The instant the spatial exchange was complete, before Zenitsu Agatsuma could even register the change beneath his feet, a familiar scent mingling blood and scorched flesh rushed into his nostrils.
He jerked his head up and saw a face both familiar and unfamiliar.
Black hair, blue-green demon markings, and a uniform extremely similar to his own, though its colors had long since been steeped in evil darkness.
It was Kaigaku.
His senior fellow disciple, now Upper Rank Six, was watching him with a faint smile of mockery and cruelty.
"Yo, Zenitsu." Kaigaku spoke, his voice carrying the arrogance and sharpness he had gained after becoming a demon. "You're still as useless as ever. All you can do is trail behind other people, sniveling?"
Zenitsu's body trembled. Not from fear, but from a blaze mingled with sorrow and fury that surged from deep within his chest.
The image of Grandfather committing seppuku because of Kaigaku's fall was seared into his mind like a brand.
"Why..." Zenitsu's voice was hoarse as he gripped his sword's hilt tightly. "Why did you become a demon? Grandfather, he..."
"Huh? The old man?" Kaigaku sounded as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "He was a rigid old fool. What does that have to do with me? He favored a piece of trash like you who could only use the First Form. He deserved that end! Look at me, Zenitsu! Look at me now!"
Boom!
Black lightning erupted around Kaigaku, his Blood Demon Art making Thunder Breathing even more sinister and violent.
"Thunder Breathing: Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
Five pitch-black lightning slashes clawed toward Zenitsu like demonic talons.
Zenitsu's pupils abruptly contracted, but he did not retreat.
"Flame Breathing: Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"
A figure as searing as the sun stood in