The injuries sustained by the obese demon, Tsunanami, weren't limited to the scorched handprint on his belly. The true devastation lay within—the massive internal trauma caused by Horitake's previous palm strike.
When that strike, laden with purple lightning, had connected, a torrent of violent electrical energy had surged into Tsunanami's abdomen, wreaking havoc on his internal organs.
Consequently, Tsunanami was in a dire state. He felt an agonizing, searing pain radiating from his vitals. To make matters worse, these severe internal injuries refused to heal; his regenerative abilities were completely neutralized by the lingering lightning.
The massive demon slumped on the ground, whimpering and groaning, unable to even push himself back up.
With Tsunanami's defeat certain, all that remained was the execution.
Horitake stood before the three young slayers, his back turned to them. He slowly reached for the hilt of his Nichirin Sword, Weiguang. His voice was calm as he addressed them:
"It just so happens that I can show you my Breathing Style."
As he finished speaking, the blade of Weiguang slid smoothly from its scabbard.
Exquisite purple lightning patterns manifested along the length of the blade. As Horitake's Breathing Style surged, the patterns seemed to come alive, pulsing with a brilliant, rhythmic light.
"Thunder Breathing, Fourth Form: Thunder Half-Moon Slash!"
Lethal purple electricity roared around Horitake. Though the nature of this lightning was inherently violent and wild, under Horitake's absolute control, it became as docile as a well-trained hound, flowing obediently onto the blade of Weiguang.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Yae stared at the sheer majesty radiating from Horitake. Watching the purple bolts flicker around him and feeling that abyss-like, overwhelming pressure from such a close distance, the three of them stood with mouths agape, thoroughly awestruck.
Once the purple electricity had condensed to its peak, Horitake delivered a casual, effortless swing.
The Thunder Half-Moon Slash manifested as a vertical crescent of violet light. The strike sliced through the air in total silence, hurtling directly toward the grounded Tsunanami.
Seeing the incoming violet glow, every hair on Tsunanami's body stood on end!
His instincts screamed at him: This is terrifying! It's unstoppable! Run!
But his injuries anchored him to the spot. He could only watch with wide, trembling eyes as the Thunder Half-Moon Slash bore down on him with lightning speed.
I can't escape! It's over!
The thought had barely formed when the hundred-pound mass of flesh was vertically bisected by the violet crescent.
The cut was incredibly smooth. It didn't feel like cutting through a mountain of fat; it was easier than a hot knife through butter. The blade passed through him with a faint hiss, so clean that Tsunanami himself felt nothing at first.
The demon blinked, momentarily confused. Why am I not dead?
But the realization hit him a split second later:
No... I am dead. I've been split in two!
Sure enough, starting from his center line, his body split apart with a wet crack. The vertical surfaces of the wound were perfectly flat and polished—so smooth that the blood didn't even have time to spray out before the two halves began to disintegrate into ash.
His work finished, Horitake turned around, sheathing Weiguang in one fluid motion.
The gesture was entirely nonchalant. It wasn't as if he had just slain one of the Twelve Kizuki; it looked more like he had casually sliced a watermelon.
The trio stared at the composed Horitake, momentarily speechless.
They didn't know what to say.
Please, they thought simultaneously, you just killed one of the Twelve Kizuki! Can you at least give us a reaction? Isn't this a legendary achievement for you?
In truth, for Horitake, an opponent of this caliber wasn't even worth adding to his record. Currently, only the Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki were worthy of being considered "achievements." Anything else was beneath him.
After sheathing his sword, Horitake couldn't help but reflect on that last move. He shook his head slightly.
"Sigh... why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Using the Thunder Half-Moon Slash on a fat guy like that was a waste. It's like firing a cannon at a mosquito."
"Hmm?" Horitake suddenly sensed something and looked down at Weiguang in his hand. "What do you mean? You don't want to be unsheathed for such weak enemies next time?"
Horitake's expression turned annoyed.
"You're actually getting picky with me? As time goes on, there will be fewer and fewer enemies qualified to be our opponents. You should be happy there's even an enemy for you to cut! One more word out of you and I'll seal you away for six months. You can stay in the dark, cooped up in that scabbard!"
Tanjiro and Yae watched this scene with bizarre expressions.
Having snapped out of the shock of the Thunder Half-Moon Slash, they looked at Horitake's current behavior with complicated emotions, whispering among themselves.
"Is Senior Horitake... talking to his sword?"
"It seems so. Is Senior Brother okay? Is he having auditory hallucinations?"
"I don't know. It feels a bit off."
"I've heard that master swordsmen can converse with their weapons," Tanjiro whispered thoughtfully. "Maybe that's what's happening?"
"But the way he's talking," Yae noted, "doesn't sound like a conversation between a master and a weapon. It sounds like he's lecturing a subordinate."
"It really isn't normal. If I didn't know he was fine, I'd worry he was having a mental breakdown."
Hearing their whispers, Zenitsu's mouth twitched.
He couldn't help but remember what happened when his big brother first received Weiguang. Back then, the moment Horitake gripped the hilt, the sword had actually challenged the heavens, forcing his brother to fight for his life and strike down the celestial thunder itself.
Zenitsu had been a witness to that miracle.
Since that day, Zenitsu knew that the sword in his brother's hand was no ordinary blade—it was a spiritual treasure with a soul of its own.
Therefore, his brother talking to the sword wasn't a problem at all.
Horitake interrupted their whispering.
"Alright, that's enough. The demon has been dealt with."
He turned to face them, his expression becoming serious. "Now, here is the question: Through this trial, what have you learned?"
The three of them stood before Horitake, exchanging glances.
What had they learned?
From start to finish, the three of them hadn't really played a decisive role. Although they had fought decently against Tsunanami at first, Horitake had to step in to finish the job.
They looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.
Horitake sighed, feeling the need to explain.
"Teamwork! Did none of you learn about teamwork during this exercise?"
"Even though your cooperation was clumsy at the beginning, there was cooperation. Especially Tanjiro and Yae—the two of you coordinated well. You even managed to find the enemy's weakness together and held the upper hand for a while."
He then shifted his gaze, his tone sharpening.
"However, on that note, I need to lecture Zenitsu. Zenitsu, you basically didn't cooperate with your teammates at all. Forget cooperation—you were essentially slacking off through the entire fight!"
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