Chapter 53: A Belated Gift |
"You've done well," Yeruashi said, patting his student on the shoulder.
As expected, Makomo hadn't made extraordinary leaps in her swordsmanship. No matter how one looked at it, her talent fell short of the Hashira, and her current achievements were already nearing her peak.
It would take her at least a decade to take the next step, and transitioning to an entirely new level was highly improbable.
"I didn't come today to give instructions, but to present a belated gift from teacher to student," Yeruashi continued. With a slight flick of his wrist, a soft radiance flared in his palm.
That mysterious glow then transformed into a sword, which he held out to the stunned Makomo.
Initially, Yeruashi hadn't planned on granting Makomo too much power. However, he couldn't simply stand by while his student remained stagnant. Not to mention that to maintain balance, Makomo needed to be at least as strong as the Upper Rank One.
"This is..." Hesitating for a moment, the young girl hurriedly accepted the silvery blade and murmured.
Upon contact, a sense of profound harmony washed over her. To her surprise, she felt an immediate, intimate connection with the weapon.
With a simple thought, the sword dissolved back into that mysterious light and vanished into her delicate palm.
While the blade wasn't exactly overflowing with unique properties or abilities—save for its soul-binding function—it was still far more potent than a standard Nichirin Sword due to its indestructibility and true-damage output.
Even a powerful demon like Akaza would struggle to recover from a strike by this blade, and he would likely be left with permanent scars, a sign of the sword's ability to suppress demonic regeneration.
With this weapon in hand, Makomo would stand on roughly equal footing even in a life-or-death battle against Kokushibo, the Upper Rank One.
"What a strange sensation..." Makomo whispered, staring at her palm and feeling a surge of energy within. With another thought, the sword materialized once more.
"Thank you, Teacher!" the young slayer finally snapped out of her daze and bowed after testing the transition several times.
Yeruashi replied with a silent smile, but added inwardly: 'Just make sure you don't pull that sword from any strange places in the future...'
"Teacher, you..." Only then did Makomo notice the chaos that had unfolded at the Butterfly Mansion.
"Ah, it's nothing special. Why don't you show me your home instead?" Yeruashi suggested, waving it off.
Makomo hesitated at first, then glanced toward Kagaya, who mouthed: "It's all right."
"Sister Kanae..." she whispered sadly, letting out a breath of relief as she slowly looked around the familiar estate.
Not wanting to dwell on her grief, Makomo quickly left the Butterfly Mansion side-by-side with Yeruashi. She frequently cast curious glances at his companions but didn't dare ask any questions.
It was only some time after they had departed that the Demon Slayers dared to rise to their feet, one by one.
No one spoke.
A heavy silence descended over the mansion.
"It turns out he does care about us," Kagaya finally broke the silence, his quiet gaze sweeping over the gathered Hashira.
Seeing is believing, as the saying goes. Today, he had finally confirmed his suspicions: while the god might not be entirely on humanity's side, he certainly favored them.
"Oyakata-sama..." the Wind Hashira muttered, his voice thick with shame.
Kagaya simply shook his head calmly in response.
He then walked slowly over to Shinobu.
The Insect Hashira was still sitting on the floor, her strength spent. As her leader approached, she bit her lip and wiped her tears away with her sleeve.
Then.
"I'm fine," she said, a soft smile unexpectedly playing on her lips, as if nothing had happened. The overwhelming rage and resentment that had filled her seemed to have vanished.
"Shinobu..." Kagaya sighed at the sight of the girl's smile and added softly. "I promise you, everything will end in our lifetime."
"Yes," Shinobu nodded and stood up.
Her gaze drifted to her older sister's coffin, and she found herself feeling momentarily lost as she remembered the stranger in the fox mask. The woman felt vaguely familiar, but Shinobu couldn't quite grasp the thought or piece together the image.
'I wouldn't forget that silver hair...' Shinobu thought before turning back to Kagaya. "Oyakata-sama, what should we do now...?"
"First, we wait for Makomo," he replied calmly.
*
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Makomo led Yeruashi, Kanae, and Mitsuri to a tidy house with a small courtyard in the eastern section of the headquarters.
"I live here," she said, ushering her guests into the empty house. There were no servants, so she served the tea and snacks herself before casting a searching look at the women. "Teacher, who are these ladies...?"
"...as for her, I'd prefer to keep that a mystery for now," Yeruashi said playfully after a brief introduction of Mitsuri.
"Hmm..." Makomo shot a strange look at Kanae.
She, too, found the masked girl vaguely familiar, but she didn't associate her with the deceased Flower Hashira at all. If even Shinobu hadn't recognized Kanae, it was hardly surprising that Makomo didn't either.
"Teacher, are you leaving soon?"
"Nope, I plan on staying here for a while," Yeruashi said casually, taking a small sip of the fragrant green tea.
Makomo was overjoyed to hear that her teacher would be staying; after all, he was the most important person in her life. However, there was a small problem—this house was a bit cramped for four people.
As for outsiders living within the Demon Slayer headquarters, she wasn't worried at all. If one thought about it, Yeruashi was effectively the indirect teacher of the vast majority of the slayers. Everyone had studied his swordsmanship to some degree, regardless of their specific Breathing Technique.