The black swamp glowed ominously under the moonlight, slowly writhing like a living thing.
Tanjiro gripped his nichirin blade, his muscles tensed, but the enemy was slow to appear.
"Strange, why is there no movement?" Tanjiro looked at the eerie black swamp with confusion.
Ryoma gently placed the unconscious girl in the corner, his ice-blue eyes scanning the surroundings. His magic perception told him that the demon hadn't escaped, but rather...
"Tanjiro, watch your step!"
No sooner had he spoken than the ground beneath Tanjiro's feet instantly turned into black liquid, and a pale arm suddenly shot out from it, aiming straight for his ankle.
Tanjiro reacted incredibly fast, pushing off with his toes and leaping backward, while simultaneously swinging his nichirin blade downwards. The blade sliced through, instantly wounding the arm, and black liquid splattered everywhere.
A red-eyed demon with three horns on his forehead emerged halfway from beneath the ground.
A pair of red eyes, filled with malice and greed, stared intently at Ryoma and Tanjiro who had ruined his plans.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
The Swamp Demon gnashed his teeth, making an incomprehensible grinding sound.
"It's a demon with a Blood Demon Art!"
Seeing the situation before him, Tanjiro understood that this was a demon with a Blood Demon Art, but he still sternly demanded, "Where are the girls you abducted?"
The Swamp Demon clearly didn't want to waste any more words with Tanjiro, who had taken his food and injured him.
Before Tanjiro could ask further questions, he plunged back underground.
Kazumi, who had been following behind, finally caught up and witnessed the demon disappearing underground.
"That guy is..."
Ryoma looked at Kazumi, whose expression was a mix of shock and a hint of fear, and handed the girl in his arms over.
"Kazumi-san, please take care of this young lady for now. Please rest assured and stay by our side, we will protect you both."
The ground of the entire alley rippled faintly with black waves, making it impossible to determine the demon's exact location.
"He can move freely underground."
Ryoma analyzed, "And it seems he can turn any surface he touches into that swamp. Tanjiro, don't just use your eyes to search."
Tanjiro also understood this problem and began to utilize his advantage.
"Even when this demon hides, its scent doesn't disappear."
Following the Swamp Demon's scent, he turned towards his location, preparing to draw his blade.
Water Breathing: Fifth Form...
Just a few steps in, six hands emerged from the ground from three different directions, followed by three demons bursting out of the underground swamp.
Three directions, six demon hands!
A deadly sense of oppression instantly enveloped Tanjiro's entire body.
His pupils constricted, and he forcibly aborted the Fifth Form that was about to be unleashed, engaging his core muscles. His body flipped backward at an incredible angle, narrowly avoiding the fatal encirclement.
However, the Swamp Demon clearly didn't want to miss this opportunity. More of his body emerged from the swamp, and six arms reached out for Tanjiro in mid-air.
Tanjiro could only quickly change his technique in mid-air, using the Eighth Form.
However, because he changed techniques mid-way and found it difficult to leverage himself in the air, he could only barely cut off three of the outstretched arms.
Seeing that their attack did not achieve the desired result, the three Swamp Demons immediately wanted to retreat underground again and look for another opportunity.
A cold glint flashed in Ryoma's eyes. Since the opponent wanted to play hide-and-seek, he would show it what an ice-cold world truly was.
"Tanjiro, step back a little!"
Ryoma drew his nichirin blade, and the blade was instantly enveloped in an ice-blue aura.
As he took a deep breath, the surrounding temperature plummeted.
Ice Breathing: Eighth Form: Ice Waterfall Drop!
Ryoma pointed the tip of his blade at the ground, and a bone-chilling cold current surged from the blade, instantly spreading outwards.
The ground in the alley quickly solidified into a thick layer of white frost, and the swamp's flow abruptly slowed.
The movements of the Swamp demons visibly became sluggish and stiff.
"Wh-what?!"
Panic and astonishment filled the demon's voice.
He realized that while his swamp hadn't completely frozen, the bone-chilling cold made it incredibly difficult to submerge and move, and the operation of his Blood Demon Art was greatly disrupted.
Even worse, the frost continued to spread underground and onto his body, threatening to gradually encase him in ice as well.
Crack—
A sheet of ice suddenly shattered, and a thin, paper-pale demon struggled free from it. He had a twisted face, eyes full of malice, and sharp claws on his hands.
This Swamp Demon, which had broken free from the ice thanks to the other two swamp demons blocking, immediately tried to drag the other two away to find a place to re-enter the swamp.
Ice Breathing: First Form: Ice Surface Slash!
The blade, imbued with cold air, swung out continuously. Where it passed, the air instantly condensed, forming two visible, sharp-edged, fan-shaped thin ice blades that shot forward at high speed.
They instantly cut down the two frozen demons. The ice shattered, and the two demons turned to ash and dissipated.
Coincidentally, one of the last demon's arms was instantly severed, and the cut surface quickly froze, preventing the wound from healing.
"Ahhhh!"
The demon let out a painful shriek, "My arm! My arm!"
"It's my turn!" Tanjiro seized the opportunity, lunging from the side.
Water Breathing: Tenth Form: Constant Flux!
His figure flowed ceaselessly like water, his nichirin blade tracing elegant arcs, cutting straight for the demon's neck.
However, just as the blade was about to strike, the Swamp Demon created a swamp on the nearby wall and plunged into it, escaping Tanjiro's attack.
The Swamp Demon, having submerged into the swamp, reappeared in the distance, but his arm had not regenerated.
He stared fixedly at Ryoma and Tanjiro, roaring in anger, "You bastard, why did you interfere and kill my other two selves?!"
"If we drag this out, the women's flesh won't be fresh enough. If those women continue to live, they'll become ugly and unappetizing!"
"We were kind enough to eat them, you should be grateful to us demons!"
"Shut up!" Tanjiro angrily interrupted it.
"You beast!"
Ryoma, however, noticed that this demon was stalling for time.
His gaze occasionally flickered towards the unconscious girl held by Kazumi and the direction of the alley entrance.
The Swamp Demon roared, then suddenly turned not to flee backward, but to lunge fiercely at Kazumi and the girl in his arms.
"Tanjiro, protect them!"
Ryoma shouted, immediately flashing to intercept.
However, this was just a feint. The moment the swamp demon attracted their attention, he spat out a large mouthful of black liquid backward.
The liquid instantly formed a new swamp upon landing, and the demon's figure vanished within it.
"Trying to run?"
Ryoma sneered, "Too late."
He had been prepared, subtly releasing cold air when the demon began to decompose his body.
Now, as soon as the demon touched the new swamp, he found the liquid instantly freezing.
"What?! How is this possible?!"
The demon's lower body was frozen in the ice, unable to move.
He frantically waved his arms, trying to break the ice, but found it surprisingly thick.
Tanjiro again raised his blade and severed the Swamp Demon's last arm, completely incapacitating him.
He then pointed his blade at the Swamp Demon's head and continued, "Tell me everything you know about Kibutsuji Muzan."
The moment the Swamp Demon heard that name, his expression became extremely terrified, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Tell me everything."
Tanjiro pressed his blade closer to the Swamp Demon and barked, "Speak quickly!"
"I... I can't say... I can't say..."
The Swamp Demon, drenched in cold sweat, kept repeating the same phrase, trembling.
The Swamp Demon, deep in fear, suddenly lashed out again, extending an arm to attack Tanjiro.
A flash of a blade, and the demon's neck instantly severed, his head flying high.
The moment the head hit the ground, the demon's body began to rapidly decompose, turning into ash and dissipating in the night wind.
(End of Chapter)
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