Ren immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw a little girl, about five or six years old, pinned under the rubble. The intense pain forced her to wail loudly.
A woman in tattered clothes, covered in cuts and bruises, was weeping as she used all her strength to move the stones atop the ruins, determined to rescue the little girl from beneath them.
Judging by her appearance, she was the little girl's mother.
It wasn't just Ren who heard the girl's crying; Kokushibo and Gyokko heard it as well.
Kokushibo ignored the crying, continuing to swing his blade relentlessly, determined to keep Ren there. Gyokko, however, let out a twisted laugh.
"Hahaha!"
"Stinking brat, didn't you just say that if you wanted to leave, no one could stop you?"
"I wonder if doing this will be enough to make you stay? Hahaha..."
Gyokko suddenly teleported atop the ruins near Kokushibo, his eyes fixed on the woman trying to save her daughter. A hideous grin appeared on his face as he conjured two red carps.
"Blood Demon Art: Thousand Needle Fish Kill!"
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
In an instant, over a dozen poison needles shot toward the woman like a volley of arrows. The sound of them breaking the wind was piercing, and their speed was incredibly fast.
'Not good! Dodge, quickly!'
Ren had no choice but to abandon his retreat. He turned and rushed toward the woman, shouting for her to get away.
Faster, faster, just a little faster!
Ren sprinted at full speed, desperate to save her in time. But at that moment, piercing pain flared up again, slowing him down.
Even so, Ren did not stop. He continued to run toward the woman and the little girl, however...
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
In a split second, right before Ren's eyes, the woman—in order to protect her daughter—threw herself in front of the girl, using her own flesh and blood to block the dozen whistling poison needles!
With his superhuman five senses, Ren could clearly see how the needles pierced the mother's skin and how the poison poured into her body...
He also watched with his own eyes as she collapsed. Before closing her eyes, she pleaded with Ren in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible.
"Please... save my daughter... please..."
Before she could finish her plea, the mother closed her eyes right in front of Ren. Meanwhile, Gyokko's mocking voice echoed incessantly in his ears.
"Hahaha! What truly great maternal love!"
"But, you stinking brat, you saw it, didn't you? As long as you dare to run, that pathetic little girl will die just like her mother. In fact, she'll die even more miserably!"
"I'll eat her limbs first, then her internal organs, and finally that cute little face of hers. Hahaha..."
"The taste of humans immersed in fear is truly the most delicious!"
"And the reason this little girl will die is all because you tried to flee. Although, even if you didn't run, once you're dead, I still wouldn't let her go."
"But maybe I'd let her die a bit more quickly. Hahaha..."
Looking at the woman's body, Ren's eyes widened, and every muscle in his body began to tremble.
"Is your body shivering? Are you scared? So, even a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps gets scared. Hahaha!"
Gyokko continued his ceaseless chatter, but Kokushibo noticed something was wrong.
'No...'
Kokushibo observed Ren with the Transparent World and discovered that just now, the flow of Ren's blood had suddenly accelerated. His body temperature instantly reached 70 degrees Celsius.
His heart rate also skyrocketed, quickly exceeding five hundred beats per minute!
'It is adrenaline. His body has suddenly secreted more than twenty times the adrenaline of a normal person, helping him break through his limits!'
Kokushibo's eyes widened in disbelief. 'He is not trembling from fear, but from excitement... or rather, rage. Gyokko's words and actions have driven this guy into a frenzy!'
"Hey, you chamber pot. You seem to be laughing quite happily," Ren suddenly spoke, his voice a low interrogation. "I'm asking you, what is so funny about this? Where is the amusement? You bastard... what do you take life for?"
As soon as the words fell, Ren looked up abruptly, glaring furiously at Gyokko. The markings on his forehead shone brilliantly like a raging fire.
The killing intent radiating from his body instantly increased tenfold, shooting straight into the sky like a god of death. He exuded an intimidating aura without needing to be angry.
Feeling this biting killing intent, the expressions of the three demons changed drastically. Kokushibo, in particular, found his body trembling—not from excitement or anger, but from fear!
'I am afraid of this brat? How is that possible?'
'No, that is not right. It is not me who is afraid, but Lord Muzan's cells that are afraid of him...'
As Kokushibo muttered to himself, a memory that did not belong to him flashed through his mind in a daze. In that memory, he saw a familiar figure!
'Yoriichi...'
Kokushibo saw with his own eyes how Tsugikuni Yoriichi had minced Kibutsuji Muzan into pieces in an instant. He stood there frozen, utterly shocked.
At the same time, Ren's body suddenly moved. With speed that left no time to cover one's ears, he appeared right in front of Gyokko, staring deathly hard at him with blood-red eyes.
"I asked you a question. Answer me!"
"Thunder Combat Technique: Thunder God Heaven-Slaying Slash!"
Before Gyokko could speak, Ren delivered a thunderous strike, severing his neck with a single slash.
It wasn't until he saw his own body flying "upward" that Gyokko realized he had been decapitated by Ren in one blow.
"How can this be? I was actually..."
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Ren struck again. In the blink of an eye, he chopped Gyokko's head into mincemeat, ensuring he could no longer make a sound.
"You'd better not speak. I don't want to hear you talk right now."
As the pile of minced flesh turned to ash, Upper Rank Five, Gyokko, was completely dead!
Ren then looked toward the remaining two demons and roared, "You're the only ones left. Today is the day you die!"
'Too terrifying. Gyokko was instantly killed by him... too terrifying. He is simply more horrific than Lord Muzan.'
While Hantengu was weeping bitterly, his four clones—Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure—attacked Ren simultaneously. However, how could these clones possibly be his match?
"Fire Combat Technique: Dragon Dance!"
Ren swung his heavy sword in a spinning slash. The scorching sword chi transformed into a fire dragon that soared into the sky. The four clones were immediately engulfed by the sword chi and turned to ash.
Just as he finished off the four clones, the sound of a biwa suddenly rang in his ears.
When the four clones had burned to ash, Ren realized that Kokushibo and Hantengu were nowhere to be seen. Obviously, they had already retreated to the Infinity Castle.
Despite having slain Upper Rank Five, there was not a trace of excitement on Ren's face because, on this day, a great mother had lost her life because of him.
Ren pushed aside the rubble pinning the girl. The girl immediately ran to the woman's body, hugging her mother and crying loudly.
Seeing this, Ren felt a bitter pain in his heart. Just as he was about to comfort the girl, he suddenly noticed that the woman was still breathing.
"She's still alive! She's still alive! It's not over yet; there is still hope!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]