Chapter 32: Twelfth Form - Dark Blade Strangulation
As Hakuya sensed the violent fluctuations in the air approaching him, he swung his sword at the destructive temari ball.
Just as his blade was about to make contact with the temari, its trajectory suddenly changed, and Hakuya's Nichirin blade missed completely.
Hakuya was momentarily caught off guard, and the redirected temari suddenly hurtled vertically toward his head.
"Water Breathing, Twelfth Form: Dark Blade Strangulation!"
This technique was Hakuya's own creation—the twelfth form of Water Breathing, derived from the Eleventh Form: Flowing Water's Shadow. With a swift draw of the blade, dense streams of sharp sword energy emanated from his body, shredding any approaching target. It was ideal for counterattacks when caught at close range.
With incredible speed, Hakuya's left hand whipped out his second Nichirin blade from his waist, and dense, nearly invisible sword energy burst from him, tinged with tiny droplets of water.
The temari that was about to strike Hakuya was instantly torn to shreds by the sword energy.
The fragments turned into a bloody mist the next second, dissipating into the air.
"Blood Demon Art," Hakuya muttered, recognizing the technique.
Then, after ricocheting off the surrounding walls, the second temari ball slammed toward Hakuya's knee.
Without a moment's hesitation, Hakuya immediately activated his partial demon transformation and delivered a powerful knee strike.
With the enhanced physical strength gained from his transformation, the temari was instantly crushed by Hakuya's knee and, unable to withstand the force, exploded into fragments.
Having dispatched the two temari balls that were wreaking havoc in the living room, Hakuya exited his demon form and checked on the others. "Is everyone alright?"
"We're fine!"
Both Tanjiro and Tamayo replied.
"Tanjiro, prepare for battle! We have enemies!" After confirming everyone was unharmed, Hakuya instructed Tanjiro to ready himself.
Hearing this, Tanjiro drew his black Nichirin blade, adjusted his breathing, and assumed a fighting stance.
Outside Tamayo's residence stood the two demons that Muzan Kibutsuji had dispatched to take Tanjiro's head.
They were a male and female demon. The male demon appeared to be blind, dressed in monk's robes with a large string of Buddhist prayer beads around his neck. While this short-haired monk looked mostly human, the most striking feature about him were the strange eyes on his palms.
The female demon standing beside him also looked relatively normal at first glance, with no unusual features immediately visible. She appeared like an ordinary young woman.
"Yahaba, there seems to be a powerful person in this house! My temari was destroyed!" the female demon said to the male demon.
Hearing this, Yahaba responded, "Susamaru, as members of the Twelve Kizuki, we cannot let Muzan-sama down!"
The female demon named Susamaru laughed, then conjured another temari in her hand. "Yahaba, don't worry! I will never disappoint Muzan-sama!"
With that, Susamaru hurled the temari toward Tamayo's mansion.
After throwing two temari into Tamayo's residence, Susamaru conjured two more and launched them as well. Then two more—six in total.
The six temari balls immediately began scattering and wreaking havoc throughout the building.
Tanjiro attempted to strike the approaching temari with his sword, but the ball miraculously dodged his blade.
Hakuya warned him, "The trajectories of these balls are extremely unusual and defy normal physics. They must be controlled by a demon using Blood Demon Art."
Tanjiro stopped attacking and focused on defense instead.
This time, the temari's impacts were even more powerful and swift than before.
Perhaps because the demon had suffered a loss at Hakuya's hands, none of the six temari came anywhere near him.
Hakuya noticed this and felt somewhat amused. Was he really that intimidating?
At that moment, a temari suddenly flew toward Tamayo. Yushiro, devoted as always, threw himself in front of her to protect her.
Just as the temari was about to hit Yushiro, it suddenly swerved around him. Then, at an extremely tricky angle, it curved back and struck Yushiro's head, completely obliterating it.
Tanjiro, who had never witnessed anything like it, was shocked and cried out, "Yushiro!"
Yushiro's body collapsed to the ground the next moment. Just when Tanjiro thought he was dead, Hakuya said calmly, "Don't panic. He's a demon after all. He won't die that easily."
Tanjiro's grief eased somewhat, but he still felt deeply uneasy.
After all, it was his entire head! Even for a demon, having your head completely destroyed had to cause serious problems.
With the surrounding walls largely demolished, a massive hole had opened up between Hakuya and Tanjiro's position and the outside.
All six temari balls flew out through the opening, and the barrage temporarily ceased.
Through the thick smoke and dust, Hakuya spotted two dark figures standing outside the mansion. He called out with obvious annoyance, "Hey! You two out there—don't you know there's a price to pay for destroying someone's home?"
As the smoke cleared, Hakuya and Tanjiro finally came face to face with Yahaba and Susamaru.
Looking at the two demons outside the mansion, Tanjiro's nerves instantly tensed. He muttered to himself, "Their scent is clearly different from all the demons I've encountered so far. Is it because they're stronger? This overwhelming scent alone is suffocating!"
Hakuya's words made Susamaru—the demon who threw the temari—laugh playfully. She asked Hakuya teasingly, "How are you going to punish me, handsome? Are you going to spank me? Hehehehe~"
"If that's what you want, I'll definitely satisfy you," Hakuya said coldly.
At that moment, Susamaru noticed Tanjiro. When she saw the Hanafuda earrings, her expression shifted. "Hmm~ So you're the Demon Slayer with the Hanafuda earrings! Be prepared—your life will end tonight!"
"You're after me?" Tanjiro was surprised. Realizing they were targeting him specifically, Tanjiro turned to Tamayo, not wanting to endanger her and Yushiro. "Miss Tamayo, take Yushiro somewhere safe! They're after me!"
Tamayo made no move to leave. Instead, she said firmly, "Tanjiro! Don't worry about us. Keep fighting! We don't need protection—we're demons too!"
"I'll finish you off with this!"
While Tanjiro and Tamayo were talking, Susamaru launched a temari at Tanjiro's head with tremendous force.
The power contained in this attack was immense. The instant Susamaru released it, it pierced through the air and struck toward Tanjiro's head with lightning speed.
If it connected, the result would be the same as Yushiro's—his head would be completely destroyed. For a human like Tanjiro, that would be instantly fatal.
While Tanjiro was momentarily distracted, Hakuya had already stepped in front of him. His purple-black transformed arm caught the ball aimed at Tanjiro's head.
"BANG!"
With a thunderous impact, the immense force of the temari collided with Hakuya's palm. The air around them suddenly trembled violently, and the resulting shockwave blew Hakuya's white hair back from his forehead.
At that moment, seeing Hakuya's eerie, partially demonic form, Susamaru was genuinely shocked.
"A demon?!"
For a moment, Susamaru mistook Hakuya for one of her own kind. But upon carefully examining his aura, she realized that Hakuya's scent wasn't the characteristic demonic scent of blood and flesh—it was something purer and more unsettling: the scent of death itself.
Sensing the sudden shift in Hakuya's aura and observing the transformation of his arm, Tanjiro knew—even though Hakuya hadn't turned around—that his senior had entered that terrifying state. Those demons were in serious trouble!
Even during Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane when battling the Hand Demon, Hakuya hadn't activated this state. Was it because these demons were too powerful, or was there another reason?
Tamayo was also shocked by Hakuya's display. She hadn't expected him to possess such power—actually blocking a demon's attack with his bare hand while in his transformed state.
"Who the hell are you?" Susamaru shouted at Hakuya.
The next moment, Hakuya crushed Susamaru's temari in his grip and said coldly, "Your body might get crushed just like this ball."
Hakuya's words were domineering yet tinged with a hint of dark humor. Tanjiro, listening from behind, couldn't help but unconsciously tense up at the threat.
Susamaru's anger immediately flared after hearing Hakuya's words. Since becoming a demon, no one had ever threatened her like this. Hakuya was the first to dare mock her so brazenly.
"You bastard, I'm going to tear you apart!" Susamaru flew into a rage, instantly sprouting four additional arms from her body. Combined with her original two, she now had six arms total.
"Tanjiro! I'll handle this female demon. You take care of the other one. Don't let me down!"
Hakuya ignored the enraged Susamaru and instead gave Tanjiro his assignment.
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