[I... lost?]
Stiffly looking down at the blade pressed against his throat, Tanjiro was already stunned.
[How did she get here just now? Why didn't I see anything?]
[Her speed... has actually reached this level?]
His previous fighting spirit began to crumble, and despair gradually rose in his heart.
But for Tanjiro, the more desperate matter was only just beginning.
"Hmm~ Let me think, who should I kill~"
With the Springfield rifle in her left hand, Mitsuba turned around and began surveying the Demon Slayers hanging around them. As her gaze swept over them, these Demon Slayers closed their eyes in terror.
"It feels like there's not much difference between everyone..."
"W-wait! I—"
BANG!
Without giving Tanjiro any chance to speak, Mitsuba directly pulled the trigger, casually killing one person.
"Alright~ Wager delivered. Now beginning round two~"
Without even glancing at the dead Demon Slayer, Mitsuba retreated to her original position again and beckoned toward the stunned Tanjiro.
"Don't space out, little one. I think you should know very well—the consequences of making me impatient are quite severe.
Also, as an aside, according to the rules, if you lose this round as well, I'll have to kill two people, you know?"
"Ugh!!"
Before Mitsuba's words even finished, Tanjiro—eyes red—roared furiously and charged at her, swinging his sword!
*Sun Breathing—Ninth Form—Burning Sun!*
Leaping into the air, his body rapidly flipped mid-flight, circling behind Mitsuba and unleashing a full-power horizontal slash!
Hit her! He had to hit her!
Amidst Tanjiro's desperate hope, Mitsuba's figure vanished once more.
In the next instant, she appeared behind him using the exact same technique, that Nichirin sword emanating a bone-chilling cold pressed against his neck once again.
"Unfortunately~ Little one, you've lost round two as well~"
Bending down slightly, whispering this verdict in Tanjiro's ear.
Mitsuba raised her hand at lightning speed and pulled the trigger again.
BANG! BANG!
With two more gunshots, two more Demon Slayers on the surrounding trees became corpses.
"Ugh... ah..."
Kneeling on the ground, looking at them with vacant eyes, Tanjiro let out a whimpering sound like sobbing, as if tears were falling from his eyes.
He had lost again. Two more companions had been killed because of him.
He... he couldn't defeat this demon...
He simply couldn't win. If this continued, everyone would be killed by her...
[Father, what should I do now...]
"Huh~ Are you thinking of giving up already?"
Seemingly sensing the despair in Tanjiro's heart, Mitsuba stepped forward, crouched down, extended her finger, and gently poked his cheek, smiling:
"That won't do, little one. You must play with me. Otherwise, I'll kill them all in one go.
Can you bear it? Can you really bear to watch your compatriots die so tragically by my hand?"
"Why... do such cruel things?"
Slowly turning to look at her, Tanjiro's face was already streaming with tears.
"Why... hmm, that is indeed a good question."
Nodding slowly, Mitsuba thought seriously for a moment, then spoke:
"Little one, do you know? Until this year, I have lived for exactly four hundred and seventy-eight years.
Throughout such a long period of time, my attitude toward you Demon Slayers has actually changed several times.
At the very beginning, I always regarded you as mortal enemies. Any Demon Slayer who saw me would certainly be killed by me.
Later, gradually, I began to find this behavior boring.
So, except for when I needed to eat, and when facing Demon Slayers who truly sought death, I would no longer actively kill any Demon Slayers.
After that, I regained some interest and gradually came to enjoy competing with you—such as defeating you using your specialized Breathing Styles.
Every time I did this, I could see some very interesting reactions on your faces.
But before long, even this bit of interest was lost.
I completely realized how boring this mowing game was. Except for when I needed to eat, I couldn't even be bothered to glance at you... until your appearance."
Looking at Tanjiro's tear-stained face, Mitsuba gently raised her hand, wiping away the tears from the corner of his eyes, and said softly:
"I told you before, didn't I? You are the protagonist of this era. The gods have invested much attention in you.
So, I very much wanted to play with you. It's that simple."
"Just to play... you can kill so many people?"
"Otherwise?"
Mitsuba blinked, asking matter-of-factly:
"Should I treasure Demon Slayers' lives like precious jewels?
Come on, little one, let's not be so naive, okay~ I'm a demon, you know~ I eat people, you know~ Grr~"
As she spoke, Mitsuba even raised both hands beside her ears and imitated a wolf howl.
"Tanjiro! Run!"
At this moment, a thunderous boom suddenly exploded!
The Zenitsu who had previously been standing far away watching timidly, now actually drew his sword as well, wrapped in crackling lightning, and lunged at Mitsuba!
"I'll hold her off! You hurry—"
In the next instant, a flash of blade light swept past, and Zenitsu's body was instantly severed at the neck, falling heavily to the ground!
Watching that golden-haired head roll several times on the ground, Mitsuba smiled and sheathed her sword.
"Alright, another one dealt with~"
"Zenitsu!!"
Witnessing his friend die before his eyes in such a tragic manner, the flames of anger ignited Tanjiro's heart once more!
"Ugh! Ahh!!"
After an extremely brief shock, he picked up the Nichirin sword beside him again, red-eyed, and roared at Mitsuba:
"Demon! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!!"
His body temperature rapidly rose, his skin flushing with crimson, the blood in his body boiling to its extreme at this moment, the thundering heartbeat sounding like drumbeats and thunder!
In this instant, in this very moment, under Tanjiro's extreme anger, that burn scar on his forehead finally manifested a flame-like, strange mark!
What followed was a powerful force far exceeding anything before, filling his four limbs and hundred bones!
"After all this effort, I've finally forced it out..."
Witnessing the birth of this mark with her own eyes, Mitsuba finally showed a satisfied smile on her face.
"You've been angry for so long, little one. If you still hadn't awakened it, I would have started doubting whether you had this ability at all..."
Yes, this was Mitsuba's true purpose for coming here tonight.
As she said, she had long lost interest in boring mowing games.
Everything she did tonight had only one goal—
To find every way to enrage Tanjiro and force out his Demon Slayer Mark.
The appearance of the first Demon Slayer Mark has two necessary conditions.
First, one must be a practitioner of Sun Breathing.
Second, one must reach a certain level of body temperature and heart rate.
Both are indispensable.
This is also why, in the several hundred years since losing her brother Yoriichi, the Demon Slayer Corps had never produced another marked Demon Slayer.
And as long as this first mark successfully awakens, the marks will spread continuously from the first awakener to those around him.
Several hundred years ago during the Sengoku period, the first marked awakener was naturally her brother Yoriichi.
Several hundred years later today, this person was without a doubt Tanjiro.
Mitsuba was actively helping the gods accelerate.
[God, your cultivation speed is too slow. At this efficiency, who knows when your chess pieces will finish growing...]
[I no longer have the patience to continue waiting with you. I think you wouldn't mind if I helped you speed things up a bit, would you?]
"Alright, game over."
Objective completed, instantly losing all interest, Mitsuba threw a punch, striking his abdomen, directly knocking the mark-awakened Tanjiro to the ground.
"Gah!"
One move—still just one move—and Tanjiro clutched his stomach, falling to the ground once more.
This time, the intense pain from his abdomen was so strong that he didn't even have the strength to stand up again.
"De...mon..."
"Little one, properly feel the changes in your body right now."
With her back to him lying on the ground, Mitsuba turned around and put the gun back in the case, speaking simultaneously:
"When you report back to your Master later, remember to explain clearly and strive to help your companions obtain this power as soon as possible.
That's about it. I still have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave for now. I look forward to our next meeting.
I hope that by then, you can become stronger, so I won't be so bored..."
"Don't... go..."
"Ah, I almost forgot—I haven't given you your clear reward yet..."
With the gun case on her shoulder, as if suddenly remembering something, Mitsuba slapped her forehead and immediately snapped her fingers.
At this instant, the mandala formation covering the mountaintop activated once more!
Under that blood-red light, those Demon Slayers previously killed by Mitsuba, including the beheaded Zenitsu, actually all came back to life?!
[Blood Demon Art: Fate Overwrite!]
"Huh? What? I'm not dead yet?!"
His head reattached to his neck, Zenitsu sat on the ground in terror, repeatedly touching his neck with his hand.
"Little one, this is my reward for you successfully awakening your mark."
Turning back to look at Tanjiro lying on the ground, completely dumbfounded, Mitsuba winked at him and smiled playfully.
"Just this once, never again. If you don't hurry up and get stronger, next time, I'll really kill them, you know?"
"Well then, bye-bye~"
Two fingers together, saluting stylishly, Mitsuba's body fell straight backward.
Twang!
With the sound of a biwa, the gates of the Infinity Castle opened precisely beneath her, receiving her within.