The battle reignited with even greater intensity. Though they repeatedly severed the sashes behind Daki, even that brief disruption gave Gyutaro enough time to react and block their attacks.
This fight was different from before. They also had to stay constantly on guard against the incoming Blood Sickles.
Muichiro felt the pressure mounting. Yuichiro's poisoning was like a blade pressed to his back, driving him to end the fight as quickly as possible. Only by finishing it could he get Yuichiro to Hiru and pull him out of danger.
But the more anxious he became, the worse his sword performed. The less progress he made, the more frantic he grew. His rhythm fell apart completely.
It wasn't until Uzui grabbed him by the collar and hurled him out of the battlefield that he finally forced himself to calm down.
[This won't work. I'm just wasting my attacks. I need to be faster…]
His gaze fixed on the fight as he steadied his breathing. From an angle neither Yuichiro nor Uzui could see, cloud-like dark green markings spread across his left forehead and right cheek.
The moment the Slayer Mark appeared, the world seemed to slow.
The agitation vanished.
After a brief pause, he exhaled deeply, tightened his grip on his sword, and charged back in.
Attacks that once felt impossible to follow now moved as if in slow motion. His body felt lighter than ever.
Only then did he understand why swordsmen of the past pursued this power so obsessively, even knowing it would shorten their lives.
A sash lashed toward him.
He remained perfectly calm.
As the mist-like form surfaced again, his blade flashed forward at blinding speed, piercing through the defense in an instant. Without stopping, it continued straight toward Gyutaro.
Gyutaro reacted at once, swinging his sickles.
A crimson arc tore through the air, shredding the afterimage left behind.
A sharp tearing sound followed—then flesh split.
Daki screamed.
"You cut off my head again! You damn brat! Die! Die! DIE!"
Muichiro flung her head away once more.
"Brother! Take the head and go! Leave this to us!"
Yuichiro understood immediately. The poison was slowing him more and more. Just moments ago, Uzui had nearly been struck by a sickle while protecting him.
If he stayed, he would only disrupt their momentum.
"Got it!"
He answered without hesitation, slicing down the sash chasing the head before pulling back and sprinting after it.
In that brief opening, Uzui caught sight of the mark on Muichiro's face.
But this wasn't the time for questions.
Facing Gyutaro's twin sickles, he forced the thought aside and surged forward alongside Muichiro, cutting off any chance of the demon retrieving Daki's head.
Away from the main battlefield, Yuichiro finally began to show signs of strain.
But he didn't stop.
He sprinted ahead, closing in on the head as it writhed forward using its hair. Grabbing it, he turned and ran.
"AAAHHH—! You hateful brat! Die! Die!"
"You're the one who should die."
Yuichiro sliced apart the white hair lashing toward him, his expression cold.
"You're Upper Rank, right? Pretty pathetic for one. Completely useless."
"What did you say?! How dare you say that to me?! Do you know how many people I've eaten to become stronger?!"
Daki's voice rose into a shriek.
"And demons don't age! We regenerate from any wound! Demons are beautiful and powerful beings! It's you humans—always resisting—that are wrong! You're the ones who should die! DIE!"
Yuichiro opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly coughed up blood. His steps faltered.
Seeing that, Daki burst into laughter.
"You've already been poisoned by my brother! You're as good as dead! And those two will die miserably too! You're all finished!"
Yuichiro wiped the blood from his lips and let out a low laugh.
"If I were afraid of dying, I wouldn't have joined the Demon Slayer Corps. You've been a demon for so long—have you really learned nothing besides eating people?"
Daki shrieked again, repeating the same hollow insults.
At that moment, a violent explosion erupted behind them.
Countless blood-red sickle blades formed a raging storm, tearing through the surrounding streets. The shockwave alone nearly knocked Yuichiro—already over thirty meters away—off his feet.
He stumbled, about to fall—
A pair of hands caught him.
"I told you, didn't I? You can't manage without me. Just look at yourselves. Things are a complete mess."
Yuichiro looked up.
The tension in his body vanished instantly.
With the support, he steadied himself, even managing a faint grin.
"Yeah… but this counts as acting on your own, right? Uzui is definitely going to complain again later."
"What are you talking about? I may be under watch, but I haven't been relieved of duty. This is just an investigation. An investigation, got it? Completely justified."
Daki's eyes snapped toward the newcomer.
"It's you! You're the one who let my food escape! You bastard! Are you a Hashira too?! That damn traitor Kokushibo! Traitor!"
"Oh, right. Almost forgot about you."
Hiru chuckled as he took Daki's head from Yuichiro's hands. His sharpened nails pierced straight into the back of her skull.
She fell silent instantly.
"That pretty face looks much better when it's quiet."
With the tension gone, Yuichiro's body finally gave out. He began coughing violently.
Hiru glanced at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. When he pulled it back, a pale green crystal rested in his palm.
"Well? Feeling better?"
Yuichiro nodded. The pain in his body had already vanished.
But his gaze immediately returned to the battlefield, where the clash was growing even more intense. Gripping his Nichirin Blade, he stepped forward—
Only to be stopped.
"The poison's gone, but the damage it caused hasn't healed. Stay here."
Hiru pressed a hand against his head, eyes still fixed on the fight.
A moment later, he frowned.
"Why did Muichiro activate his Slayer Mark?"
Yuichiro's pupils shrank.
Guilt spread across his face.
"It's my fault… I'm too weak. If I hadn't been injured, Muichiro wouldn't have needed to activate it."
"No."
Hiru didn't take his eyes off the battle.
"If things had gone that way, all of you would've been poisoned."
His expression grew serious.
"I didn't get this kind of intel from my elder brother. And when facing demons, many swordsmen instinctively choose to trade minor injuries for bigger openings…"
He paused, watching the chaos unfold.
"In that kind of situation, even if you kill the demon… it only ends in total annihilation."