"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
"To die at the hands of someone like you... it would be nothing but a disgrace!"
As he spoke, Giyu's Nichirin Sword was already on the verge of slashing Rui's neck. Seeing this, Rui abruptly controlled the eight spider legs behind him to block in front, shielding himself from Giyu's violent strike.
Bang!
However, this time, the once-invincible and indestructible spider legs were severed by a single swing of Giyu's sword.
Watching this, Rui's eyes widened in disbelief.
'How can this be? How did this guy suddenly become so powerful? He was struck by my poison; he shouldn't even be able to move, so how can he still unleash such explosive strength?'
'That mark on his face... could it be because of that mark...?'
Rui suddenly thought of Kokushibo. He clearly remembered that Kokushibo also had dark red marks on his face, though the shape was different from the one on Giyu's face.
"Now is not the time for this. I must finish him quickly. Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation!"
Rui once again condensed a massive spider web. However, how could Giyu fall for the same trick twice?
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
Giyu swung his sword rapidly, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Rui.
The sharp Nichirin Sword plunged into Rui's neck, sealing his throat and easily severing the neck that was harder than steel.
"What... for me to actually lose..."
Rui's eyes were wide with disbelief. But a loss was a loss; he quickly accepted the reality as his body began to crumble into ash.
With Rui dead, the only enemies left were the surrounding Spider Berserk Demons. With Kocho Shinobu's earlier arrival, the pressure on the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen had drastically decreased.
They hadn't just withstood the Berserk Demons' offensive; they had even managed to kill five of them, leaving only eighteen remaining.
Seeing this, Giyu charged out again. With the speed of a gale, he slaughtered all eighteen remaining Berserk Demons within ten seconds!
"S-so fast..."
"As expected of the Water Hashira! Lord Water Hashira is so cool!"
"Lord Water Hashira, thank you for saving me just now..."
"Shut up. I don't like to talk. Don't come near me!"
Giyu maintained his cold, aloof demeanor. His single sentence silenced the swordsmen, who all fell quiet like cicadas in winter, fearing they might anger him.
He then approached Kocho Shinobu. Seeing that she was unharmed, Giyu felt a secret sense of relief, but what he said was...
"I'm surprised you're still alive."
The moment those words left his mouth, Kocho Shinobu's temper flared. With a forced, thin smile, she said, "Tomioka-san, you really have a way with words that makes people want to punch you. It's exactly because of that mouth of yours that everyone dislikes you!"
"I am not disliked," Giyu replied dismissively, leaving Shinobu utterly speechless.
Shinobu then noticed Giyu's wounds and the red mark on his face. She hurriedly asked, "Tomioka-san, you're injured. And you've actually awakened the Mark... just like Ren..."
As she finished, a trace of sadness flickered across her face. Since Giyu had awakened the Mark, it meant his life was now on a countdown; he was destined not to live past the age of twenty-five.
"The Mark?"
Giyu raised his Nichirin Sword, using the blade as a mirror to look at the patterns on his face. He murmured, "So this is my Mark. I didn't think awakening it would be quite this simple..."
Ignoring Giyu's self-muttering, Shinobu took an antidote syringe from her medical kit and said calmly, "Tomioka-san, let me give you a shot of the antidote first. It should help neutralize the toxins in your body."
She knew Rui's poison was potent. The only reason Giyu was still alive was likely because, after awakening the Mark, his body temperature had exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, rendering the toxins inactive.
Furthermore, as his temperature rose, his immune system was likely working overtime.
Giyu didn't refuse. He took the syringe and gently injected it into his shoulder. As the antidote entered his system, he felt his body become much more comfortable.
"This should be enough for now. Once we return to the Butterfly Mansion, I'll give you a systemic examination. I also want to do a full check-up. Aside from that monster Ren, you're the first among us to awaken the Mark. I want to see if I can research a medicine to alleviate the Mark's side effects."
Furthermore, after witnessing the immense combat power Giyu displayed upon awakening the Mark, Shinobu had a bold idea: to research a medicine that could trigger the Mark's awakening.
If she could succeed, she would be able to awaken the Mark herself. Then, she would become strong enough to seek out Doma and avenge her sister!
With that thought, Shinobu led Giyu back to the Butterfly Mansion as quickly as possible.
...
Two days passed in a flash. When Shinobu returned to the Butterfly Mansion, she saw Ren wrapped entirely in bandages.
Just yesterday, after eliminating the Berserk Demons occupying Kaedehara Town, he had returned to the Butterfly Mansion to have shrapnel removed and to treat burns from the explosion.
"Yo, Shinobu-san, long time no see..." Seeing Shinobu, Ren raised a hand in greeting.
"Ren? What happened to you?" Looking at the mummy-like Ren, Shinobu couldn't help but ask with a wry smile.
"Don't even get me started. This time I ran into Lower Moon One and a Berserk Demon who used guns and artillery. I nearly got blown to bits."
Ren then recounted the mission in Kaedehara Town to Shinobu. Hearing how he had charged into the police station alone to fight several Lower Moon-level Berserk Demons, Shinobu was left dumbfounded, her brow soon furrowing.
"I didn't expect these Berserk Demons to be so formidable, even using firearms and mortars... dealing with them in the future will be even more troublesome."
"Tell me about it. By the way, you and Giyu-san went to Mt. Natagumo. How was it? Did you clear out the Berserk Demons there?"
"Of course, otherwise we wouldn't be back. And Tomioka-san awakened his Mark." Shinobu then shared the details of their mission with Ren.
Learning that Giyu had awakened his Mark, Ren was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected Giyu to awaken it so quickly.
"Ren, get some rest here. I'm going to give Tomioka-san a check-up first to see if there's any residual poison."
"Alright."
After bidding farewell to Shinobu, Ren returned to his infirmary. Although he could move normally now, the gunshot wounds on his body hadn't fully healed.
Especially when removing the shrapnel—since some had pierced into his bone—it had caused significant bleeding. Fortunately, it wasn't life-threatening.
'If Nezuko and Auntie Kie see me like this, they'll probably be heartbroken,' Ren thought with a helpless, bitter smile.
And so, he stayed at the Butterfly Mansion for a week. During this time, he sparred daily with Giyu, who had awakened his Mark.
Although he won easily every time, Giyu's strength was growing by leaps and bounds.
Ren even helped him awaken the Bright Red Blade by force-clashing their weapons together during battle.
It could be said that after awakening both the Mark and the Bright Red Blade, Giyu's strength was now on par with Himejima Gyomei. In the Demon Slayer Corps, he was second only to Ren.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]