Chapter 33: Fierce Battle
Hakuya activated his Demon Transformation not because he couldn't defeat Susamaru in his normal state.
The reason was simple: to fulfill Susamaru's demands. Only with the enhanced physical capabilities of his transformed state could Hakuya completely overpower Susamaru.
Although Demon Transformation would cause him to enter a berserk state, that only happened when his demonic energy was depleted.
As long as Hakuya controlled it well and exited this state before his power was completely exhausted, he wouldn't go berserk—at most, he would just be physically exhausted.
Even if he did go berserk, it wouldn't matter; draining Susamaru's blood would solve everything.
After speaking with Tanjiro, Hakuya used the stealth ability he'd gained after absorbing the Swamp Demon's power.
Instantly, Hakuya vanished into the ground.
Even though Hakuya had told Tanjiro he'd copied the Swamp Demon's Blood Demon Art, seeing him actually sink into the ground still surprised Tanjiro.
Tamayo was utterly bewildered, completely unable to comprehend Hakuya's abilities. His displayed powers were beyond the realm of normal humans, yet he wasn't a demon. Tamayo was completely dumbfounded.
However, the more powerful Hakuya became, the more excited Tamayo grew, because that meant collecting blood samples wouldn't be so difficult anymore.
Just then, Yushiro's destroyed head began to slowly regenerate from the wound on his neck. In mere moments, half of Yushiro's head had regrown.
Perhaps wanting to speak with Tamayo quickly, Yushiro stopped healing after half his head had grown back. He then said to Tamayo, "Lady Tamayo, didn't I tell you this already? I said from the beginning not to get involved with demon slayers! You know my illusions aren't perfect. While the presence of buildings and people can be hidden, I can't erase the fact that they exist! The more people there are, the more traces will be exposed, making it easy for Muzan to discover us!"
"I hate anyone who interferes with my life with you! I can't forgive what's happening!"
Yushiro complained to Tamayo with extreme dissatisfaction. In his heart, all he wanted was to live peacefully with Tamayo; everything else was irrelevant.
Hearing Yushiro's words, Tamayo naturally understood his feelings. What she had done wasn't what Yushiro sought. If it weren't for Yushiro's devotion to her, he probably would have left her long ago.
Tamayo couldn't help but show a hint of guilt, perhaps for not considering Yushiro's feelings all these years.
Meanwhile, facing Hakuya who had suddenly disappeared into the ground, Susamaru's six hands—about to throw temari at him—stopped abruptly.
Losing her target, Susamaru was taken aback.
After a brief moment of surprise, Susamaru abandoned the idea of attacking Hakuya and simultaneously hurled six temari at Tanjiro.
Seeing the six temari coming toward him, Tanjiro, having already devised a countermeasure, immediately drew his Nichirin blade toward the incoming balls.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Shizuku Ripple Thrust - Curved!"
Tanjiro didn't make any slashing motion. Instead, at the most precise moment, he thrust his Nichirin blade straight toward a single point.
This technique utilizes a special arm movement to concentrate power at the tip of the blade for a thrust. A master can pierce through anything; when used properly, it leverages the rhythmic flow of water generated by Water Breathing to strike all of the enemy's vital points.
Tanjiro's thrust struck three temari balls in one go. Simultaneously, the precise and skillful thrust neutralized most of the force contained within the temari.
"Success!" Tanjiro thought to himself, secretly pleased that he had countered Susamaru's strange temari attack.
However, just as Tanjiro was celebrating, the three temari impaled on his blade suddenly began to move again, unnaturally.
The temari on Tanjiro's Nichirin blade struck him in the forehead. While the force wasn't as terrifying as before, it still packed the power of an adult's punch.
Tanjiro felt dizzy from the blow.
"They can still move! This is so strange!" Tanjiro was truly baffled.
"Foolish demon slayer, you'll understand once you see the direction the arrows are moving! Dodge the arrows!" Yushiro warned Tanjiro.
Tanjiro, confused, retorted, "What arrows? I don't see any arrows!"
"Of course you don't! I'll share my vision with you!" Yushiro then realized that Tanjiro was just an ordinary person and couldn't see what his special vision allowed.
With that, Yushiro pulled out a paper talisman and flicked it onto Tanjiro's forehead.
Having gained Yushiro's shared vision, Tanjiro quickly discovered that the temari were changing direction under the control of mystical arrows.
"I see them! Yushiro!" Tanjiro exclaimed with delight.
"Enough talk, hurry up and deal with that demon controlling the arrows!" Yushiro urged. The demon controlling the arrows was the culprit behind the temari's bizarre movements.
In reality, the arrows were merely visual feedback from Yushiro's Blood Demon Art, representing telekinetic control.
Those bending arrows were the trajectories of telekinesis.
The demon controlling these arrows—Yahaba—was actually using telekinesis to manipulate the trajectory of the temari.
This was why Tanjiro couldn't see these arrows; telekinesis was inherently invisible.
Yushiro could see them because his special ability allowed him to visualize the fluctuations of telekinetic energy.
Susamaru, meanwhile, was frantically throwing temari at Tanjiro, busy as ever.
"Hehehe~ It's your honor to be killed by me, one of the Twelve Kizuki!"
Just as Susamaru was gloating, Hakuya emerged from the ground behind Yahaba and Susamaru.
Yahaba sensed an approaching presence and immediately tried to restrain Hakuya's movements with telekinesis.
However, Hakuya was completely unaffected by the telekinesis, looking at Yahaba as if he were an idiot.
"How is this possible! You're immune to my telekinesis!" Yahaba exclaimed in disbelief.
Just as Yahaba was having his worldview shattered, Hakuya kicked him aside without hesitation.
Susamaru's movements froze at that moment, and then Hakuya suddenly appeared behind her.
"Is all you can do throw things like a child?" Hakuya asked coldly from behind Susamaru.
Sensing the deathly aura emanating from Hakuya, Susamaru shuddered. Although she wanted to retaliate, her body seemed to stiffen.
"Besides throwing things, what else can you do?" Hakuya said mockingly.
Susamaru felt utterly humiliated. She wasn't some delicate, fragile girl, yet she had been so easily provoked. This was a disgrace for a demon.
Just as Susamaru felt incredibly ashamed and indignant, Hakuya struck her hard. Her face instantly paled, and her stiff body finally reacted.
Susamaru whirled around and delivered three heavy punches to Hakuya's head. With muffled thuds, Hakuya remained unaffected, standing rooted to the spot. Apart from his hair being blown by the powerful force of the punches, Hakuya's head didn't move at all.
As a demon, Susamaru's punches were incredibly powerful. If an ordinary person took such blows, their head would snap back violently, resulting in instant death.
Susamaru, now a demon herself, questioned her own existence. Was Hakuya even human?
The situation seemed to have reversed their roles. Hakuya was the demon, and Susamaru was the weak woman who had encountered a monster.
Hakuya then slapped Susamaru across the face, sending her spinning several times in the air before she collapsed to the ground.
Hakuya looked at his transformed hand, now covered in blood from the wound he'd inflicted.
Perhaps fueled by an instinctive craving for demon blood after his transformation, Hakuya actually brought his hand to his lips and tasted it.
Lying on the ground, Susamaru healed her wounds while watching in horror as Hakuya licked her blood, finding him somewhat disturbing.
At this moment, Susamaru seemed to have forgotten that she was also a blood-consuming demon, and now she actually thought Hakuya was the pervert.
"The taste is a bit hard to swallow!" Hakuya said with some disgust, looking at Susamaru.
He stopped tasting Susamaru's blood. However, the blood on his arm began seeping into Hakuya's dark purple demonic limb, being absorbed.
"You told me earlier to punish you, didn't you? I wonder if you're ready for that punishment?" Hakuya said, then lifted Susamaru up from the ground by her neck.
Susamaru's eyes were filled with despair as Hakuya gripped her throat. She no longer had any thought of resistance, because any resistance would be futile against Hakuya and would only result in even more brutal treatment.
Tanjiro was completely stunned, forgetting that he was supposed to be dealing with Yahaba, who controlled the telekinetic arrows.
Faced with this overwhelming display of power, Susamaru's fate was obvious; tonight, she would become nothing more than a captive at Hakuya's mercy.
Hakuya, holding Susamaru, walked up to Tanjiro. Seeing Tanjiro standing frozen, Hakuya said, "Tanjiro! Don't just stand there! The other one is yours! Don't let him get away! Otherwise, if he alerts Muzan Kibutsuji, things will get complicated!"
Hearing this, Tanjiro straightened up like a soldier being lectured by his superior and said very seriously to Hakuya, "I understand! Hakuya-senpai!"
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Power Stone or Review!
P@atreon/Soulforger