Chapter 47: I Have Always Been Here Watching You
Meanwhile, at Mount Kumotori.
In the yard outside the wooden house, Tatsu was bare-chested.
Holding a nichirin sword with a beautiful peach-colored blade, he swung it continuously under the cold moonlight.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Waltz!"
Tatsu gave a low shout in his heart, his gaze becoming incredibly focused in an instant.
His powerful demon body twisted and exerted force at this moment in a way that completely defied common sense.
His heart beat violently, pumping blood rich with high concentrations of oxygen into every limb and bone.
With his slash, a perfect, circular crimson strike, like the rising sun, burst forth in the courtyard!
In that instant, a scorching wave of air swept across the entire yard.
The fallen leaves on the ground were instantly ignited by this invisible heat, turning into sparks that dissipated in the wind.
The peach-colored blade was wrapped in brilliant red-gold flames; this was no special effect.
It was the interaction between swordsmanship and the external environment after the Breathing Style had been trained to the extreme.
It was the manifestation of the true "Hinokami Kagura."
After delivering a slash, Tatsu did not stop.
His movements were fluid, his body flipping lightly in mid-air, followed by another heavy, powerful strike.
With every swing of the sword, his muscles endured a massive tearing sensation.
Sun Breathing was the progenitor of all Breathing Styles.
It was the supreme swordsmanship created specifically to slay demons by mimicking the power of the sun.
And right now, as a demon who should have been suppressed by the sun, Tatsu was forcibly performing this set of sword techniques.
Flames burned on the surface of his body, and his demon cells were constantly being destroyed under the masculine energy of the Sun Breathing.
Then, they rapidly reorganized under his powerful regenerative ability.
This feeling was like countless red-hot steel knives scraping his bones, a pain that reached his very marrow.
But he did not stop.
Because he possessed "Astonishing Insight."
This was not a Blood Demon Art, but rather a concept-level talent granted by some higher dimension.
At this moment, it was operating frantically in his mind.
Every swing of the sword, every tremor of a muscle, every speed of blood flow,
And every amount of oxygen intake during lung expansion was broken down into the most basic data.
"The angle is three millimeters too high..."
"The muscle intervention in the left leg was 0.1 seconds late when exerting force..."
"The core of Sun Breathing lies in 'endless cycle,' in turning one's own vitality into fuel for the sun..."
A light of rationality flickered in Tatsu's blood-red eyes.
He was using Astonishing Insight to forcibly analyze the mysteries of Sun Breathing.
Every time he practiced for a while, when his body's collapse reached a critical point,
He would stop, lean on his sword against the ground, and gasp for breath.
He worked so hard with only one goal—to overcome sunlight.
In the original story, Muzan Kibutsuji searched for a thousand years and never found the legendary "blue spider lily."
Tatsu knew very well that the thing only bloomed a few times a year at specific times during the day.
For a demon, the probability of finding it was comparable to playing a gacha game in his past life,
And pulling an SSR in a single draw without any pity system; it was so ethereal it led to despair.
Since external items could not be sought, he could only seek within himself.
He wanted to practice Sun Breathing repeatedly,
To let his demon cells gradually develop resistance during the process of being continuously destroyed and reorganized by the "power of the sun."
He wanted to use this self-torture, comparable to being cut a thousand times,
To forcefully forge a body capable of walking freely under the sun within this demon shell.
"Huff... huff..."
Tatsu knelt on one knee, the veins on the back of his hand holding the peach-colored nichirin sword bulging.
Just then, a soft sound of footsteps came from the wooden house's corridor.
"Keep it up, Tatsu."
It was a voice as gentle as the warm spring sun and as pleasant as a mountain spring.
Tatsu looked up and followed the direction of the sound.
Where the dim yellow light of the wooden house intertwined with the cold moonlight, Kanae Kocho stood quietly.
Those beautiful purple eyes were filled with gentleness, tolerance, and a trace of hard-to-detect heartache.
She just watched him quietly, as if watching a clumsy child working hard,
Or as if watching someone extremely important in her life.
Looking at Kanae's face with its encouraging smile,
Tatsu felt the blood that had been restless due to pain miraculously calm down at this moment.
He stood up, his blood-red eyes staring straight at Kanae.
She was his salvation, the only 'white moonlight' he wanted to risk everything to protect after transmigrating to this cruel world.
"Kanae..."
Tatsu's voice was a bit raspy from the intense exercise just now, but his tone was incredibly firm.
"I will work hard to become stronger.
No matter how much pain I have to endure, I will overcome the sun, and I will become stronger than anyone.
Then... I will protect you and never let you be harmed again."
Hearing Tatsu's words, which were so blunt they were almost a confession, Kanae Kocho was slightly stunned.
Then, a moving blush quietly crept onto her fair cheeks.
But she didn't shyly avoid him like an ordinary young girl in love; instead, she met Tatsu's gaze openly.
Kanae was actually somewhat used to Tatsu's direct confessions.
This boy always expressed his dependence on and affection for her without concealment.
At first, she only saw him as a pitiful life in need of salvation.
But as time passed, watching him restrain his instincts so as not to harm humans,
And watching him endure the pain of being burned by fire just to stand by her side under the sun,
Her heart, which originally beat only to protect others, gradually developed strange ripples.
Kanae shook her head gently and walked down the steps of the wooden house with light steps.
Treading on the spring grass illuminated by moonlight in the yard, she slowly walked to Tatsu's side.
As she approached, a faint scent of wisteria mixed with her unique herbal fragrance,
Lingering at the tip of Tatsu's nose and causing his tense nerves to relax completely.
Kanae took out a pure white towel from her sleeve.
She stood slightly on tiptoe and wiped the sweat from Tatsu's forehead and cheeks with an extremely natural and gentle motion.
"Yes, I believe in you, Tatsu."
Her gaze fell intently on Tatsu's face, her purple eyes reflecting his figure.
"Your hard work and your determination, I have always seen them."
Saying this, the hand wiping the sweat paused slightly.
Her fair fingertips inadvertently touched Tatsu's cheek, which was slightly hot from the high temperature.
She sighed softly, her tone carrying a bit more worry and heartache.
"But, don't push yourself too hard.
Sun Breathing is too much of a burden on your body.
Just now, you were shaking all over from the pain, weren't you?
If it hurts too much, stop and rest for a while.
Don't always push yourself so tightly."
Kanae withdrew the towel and gently cupped Tatsu's cheeks with both hands, making him look directly into her eyes.
"I have always been here watching you."
Loving Book So Far? Check Out 30+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/FictionOP