Shinobu's voice stopped Lexon's departing footsteps.
"Hmm?"
Lexon voiced his confusion.
"Have you ever eaten a person?" Shinobu asked, her head lowered, her tone subdued.
"Why would I eat people?" Lexon's tone was as gentle as ever. "When I become a demon, I don't feel the urge to eat people, and I have never eaten one."
"To me, demonization is just an ability to enhance my strength, just like how a swordsman uses a breathing technique. There's no difference."
"Are you satisfied with this explanation?"
This was precisely why Lexon didn't want to expose his demonization ability in the human camp; it was quite troublesome.
"I'll believe you for now," Shinobu said, no longer looking down. Her hand was also no longer resting on her Nichirin Sword. She had returned to being the usual gentle Shinobu.
She smiled at Lexon, but this smile seemed a bit stiff in his eyes.
No matter how much she resembled her sister, Kanae Kocho, in her imitation, Shinobu was ultimately Shinobu, and Kanae Kocho was ultimately Kanae Kocho.
At that moment, the Ubuyashiki matriarch, having finished comforting Rara, walked over and whispered some words into Kagaya Ubuyashiki's ear.
"Oh?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki let out a sound of surprise.
A moment later, he looked at Lexon and Shinobu and said, "Demon Slayer Corps members have encountered a powerful demon on Mount Natagumo. It might be one of the 'Twelve Kizuki.' They are in urgent need of support. May I ask you two to go and help?"
"As you command," Shinobu nodded in response.
"Alright," Lexon realized this was the plot where Tanjiro encounters the Lower Rank Five, Rui, on the mountain, and he also agreed.
After all, in the original story, two Hashira, Giyu Tomioka and Shinobu Kocho, had gone to the rescue. Due to the butterfly effect he had brought about, only he and Shinobu were here now. If he didn't agree and let Shinobu go alone, Tanjiro might very well lose his life.
"But what about your safety, Master?" Shinobu asked, concerned.
"Giyu is near the headquarters. There's no need to worry," Kagaya said.
As the two walked out of the hall, Lexon said, "I'll go get Gyokko first."
To prevent Gyokko from escaping his control, he felt that Gyokko had become a necessary household item for him whenever he went out.
"Okay," Shinobu nodded.
Lexon's figure flashed and instantly vanished from the spot. A few seconds later, he returned to Shinobu's side, a bag slung at his waist containing a very peaceful Gyokko.
The two of them traveled light, basically carrying nothing extra.
Lexon didn't even change into his uniform; only the Nichirin Sword at his waist could identify him.
The distance to Mount Natagumo wasn't exactly far, but it wasn't close either. The transportation there was also somewhat inconvenient, and since the situation was urgent, the two of them could only use their breathing techniques to travel. After all, the speed of two people at the Hashira level was in no way inferior to a train.
"Let's go."
As the words fell, a gust of wind rose.
The figures of Lexon and Shinobu vanished at the same time.
Beast Breathing! Third Fang: Devour!
In mid-air, the boy wearing a boar's head mask, Inosuke Hashibiera, crossed his hands and swung the two incredibly ferocious Nichirin Swords in his hands, which were covered in nicks, slashing at the back of the large black monster's head.
"Clang!"
The Nichirin Swords broke with a loud noise.
'They broke?'
An expression of disbelief appeared under Inosuke's boar mask.
'I can't cut through?'
"Bang."
The large black monster with a spider-like face turned and smashed into Inosuke Hashibiera, sending him flying and slamming him hard against a thick tree.
"Cough, cough..."
Inosuke couldn't help but cough in pain. The soreness and pain throughout his body were like maggots boring into his bones, causing him unbearable agony and rendering him unable to move.
"Damn it! I couldn't use my breathing to get into a fighting stance."
He muttered, but his head was grabbed by a thick arm.
"Don't come near my family!" The monster seemed to have lost its mind, raving madly.
This monster was a "family" member created by the Lower Rank Five, Rui, for the sake of a false family bond.
It played the role of the "father."
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
Inosuke felt as if his head was about to be crushed. The pain was immense, and his body gradually stiffened.
Memories he had never recalled before surged into his mind.
'I can't die!'
A powerful obsession made Inosuke Hashibiera raise his two broken Nichirin Swords and plunge them violently into the monster's neck.
The broken blades pierced into the monster's neck but got stuck, not causing any significant damage.
'How could this be...'
Inosuke looked at the stuck broken blades in despair.
The force on his head grew stronger and stronger. Inosuke felt himself about to lose consciousness.
"You have good willpower. You're really persistent."
Inosuke didn't know if he was hallucinating, but he saw a person suddenly crouching on the monster's thick arm that was grabbing his head, speaking to him with a smile.
He wanted to respond but couldn't. His throat was clamped shut, about to burst.
"Don't come near my family!"
Inosuke saw the monster suddenly go berserk, its other arm reaching for the person who had suddenly appeared.
'It's not a hallucination?'
He realized.
The next moment, Inosuke only felt an azure sword light flash before his eyes.
Then his head felt light, and his whole body fell.
Looking through the boar mask again, he saw that both of the monster's hands had been severed at the root and were flying in the air.
Inosuke saw the man who had suddenly appeared standing on the ground, holding a deep, azure Nichirin Sword.
'Did he cut them off?'
'But I couldn't even cut its skin just now.'
The boar-headed boy realized the gap between himself and the other.
"Don't! Don't! Don't come near my family!" The injury made the monster lose its sanity even further. Its severed arms grew back in an instant and reached for the man again.
'Watch out!'
Inosuke wanted to warn him but was powerless.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash."
A calm voice rang out, and the sound of flowing water was fleeting.
The sound of the sword being drawn was drowned out by the monster's roar, but the sound of it being sheathed echoed in the silent night.
The tall and sturdy demon stopped moving, stopped shouting. Its spider-like head slowly slid off the smooth cut and slammed onto the ground with a loud thud.
Then, the demon's body and severed head gradually dissipated like snow in the hot sun.
'So strong... someone this strong... I've never seen...'
Inosuke stared blankly at the cool figure before him, unable to utter half a sentence.
"You're not dead, are you?"
The powerful man, Lexon, bent down and asked one of the three little powerhouses of Demon Slayer, Inosuke Hashibiera.
"How could I be dead, you strong guy!" The boy in the boar mask jumped up from the ground and shouted energetically.
"You really are full of life," Lexon couldn't help but smile at Inosuke.
He didn't dislike energetic and simple children.
"Hey, you! Strong guy! Fight me! After I beat you, I'll be the strongest!"
The boar-headed boy, though covered in injuries, challenged Lexon with great spirit.
"Are you an idiot?" Lexon's figure flashed, and he suddenly appeared beside Inosuke.
'So fast!'
Inosuke was shocked.
"The injured should rest properly," Lexon's hand formed a blade and pressed down on the back of Inosuke's neck.
Instantly, Inosuke felt a huge force from the back of his neck. His consciousness gradually blurred, and he slowly collapsed.
"It wouldn't be good if something happened to him if I left him here. I'll take him to Shinobu," Lexon picked up the unconscious Inosuke and tucked him under his arm.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]