Amid the shattered ruins, several figures were moving at high speed.
Gyomei Himejima led the way, his Nichirin flail and giant axe once again in his hands.
Though those blind eyes of his could not see, his powerful perception made him more aware of the road ahead than anyone else.
Following behind Gyomei closely were Yuichiro and Muichiro Tokito.
Although the brothers' injuries had not yet fully healed, neither Yuichiro nor Muichiro could possibly stand by and let Gyomei go support Shinichi alone.
Besides the three of them, several more figures were following behind.
Looking carefully, they were none other than Shinobu Kocho, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Obanai Iguro.
They, too, were reinforcements sent from where the Master was.
The other Hashira were either too badly injured to have fully recovered, or had expended too much stamina.
After weighing the situation, Kiriya could only send Shinobu and the other two—whose condition was still acceptable—to provide support as quickly as possible.
Shinobu, worried about Shinichi, was moving the fastest.
Her violet eyes were fixed on the darkness ahead as it drew nearer and nearer.
Her hands gripped her slender Nichirin blade tightly, her knuckles paling from the force, and the anxiety in her heart would not fade no matter what.
"Shinobu."
Sanemi's voice sounded from behind her.
"Are you worried about Shinichi?"
Shinobu did not turn around, but softly answered, "Mm."
"Don't think too much about it. He'll be fine," Sanemi encouraged, though he himself was also somewhat worried about his comrade's safety.
"That guy has never let anyone down."
It was rare for Obanai Iguro to nod in agreement, but he did so now. "We can go even faster. According to Himejima-san, it's only about ten more minutes. We should catch up soon enough. There's no need to worry, Kocho."
Shinobu was silent for a moment.
Then the corners of her lips lifted slightly into a very faint smile.
"I understand."
As the group pressed onward, passing through patch after patch of ruins destroyed by battle, the deeper they went into the Infinity Castle, the stranger the surroundings became.
The air was so thick and viscous it seemed almost solid.
From time to time, a few low-level demons could be seen wandering nearby, baring vicious fangs and claws at them.
But intimidated by the group's aura, those lesser demons did not dare approach too closely.
"There seem to be far fewer demons in the deeper areas…" Sanemi frowned and cut down a demon blocking the way with a single strike.
The demon rolled several times like a puppet, then turned to ash without any real reaction at all.
"Even their movements are sluggish."
"They seem as if they've lost their souls. Everything here is very strange," Gyomei said in a low voice.
The moment his words fell, everyone unconsciously quickened their pace.
However, just as they passed through a cluster of inverted, disordered buildings, Muichiro—who had been rushing at the very front—suddenly stopped.
"It looks like someone's there!"
That warning instantly put everyone on full alert, and the sound of Nichirin blades being drawn rang out in perfect unison.
Very quickly, the vigilant group saw, in the shadows of a dim corridor, a blurry figure collapsed on the ground, completely motionless.
That figure was wearing a Demon Slayer Corps uniform.
The orange haori on his body was tattered and covered in blood.
"It's Sabito!" Obanai recognized the figure at once, and Sanemi immediately moved to rush forward to check on him.
"Wait!" Obanai stopped Sanemi, his narrow, snake-like eyes sweeping the surroundings warily. "Be careful."
Gyomei stepped forward. "Aside from a few faint demon presences nearby, there is nothing else around us. There should be no trap."
After confirming there was no trap, the group quickly rushed to the figure's side.
The one lying on the ground really was Sabito.
There was a deep wound on his left shoulder, so severe that bone could be seen.
The blood there had already congealed black. His face was as pale as paper, and his breathing was so faint it was almost impossible to detect.
His Nichirin blade had broken into two pieces and lay scattered beside him, its surface covered in countless fine cracks, as though it had been forcibly shattered by some terrifying power.
Sanemi crouched down and reached out to test Sabito's breathing.
"He's still breathing."
Shinobu immediately stepped forward and pressed her palm against Sabito's chest, sensing the beat of his heart.
A moment later, her expression grew grave.
"Sabito-san's heartbeat is very weak. At least four ribs are broken, and his internal organs may also have ruptured in several places."
Once she had confirmed his condition, Shinobu immediately took out portable medicine from her person and began emergency treatment.
Gyomei stood beside her, his towering frame like an immovable mountain, silently guarding them.
Time passed second by second.
After about ten minutes, Sabito's fingers twitched slightly.
"Cough… cough, cough…"
With a violent fit of coughing, Sabito suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark blood, and finally opened his eyes.
"Sabito-senpai!"
Yuichiro crouched down and supported his shoulder.
"You're awake! What happened? Who injured you like this? And where is Giyu-senpai?"
Sabito's gaze was unfocused for quite a while before it gradually sharpened.
When he realized the people before him were his comrades, a trace of fear suddenly flashed through those usually steady eyes.
Giyu's name in particular made him instantly remember what had happened earlier.
"Giyu! Giyu is in danger…" Sabito's voice sounded hoarse from the injuries to his chest.
He almost had to use all his strength just to force out those few words.
"What danger?" Gyomei asked in a deep voice. "Did a demon injure the two of you?"
Sabito took a deep breath, seeming to try to calm his emotions.
He closed his eyes and recalled everything that had happened not long ago.
"After Giyu and I suddenly appeared in this place, we ran into many demons. We even encountered our missing master…"
"What? Your master? Urokodaki Sakonji-san?" Gyomei asked in shock.
Sabito opened his eyes.
A heavy sorrow showed in those amber-colored pupils.
"Yes. Our master—Master Urokodaki. For some reason, he had been turned into a demon. Giyu and I… in the end, we we killed our Master."
The air fell silent at once.
Looking at the grief-stricken Sabito, the others did not know how to comfort him for a moment.
But that was not all Sabito wanted to say.
What came next was the real point—and the reason why he was gravely wounded while Giyu was nowhere to be seen.
"After fighting Master, Giyu and I tried to find all of you. But this strange city that keeps changing was far too complicated. We took many detours and still found nothing."
Sabito stared at the corridor in front of him as he spoke.
"And then, right here, we ran into an absurdly powerful opponent!"
"Who was it?"
"There were two people. One was that Upper Rank One. The other—I'm not sure who he was. But his Breathing Technique was incredibly powerful. With just a few swings, he cut through both mine and Giyu's Nichirin blades. That aura… it was so overwhelming it was hard to breathe! His appearance was strange too—flame-red hair…"
As they listened to Sabito's description, Gyomei's expression became more and more serious.
The unfamiliar image in his mind gradually took shape, finally converging into a single name.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni?!"