Chapter 19: A Year Later |
Makomo officially joined the Demon Slayer Corps at the organization's highest rank, becoming known as the Sword Hashira for her exceptional skill with the blade, achieved without the aid of any breathing techniques.
Yeruashi did not force a specific style on Makomo. Instead, he taught her only the foundational mastery of the blade. Yet, even those basics led to the pinnacle of the path, for his own skill had reached a state of complete unity. Furthermore, he did not forbid his disciple from spreading her swordsmanship to others.
Because Yeruashi had told her before his departure that she could follow her own path without any instructions or restrictions from him, Makomo decided to teach her art to others.
Naturally, the Hashira were the first to embrace her mastery.
As the strongest among the Demon Slayers, each Hashira possessed exceptional talent. Their natural aptitude for the blade was every bit as great as Makomo's. They already possessed incredible skill; they simply had not been able to find the true path of the sword. Thus, the Hashira managed to glean a great deal just by observing Makomo's movements, and they immediately began their training.
But.
While the Demon Slayers were gathering strength, their enemy undertook large-scale operations the likes of which the world had not seen in many years!
Soon, news of bloodthirsty demons and terrifying monsters began to arrive regularly from every corner of the world.
Following the will of their progenitor, Muzan, the demons were slaughtering every master of pure swordsmanship they could find.
Therefore, even if the Hashira could finally see the path ahead, they had very little time for training. Duty compelled many slayers to roam the world in search of the rampaging demons.
In an inconspicuous building on the edge of town, there was a room shielded from the outside world by Blood Demon Art talismans.
Jars and bottles were scattered everywhere, filled with all sorts of herbs and liquids of various scents and strange colors.
Tamayo stared intensely at her latest preparation. 'Hmm... the proportions are correct. It is capable of destroying demons, but the effect isn't potent enough—especially not for Muzan.'
Knock, knock!
The sound at the door snapped her out of her thoughts.
Yushiro entered, bloodstains marking his clothes.
"My Lady..." he said, approaching Tamayo.
"Well? Are there any results?" she inquired.
"Yes... it seems that the demons who have been so active lately were given an order from the higher-ups to track down and destroy all masters of pure swordsmanship."
"Pure swordsmanship?" Tamayo tilted her head slightly.
"I don't really understand it myself... only a simple command reached the rank-and-file demons. I tried to find out more, but it was all in vain!" Yushiro admitted, looking perplexed.
"An order of such magnitude could only come from the very top. In other words, from... Muzan. Given how seriously they are taking this, the swordsmanship mentioned must pose a threat to him." Tamayo's beautiful eyes sparkled, but after a moment of reflection, she shook her head. "Forget it. We have no time to contact humans right now. In fact, this is better; Muzan will be too busy to worry about me. And Yushiro, just to be safe, reduce your trips for herbs to once a week."
"I understand!" the young man nodded.
As Tamayo turned her gaze back to the vial of medicine, Yeruashi's image appeared in her mind.
'Muzan hasn't made such massive moves in a long, long time... Could this pure swordsmanship be related to... that man?'
She pushed the thought aside. It didn't matter right now. Her priority was to develop a drug capable of eliminating the progenitor of demons!
...
On the roof of the same building.
Yeruashi sat on the edge, his legs dangling over the cornice.
Tamayo and Yushiro had no idea that Yushiro's Blood Demon Art talismans had absolutely no effect on Yeruashi.
His gaze spanned the entire world.
The demons in different regions and the Demon Slayers fighting against them—nothing escaped his sight.
In one place, demons were devouring humans.
In another, the Demon Slayers were taking their heads.
The simple act of teaching Makomo had triggered a long chain of significant changes in the world. Like a stone cast into a still pond, the alteration of a single factor had set off a sweeping domino effect.
But this did not particularly impress Yeruashi.
At this point, even a large-scale war between worlds likely wouldn't pique his interest unless it broke out on a galactic level.
He remained here only because of the vague memories of this world buried deep in his mind.
"I suppose... I'll speed things up a little," Yeruashi whispered, looking out over the world.
He gave a casual wave of his hand.
Whoosh!
Day and night began to cycle rapidly, as if someone had put a video on fast-forward.
No one in the world knew what had happened, nor did they feel any change at all. Time had accelerated many times over only for Yeruashi; in essence, he had performed a leap through time.
...
A year had passed since Makomo joined the Demon Slayer Corps. During this time, many members had made impressive strides, especially the Hashira, whose power had reached unprecedented heights!
However, this rapid growth in strength did not lead to a proportional decrease in casualties. On the contrary, losses reached record numbers this year, the highest in decades.
This was because the demons were acting aggressively on Muzan's orders. The more demons the slayers destroyed, the more the progenitor created to continue his hunt for the masters of the sword.
The two sides were locked in a desperate tug-of-war.
The largest battle of the year involved five Hashira and six of the Twelve Kizuki—three Upper Ranks and three Lower Ranks!
In that clash, all three Lower Rank demons lost their heads. However, one Hashira fell, and four others were wounded.
The largest and most horrific battle in decades showed the Hashira the full extent of the Upper Ranks' terror!
A miserable death would have been their only fate if their swordsmanship had not reached new levels.
The demons continued to hold the dominant position.
It is worth noting that over the past year, Makomo had selected and mastered the Breathing Technique most suitable for her: Water Breathing.
Due to her incredibly high level of skill, she mastered the technique with extraordinary speed. In just one year, she had reached a level of mastery comparable to the other Hashira, significantly boosting her physical capabilities.
That was precisely why she had managed to hold her own against Akaza, who had recently ascended to the position of Upper Rank Two.
Yet, she could only hold him at bay.
Their battle ended in a stalemate.
Overcoming the weakness of the neck and absorbing the blood of the progenitor proved to be a weightier advantage than a single year of breathing training.
Akaza and the other demons retreated only when the first rays of dawn touched the horizon.