The Second Form of Shadow Breathing spread up the mountain like an invisible sonar made of pure darkness.
I had to remain still to scan the area.
The mountain was empty.
Living creatures? Almost none, aside from countless insects, there were barely any animals in the area.
I sensed the presence of a single Oni, stationed at the exact center of the mountain, barely moving.
I could guess he was eating, to remain that still.
I deactivated the second form and began walking.
The climb was slightly inclined, but not too steep.
The fresh scent of vegetation gave way to something damp, then acidic… until it turned into raw rot.
My crows remained on my shoulders and head, a little uneasy.
"Get up," my voice came out low, but firm.
None of them argued.
Kuroha spread her wings immediately, Tsubaki and Hotaru followed.
They knew how to recognize when I was serious.
I kept moving forward.
The forest suddenly opened into a clearing, almost devoid of grass, just dirt and stone.
A single lonely tree stood in the small patch where grass remained.
I approached, noticing something pinned to the trunk: nailed with two stone stakes through each hand was the naked corpse of a man.
His expression…
Even in death, it seemed frozen in pure, absolute terror, eyes wide, mouth open in a scream that never came out.
He was already rotting, the smell nearly unbearable.
I took a step to the side, automatically dodging something.
"Tsk!"
Something passed right by my face, fast as a bullet.
The air snapped.
I leapt back, and three more projectiles cut through the air where I had just been, embedding themselves into the ground.
They were small stone spears.
I simply turned my head toward where the projectiles had come from.
The sound of clapping echoed across the clearing.
"Finally!"
A male voice, distorted with amusement and mockery, buzzed through the trees.
"Finally someone who knows how to dodge!"
A taunting laugh rolled through the forest.
A dark silhouette slowly emerged from the shadows, as if walking out of the darkness itself.
The figure applauded theatrically:
"The last ones who came weren't so good, hehe.
"They got scared too easily or were too slow to dodge."
I shifted slightly, noticing something hanging from the side trees.
Three corpses, one on each tree, side by side.
Three demon slayers, pinned with the same stone stakes, each missing parts of their bodies, one without arms, another missing half his face, another with only half of his upper body left.
They still wore the tattered uniforms of the Corps.
I showed no reaction.
My focus remained entirely on the Oni in front of me.
The silhouette took three more steps and stepped out of the darkness, into the faint moonlight.
A male Oni.
Pale skin, almost yellowish, like aged parchment.
A normal, almost thin body, with no visible muscle.
Messy, dirty blond hair falling in uneven strands over his face.
He walked with his head lowered, shoulders trembling… chuckling softly as if hearing a joke only he understood.
Then he lifted his face.
He had a wide grin stretching from ear to ear, repulsively large.
Sharp, uneven, yellowed teeth, with traces of blood and flesh stuck between them.
But nothing stood out more than his eyes.
Bright yellow.
And in each one, a set of kanji.
─── ◆ ───
Crow's POV
From the sky, Kuroha lost her breath for a second.
The air left her in a muffled "cra—!"
"Those eyes…" Her voice trembled.
"Lower Moon… Six…"
Tsubaki fell silent, for the first time without a joke.
Hotaru spoke once, quietly, "Six…?"
Kuroha regained control instantly.
"Split up! I'll go get help at the Butterfly Mansion! You two search for nearby slayers! Go!"
Tsubaki and Hotaru nodded and shot off, disappearing into the clouds.
Kuroha turned toward the horizon and beat her wings hard.
She had never flown so fast.
─── ◆ ───
Third-person POV
The Oni tilted his head, still smiling.
"Hm… you look promising!" He cracked his neck.
"I hope you entertain me, Slayer."
Then he took a deep breath, lifting his right leg.
"Kekkijutsu…"
The Oni slammed his foot into the ground.
Before Usan could take a single step, he felt the entire ground tremble violently.
"Ganrin!"
The earth rose, forming tall, thin pillars that spread rapidly across the clearing.
The open space vanished, turning into a true forest of jagged stone.
"Come on!" the Oni shouted, now standing atop one of the pillars, watching Usan excitedly.
The ground beneath Usan vibrated.
He jumped away.
A deep pit, filled with upward-pointing stone spears, opened where his feet had been a second before.
As he landed, the ground trembled again, forcing Usan to roll to the side.
The earth exploded into stone spears, piercing the air violently.
"HAHAHA! Yes! That's it!" he laughed.
"You're good!"
"Tell me, you're a Hashira, aren't you?"
Usan didn't respond.
"My first fight against a Hashira! Hahaha, how exciting!"
Usan simply moved, dodging, leaping, using the pillars themselves as improvised steps while stone spears tried to anticipate his landing.
The Oni kept talking, more and more irritating, more and more proud:
"Don't underestimate me, Mr. Hashira!" he mocked.
"I've been climbing fast among the Lower Moons!"
"Soon I'll be even stronger!"
Usan's silence seemed to irritate him slightly, but he quickly recovered and continued rambling.
"Ah, the quiet type, whatever..."
"I'm Takamasa Nomuro, Lower Moon Six!"
"Since you're going to die by my hands, I thought it polite to introduce myself!"
No response.
"Tsk. Kekkijutsu: Yamagata Tsuki."
The Oni stretched his arms, then crossed them violently.
Usan jumped, and two massive rocks broke loose from the sides of the main pillar, launching toward him.
"Shadow Breathing, First Form: Kage Giri."
The smoke of shadow breathing flowed smoothly between the stone pillars, forming the path Usan moved through.
The rock was split cleanly in half with a perfect cut, while the other was avoided flawlessly.
The Oni's eyes lit up with excitement.
"YES! THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO SEE!"
Usan exchanged a silent glance with him.
Then dashed toward the central pillar once more.
Takamasa raised his hands, and a wall of stone rose in front of Usan, with spears projected toward him, forcing him to move left, right, or retreat.
But Usan chose none of those options.
His image distorted.
Then he switched places with a Shadow Clone that appeared atop the stone wall.
Usan leapt high, using the pillar as support to launch himself even higher.
It was too fast.
The Oni only had time to widen his eyes.
That confidence vanished.
For the first time, he was afraid.
Usan appeared right in front of him, suspended in the air for a brief moment, his silhouette darkened by the moon.
His purple eyes glowed, reflecting the Oni's terror.
A soft chime echoed through the clearing.
The sound of Usan's bell.
Takamasa jumped back in desperation, narrowly escaping.
Usan landed on the pillar and pointed his index and middle fingers together toward the Oni.
Shadows gathered there, spinning, a Shadow Shuriken formed at his fingertips.
And it was fired.
The Oni dropped onto his back against the pillar just in time, barely avoiding worse damage.
The shuriken sliced through his right wrist, then dispersed into dark smoke.
"AAAAAH!" Takamasa screamed, falling back against the pillar.
His hand dangled by a thread of flesh, nearly severed, and he quickly forced the two parts together in desperation.
He crawled back slightly, terrified.
Then he looked up.
Usan stood at the top of the pillar, silhouetted against the moonlight, his entire body wrapped in living shadows.
Pale violet-dark smoke escaped his mouth with each breath.
Usan leaned slightly forward and said:
"Usan…"
He continued, lowering his stance, his katana sheathed at his waist.
"Usan Hayashi, Kinoe Rank of the Demon Slayer Corps."
─── ◆ ───
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