Six men and women of different builds gathered in a small courtyard. They looked at each other with some confusion in their eyes.
"It's been a year since we last got together, hasn't it?"
"Yes, I wonder why our lord has summoned us this time."
At that moment, a girl seemed to suddenly realize something; she was also the only woman among the group.
The girl tilted her head, puzzled, and asked, "Why are two people missing? Where are Mr. Keikaku and Mr. Minato?"
Everyone fell silent upon hearing the girl's question. One of them spoke in a deep voice: "Mr. Minato may be late because of something... As for Mr. Keikaku... he was killed by a demon yesterday."
"Ah! How could this be!" The girl covered her mouth in shock, her arms trembling uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, I was training all day yesterday and didn't know about this."
As the girl spoke, her gaze unconsciously drifted to the corner to the side.
In the most remote corner of the courtyard, a man stood with his head down, enveloped in sadness.
The man's name is Akamine, the elder brother of the Wind Pillar Hayabusa, and both are members of the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillar-level swordsmen!
Just then, a voice rang out: "Our lord has arrived."
The next moment, everyone in the courtyard, including Chifeng in the corner, came to the front of the steps and knelt down on one knee.
The door opened, and a man with a scarred face emerged, supported by his wife.
"Children, it's been a long time. How have you all been?" The man looked gently at the crowd below.
"We are all doing well, please take care of yourself as well."
"My lord, you don't need to worry about us. Your health is the most important thing. You are the cornerstone of the Demon Slayer Corps. You must not fall!"
Everyone offered words of concern.
The man's gaze fell on Chifeng at the very edge, a trace of sadness and weariness flashing across his face: "Chifeng."
I am deeply saddened by Yinji's passing, but I hope you can recover as soon as possible. There are still many evil spirits lurking outside, and the ghost that killed Yinji hasn't been eliminated. So I hope you can pull yourself together quickly; there are many more people waiting for you to protect.
Chifeng clenched his fists and said softly, "Please rest assured, my lord, my condition is better than ever before."
He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot: "I will not fall until I have killed all the ghosts!"
Kiyono Ubuyashiki sighed deeply, "The reason I've gathered everyone here today is because I have some sad news to share with you all."
"What?!"
Everyone looked up in confusion.
Ubuyashiki Kiyono was silent for two seconds: "Water Pillar, Haruno Minato and her stepson Mizukawa were defeated in the battle against the demon yesterday and were all killed by the demon."
"What!!!"
Everyone stared in astonishment, their eyes wide.
"Mr. Minato..."
The woman who had spoken earlier covered her mouth in shock, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.
"The Demon Slayer Corps has lost two Pillars in a single day." Kiyono Ubuyashiki's face was full of bitterness: "The Demon Slayer Corps can no longer withstand such losses."
"Evil spirit!"
Among the pillars, a man with yellow hair, styled like an owl, had eyes filled with rage: "Mr. Shikaku was killed by an evil spirit, and now even Mr. Minato has been murdered. These disgusting things, I will wipe them out of this world one day!"
At this moment, everyone present was filled with anger, wishing they could immediately grab their Nichirin Blades and go find Muzan to stab him a couple of times!
"Children, I've gathered you all here today mainly to discuss something." Ubuyashiki Kiyono coughed twice, and the woman behind him quickly patted his back. After recovering for a moment, he continued, "According to the information sent back by Kasugai Crow, the same demon killed Hayakumi and Minato."
Chifeng suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Kiyono Ubuyashiki continued, "This demon looks like a young boy with white hair and is very strong. I suspect this is a hunting operation planned by those demons targeting our Demon Slayer Corps' Pillar-level swordsmen."
Now that we have lost two pillars, I hope everyone will travel in pairs when patrolling their respective territories, with two pillars forming a group, and act together."
This was a last resort.
The fact that two Pillars are grouped together means that the movements of the Pillar-level swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps will be greatly restricted.
That's not right. If another Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps is killed by a demon, the Demon Slayer Corps will enter a period of transition, and its manpower will be severely insufficient, leaving it with no spare strength to hunt down the evil demons that are rampaging outside.
Having finished explaining the details, this meeting of the group came to an end.
Just as everyone was about to leave, Kiyono Ubuyashiki suddenly called out to the only woman among the pillars: "Renkaze, please wait a moment, I have something to tell you."
All eyes turned to the girl, but seeing that their lord wanted to speak to her alone, everyone wisely left.
"My lord, what do you want to tell me?" Lianfeng asked from below, puzzled.
Kiyono Ubuyashiki said slowly, "When Shiyaku was killed yesterday, the Demon Slayer Corps members who were with him sent back some news about you."
"My news?" Renfeng was even more puzzled. Ubuyashiki Kiyono nodded: "Before encountering that demon, Hayashi discovered a village had been massacred by a demon. Everyone in the village died at the demon's hands, and that village was your hometown..."
Snap!
Renkaze's pupils trembled violently, and she didn't even notice when the Nichirin Blade in her hand fell to the ground.
She remembered that her hometown seemed to be within Mr. Jiyin's patrol area.
"No...no, it can't be..." Lianfeng murmured to herself, her body trembling involuntarily.
...
After everyone had left, Kiyono Ubuyashiki finally collapsed, his legs giving way, and he sputtered to the ground. He opened his mouth and coughed up a mouthful of bright red blood, which splattered onto the floor, forming a gruesome bloodstain.
Seeing this, the woman beside him hurriedly picked up a handkerchief and quickly stepped forward to wipe the bloodstains remaining at the corner of his mouth, saying with concern, "You must be very tired today, you should go back to your room and rest."
However, Kiyono Ubuyashiki refused the woman's help. He slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the direction the pillars had left, his eyes filled with endless pain and self-blame.
He muttered to himself, "They're just kids, in the carefree stage of growing up, they should be enjoying their wonderful youth."
But now, they face brutal battles every day, fighting to the death against evil spirits, even at the cost of their precious lives.
Compared to these brave and fearless children, what is my broken body? After saying this, his eyes gradually welled up with tears, blurring his vision, as if the whole world had turned gray and dark.