Kagaya Ubuyashiki understood why the Hashira still resisted accepting Nezuko, even after grasping Tanjiro's importance.
The Demon Slayer Corps had existed for generations, and in every generation, its swordsn had died fighting demons. Too many lives had been lost. Too much blood had soaked into the earth.
If they accepted a demon who might soday eat a human, would that be fair to the dead?
More than that, every demon they had ever encountered had devoured humans.
Not one exception.
Until Nezuko.
Obanai Iguro's mismatched eyes rested on the wooden box.
"A guarantee made with lives proves nothing," he said. "And besides, Tanjiro Kamado absolutely cannot be allowed to die."
His words were harsh, but not unreasonable.
The Hashira disliked demons. So hated them to the bone. But they were not fools who could not tell the difference between spite and necessity.
Kyojuro Rengoku followed with a firm, righteous voice.
"If she truly eats a human, it will already be too late!"
Most of the Hashira agreed.
Tanjiro could not stay silent any longer. He stepped forward anxiously, facing Kagaya on the veranda.
"Nezuko will never eat a human!" he said, his voice shaking with urgency but not with doubt. "I'll continue fighting with her by my side. If she ever eats soone, then I'll slay her myself—and afterward, I'll commit seppuku to atone!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's expression twisted.
"I told you, you can't die!" he barked. "And we're not saying we'll kill Nezuko. We're saying she should be locked away!"
Both sides had their reasoning.
But Kagaya had already chosen where to place his trust.
Or rather, where to place the future.
He looked across the gathered Hashira and spoke slowly.
"At present, we cannot prove that Nezuko will attack humans. But we also cannot prove that she will not." His voice remained gentle, yet every word carried weight. "However, it is an undeniable fact that from the ti she beca a demon until now, she has not eaten a single human."
The aning behind his words was clear.
Sanemi sensed it at once.
His teeth clenched. Without waiting any longer, he drew the Nichirin sword at his waist.
"Forgive my offense, Master," he said, his tone sharp. "But I'll prove to you right now just how ugly demons truly are."
With that, he leaped.
Sanemi landed alone in the shaded entrance hall behind the veranda, where sunlight could not reach. At his feet sat the wooden box.
In the past, he would have stabbed the box first and asked questions later.
This ti, because of Asuramaru, he restrained himself.
Barely.
He opened the box and dragged Nezuko out by the collar. After letting her fall to the floor, he raised his sword and drew the edge across his own arm.
Blood splattered.
Drops fell onto the wooden floorboards.
The scent spread at once.
Sanemi Shinazugawa's blood was rare blood—marechi. To demons, it was an intoxicating feast, far stronger than ordinary human blood.
Nezuko's body reacted imdiately.
Her pupils tightened. Her breathing grew rough. Even with the bamboo muzzle between her teeth, saliva slipped uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.
Sanemi thrust his bleeding arm toward her.
"Stop pretending," he said, his mouth curving into a cruel smile. "You want to eat, don't you?"
Nezuko stood frozen.
Her whole body trembled.
The hunger was clawing at her instincts, tearing at the thin line of reason that held her back.
Kagaya turned toward the entrance hall. Seeing the scene, he said nothing.
All he could do was pray.
The Hashira watched without blinking.
Only Tanjiro ran toward the veranda, staring at his struggling sister.
"Nezuko!" he shouted. "I believe in you!"
His voice rang through the courtyard.
Nezuko shuddered.
For a mont, sothing in her eyes sharpened.
Then, with all the strength she possessed, she turned her head away from Sanemi's bleeding arm.
She refused to look at it.
Sanemi froze.
Even he had not expected it.
A demon had resisted his blood.
The other Hashira were no less stunned. They knew better than anyone how powerful the temptation of marechi should be.
If Nezuko could withstand this, then there was little more they could say.
Kagaya exhaled quietly, relief softening his face.
"This proves that Nezuko will not attack humans," he said. "There is no need to confine her."
Then he turned his newly restored eyes toward Tanjiro.
"However, even so, there will still be people who cannot accept Nezuko. From now on, you must prove yourselves through your actions."
Tanjiro's tense heart finally settled.
He lowered his head with fierce resolve.
"I will!"
Sanemi turned away from the entrance hall and returned to the courtyard.
Behind him, Nezuko glared at his back with clear anger.
The matter concerning Nezuko was settled.
Inside the sword, Alex watched the result with satisfaction.
The situation was acceptable.
No—more than acceptable.
His plan had succeeded.
Tanjiro's position in the Demon Slayer Corps had beco untouchable. From this day onward, if Tanjiro went on a mission, there would almost certainly be a Hashira nearby to protect him.
More importantly, the Demon Slayer Corps' lifeline was now in Alex's hands.
If they wanted to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji, they needed Asuramaru.
If they wanted Kagaya Ubuyashiki to live longer, they also needed Asuramaru.
After all…
You Hashira wouldn't want your beloved Master to die young because of a curse, would you?
Heal the Master.
Slay the demons.
Take the leash.
The wording was not pleasant, but the reality was exactly that.
On top of that, he had slain four Lower Moons in a row, collected Muzan's emotional contribution, and earned another windfall.
Today was a good day to get rich.
In an excellent mood, Alex said inwardly, "System, open the panel."
A translucent display unfolded before him.
Host: Alex
Template: Asuramaru
Demon Power: 10,300
Extracted Abilities: Eternal-grade buff, Indestructible; Platinum-grade ability, Perception; Silver-grade abilities, Sharpness, Natural Pair, Chidori Stream…
Template Abilities: Blood Weeping, Devour, Healing, Feedback, Demonization, External Incarnation…
Locked Abilities:
Free-Size Transformation — After unlocking, the host can freely alter his size. Requires 10,000 emotion points.
Demon Curse — Applies a poisonous Demon Curse to targets struck by the sword. Requires 10,000 emotion points.
Soaring — Allows the host to control the sword body and fly. Requires 10,000 emotion points.
Borrowed Power — Allows the Sword Master to use Demon Power to unleash various demon-energy slashes and related applications. Requires 10,000 emotion points.
Emotion Points: 20,000
Alex studied the list for a mont.
According to the original course of events, the next major enemy should be Upper Rank Three, Akaza.
Among the available abilities, his choice was obvious.
"System," Alex said, "unlock Demon Curse and Borrowed Power."
The system's prompt rang out imdiately.
[Ding! 20,000 emotion points consud. Successfully unlocked abilities: Demon Curse and Borrowed Power.]
With this configuration, having a Hashira face Akaza should no longer be impossible.
Inside the sword, Alex had already begun considering how to deal with Upper Rank Three.
Outside, the discussion in the courtyard had not ended.
However, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before. The most important matters had already been resolved, and even those with objections had fallen quiet.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki stood on the veranda, his mood clearly lighter than it had been at the beginning of the eting.
His gaze moved to Tanjiro below.
Then he smiled.
"Everyone," he said gently, "I have an announcent to make."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
User Comments
0 comments from readers