Master Blacksmith in Demon Slayer

Doma was still busy devouring his meal, head lowered. When he heard the noise, he looked up, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Why are you back?"

How was he supposed to answer that? Came back for a look?

"Wait... I didn't notice earlier. What's with that outfit?"

His gaze suddenly caught the sword case in Tetsu no Sosuke's hands. "You're a swordsmith?"

There was no hint of menace in his voice—instead, a touch of genuine delight. "That means I can't let you go."

By then, Shinobu Kocho had already appeared behind Tetsu no Sosuke, her face so grim it could drip water.

"What's with this guy...?"

Her hands trembled faintly, but she still gripped the hilt of her blade tightly.

Tetsu no Sosuke's heart sank. It's over!

There was no way to warn her. No—just now, he had no idea how to even give a warning!

Shout that there was a demon?

How could a member of the Demon Slayer Corps ignore a demon?

Only ordinary people ran at the sight of one!

Say it was Upper Moon Two?

That was even worse. A big catch—no way they'd run! Even if they couldn't win, they'd try to take a chunk out of it!

That's just how the Demon Slayer Corps was...

But the question was, did pointless sacrifice mean anything now?

"I'll hold him off! You run!"

Tetsu no Sosuke gritted his teeth and spoke.

Shinobu Kocho looked a bit surprised, but still didn't take her eyes off Doma. She said calmly, "You can't hold off Upper Moon Two at all. Besides, you're a swordsmith and I'm a swordsman. Of course I'll hold him off—you run!"

"Ah, how wonderful."

Doma wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and set down the girl's corpse. "Let me set this aside for now—I'll eat every last bit. And it looks like more delicious food has arrived."

As he said this, Tetsu no Sosuke heard footsteps rapidly approaching.

Without even turning around, in the blink of an eye, someone landed beside him like a butterfly.

Under the firelight, her face was tense and cautious, but in the next second, her gaze fell on Tetsu no Sosuke.

A flash of tenderness, warm enough to reach the heart.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was soft as a fragrant breeze.

"Came to deliver your sword."

Tetsu no Sosuke let out a quiet sigh of relief. The next moment, he opened the case and took out the Nichirin Blade inside.

Author's note:

A big chapter—five thousand words!

I didn't originally plan to write this long, but if I cut it off, it would break right at the moment they leave...

If I did that, I'm afraid you'd send me hate mail, so I tried to write it as complete as possible.

That said, I initially only added up to forty-five hundred words, but it still felt like a bad cut, so I added another five hundred... Now I'm worried that one day I'll just write straight through to the end of the book in a single chapter... sweatdrop...

Chapter 19: Face to Face

Upper Moon Two stood before them—the danger far from over.

Kochou Kanae's gaze swept over the blade. She handed her own Nichirin Blade to Tetsu no Sosuke and took the new weapon from him.

The moment she held it, she froze.

"So light!"

Inside the sheath, it felt like nothing at all!

She pressed her hand on the hilt, and the blade slid free—a blade shaped like a butterfly wing.

Wider than usual, razor-sharp edges, gleaming under the firelight with an indescribable sharpness.

Holding it in one hand, a strange feeling surged through her again.

It was as if she wasn't holding a sword at all—it was just an extension of her own body.

"This blade—I used a special Forging Method to erase its weight, making it completely one with you. The edge was forged by observing your swordsmanship, deliberately shaped into this form. The subtleties will reveal themselves to you in battle!"

Tetsu no Sosuke suddenly noticed the blade's color changing.

It was a clear blue!

But within that blue, streaks of red spread like burning flames, gradually running across the blade.

The two colors alternated, and when the blade fully turned blue, the scattered red traces quietly vanished.

"Beyond anything I imagined."

Kochou Kanae brought the blade before her, focusing intently. "Stand back."

Tetsu no Sosuke took a deep breath, showing no hesitation, his eyes fixed on Upper Moon Two as he slowly retreated. "Beware his Blood Demon Art. He can disperse his own blood into the air, and when you inhale it along with his freezing mist, it will ravage your internal organs."

"You know quite a bit." The man across from him wore a flicker of surprise in his gaze. "Have we met before?"

Tetsu no Sosuke offered no reply, his body already having withdrawn a great distance.

"Sister!"

Shinobu Kocho tried to say more, but Kochou Kanae gave her a gentle smile. "Be good."

Though resentment churned within her, Shinobu could only nod. A battle between the Nine Pillars and one of the Twelve Demon Moons, Upper Moon Two—if she insisted on being willful now, she would likely only become a burden to her sister in the fight.