Zenitsu's body froze at that instant.
"Uh…"
Then he rolled his eyes and was about to collapse to the ground.
I forgot about that possibility…
Chiba Yo, who was following behind, covered his face with his hand helplessly after seeing this scene.
This won't do; it's not achieving the effect I want.
Chiba Yo thought to himself, and his body moved.
"Hehehehe, how timid, I can feast again, thank the heavens for this blessing."
The Drill Ground Demon chuckled a few times, then pounced towards Zenitsu.
Just then, Chiba Yo jumped out and then kicked the Drill Ground Demon flying.
"Damn it! How dare you ambush me!"
The Drill Ground Demon cursed, and after being kicked by Chiba Yo into the stone wall, it immediately drilled back in.
"Thunder Breathing First Form…"
Zenitsu had already stood up from the ground at this time, his right hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it in the next second.
"Zenitsu! Wake up quickly!"
Seeing this, Chiba Yo quickly shook his body and shouted at him, while also gripping his sword hilt to prevent him from attacking at this moment, as doing so would completely fail to achieve the effect of changing Zenitsu.
Zenitsu, being frantically shaken by Chiba Yo, still didn't wake up and was still trying to break free to slay the demon.
Just then, the demon that Chiba Yo had kicked away earlier charged over again.
"Die for me! Blood Demon Art: Stone Armor!"
The Drill Ground Demon's hands were covered with a layer of stone armor, transforming into stone spikes that jabbed towards Chiba Yo and Zenitsu.
Chiba Yo naturally noticed this situation, drew his sword with his right hand, turned to shield Zenitsu behind him, slammed the sword hilt down to deflect the Drill Ground Demon's attack, and then kicked it away again; his two kicks weren't very strong, to prevent scaring the demon into running away.
"Thunder Breathing First Form…"
Taking advantage of this moment, the unconscious Zenitsu began to charge up again.
Seeing this, Chiba Yo came up with an idea, pinched Zenitsu's nose with his hand, and then, feeling unsure, covered his mouth as well.
Zenitsu's Thunder Breathing was forcibly stopped because Chiba Yo had also made him and Inosuke practice breath-holding for enhanced Breathing Technique before, so there wouldn't be any problems for a short period.
At this moment, the Drill Ground Demon, kicked away again by Chiba Yo, landed on the ground, filled with anger at Chiba Yo's composure, it extended its right hand into the stone wall, then pulled out several stone spikes and flung them towards Chiba Yo and his companion.
"Blood Demon Art: Stone Spikes!"
Zenitsu, who was inhaling, had his face turn a little red after his mouth and nose were covered, and then he immediately opened his eyes.
"Wuwu…"
The awakened Zenitsu quickly grabbed Chiba Yo's hand and moved it away.
Chiba Yo showed a happy smile upon seeing this.
Zenitsu also showed a surprised smile after seeing Chiba Yo.
"Yo, you came to save me, didn't you! I knew you wouldn't abandon me! That demon just scared me unconscious, I thought I was certainly going to die. You'll help me get rid of that demon, right?"
Zenitsu said excitedly to Chiba Yo, his heart full of joy.
"You finally woke up, so now it's up to you."
Chiba Yo smiled, patted Zenitsu's shoulder, said a few words, then flashed away and ran towards the cave entrance, immediately after, the Drill Ground Demon's stone spikes appeared before Zenitsu, and it itself charged towards him with a loud yell.
Hearing Chiba Yo's words and seeing the situation before him, Zenitsu felt a bit confused and froze in place.
Am I dreaming? Or am I still unconscious?
At this moment, a stone spike flew past Zenitsu's ear, and the sound of wind whistling by his ear made Zenitsu realize that this was not a dream.
Several more stone spikes flew towards Zenitsu, and the Drill Ground Demon was already close at hand, its ugly face terrifying beyond compare.
"Help me, ahhh!!!"
Tears welled up in Zenitsu's eyes as he shouted and jumped left and right, dodging the stone spikes flying towards him.
After this period of training, Zenitsu's speed had also increased significantly; he dodged all of the stone spikes, none of them even touching him.
"I'll kill you, you coward, then I'll deal with that guy who kicked me twice!" the Drill Ground Demon yelled, its hands covered in stone spikes lunging at Zenitsu.
Zenitsu easily dodged the demon's attack upon seeing this, and then instinctively wanted to run away.
"Don't be afraid, Zenitsu, didn't you say you would work hard?" Chiba Yo's voice sounded from behind him; he hadn't run far, his previous actions were just to clear a space for Zenitsu and the Drill Ground Demon's battle, and also to prevent Zenitsu from relying on him.
"Think of Nezuko, think of Kuwajima Jigorō, believe that you can do it, don't always think of giving up!" Chiba Yo shouted towards Zenitsu, hoping that he would do something different from usual, that he would be able to face and slay a demon while conscious.
In Chiba Yo's opinion, Zenitsu's fear when encountering demons was probably due to his lack of belief in his own strength, thinking that he wasn't strong enough and that fighting a demon would likely cost him his life.
Even though his strength was already considerable, and he had slain many demons, that was after all something he achieved while unconscious, and he himself was not aware of it.
If he could slay a demon while conscious, then he should no longer be so afraid and would gradually believe in himself.
After hearing Chiba Yo's words, the figures of Nezuko and Kuwajima Jigorō flashed through Zenitsu's mind, and Jigorō's teachings also echoed in his mind.
…
"No matter how painful it is, don't run towards the easy path!"
…
Zenitsu's body, which was about to turn away, stopped, his right hand placed on the hilt of his sword.
"Yo! You're really a devil! I'm not talking to you for the next two days!"
Zenitsu, still with tears and snot, shouted loudly.
Zenitsu had already felt this way since Chiba Yo started training them, and this incident made him even more convinced that Chiba Yo was a devil reincarnated, capable of coming up with such methods to deal with him.
"Die! Coward!"
The Drill Ground Demon was now in front of Zenitsu, the stone spikes covering its hands only a few centimeters from piercing his throat, and Chiba Yo was also intently watching the battle, preventing any accidents.
"Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash: Godspeed!"
A crying voice echoed in the cave, and the Drill Ground Demon's stone spikes had already touched Zenitsu's neck at this point.
It's done!
Hearing this voice, Chiba Yo smiled.
Hehehe, one down!
A cruel smile appeared on the Drill Ground Demon's face, but the next moment its expression froze, the figure before its eyes turned into golden-yellow lightning, what it had touched was merely an afterimage.
Oh no…
The Drill Ground Demon secretly thought that something was wrong and immediately turned its head to look for Zenitsu's figure, but it didn't feel the action of turning its head before its perspective had already shifted.
What appeared before it was a half-crouching back, its right hand gripping the sword hilt, the sword already sheathed.