Chapter 5: Chapter 5. Experiment (2)
Yoshiwara’s night still blazed brilliantly, but the sounds were only a shell. Inside that shell, only the noises that lived within it rang out: restrained breaths, the faint tremble of heels. Six pupils quietly licked over every texture of it all.
I lifted my head. The red rim of the lanterns flashed across my eyes and vanished.
I carefully opened my mouth toward Upper Rank One.
“There are too many people here.”
At that one line, Upper Rank One tilted his head. He looked as though he was willing to hear me out.
“If what you want is a fight, then this is not the right place.”
“Then what do you want?”
His words were short and indifferent. But that indifference was confidence. The confidence of one who did not need to hear the other side’s answer.
“To save people.”
I moved my hand slightly away from the hilt, and my subordinates noticed the motion and nodded. It was not time to draw yet.
“How about we move somewhere else?”
It was uncertain whether Upper Rank One would accept my suggestion.
One of the six eyes flickered ever so slightly. Interest, or perhaps curiosity, as if he were observing something.
“Why should I accept that suggestion?”
“I am a demon. I have no reason to fight while considering the circumstances of humans…”
“As a Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps… I normally never negotiate.”
I closed my lips, then opened them again.
“But an old Water Hashira knows how to negotiate. I would like to avoid crossing blades over the heads of the innocent.”
He was silent for a moment. Through that silence, the uproar of the pleasure district crumpled like thin paper, then vanished as if torn away.
“Very well.”
His toes brushed the floor. There was no sound. Yet his shadow swayed once 크게, changing the depth of the alley.
“You lead the way.”
I looked around at my subordinates. All of their lips were dry. On the back of the youngest boy’s hand, the veins stood out white, as if the blood had stopped flowing there.
“Tighten the formation. Don’t fall behind.”
Then I added in a low voice, “Do not think about dying. Think about living.”
There was a Kasugai crow watching all of this. It had to report that Upper Rank One had appeared before the main force, and wait for support from the other Hashira to arrive as quickly as possible.
I stepped toward the edge of the night, toward the end of the red lanterns. Behind me, he followed. In the end, not a single footstep could be heard.
Far away, the shadow of a woman shifted between the lanterns as if being pushed aside. A flashy kimono, an unmistakable allure.
Another Upper Rank who seemed to be Upper Rank One’s companion. Her eyes were fixed on only one person.
The monster with six eyes, standing at the center even when he was not beside her.
In that gaze, two things were tangled together. Awe, and relief.
Why relief?
I was briefly puzzled, but soon quickened my pace.
The fishy river wind made the alley feel deeper and colder. The red glow of the lanterns thinned, and the damp smell of earth rose up.
Toward the direction of the temple ruin—I turned my body that way.
§§§
Yoshiwara suddenly fell silent, as if it had lost its surface.
The tongues that had been chattering stiffened at once, then moved again as though nothing had happened. The gap they could not remember became our passage.
The farther we descended toward the river, the more the texture of the ground changed. Fine gravel and the smell of wet stone layered over one another. The downy tips of the bamboo swayed listlessly in the wind.
From far away, the sound of water came like the beat of a drum.
The road to the temple ruin grew quieter and quieter. As Yoshiwara’s lights receded behind us, all that remained was the fishy river wind and shattered roof tiles.
The one in front was the Water Hashira who was nearing retirement. His steps were calm, but the shadow draped over his shoulder trembled heavily.
His subordinates could not even steady their breathing as they followed that shadow. To them, the presence approaching from behind was overwhelming.
—The aura of Upper Rank One was far too oppressive.
Kokushibo’s footsteps were never heard. Yet at every moment, the subordinates felt as if a massive wave were crashing in from behind them.
It was pressure that made them feel as though they would be swallowed if they closed their eyes, and their vision would blur if they opened them.
Behind them, Daki was moving carefully. Her flower-like Yoshiwara kimono no longer suited the surrounding silence.
But her eyes followed only one person. Kokushibo, the monster with six eyes. In that gaze seeped fear, and at the same time, an inexplicable relief.
The Water Hashira went on without turning his head. He already knew that in this old body, this fight might be his last. Yet there was no wavering in his eyes.
He was determined not to drag innocent humans into this, and to stand in front of that monster alone.
When we reached the temple ruin, the space grew even more desolate. Broken pillar fragments, shattered stone lanterns, and a strange fragrance drifting through the weeds rode the wind. The scent was like the stench of an old prayer rotting away, or a buried grudge rising from the earth.
Kokushibo slowly stopped at the center of the temple ruin. The finger resting on his scabbard twitched ever so lightly. Even that alone sent a tension through the air, as if it had split open.
“This is a good place.”
His voice was low and calm.
“The noise won’t stain the scent.”
The Water Hashira silently surveyed the surroundings. His subordinates instinctively spread out left and right to guard the perimeter. None of them had any intention of joining the fight directly. The monster before them was on a different level. Even remaining as witnesses seemed like something that required risking their lives.
Daki stood a little apart. Her breathing was thin, but her gaze never changed. She was feeling a sense of stability from Kokushibo that she had never felt even before Muzan.
Moonlight slipped through the thin clouds and poured over the temple ruin. In the tension, even that light looked sharp.
The Water Hashira finally gripped his sword hilt. His old fingers were stiff, but his gaze was chillingly clear.
Kokushibo’s six eyes turned toward him.
At the center of the quiet temple ruin, between broken pillars and shattered tiles, the two swordsmen looked at each other.
Kokushibo slowly moved the hand resting on his scabbard. His six eyes swept over the Water Hashira’s hands, feet, shoulders, and the rhythm of his breathing in sequence.
“You are old. And yet… that spark has not gone out.”
Instead of answering, the Water Hashira drew his sword. The blade, soaked in moonlight, traced a long line of light.
He had made his decision. For the sake of the younger subordinates, for the sprouts that could still grow into a better future, he was willing to give his miserable life.
“Water Breathing.”
His breath sank into stillness.
—Sshhhhhh.
Only the quiet sound of breathing echoed.
Kokushibo slowly drew his sword. Metal gave a low hum in the dusk.
“Very well. As a swordsman, I acknowledge your end.”
§§§
The Water Hashira’s toes brushed the earth.
“Third Form, Flowing Dance!”
The blade connected like a river. Long and smooth, it curved with the moonlight and flowed toward Kokushibo.
Kokushibo raised his sword at an angle and gently pushed it away. Even the instant blade met blade, no sound rang out. As if the current had simply been diverted, the Water Hashira’s strike lost its force.
The Water Hashira turned his body at once, lowering his waist.
“Sixth Form, Whirling Whirlpool!”
The sword tip spun like a vortex, surrounding the temple ruin.
Kokushibo’s six eyes moved in unison. He stepped to the side and only trod on the outer edge of the whirlpool. The blade never touched him.
“To trap flow with flow… not a bad attack.”
Kokushibo slowly lifted his sword. He wanted to forget the memories of before and fully unleash the power that had been boiling ever since the body’s true owner awakened.
And his opponent was right in front of him. Kokushibo could not suppress that desire.
He could not hold back. A Hashira, one of the strongest among the Demon Slayer Corps. And not just any Hashira, but a swordsman seasoned by experience.
Kokushibo did not spare his praise for such a swordsman.
“Your technique is like a river. It flows, gathers, and scatters. Then I want to see the moment when that river is severed.”
His sword flickered briefly. A thin gap in the air brushed the Water Hashira’s side. It did not actually make contact.
And yet the hem of his clothing tore as the wind rushed in.
The Water Hashira’s eyes flashed.
“Are you testing me!”
“I only want to see what your final flame looks like.”
Even while swinging his sword, Kokushibo’s voice remained low and steady.
The Water Hashira’s lungs were already burning hot. But he did not stop.
“Water Breathing—Tenth Form, Constant Flow!”
A continuous chain of sword strikes surged forward like endless waves. The entire temple ruin swayed as if it were being swept away by the tide.
This time, Kokushibo did not brush it off lightly. His sword swung wide and split the wave head-on. A violent shock burst out, sending the rubble of the temple ruin flying like shards.
The Water Hashira’s body lurched hard, but he raised his blade again.
Kokushibo’s six eyes gleamed.
“Yes. That spirit…”
The two swordsmen stepped forward at the same time.
It was not the sound of metal, but the vibration of air being torn apart.
As the Water Hashira’s blade created waves, Kokushibo’s blade split the moonlight into several streams. The weeds on the ground were cut apart and scattered.
“Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Raging Tide Slash!”
The Water Hashira gathered all his strength into the tip of his sword. The currents merged into one and became a straight, piercing strike.
Kokushibo’s blade met it as if he had been waiting for it.
“A technique I have never seen before. Is this the result of your own effort…”
Light scattered to pieces, and the center of the temple ruin trembled. The ground cracked, and dust exploded upward.
The Water Hashira’s knees shook. His old body had reached its limit, but his gaze did not go out.
Kokushibo withdrew his sword slightly and said, “Your blade has lived while protecting life. It is not a sword meant to kill demons, but one that exists solely to protect human lives. …And now, that sword has grown old.”
“What a pitiable, tragic talent.”
The moonlight began to grow heavier.
The calm air, as though something were about to burst, writhed violently.
Kokushibo’s swordsmanship changed. The consideration from before vanished, and now his strikes carried a cold, heavy weight like moonlight itself.
With every swing, the air was torn apart. The Water Hashira’s Water Breathing formed walls, but each wall was struck by a massive fragment of the moon and split apart.
The Water Hashira coughed up blood as moonlit slashes pierced his whole body. Yet he rose again.
“Not yet… It’s not over yet!”
“Water Hashira-sama!!”
His subordinates cried out desperately for him. They waited helplessly for the Kasugai crow’s request for support, hoping it would save the Water Hashira’s life.
The tip of his sword began to deflect countless moonlit slashes.
“Water Breathing—Final Form!”
The blade grew even sharper than before. And the seasoned ripples of water began to gnaw away at the lingering moonlight.
The Water Hashira’s fighting spirit began to fill the area around the temple ruin. Like a raging tide, that spirit grew even fiercer toward Kokushibo.
“I am the Water Hashira, Iwanai Kotaro! Twelfth Form! Wave Crest!”
At that moment, his figure vanished in an instant.
Like flowing water, a thrust followed an invisible path and drove toward Kokushibo’s chest.
But Kokushibo’s six eyes, which had already grasped every tiny movement through the world that revealed itself, stared coldly at the Water Hashira.
“...I see. You remain a samurai to the very end.”
Then came Kokushibo’s low, metallic voice, ringing out in quiet succession.
“Moon Breathing…”
“First Form…”
“—Dark Moon, Evening Palace.”
A silent moonlit slash. The line of a light horizontal cut rang with stillness.
And the moonlight quietly swallowed the raging tide.
Waste the opportunity to put the image of the moon breathing first form, btw Nice Chapter