Suddenly, another rustling sound came from the dense forest. A man wearing a haori with a mismatched pattern of solid red and geometric squares appeared before everyone.
It was someone they had seen before.
The Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu Tomioka.
His calm gaze swept over Shinobu and Lexon, who had already sheathed their swords, and the arm resting on his Nichirin Sword quietly dropped.
"Oh my, if it isn't Mr. Giyu... You're late, you know. And what about the Master?"
Shinobu smiled faintly at Giyu.
"At the Master's command, the Hashira are gradually gathering."
"Then why did the Master send you here?" Shinobu asked curiously.
"To stop the conflict between you and him," Giyu Tomioka said.
"Ah... but he violated the Corps' rules, you know!" Shinobu turned her head, her purple eyes looking at Lexon. "If you had come earlier, Mr. Tomioka, you could have joined me in..."
Giyu Tomioka's gaze shifted to Lexon, then moved past him to Tanjiro and Nezuko.
Then, with a serious face, he cut off Shinobu's words. "If I had come earlier, I would have violated the Corps' rules as well."
"Hmm?" Shinobu responded with a look of confusion, another anger vein appearing on her forehead.
"Let's go, Kanao," Shinobu could no longer maintain her gentle smile. She called for Kanao to leave with her.
After Shinobu left, Giyu Tomioka walked up to Lexon.
Lexon met his gaze steadily.
"Violating the Corps' rules will be troublesome," Giyu finally managed to squeeze out after staring at Lexon for a long while.
"It's not a big problem," Lexon replied indifferently.
"Mm," Giyu Tomioka nodded slightly and then walked towards Tanjiro and Nezuko.
"Mr. Giyu..." Tanjiro struggled to his feet with all his might.
"You did well, you survived," Giyu praised Tanjiro. "Mr. Urokodaki told me everything about your two years. Keep at it, Tanjiro."
He encouraged Tanjiro.
"Yes! Mr. Giyu!" Tanjiro was truly a passionate youth. A few words were enough to make his blood boil and fill him with vigor.
Although the resulting strain on his injuries made him cough continuously, which was rather uncool.
"Your injuries are serious. Leave it to the Kakushi," Giyu Tomioka called over the Kakushi members to take Tanjiro for treatment, and at the same time, had them take care of Nezuko, who had hidden in her box because the sun was about to rise.
"Let's go. The Master has ordered you to return to headquarters as well."
Next, Giyu said to Lexon.
"Okay," Lexon replied.
In terms of seniority, Giyu Tomioka could be considered Lexon's senior disciple, but such things were generally not observed among a cultivator's students, so there was no need for any special show of respect.
Moreover, it wasn't as if Lexon would do so anyway.
The sun in the distance was gradually rising, and the morning light began to spill across the land. Lexon and Giyu both set off for headquarters.
The journey back took longer than the journey there. They had rushed at full speed when coming because the situation was urgent, but on the way back, there was no strict time requirement, so they took it much slower.
But it was only Lexon who dawdled; Giyu and Shinobu had already returned ahead of him.
"Sign in."
During the journey, Lexon took out Gyokko's head and did his thing.
[Sign-in Successful]
[Congratulations on obtaining "Blood Demon Art of Upper Rank Five Gyokko": Usable after demonization. You can move between self-made pots, store items or creatures in pots, or use pots to release techniques. All of Gyokko's original Blood Demon Arts can now be used.]
'Why has my luck been so good these past two days?'
A small smile tugged at the corners of Lexon's mouth, and he felt a slight sense of joy.
'Then should I still keep this guy...'
Lexon held Gyokko's head and thought while looking at it, after it had been squeezed dry.
'Maybe I should just kill him?'
Sensing the dangerous gaze, the closed-eyed Gyokko suddenly snapped his eyes open.
'I was sleeping just fine, why are you looking at me like that?'
'Did I miss some part of the plot?'
Gyokko was utterly bewildered.
'Forget it, I'll keep him.'
Lexon thought.
'I can use him later as a whetstone for the other Hashira to practice against an Upper Rank. The price will be letting me touch them for a sign-in.'
He felt that Gyokko could still be squeezed a little more.
The confused Gyokko had no idea that he had just taken a stroll along the gates of hell.
The next moment, Lexon suddenly demonized, took out a small pot, forcibly stuffed Gyokko into it, and then instantly ended his demonization.
The duration was absurdly short.
In that instant, Gyokko only felt his heart jump and his entire head being squeezed. Just as he thought he was about to meet his maker, he suddenly entered a dark space.
He could feel the aura of his Blood Demon Art in this space, but he couldn't control it at all. After regenerating his entire body and trying to break out multiple times to no avail, he could only stay inside quietly.
"This way, the other Hashira probably won't smell his scent, and I won't have to worry about him running out," Lexon said, wrapping the pot he had made just for this moment and tying it to his waist.
'Gyokko's Blood Demon Art is really quite useful. The inside of the pot is its own separate space. Anything thrown inside can't get out unless its strength reaches a certain level, and it can also conceal auras.'
'It's really a good ability for home and travel.'
'It wasn't a waste to let this thing live for so long.'
Lexon then continued on his way.
Before long, he returned to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
Lexon didn't go back to the Butterfly Mansion, nor did he go to Kagaya's place right away. Instead, he went to Kyojuro Rengoku's residence.
Just as he stepped through the gate, Rengoku, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, came up to greet him.
"Lexon!" Kyojuro greeted him, full of life.
"Yes, Mr. Rengoku. It's been a while," Lexon replied with a smile.
"Haha, it really has been a while!" Kyojuro Rengoku always had an air of boundless energy.
"This mission took so long. Did you run into trouble?"
"I did! But it's already been resolved!" Kyojuro Rengoku said in a resonant voice. Then he seemed to remember something and said to Lexon, "I told you before that we'd have an all-out duel when we met again!"
"Ah... now?" Lexon felt that it was better to fulfill a promise as soon as possible.
"Alright!" Kyojuro responded loudly.
But just as he responded, a Kakushi member came running over and said frantically, "Lord Rengoku, the Master requests the presence of all Hashira at the estate."
Hearing the member's words, Kyojuro Rengoku nodded to show he understood and then said with the same energetic expression, "It seems we can't do it now! Let's wait until the next time we meet!"
"That's a bit of a pity. Until next time, then," Lexon said, shaking his head slightly and turning to leave.
"Lord Lexon, wait," the messenger member hurriedly stopped Lexon. "The Master also requests your presence at the estate."
"Alright," Lexon nodded.
In fact, he had originally planned to get involved in the upcoming Hashira meeting anyway. Being summoned by Kagaya was just perfect.
After all, he still needed to go and back Tanjiro up.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]