"My head's been cut off? Impossible! How could this happen?! Did I lose? This has to be a dream! How could I lose to two brats? Impossible!!!"
Gyokko's head kept spewing trash talk as it rolled across the ground. He couldn't believe he had actually lost.
That was hardly surprising. Even Daki and Gyutaro, Upper Rank Six, had eaten more than twenty Pillars between them, so Gyokko, Upper Rank Five, could only have killed even more.
With such a stark reversal, how could he not be shocked?
Muichiro and Tanjiro ignored Gyokko as he continued spewing trash talk nearby. His body was already on the verge of disintegrating, so he only had a few seconds left to disgust them with his insults.
Tanjiro hurried happily over to Muichiro and said with a smile, "We did it! Tokito, you defeated an Upper Rank!"
Unlike the delighted Tanjiro, Muichiro's expression remained calm.
"I didn't defeat an Upper Rank... If I'd been alone... I might not have been a match for him..."
Despite defeating an Upper Rank, Muichiro wasn't particularly happy about it. Instead, Gyokko's strength weighed on him.
He thought back to when he had fallen for Gyokko's trick and been engulfed in seawater. If Tanjiro hadn't helped him then, could he really have broken free?
Even if he had escaped, could he have beaten this Upper Rank on his own?
Muichiro fell silent.
Hearing Muichiro's quiet muttering, Tanjiro immediately revealed a train of thought that was on a completely different track from his.
"There's only so much one person can do. That's why people choose to help each other. If my sister were here... Hmm... Ahem! Give me a moment to get into character!"
Tanjiro coughed hard and even tried his best to imitate his sister's voice. Of course, despite all