headquarters so that all the Pillars could learn to awaken theirs at will.

In the original story, the Pillars had all awakened their Bright Red Nichirin Swords for the first time during life-or-death battles, with each of them already carrying injuries to some degree.

Just imagine: if the Pillars had Bright Red Nichirin Swords from the start, they could catch demons completely off guard. A demon might think getting cut by a Nichirin Blade would not do a damn thing and even willingly close in. Then, with grip strength alone, a Pillar could awaken the blade without anyone else's help and slash the demon charging straight at them.

The demon would be stunned, and in that instant of confusion, the Pillar could land another slash.

Chinatsu believed this approach could improve their chances of victory to some extent against any demon. After all, a Bright Red Nichirin Sword did more than suppress regeneration. It also greatly increased offensive power, and a cut could make even a demon numb to pain flinch.

A double blow... to body and mind!

After a brief exchange, Chinatsu and the others hurried to Oyakata-sama's residence and reported the Bright Red Nichirin Sword to him from outside. Inside, his expression froze for a moment before he hurriedly invited them in and convened an emergency meeting of the Pillars.