)—Moon Breathing First Form—(
)—Yamizuki – Yoi no Miya—(
(tr. Dark Moon, Evening Palace)
The sharp crescent moon-shaped strike flashed in the dark of the night like a wolf fang.
Soichiro stepped forward in front of Shinjuro as he bent slightly and executed his technique.
A streak of yellow moonlight flashed before Shinjuro's eyes.
His instinct followed the trajectory of the blade arc as it swept past his face, and he could feel the breeze brought by the swing. Shinjuro's pupils quickly took in the direction of the blade and the demon.
"You maggots who don't understand art!!"
Gyokko raised the pot in his hands with a hideous expression.
[]—Blood Demon Art!—[]
[]—Ichiman Kakkū——
Whoosh!
Before Gyokko could finish his technique, Soichiro immediately appeared behind Gyokko with his blade raised high on its way to cut Gyokko's neck.
Snick.
His movement was light as he bent his knees to follow through with his swing. After he slashed, he quickly sheathed his blade again back into its sheath.
"Hiss—" White steam escapes from the corner of his mouth.
The yellow moonlight crescent lingered in the air for a while before any trace of it disappeared.
It was an unhurried and graceful strike.
At the end of the slash, it was Gyokko's neck, who was already healing his injuries, and a destroyed porcelain pot.
"Ugh... that hurts."
Soichiro slowly stood up, and a sharp pain came from all over his body. His brows furrowed.
The power of the slash he executed was probably the closest he had gotten to Michikatsu-san's strike in their training.
The First Form of Moon Breathing is a battōjutsu (quick-draw slash) that was executed in a flash.
However, Michikatsu's demonstration was not a movement that a human could practice at all.
Soichiro recalled the movements of the technique in his mind in its full power and felt a chill in his heart.
Forcibly imitating the First Form as was intended by Michikatsu-san can indeed achieve an extremely fast strike.
But it also brought contusions to the body, their soft tissue, and bones.
Thus, Soichiro and his two sons have discussed and adapted the First Form to suit their body type and strength.
—The True Depth of the Technique was simply too much for their malnourished body.
In the encounter just now, Soichiro used the adapted First Form in a hurry, mostly adrenaline, to save the man in front of him from the monster.
His oath not to use his swordsmanship for violence was immediately put aside, and he chopped this "moving tree" at the neck.
Soichiro was bewildered and weighed the feeling of his sword in his hand.
'Was a neck... felt lighter than cutting a tree?'
"..."
Shinjuro looked at Soichiro's appearance behind Gyokko; his eyebrows jumped up as his expression settled into confusion.
The speed at which Soichiro had rushed past him...
...and the mastery of his swordsmanship...
His hand quivered, holding his own sword.
'This...'
Shinjuro frowned heavily as he looked at Soichiro in shock.
'This is three weeks of swordsmanship training??!'
His eyes twitched horribly. He couldn't believe it.
His mouth opened to try and say something, but all his preconceptions were shattered by the shock he received just now.
In Shinjuro's eyes, Soichiro's form was reflected along with his clumsy way of sheathing his sword back in its scabbard.
'Ah...'
'Another genius...'
The idea surfaced in his mind idly.
Rengku Shinjuro.exe has stopped working.
A moment passed as Soichiro recovered from his exertion.
Puchi.
Gyokko's neck, which should have been cut off, suddenly turned into a thin, pale fish along with his body.
The Upper Moon Three collapsed limply and covered the pot beneath it with a pile of fish.
"It's not dead yet!" Shinjuro snapped out of his reverie and raised his blade in caution as he frantically looked around the forest.
---
Taking advantage of the night, Gyokko slowly wrapped himself around a tree and hid among the whirling leaves. Mucus slid off of his body and leaves.
"...cough cough... was that... Moon Breathing?"
Gyokko was covered in cold sweat. His thick hands, which turned into fish scales after he shed his old skin, were shaking slightly. His lower body that resembled a snake wrapped tightly on the tree.
The molting technique is his trump card to fool his enemies; his state after molting was nearly indestructible.
'That slash just now. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't have caused me a fatal injury.'
His eyes narrowed as he swallowed his saliva.
He subconsciously used his trump card to molt as he recalled a memory in his mind.
The scene where Akaza challenges Kokushibo to a fight for the position of the strongest Kizuki.
The overwhelming power and speed that simple slash easily took off Akaza's head was deeply imprinted in Gyokko's psyche.
He shed his own skin then too.
"...Kokushibo-sama, how could your breathing technique be used by others?"
Gyokko mulled over the question as he calmed down from his rage. Taking in two deep breaths.
This was the second time this evening that he had felt a twinge of regret at having to come to this village.
The first time was when he was ambushed by the three Hashira.
Thinking carefully about his next move, Gyokko's eyes slowly locked in on the figures of the two brothers, Yuichiro and Muichiro, who were standing behind Shinjuro still in their stance.
---
---
---
-Swordsmith Village-
At the village, thanks to the timely alarm by the sentry guard stationed tonight, the swordsmiths had already withdrawn from the streets.
Tanjuro held Kusabimaru in his hand readily. He landed on the street and turned his head to look at the old and decrepit Hantengu lying on the wall on the other side of the street.
Beside him landed Gyomei as well.
"Namu... it's an Upper Moon demon." Gyomei held the prayer beads in his hands, sensing the aura of Hantengu.
"Two Upper Moon demons have come to attack the village." His voice was gruff and steady.
"The situation on Shinjuro-san's side... is dangerous."
Tanjuro narrowed his eyes and raised Kusabimaru. "... this one is an Upper Moon Three."
The words on Hantengu's eyes confirmed his suspicions.
The previous Gyokko advanced his rank by one, as did Hantengu.
From Upper Moon Four to Upper Moon Three.
He breathed out slightly and told Gyomei all the information he knew.
"Himejima-san."
"This demon in front of us won't die even if you cut off its head."
"He can split into other forms of demonic transformation, and only by cutting the head of his main body will he finally die."
Gyomei listened intently to Tanjuro's explanation and felt his tears flow out of his eyes again.
'I need to go and get my Nichirin blade...'
While the two were having their conversation, Hantengu wasn't idle himself behind the wall of his hideout.
"...how terrible."
Hantengu's ears twitched as he heard Tanjuro's and Gyomei's movement outside with fear on his face.
"...I'm obviously the weaker one... yet you know so much about me..."
"The Demon Slayer Corps is just a bunch of bullies! So Scary! They're so scary!"
Drip, drip.
He trembled as he slowly crawled out from his hiding place in a twisted form. His upper body was facing upward, while his lower body was facing downward.
"Argh!" His voice rang out as blood dripped out of his eyes.
Hantengu slowly raised his arms... then plunged them deep into his own neck!
Puchi!
Before the surprised Tanjuro and Gyomei, Hantengu tore himself into two parts from the neck down!