"Who is this?"
"He's using Breath of the Stars, isn't he?"
Murata leaned on his knees, panting heavily to recover his strength.
"Mr. Haruto actually has other stepson besides Genya? Why have I never heard of it?"
"Ah, of course, it's also possible that although he and Mr. Haruto passed the selection at the same time and could talk to each other, they weren't really familiar."
Tanjirou was in no mood to bother with Murata's thoughts; the demon, enraged at almost being struck by him, attacked him with full force.
Although he was the Star Pillar's stepson, he hadn't been studying swordsmanship for very long, and most of the time he was self-taught, making it particularly difficult to deal with the demon.
Fortunately, several Demon Slayer Corps members were not prepared to stand by; they swarmed around, intending to overwhelm the demon with sheer numbers.
Amidst the raging flames, two more swordsmen fell to the ground, desperately trying to cover the flames on their bodies with sand.
After releasing several Breath of the Stars sword techniques, Tanjirou's arms felt as soft as noodles and he couldn't exert any strength.
"I can't help! I can't help!"
"Why didn't I train my body harder earlier!"
"Tanjirou! Pull yourself together!"
"Boom!" The flaming demon leaped, throwing two scorching fireballs at Tanjirou.
"Oh no!"
Tanjirou rolled backward, the fireballs growing larger in his vision. He could even smell the scorching scent of his hair curling.
"Whoosh!"
One fireball struck him on the right side of his forehead, and a burning pain spread to his brain, making it impossible for him to locate the other fireball.
"This is going to be bad."
Tanjirou thought this, his feet still trying to retreat backward.
Suddenly, it was as if a cool sea breeze swept through the night, damp and carrying moisture that could dispel the heat.
A young man wearing a haori with a ripple pattern and deep red pulled him behind him, then silently and calmly drew his sword forward.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide."
The blade light surged forward like a tide. The man's swordsmanship was extremely skilled, capable of rapidly delivering multiple attacks forward from that posture.
The flaming demon had almost no power to retaliate. After only a moment of surprise, it shattered into a pile of body parts, burning in the darkness.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo…"
Tanjirou gasped violently, his eyes wide as he watched the young man calmly return his sword to its sheath, his blue eyes as still as an ancient well.
It was as if he hadn't just slain a demon, as if his location wasn't a living hell.
Tanjirou flared his nostrils… He smelled nothing.
Murata, however, let out a long sigh of relief: "That's great, Giyuu… sir."
The man turned his head, nodded at him, and greeted him: "Call the Kakushi to clean up the situation."
Then he looked at Tanjirou: "You use Breath of the Stars. What is Takanashi Haruto to you?"
It wasn't a question but a statement. This man named Giyuu was very familiar with Breath of the Stars.
"Mr. Haruto is my teacher," Tanjirou replied.
"Indeed."
The man nodded: "I understand."
He stood in the dark night, his black hair swaying with the night wind.
"I am Tomioka Giyu, your… uncle."
…The dagger sliced Takanashi Haruto's skin, and crimson blood flowed down his arm.
Under Tamayo's gaze, the fresh wound stopped bleeding in a moment and was gradually healing.
"Does this count as… a success?"
Takanashi Haruto, whose nerves had been taut, slightly relaxed. At least this time, compared to the three injections he had experienced before, it was the calmest one.
"I significantly reduced the amount of Genya's blood in the medicine, which is probably why there won't be such terrifying and exaggerated proliferation this time."
"But correspondingly, the recovery ability has also weakened a lot."
Tamayo wrote rapidly in her notebook, muttering some technical terms that Takanashi Haruto couldn't understand a single word of.
"What next?"
"At least a week of observation. You need to record various changes in your body every day. I'll give you a chart later, just follow the chart."
Tamayo also let out a slight sigh of relief. After a long period of drug development, she had finally achieved a little success.
She had now found a safe lower threshold, and now she needed to gradually strengthen the medicine based on this lower limit.
Yushiro gently knocked on the door: "Lady Tamayo, Takanashi Haruto's parrot is outside."
"Hmm? What happened?"
Takanashi Haruto walked out of the house and raised his arm, letting Sora land on his fingertip… Tanjirou sat awkwardly on a long bench, looking at the comings and goings of the Butterfly Mansion, his eyes revealing some confusion.
It had been a chaotic night, and he had no idea what had happened.
If his family knew he was injured, they would definitely be very worried.
Tomioka Giyu, who claimed to be his uncle, followed the Kakushi all the way, transporting the swordsmen injured in Mt. Kumotori village to this place that looked like a medical hall.
"He is not a Demon Slayer Corps member." The young girl responsible for receiving patients was initially a little uneasy.
"He is Haruto's disciple," Tomioka Giyu said.
This sentence was like a pass. Another young girl came over with medicine, cleaning his wound and applying medicine. Tanjirou noticed that she was wearing a purple butterfly hair clip on her head.
"You're Haruto-nii's disciple?" Her movements were quick and gentle, and her tone when addressing Mr. Haruto was very familiar: "What's your name?"
"Tanjirou, Tanjiro Kamado," Tanjirou replied: "Please, my family… they are still on the mountain. If they don't know where I am, they will be very worried."
"Ara ara, that's no problem. The Kakushi will handle it very appropriately; they won't know about these things."
"But Nezuko, Nezuko knows about Mr. Haruto… Ha… I hope she won't overthink it."
Now, he could only quickly get bandaged and go home. Only when he returned home would his younger siblings and mother not worry.
The young girl's eyes suddenly narrowed. Tanjirou wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the strength in her hands seemed a little greater than before.
"Nezuko? Who is that? Is she very familiar with Haruto-nii?"
"That's… my younger sister."
The young girl carefully examined Tanjirou's youthful face: "Ah~ he's a child."
Her movements became gentle again, and her eyes held a smile: "If you become a Demon Slayer Swordsmen in the future, you might have to deal with me often."
"My name is Shinobu, Kochou Shinobu."
Tanjirou nodded, vaguely understanding, and remembered the name.
After Kochou Shinobu treated his wound, a young girl came forward and whispered in Kochou Shinobu's ear.
"Shinobu-neechan, Mr. Haruto is here."
"Oh? What is that smell?"
Tanjirou couldn't help but flare his nostrils. He smelled a faint, delicate fragrance.
It was like a flower quietly blooming when no one knew.
Years later, Tanjirou finally understood.
That was indeed a blooming flower, the blooming heart of a young girl.