The brazier burned in the room, filling it with warmth.
Firelight stained Sui's face a mellow amber as she leaned against a sandalwood armrest, sitting sideways by the edge of a rolled blanket.
Her eyes were lowered, her lashes thick as feathers. Her fingertips brushed over the notebook, and with every crease in every page, the killing cries of generations of swordsmen hunting demons seemed to flow out beneath her touch, where only Sui could hear them.
When Iguro Obanai pushed open the door, this was the sight that greeted him.
The woman's hairpin had been set aside at an angle. Her crow-black hair spilled loose over her shoulders. The biwa lay across the floor beside the fire tongs, lit by the flickering flames, its woodgrain like some great serpent licking at the firelight.
For a moment, Obanai felt dazed.
Before Ruka-sama had died, she too had liked to sit by the hearth and read, sometimes telling stories to the children. She had been a beautiful woman, dignified and composed.
"Has Senjuro fallen asleep?" Sui asked.
"He has," Obanai nodded.
"Good."
Sui gave a small nod, then said nothing more. She turned another page, engraving the words into her mind, letting the methods and forms of Flame Breathing gradually take shape before her eyes.
Obanai did not disturb her. He turned to leave, only to be stopped by her voice.
"Would you be willing to become my tsuguko?"
"What?" Obanai froze where he stood.
"Why?" he asked. "Why me?"
"Isn't it normal for a Hashira to choose a talented slayer they like as a successor?" Sui said with a faint smile.
Obanai fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"Thank you for the offer, but I have no intention, for now, of training under anyone."
"I see…"
Her voice was very soft. The gentleness on her face reminded Obanai of Ruka-sama.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because I…"
His voice caught.
Because I turned down your kindness, he thought.
I'm the descendant of human trash. For the offspring of people like that, being able to hold a sword and protect others is already atonement enough. Becoming a Hashira's successor… that kind of place should belong to someone like Rengoku Kyojuro.
He had no right to take someone else's place.
"That wasn't your fault. You seem to live buried in self-reproach," Sui said.
Obanai looked up, confused as to how she could possibly know anything about him.
"The journals left behind by successive Flame Hashira include notes written by Shinjuro-san," Sui said, reading the question in his expression.
"After his wife died, Shinjuro fell into despair for a time, but in the end he still chose to shoulder the responsibility of a Hashira. In the course of his life hunting demons, he recorded two incidents. One was the Iguro family on Hachijojima. The other was Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. On Hachijojima, Shinjuro-san saved you. In Kyoto, he saved me."
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"Shinjuro-san wrote, 'Perhaps it is not only the Breath of the Beginning that can kill the Demon King. In Kyoto, I saw another astonishing talent. That girl possesses eyes that can kill the Demon King. They are a gift from the gods.'"
"So he never stopped. He continued fighting for the sake of victory over demons, until in the end he fell at Kurama Mountain."
Obanai's fingers curled.
"Are you offering to make me your tsuguko because you pity me?" he asked.
"No. I value your talent," Sui said, shaking her head. "Pitiful people are everywhere in the Demon Slayer Corps. But only a handful can become a Hashira's successor. You're strong, your sense of smell is sharp, your combat instincts are excellent, and most importantly…"
She lifted her head and looked at him.
"You were the first one to notice the change in my body."
Obanai's gaze sharpened.
"The change in your body… what do you mean?"
"The demonic scent wasn't your imagination. But it doesn't come from the serpent demon worshipped by the Iguro family. It comes from the former Lower Rank One, Lokalan. Those two serpent demons share the same origin. Both came from the White Serpent Shrine on Mount Shaku."
Then Sui said something that emptied Obanai's mind in an instant.
"Rather than simply killing that demon… it felt more as though I devoured it. Not just that one—other demons too. Not slain, but consumed by me."
In the shadows cast by the hearth, she turned to look at him. Her eyes gleamed faintly.
"Why are you telling me this?" Cold sweat pricked Obanai's brow.
"Didn't you promise to keep it secret?" Sui said with a small smile.
"That assumes you're human," Obanai said. "Talking about eating demons is far too absurd."
"I walked here in broad daylight, didn't I? I'm a genuine human."
Sui closed the Flame Hashira's notebook.
The rhythm of her breathing had already shifted successfully into Flame Breathing's cadence. Her lungs burned with a searing ache, but she had begun to grow used to that pain. It was the burden imposed by changing breathing styles.
Yet what interested her far more than Flame Breathing was what the journal said about the Breath of the Beginning.
The only swordsman who had ever wielded Sun Breathing was named Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
He bore a red mark at his brow and wore a pair of sun-patterned hanafuda earrings. They were such distinctive features that anyone could have picked him out at a glance on a crowded street.
"Nar— Thunder Hashira-sama…" Obanai began.
But before he could finish, Sui rose to her feet, lifted the biwa, and pressed the hidden catch. At any moment she could draw the short sword from inside.
The next instant—
Whoosh.
Wind. Footsteps. Snow kicked up outside.
A woman like a flower stepped into the courtyard holding two blades, one of them in a crimson scabbard—Sui's Nichirin blade, Yaqiu.
The Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, had arrived at the Rengoku estate in the dead of night.
"Sui!" Kanae called, her expression grave, tossing Yaqiu back to her.
"What happened?" Sui caught it cleanly.
"A message came from the Master's crow. Demon turmoil has broken out in Osaka again," Kanae said. "That fox demon that appeared before at Kurama Mountain has shown up once more. The situation is urgent. The Master doesn't intend to give it any chance to escape this time, so he's ordered me to go with you and reinforce the Wind Hashira."
Sui swiftly changed into her uniform. She draped the crimson haori over her shoulders, the wind chimes on her earrings giving a hollow, ethereal ring. She set the biwa gently back on the table and said to Obanai:
"Please have this biwa sent tomorrow morning to Senko Myojin Shrine in Osaka. Since I have Yaqiu with me now, it can sleep here for the time being. And… give Senjuro my regards. I won't be able to say goodbye in the morning."
Seeing the two Hashira together, Obanai said nothing, only nodded.
"What kind of demon… would make the Master issue an order like this?" Sui asked.
"Shinjuro-san has appeared again," Kanae said. "It's a Blood Demon Art that manipulates the dead to fight. So no matter what, we cannot afford to lose any more Hashira."
Sui went still for a heartbeat.
Her Kasugai crow, Chihua, descended. Clearly the Master had sent Chihua with the same message, but over short distances a crow could not match the Flower Hashira's speed.
"The number of dead among the Kinoe slayers is three! Eight more gravely wounded!" Chihua cried.
"The fox demon is fighting the Wind Hashira on Mount Shaku! The fox demon is fighting the Wind Hashira on Mount Shaku!"
"The battlefield is shifting! The battlefield is shifting!"
"The Wind Hashira has forced it back toward Mount Shaku! The battle is contained there! The Wind Hashira is locked in combat with the fox demon!"
The crows' cries did not stop, because the battle was changing from moment to moment.
Sui tightened her grip on Yaqiu. Every burst of speed made the air scream.
The very next second, the purple sparks around her body flared brighter.
"Then that's how it is."
A breath hotter than flame spilled from her lips.
Kanae's eyes widened.
Flame Breathing.
She was startled, because Sui had only arrived at the Rengoku estate a single day ago.
But the firelight vanished just as quickly, replaced by crackling dark-violet electricity, and an even more terrifying pressure rolled off her.
Inside the room, Obanai instinctively stepped back. The aura around Sui felt like a natural disaster, like thunderclouds about to split the heavens.
"It'll be a burden on you to follow behind me, Kanae."
With that, Sui took up Yaqiu and strode outside.
In the next instant, dark-violet lightning flashed—
and she was gone, shooting across the Rengoku courtyard and disappearing into the snowy mountain path in the blink of an eye.
Night.
The snow deepened from a light fall into a blizzard, whitening heaven and earth alike.
Into that night, into that blizzard, thunder roared.
Her path remained completely unobstructed.
For Sui's journey, the Ubuyashiki family had activated all the influence at their disposal. Trains, transfers, roads from mountain villages to city streets—every route had been cleared so that the Thunder Hashira could reach Osaka even one moment sooner.
But Sui needed none of it.
With Thunder Breathing at Total Concentration, Sui's speed surpassed every means of transportation in this era.
All along the way, at least ten Kasugai crows waited at designated points, bringing her the latest updates.
In that state, Kanae was left far behind.
"Three Kinoe swordsmen dead! Eight critically injured!"
"The fox demon is fighting the Wind Hashira on Mount Shaku!"
"The battlefield is shifting!"
"The Wind Hashira has dragged the battle back to Mount Shaku and pinned it there! The Wind Hashira remains locked in combat with the fox demon!"
The crows never stopped crying. The situation changed with every passing breath.
Sui gripped her blade tighter, accelerating each time.
At this point, her running form could no longer be tracked by the naked eye.
She was using Thunder Breathing's First Form to travel.
Behind her, the ancient city ahead blazed with light through the snow.
Osaka.
She had arrived.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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