A sharp pain radiated from his gunshot-wounded left arm, and the dizziness from blood loss made Kilo's vision darken.
If he hadn't dodged in time, the bullet would have likely pierced his heart instead of his left arm.
Facing such a dire situation, a look of solemnity appeared in Kilo's eyes.
As long as...
As long as he had a weapon at hand, he was confident he could take down this squad!
With no way out, the thought of a desperate struggle rose in Kilo's mind the next moment.
Even a cornered beast fights, let alone him!
In contrast, those few Marines were still laughing and joking about their aim.
The Marine Captain leading them, Edge, looked displeased, clearly unsatisfied with the accuracy of that last shot.
According to his plan, that bullet should have pierced the frail boy's heart for an instant kill!
"Skot, you go kill him."
Casually ordering a soldier to finish Kilo, Edge listlessly tossed his gun to a nearby soldier.
Hearing the command, a burly Marine named Skot strode forward, walking toward Kilo with a cruel grin.
"Kid, I, Skot, have a principle: I don't kill unarmed people!"
With that, Skot tossed a pitifully short dagger to Kilo and drew a longsword from his waist with a backhand motion.
"Haha, now you're not unarmed anymore!"
Seeing this, Edge lowered his eyes and turned to leave with the remaining three, preparing to search for other possible survivors.
In their eyes, the wounded Kilo had absolutely no chance of surviving Skot's hands; he was already a cold corpse.
How could he possibly survive? With that pitifully short dagger?
It was simply laughable!
It was just Skot's twisted sense of humor; he didn't expect an ordinary citizen of Ohara to cause any waves at all.
As Edge walked forward, he suddenly heard the sound of something slicing through the air behind him.
"Skot, hurry up and catch up once you're done, don't fall behind!"
Edge continued forward without looking back.
But then he saw something trace a parabola in the air, flying over him and slamming down right in front of him.
When he saw clearly what it was, Edge stopped dead in his tracks.
It was actually—actually Skot's head!
Skot, who had been grinning cruelly a second ago, now had a look of terror frozen on his face, as if he had seen something horrifying.
After the head rolled a few times, its wide-open eyes met the shocked gaze of Edge.
Terrified, Edge stumbled back several steps, and once he regained his senses, he looked back.
The boy he had just regarded as a dead man had appeared behind Skot at some unknown moment.
And Skot, who had been full of life just moments ago, had lost his head, becoming a headless corpse!
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.
Enduring the sensation of muscle tearing throughout his body, Kilo casually tossed away the blood-stained short dagger and snatched the longsword from Skot's hand.
As the longsword was gripped in his right hand, a sharp, fierce aura suddenly emerged.
He took a long breath and opened his eyes again, staring intently at the incredulous Edge.
Kicking over the headless corpse that was gushing blood, Kilo looked at Edge with ill intent.
Not knowing if his eyes were playing tricks on him, Edge actually saw several jumping electrical arcs behind the boy.
Startled by Skot's head, the terrified Edge pointed at Kilo in disbelief, his fear quickly turning into rage.
"A mere civilian, how dare you?!"
"Attack together! Tear him into ten thousand pieces!"
Three Marines wielding swords and sabers swarmed forward, rushing at Kilo with angry shouts.
Watching the incoming attacks, a look of disdain appeared in Kilo's eyes.
Not only was there no technique, but there wasn't even enough power! Attacks of this level wouldn't even touch the hem of his clothes!
Kilo twisted his foot and lunged forward at the leader.
Just before they collided, Kilo's body suddenly exerted force, spinning and lunging forward with the longsword, while several invisible gales appeared out of thin air.
The invisible gales instantly transformed into a visible turquoise wind, swirling around Kilo as he lunged forward, forming a visible tornado that enveloped his figure.
Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter.
Clang! Clang!
As the blades met, several ear-piercing sounds of clashing metal rang out.
Amidst the gale, Kilo precisely parried the swords of the first two Marines. Supported by the wind, his sharp blade effortlessly swept across their necks, and the weapon of the remaining Marine was knocked away by the rotating air currents.
The whirlwind dissipated, and Kilo stepped past the two Marines who were slowly collapsing while clutching their necks, walking straight to the terrified soldier whose weapon had been knocked away.
Without the slightest mercy, Kilo ignored the soldier's constant pleas for life, and his swinging blade sliced through the air with a brisk whistle.
Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind.
In an instant, a tornado formed, enveloping the two figures.
The hurricane howled, and by the time the remaining Edge could see the situation inside the tornado, he only saw Kilo holding a sharp blade and drenched in blood, while the Marine soldier was nowhere to be seen.
A few breaths later, countless drops of blood rained down from the sky.
Only then did Edge react, backing away several steps in terror before stumbling and falling to the ground.
"...Mon... Monster!"
"How could a monster like you appear in Ohara?!"
Kilo, having finished all this, was indifferent. His figure was unsteady, and the next moment he actually knelt on one knee, coughing up blood continuously, with only the longsword supporting him from falling.
Seeing this, the fear in Edge's eyes turned into ecstasy in an instant.
That's it! This boy had been hit by his bullet and was already at the end of his rope; now he likely had no strength left to resist!
As if clutching at a straw, he quickly raised his flintlock musket and aimed it at Kilo, only to find that Kilo, who had been coughing blood and kneeling just now, had disappeared.
"Are you looking for me?"
A voice like a life-claiming demon came from behind him, and Edge's body instantly froze.
Swish.
Before Edge could even turn his head, he felt a light breeze brush past his face.
Immediately, a hideous wound appeared out of nowhere on his neck.
Edge opened his mouth weakly, his hands desperately clutching his throat which was spraying blood. He looked at the boy's figure in front of him with resentment as the world before his eyes gradually went black.
"If I were at my peak, a piece of trash like you wouldn't even be able to look me in the eye."
This was the last sentence Edge heard before he died.
Wind Breathing, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash.
With a click, Kilo sheathed the longsword, and at the same time, the sound of a body hitting the ground came from behind him.
Suddenly, his vision went black, and unable to hold on any longer, he collapsed with a thud.
Muscles all over his body were screaming in pain.
The sword techniques from earlier had torn the muscles in various parts of this body.
His breath was thick with the smell of rust, and a metallic sweetness welled up. Kilo spat out another large mouthful of blood with a 'wa' sound.
Damn it, I almost acted myself to death!
Slumped on the ground, Kilo rested for nearly ten full minutes before he managed to prop up his body.
Actually, Edge was right; Kilo was indeed at the end of his rope. With this frail physique, performing those sword techniques in succession had brought him close to his limit.
It was just that Kilo knew the moment he showed a weakness, he would be shot dead the next instant. So he had forced himself to hold his breath and finish the enemies before collapsing.
He took a deep breath, but it pulled on his torn muscles, making him grimace in pain.
"After I escape this, I must train this body properly!"
Kilo vowed indignantly.
His frail physique had nearly caused him to die at the hands of his enemies in the battle just now.
Thinking about the fight, Kilo shook his head.
Fortunately, that burly Marine wasn't very bright and provided him with a weapon, otherwise Kilo might have really met his end here.
Even if he was a top swordsman from the Demon Slayer World, he couldn't use this physique to deal with several Marines armed with swords and guns barehanded.
The most crucial part was that once he had a weapon, he could barely use the sword techniques he had learned in Demon Slayer.
Although the power was far inferior to before, it was enough to deal with these few soldiers.
Feeling the tearing and trembling muscles in his body gradually calm down, Kilo breathed a sigh of relief and set off again toward the giant.
Bypassing the Marines gathered around the giant, Kilo stayed low in the grass, moving forward with difficulty.
That ice path created by Aokiji, though somewhat narrow, still barely allowed Kilo to move along the way.
If he could get on the ship prepared for Robin, that would be even better.
Judging his current injuries, Kilo felt he could hold on for a bit longer.
Provided that no other accidents occurred.
Crap, I accidentally jinxed myself!
The best outcome right now would be if Aokiji had just left and Kilo could catch up with Robin so they could escape on the ship together.
After all, his original self was also a member of Ohara; no matter what, Robin wouldn't reject someone from the same hometown.
While thinking this, Kilo pushed aside the grass in front of him, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
The ice path to escape Ohara appeared right before his eyes!
The ice path stretched into the distance, the straight road looking like the light of victory beckoning to Kilo.
Looking at the fresh footprints on the ground, Kilo judged that Robin had just set off. At this speed, he could catch that ship!
Just as Kilo was about to move and chase after Robin, a familiar voice appeared behind him.
"Young man, where do you think you're going?"
In an instant, Kilo felt the blood in his entire body freeze, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.