Gyutaro carried Mei on his back and ran wildly through the snow. They ran for a very long time. It seemed that Mei and her brother had never been this far from home since she could remember.
"Brother, it will be dawn in three hours!"
"I see!"
"We've come this far, and we haven't seen a single demon slayer, let alone a Pillar!" Gyutaro said irritably.
It was almost dawn, were they really going to go back like this?
Do demon hunters really exist in this world?
Why did they swagger around for so long and still not see anything?
Suddenly, Mei, who was lying on Gyutaro's back, twitched her nose: "Brother, there's a smell of blood."
Gyutaro stopped in his tracks: "I smell it too!" He turned around and ran toward the direction where the bloody smell was coming from.
They hadn't run far when they spotted a lone house in the snow in the distance.
The smell of blood was coming from inside the house.
Mei licked her lips, couldn't help but swallow, and stared intently at the room: "Brother, it smells so good!"
"Quiet down!"
Gyutaro didn't make any rash moves; he could clearly sense chewing sounds coming from inside the room.
Not long after, an ugly ghost came out of the house, carrying a human arm in its hand and gnawing on it as it walked.
Mei stared at the arm in the ghost's hand, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"Brother, I really want to eat it!"
"Don't make a sound, I'll let you eat your fill later!"
Gyutaro's eyes were fixed on the ghost, or rather, on the shadows behind the ghost.
...
"The breath of water, the form of unrestrained movement, the tide!"
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps were heard, followed by a surge of water that looked like a winding blade falling towards the ghost's neck!
"Wh-what!"
The ghost's eyes widened, and before it could even understand what was happening, its neck was severed.
"Am I still too late?"
The boy, dressed in a Demon Slayer Corps uniform, stared grimly at the human arm in the demon's hand.
After receiving news of the ghostly presence from the raven, he rushed over at full speed, but he was still too late. If he had been a little faster, perhaps he could have prevented someone from being killed.
He was so engrossed in self-blame that he was completely unaware of the impending danger.
"Haha, Demon Slayer, I've finally got my chance!"
Just then, a loud, excited laugh rang in the boy's ears.
Then a bloody blade fell towards the boy's face.
"What? There's more!"
The boy thought there were only ghosts here, and he was most relaxed at this moment. Gyutaro's sudden attack caught him off guard. At the critical moment, he had no choice but to raise his Nichirin Blade to block the incoming attack!
With a crisp clang, the boy saw the weapon in front of him clearly: a red scythe!
He looked at the green-haired, emaciated Gyutaro in front of him, his eyes gradually turning cold: "Didn't I notice you at all just now? Were you hiding in the shadows?"
He used his arm force to send Gyutaro flying.
"Hey, is this Pillar?"
"Gyuu Taro asked."
"column?"
The boy laughed and said, "How could I, a weakling, be worthy to be compared with the Pillars? But dealing with trash like you who only dare to hide in the shadows, you Pillars don't need to lift a finger!"
With that, the boy launched another attack.
"Water Breathing, First Form, Water Surface Slash!"
"What? Isn't it a pillar?"
Gyutaro was somewhat disappointed. It seemed his hopes had been dashed. He had thought he had encountered a Pillar, and that killing him would please Lord Ryuri. But it turned out to be just a lowly soldier.
"You evil spirit, what are you thinking!"
Without hesitation, the boy brought his Nichirin Blade down toward Gyutaro's neck.
"Blood Demon Art, Flying Blood Scythe!"
The scythe in Gyutaro's hand suddenly began to spin rapidly.
The boy's pupils suddenly contracted, and he quickly dodged backward.
But then Mei, who was hiding in the shadows, suddenly made her move. The colorful ribbon, like a living snake, attacked the boy from behind. The boy was completely unprepared and was instantly bound by the ribbon from behind and dropped into the air.
"There's another one???"
The boy was completely dumbfounded.
"Haha, you idiot, you didn't expect that, did you!"
Mei jumped out of the shadows with a smug look on her face: "The idea of having my brother attract attention while I hid in the shadows was my idea. How about that, brother? Aren't I amazing!"
"Mei, well done!"
Mei raised her eyebrows in satisfaction after receiving praise from Gyutaro.
She was excitedly running towards Gyutaro when suddenly Gyutaro's eyes widened, and he ran towards her frantically, shouting something at her.
Mei vaguely heard her brother's voice.
"plum!"
"Don't come any closer!"
"Watch out behind you!"
"Mei! No!"
"Breath of Water, Unleashed Form, Tide!" A cold and emotionless voice rang in Mei's ears, and her mind went blank for a moment, as if time had stopped.
When she finally came to her senses, she found her head flying high in the air. She saw the man she had been hoisting with the ribbon looking at her with a cold smile, and at the same time, she saw her brother running towards her with a face full of despair.
Finally, she saw a man standing coldly and indifferently behind her headless body.
"You evil spirits aren't the only ones allowed to call for help!"
With a thud, Mei's head fell heavily to the ground.
"Mei! Mei!" Gyutaro rushed towards Mei, cradling her head in his arms, his face filled with terror: "Mei, what's wrong! Mei, are you alright! Don't scare me! Please don't scare me!"
"Why! Why!" Tears welled up in Gyutaro's eyes like a burst dam.
"Why? We've already gained power, we've already been saved, why do you still want to leave me? Why is this happening?!" His voice, filled with endless grief and anger, echoed in the air.
Gyutaro was in despair. Nothing was more painful than seeing his sister being killed right before his eyes!
"Ouch, brother!"
The wailing Gyutaro abruptly stopped: "Plum?"
My sister is still alive?
"It hurts! It really hurts, brother!"
Mei's head rolled violently from side to side in Gyutaro's arms as she cried out, "What happened? Wasn't this plan flawless? Why was I still killed?"
Brother, are you an idiot?! Why didn't you check if anyone was around before you attacked? Your sister's head has already been chopped off, can't you see that?!
You're still laughing! Why are you laughing even though my head has been chopped off?!
Gyutaro hugged Mei's head tightly: "Thank goodness, Mei! I'm so glad you're alright!!"
"How could someone be alright when their head has already been chopped off!" Mei said, choking back tears.
"But Mei, you're still alive!"
"Oh, right!"
Mei finally realized what was happening.
Gyutaro grinned: "Although I don't know why you're still alive after having your head chopped off, Lord Ryūri once said that having your head chopped off doesn't necessarily mean you'll die. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones!"
"Master!"
The ribbon binding the boy was cut off in a few strokes, and the boy fell to the ground and quickly went to the side of the man who had just appeared.
The man looked warily at the headless corpse in front of him: "What happened? Why didn't it die after its head was cut off?"
At that moment, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and suddenly remembered the sad news that the raven had brought half a day earlier.
The Wind Pillar was killed by a demon, and according to the description of the Demon Slayer Corps members who were still alive at the time, the demon's neck had been cut off, but it did not die!
Could it be that the two demons in front of us are the ones who killed the Wind Pillar?
No, that's not right!
These two demons are too weak. Even if they survive having their necks cut off, they could never kill a Pillar!
Suddenly, the man sensed something and his eyes fixed intently on the shadow behind him.
There, a white-haired boy slowly walked out.
"Gyutaro, Ume, you two did a great job."