Mōmenbō let out a shrill scream, his skeletal hands clawing at the air above the pit.
"I wanted to savor you all slowly..." He hissed, his eyes bulging. "But now, if I absorb all these 'rations' in the pit, my power will explode! I'll turn both of you into the most agonizing clay dolls! I'll torture you for eternity!!"
As he spoke, a suction force far stronger than before erupted from his palms. Every clay villager at the bottom of the pit let out a pained howl as dense, blood-red mist billowed from their bodies, swirling toward the demon like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.
Mōmenbō's body swelled rapidly, his demonic aura skyrocketing at a terrifying speed. Ryousuke and Uzui Tengen both paled.
"Bad move! We have to stop him!" Ryousuke shouted. If the demon finished this feast, his strength would reach an unreachable level, and the villagers would be lost forever.
Uzui Tengen wiped a trail of blood from his lip—a byproduct of his over-exertion earlier—and tightened his grip on his dual blades. "Looks like the Great Me has to pull out some flashier real skills!"
They exchanged a single look and charged simultaneously.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Sixfold!"
Leaving nothing in reserve, Ryousuke turned into a golden streak, a blur of lightning that moved faster than the eye could track.
Slash!
Mōmenbō's arms were severed cleanly, his Blood Demon Art physically interrupted!
"Cursed Slayers!" Mōmenbō shrieked, but Tengen was already there.
BOOM!
The clay shield Mōmenbō desperately conjured was smashed into smithereens by Tengen's heavy strike. The demon stumbled back, and before he could breathe, Ryousuke's second dash arrived. Mōmenbō tried to block, but the force sent him flying.
As the Blood Demon Art failed, Mōmenbō's bloated body deflated like a punctured balloon, the stolen power leaking out in frantic wisps. In that moment of vulnerability, Ryousuke's third dash dived in, a white blade passing through the demon's neck.
Schlick.
Clean. Precise. No resistance. Mōmenbō's head flew high into the air, his face frozen in a mask of absolute terror and disbelief.
I... I'm dying? By these two... decapitated...
[Notice: Slayed End-Phase Demon Mōmenbō. Gained 5 years of lifespan. Current remaining: 5 years, 294 days.]
The headless corpse stumbled a few steps and collapsed, dissolving into ash alongside the head. As Mōmenbō faded, his life flashed before his eyes—memories of being a shunned sculptor, of someone with red eyes granting him "immortality" through clay.
"Selfish to the core," Tengen muttered, looking at the ash with cold disdain. "You existed only to hurt others. You don't deserve pity."
"Agreed," Ryousuke sheathed his sword. No matter the past, once someone chooses to devour others for their own ego, destruction is the only path left.
With the demon's death, the clay shells on the villagers in the pit began to crack and peel away. They were unconscious and dangerously weak, but they were alive. Ryousuke and Tengen didn't approach; they knew their blood-stained, aura-heavy presence would only cause panic. The Kakushi would handle the rest.
They turned and walked away from the battlefield, nursing their wounds. After a while, Ryousuke spoke up. "Hey, Tengen. That hit you used to break his shell... it was insane. Your breathing felt... different."
Tengen rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah. You noticed? In that moment, it felt like something clicked. The air and the power didn't just flow—they roared! Yeah, that's it! A roar!"
He got more excited as he spoke, suddenly grabbing Ryousuke's arm and dragging him toward a secluded grove. "Come on! Ryousuke! Help me find that feeling again! That's the door to even flashier power!"
What the... Ryousuke's face filled with horror. The trauma of being "manhandled" by buff swordsmen resurfaced. "Tengen, calm down! Not the woods! People will talk!"
But Tengen didn't listen. He slung Ryousuke over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran into the trees. Ryousuke hung his head and sighed. Will someone explain why I keep getting kidnapped into bushes by Hashira-tier men? First Shinjuro, now Tengen!
They returned to Momoyama three days later. Thanks to the skill and potential shown during the mission, Tengen was officially inducted into the Demon Slayer Corps under Master Jigoro's recommendation.
In the following months, Tengen threw himself into his new craft. He captured that "flash of inspiration" and refined it, guiding his breath to create rhythmic vibrations within his body. The training ground no longer rang with just thunder, but with heavy, rhythmic booms.
Sound Breathing was taking shape.
Jigoro watched Tengen's dual blades and nodded. "Ferocious and resonant. This path suits you."
Time flowed on. The peach blossoms on the mountain bloomed and faded. Ryousuke calculated his time—it had been nearly two years since he arrived in this world. And the "little follower" who was always chirping behind him was finally reaching the end of her training.
Another Final Selection at Mt. Fujikasane was approaching.
"Wow!" Rika gasped, looking at the bright new haori gifted to her. "Thank you, Grandpa!"
Jigoro didn't say much. He patted her shoulder, just as he had done for Ryousuke and Shota. "Girl... come back alive."
"I will!" Rika nodded firmly, her eyes immediately darting to Ryousuke, who was meditating nearby.
Ryousuke felt his skin crawl. Oh no. Bad vibes.
Rika skipped over and blinked her big eyes at him. "Hehe~ Ryousuke-geigei (big brother)~"