Tanjiro told Tamayo about his sister. After hearing the story, everyone present sighed with emotion and praised his strength and courage.
"I still have not developed a medicine that can turn Demons back into humans, but I believe I am not far from that goal now."
As Tamayo spoke, she glanced at Luke. "Mr. Luke has already collected quite a few blood samples from the Twelve Kizuki. I believe my research will make a breakthrough soon."
Tanjiro was thrilled. He bowed to Luke again. "Thank you, Big Brother Luke."
Luke waved a hand. "Don't thank me. I only want to help Miss Tamayo research Demons, so it'll be easier when we face Muzan in the final battle."
Before coming down the mountain, he had used the blood-collection device Tamayo had given him to take samples from Upper Rank Five and Lower Rank One. He had not spared the other Explorers who had turned into Demons either. No matter how small the gain, it was still something, and their blood could offer useful references for Tamayo's research.
Tamayo wore a gentle smile as she reassured Tanjiro. "Don't rush. Protect your sister and keep growing stronger. I still need more blood samples, preferably from the Twelve Kizuki. Let us both do our best from now on."
She had already taken a blood sample from Nezuko. As a Demon who could restrain her urge to eat humans and had broken free of Muzan's control, Nezuko was extremely valuable to Tamayo's research.
"Um... Miss Tamayo, could you treat us too?"
Once everyone had more or less finished talking, Little Camellia finally approached with Little Whirlwind, asking in a timid voice.
During the earlier battle, Little Whirlwind had been put to sleep by Enmu's Blood Demon Art. Little Camellia had carried him down the mountain herself.
They had not known each other before entering this world, but after surviving such a life-and-death ordeal together, they had developed a measure of trust.
Because they had not been the enemy's primary targets, their injuries were surprisingly light. Still, they were not so minor that treatment was unnecessary. After everyone came down the mountain, they had all gathered around the Sound Hashira. Little Camellia and Little Whirlwind had felt like outsiders. Other than Tanjiro, who had shown them concern and helped bandage them up in an emergency, no one had paid them any attention.
"Of course. Please come over."
Tamayo naturally did not refuse. In her eyes, most members of the Demon Slayer Corps were good people, and they would be comrades-in-arms in the future.
After Tamayo gave them anti-inflammatory medicine and redressed their wounds, the pair thanked her, then hesitantly headed toward Luke, who was standing in a corner of the woods.
"Lord Thunder Hashira, we'll follow your orders from now on."
Little Camellia spoke first.
"Oh? Weren't you two doing pretty well on your own?"
Luke was deeply dissatisfied with the two of them for tricking Tanjiro's group into walking straight into danger.
Back on the mountain, he had told Zenitsu and Tanjiro to go train, and he had not said it quietly. The two Explorers should have known, yet they had disrupted his plans.
If he had not happened to pass through Mount Natagumo tonight, Zenitsu and the others would have had no chance of survival.
"Lord Thunder Hashira, we know we were wrong. From now on, we'll listen to your orders."
Little Whirlwind also pledged his loyalty. Only after tonight's events had they realized just how dangerous this world was. If they wandered around without clinging to the thigh of a true powerhouse, death was all but guaranteed.
"That's right. Could we become your adopted children?"
Little Camellia hurriedly chimed in.
Luke rubbed his chin, his expression strange. Had he somehow gained a son and a daughter out of nowhere?
Besides, becoming someone's godfather did not sound particularly lucky.
"You can follow me, but I will not specifically protect you. In return, you need to do something for me."
Luke had already decided how to arrange these two Explorers. Their strength had been useless in battle, but there were still tasks they could handle.
"Godfather, tell us!"
Little Camellia reacted quickly, agreeing at once. That form of address nearly made Luke choke.
"No. Just call me the Thunder Hashira. What I need you to do isn't difficult..."
As he spoke, he handed them a slip of paper. They were some distance from the main group, and they kept their voices low, but he still chose his words carefully. Zenitsu's hearing was sharp.
Little Camellia and Little Whirlwind took the note and looked at it. They were startled at first, then repeatedly nodded. "We'll definitely complete the mission!"
There was only one simple sentence written on the paper: "Kill Kaigaku."
Kaigaku was currently a Kanoe-ranked swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps. He was not even as strong as Zenitsu when Zenitsu was asleep. For two high-stat Explorers like Little Camellia and Little Whirlwind, killing Kaigaku would not be difficult at all.
Luke had planned this for a long time. They had already been in this world for several days, and Muzan would not keep his high-level forces leashed at his side forever. The truly powerful Explorers on the enemy side would soon begin moving.
They would hunt Hashira and recruit powerful fighters. Though Kaigaku had been called the weakest Upper Rank in the original story, he was still a high-level combatant and could make life miserable for the Demon Slayer Corps. The Explorers would not let him go.
Luke did not want the tragedy from the original story to happen again, so he intended to kill that ungrateful bastard, Kaigaku, first, before he could drag old Jigoro into it.
Now that Luke was a Hashira, eyes from every side were fixed on him. On top of being busy enough dealing with Muzan's faction, it would be difficult for him to find time to hunt down a small fry like Kaigaku personally. This was best left to someone else.
Little Camellia and Little Whirlwind were perfect for it. They were strong enough to kill Kaigaku, and even if the matter came to light, it could not be traced back to Luke.
After all, the two were not fools. If they were exposed, they would absolutely distance themselves from him completely. They were Explorers; as long as they survived, that was enough. Once this world ended, they would simply leave.
"Good. Once you're done, stay on standby. Leave the rest to me."
Luke's words were indirect, but Little Camellia and Little Whirlwind understood the deeper meaning.
In short, after they completed this job, they could hide somewhere and take it easy. Luke would handle Muzan's faction by himself.
Once the arrangement was settled, both sides were in a good mood. Luke returned to the group and had the Sound Hashira get into the car. They would give him a ride to a place marked with the Wisteria Crest, where he could recover from his injuries. After that, they could head straight for the Master.
*
A gentle breeze passed through the wisteria trees. Spring filled the courtyard, while a bamboo water clock periodically struck, making the quiet atmosphere seem even more tranquil.
There was only one person in the courtyard: a young man tied up tightly with rope. He looked around nervously while a Kakushi guarded him, preventing him from moving freely.
It was Tanjiro. After arriving at headquarters, he had been tied up by the Demon Slayer Corps before he even understood what was happening. Zenitsu had been extremely worried, and only Luke's guarantee had stopped him from intervening.
Not knowing what fate awaited him and his sister, Tanjiro was under immense pressure. As he thought, he suddenly heard footsteps from the entrance to the courtyard.
He turned and saw a group of people in wildly varied attire enter the yard. When those people looked at him, their gazes were hostile, making Tanjiro's heart sink.
Although Big Brother Luke was not among them, Tanjiro knew that a Hashira Meeting would be held here today. He guessed that these were the current Hashira.
Just as Tanjiro's nerves reached their limit, he finally saw a familiar face: his senior brother, Giyu Tomioka. But Giyu's expression was cold, and he did not spare Tanjiro another glance before walking directly to the veranda to wait.
Not long after Giyu arrived, the final Hashira attending today's meeting entered through the courtyard gate: the late-arriving Luke.
Among the crowd, the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, secretly turned her head to peek at Luke. She murmured to herself, "So this is the newly appointed Thunder Hashira? He looks so cool and powerful. That's amazing~"
"Ha ha ha! So you're the new Thunder Hashira? You look strong indeed! Yes! Let's kill plenty of Demons together from now on!"
The speaker was a man with long yellow hair edged in red. His eyebrows were thick and black, his eyes bright and spirited, and his booming voice was full of energy. He was Kyojuro Rengoku, the current Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"A powerful swordsman, perhaps, but you've brought along someone unpleasant as well."
The speaker was a petite woman wearing a haori patterned like butterfly wings over her uniform. She smiled at Luke with narrowed eyes, but there was no light in her pupils. She was Shinobu Kocho, the current Insect Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
She admired Luke's formidable record. He had accomplished something no one had managed in centuries: beheading Upper Rank Six. She had also heard that he had fought fiercely against Demons on Mount Natagumo last night, saving the Sound Hashira and killing Upper Rank Five.
Such glorious achievements naturally earned her respect. But she had also heard that Luke had proposed to the Master that Demons be brought here for pharmaceutical research.
There was no need to think about it. The matter would ultimately fall onto her shoulders too, and she might be forced to work alongside the Demons she hated most.
"They were only Upper Rank Six and Upper Rank Five, but for a newly appointed Hashira, that is not bad."
The speaker was half seated on a tree branch. Bandages covered his face, and a snake coiled around his neck. At first glance, he gave off an eerie, unsettling impression. He was Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Huh? How come you got to kill two Upper Ranks in a row? Why can't I ever run into them?"
A hot-tempered young man with white hair and scars across his face walked up to Luke. Their eyes met, yet he could read nothing in Luke's gaze.
He was Sanemi Shinazugawa, the current Wind Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
The last person to greet Luke stood in the center of the group. He was a massive man dressed like a monk, with an exceptionally long scar across his forehead and completely blind eyes. Over his Demon Slayer Corps uniform, he wore a brown kasaya embroidered with the words "Namu Amida Butsu."
Tears streamed down his face as he pressed his palms together toward Luke. "How pitiful. Powerful as you are, you still joined the Demon Slayer Corps."
The Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, meant exactly what he said. He genuinely felt sorrow, because he believed Luke was like himself: both were naturally powerful men. And unlike Gyomei, Luke was not even blind.
Yet even someone like Luke had joined the Demon Slayer Corps. That meant Luke, too, had once failed to protect someone important to him. Gyomei found that deeply tragic.
"We joined the Demon Slayer Corps so that fewer people would have to be pitied. Isn't that right?"
Luke spoke for the first time, responding only to the Stone Hashira. He ignored Sanemi's challenge and everyone else's remarks.
Of the nine Hashira present, everyone had acknowledged him with either their eyes or their words. Only two had not. One was naturally their cold, aloof heartthrob, Giyu Tomioka.
The other was Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira. It was not that he meant to be unwelcoming or ignore Luke. He was simply a little absent-minded, currently staring blankly at the sky.
"Giyu, we have a new companion. Aren't you going to say hello?"
Standing beside Giyu, Shinobu Kocho asked him with a mischievous smile.
Giyu Tomioka looked at Luke expressionlessly, his voice indifferent. "Thunder Hashira, hello."
It was an ordinary greeting, yet somehow it carried the feeling of keeping others at arm's length.
"Water Hashira? Hello. I'm Luke."
Luke merely nodded, his expression calm. Then he turned and grabbed the wrist of the Wind Hashira, who had been walking toward Nezuko's box.
"Huh? What are you doing?"
The Wind Hashira turned around, his tone hostile. He struggled twice with all his strength, but Luke's hand did not move in the slightest.
"I should be asking you that. What do you intend to do?"
Luke swept his gaze toward the box holding Nezuko, thinking, Could you stop doing villainous things with that villain face of yours?
"What am I doing? There's a Demon in there. Don't tell me you can't sense it? Of course I'm going to kill it."
As the Wind Hashira spoke, he exerted himself again, trying to shake off Luke's grip. Embarrassingly, even after using his Breathing Style, he still could not break free.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register