A spray of blood erupted!
Immediately followed by a shrill scream!
The phantom was gone... The trees stopped swaying... Dazzling white snow fell silently, and the demon crashed heavily to the ground, one arm instantly flying off and rolling to Tanjiro's feet.
[Fighting Skill + 1]
Tanjiro's pupils suddenly dilated, and he stared blankly as the severed arm turned into black smoke... His heart surged like ocean waves!
He excitedly raised his fist and shouted loudly to Roy, "Well done, Ni-san!"
From stillness to motion and back to stillness, Roy's swing of the hoe took only a blink of an eye.
This was clearly the simplest possible movement, but the "thing" it contained sent a chill down Sato Takeichiro's spine!
"Are you a 'Pillar'?" Sato Takeichiro scrambled up from the snow, staring intently at Roy, his expression grave.
The so-called "Pillars" correspond to "Demons" just as the Twelve Demon Moons correspond to demons. Sato Takeichiro had once been fortunate enough to see Upper Rank One; at the time, he had seen from a distance on the periphery how that esteemed individual could produce slashes filled with moon rings with a casual swing of his blade.
It was said that he was a 'Pillar' level figure in the Demon Slayer Corps during his lifetime.
Later, he ate people down the mountain and was pursued by the Water Hashira. Fortunately, the opponent was old and frail, allowing him to narrowly escape with the help of his companions.
And today, in this godforsaken old forest, he hadn't expected to encounter a third one!
But unfortunately... Roy was not.
In the Demon Slayer Corps, to become a "Pillar," one must either defeat one of the Twelve Demon Moons or kill fifty demons.
But Roy, who knew the plot, was very clear that the most important criterion for distinguishing a "Pillar" was not these rigid rules, but rather the degree of mastery over Breathing.
Just like in the Hunter world, the only condition for distinguishing whether a Nen Ability user is a top-tier expert is actually to see how well he has developed and mastered his own Nen Ability.
If the mastery is not precise or the development direction is wrong, even if the person is talented, it is difficult to become an excellent Nen Ability user.
For example, Kastro, who suffered from a lack of guidance from a master, was an Enhancement Type but mistakenly developed a "Conjuration Type" clone.
Therefore, this time in the dream, besides the goal of mining coal and selling charcoal to improve the Kamado Family's meals, Roy also had another mission—to find a master and learn Breathing.
Currently, the closest former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, was a good choice.
Roy dragged his hoe, drawing a straight thin line in the snow.
He didn't answer Sato Takeichiro's question; instead, he watched with interest as the other party grew a new arm, curiously asking, "How many more times can your demon blood sustain your recovery?"
Sato Takeichiro snarled, "Enough to rip out your heart and liver without any problem!"
Roy nodded, "That's good, you must keep your word."
"If you don't rip out my heart and liver today, no one leaves."
Sato Takeichiro & Tanjiro: "?"
They were utterly confused... The latter didn't know what his Ni-san was thinking, why he didn't attack again while the opponent's arm hadn't recovered.
The former instantly became more vigilant... Then—
He quickly bent down, scooped up a handful of snow from the ground, and threw it at Roy... Then, using the flying snow to block his vision, Sato Takeichiro used the greatest speed of his life, turned around, and ran!
"Bounce... Bounce... Bounce... I bounce! I bounce again!" The big trees swayed uncontrollably as he stepped on them, and in the blink of an eye... Sato Takeichiro had escaped over a hundred meters!
Tanjiro's eyes were wide, still not understanding what was happening.
Then he saw his Ni-san's face turn completely dark!
'My experience package, that experience package that was within my grasp...' Roy was furious beyond measure!
As a demon, he shouldn't be so cunning... So, the reason he could awaken a Blood Demon Art like "Bounce to Kill" was just to escape at the first sign of trouble, right?
Watching the opponent get further and further away... Roy angrily raised his right foot and kicked hard, sending a pebble "whooshing" after Sato Takeichiro's retreating figure, catching up like lightning.
However, without learning "En," Roy was still unable to imbue "Nen Ability" into an object released from his hand to enhance its speed... Moreover, the opponent had maintained a high level of vigilance, and his awakened Blood Demon Art was very suitable for dashing through the mountains and forests... This resulted in the opponent easily dodging his attack with a duck.
"In this case, there's nothing else to do."
Two hundred meters, three hundred meters, soon the opponent's position would be impossible to catch with the naked eye.
Roy simply rolled up his sleeves.
For the first time, he unleashed Breathing.
At this moment, the wind blew and the clouds moved, the great sun cast a ray of sunlight through a gap in the clouds, illuminating Roy's handsome face.
The young man held the hoe like a long sword, his left and right feet spread in a bow stance, and he took a deep breath.
Inside his body, it was as if an accelerator button had been pressed; his blood churned, his heart rate quickened, and even the capillaries on his skin burst out one after another, instantly spreading throughout his entire body!
The direct reaction on the panel was... the column recording Roy's physique showed a huge change!
Visibly, from—
[Physique: 10.051] it instantly jumped to [Physique: 20.102]!
It had actually doubled!
Sun Breathing uses qi as fuel... In Roy's eyes, it was as if two divine fires had been ignited. Seizing this brief boost, he lunged forward with a thrust!
"Whoosh—" The hoe cut through the cold wind, bringing an ear-piercing shriek!
Tanjiro only felt a blur before his eyes, as if something had flashed past, and when he looked again—
His Eiichiro Ni-san, in the span of a single breath, had traversed nearly three hundred meters and appeared above the demon's head.
Then came a sword technique descending from the sky—
Sun Breathing—Waltz!
"Swish—"
A fiery streak, carrying a fierce blade light, evaporated the wind and snow, circling around Sato Takeichiro.
Sato Takeichiro initially felt nothing, but when he realized he was soaring in mid-air and the part of his body below his waist was still on the ground, he suddenly understood... he had been cut in half at the waist!
He glared with frustrated, bloodshot eyes, angrily pointing at Roy, and shouted, "You still say you're not a 'Pillar'?"
Then his vision went black, and with a "thud," he fell straight into the snow.
Blood flowed like a trickle, staining an area red, and the painful wail, though delayed, arrived.
A figure wearing thick cotton-socked clogs, with a hoe on his shoulder, approached unhurriedly... Sato Takeichiro's eyelids twitched. Ignoring the pain, he once again consumed demon blood to restore his flesh... But this time... it didn't work!
He was terrified, panicked, afraid, trembling, clearly feeling his life force draining from his filthy body... He unwillingly raised his head and questioned Roy, "What kind of technique is this?"
Roy stopped, looked at the vast expanse of white snow, and sighed softly, "You really don't keep your word, forcing me to use Sun Breathing to kill you."
"Are you satisfied now?"
Sato Takeichiro's pupils constricted... He shrieked, "You... who exactly are you?!"
Roy smiled gently, raised his foot, and stomped on his head, bursting it: "I am Kamado Eiichiro, who doesn't change his name or surname!"