Chapter 259: To the Death
Meanwhile, in the southern village...
The battle lasted somewhere between twenty and thirty minutes; none of them had the strength to keep count.
The flashes of the katanas gleamed among the flames as black blood flew through the air.
One by one, the demons’ bodies fell until they dissolved away.
Rengoku didn’t know how many he’d decapitated.
He could barely lift his arms, covered in sweat and blood, with a horrific wound gaping open on his head.
These demons’ physical abilities were far too strong. Though they had no Blood Demon Art, no intelligence, not even fear, they did have skin tough as leather and bones like iron, demanding twice the force with every cut.
Tengen’s breathing was a mess.
His left arm had been savagely bitten; fangs were embedded in the bone, and he still hadn’t had time to pull them out—leaving the arm useless.
But Obanai was the one racking up the most cuts.
Without sight, he depended on Kaburamaru’s warnings, but the sheer number of demons kept him from dodging everything. Though they were superficial wounds, the blood loss had blanched his lips, leaving him on the verge of passing out.
After finishing off the last demon, Rengoku propped his katana against the ground, kneeling and panting. Tengen leaned against a charred trunk to bandage his arm with the one hand still working, while Obanai sat on the dirt, using his breathing to stem the bleeding.
"These bastards sure can take a beating!" Tengen spat, along with blood and a broken tooth.
"How many more are out there...?" Obanai murmured, disoriented. "Good thing the Master sent us out to patrol in threes."
As they talked, Rengoku kept silent, and so did the other two.
The truth was, together they could cover one another, but if a single Hashira ran into that horde, he’d end up dead...
"Marcus warned that Muzan would create more demons." Tengen frowned. "But not this strong."
"There’s only one explanation." Rengoku murmured. "He abducted twenty thousand people, but only turned some of them. The rest... he used as feed to strengthen them."
Tengen struggled to his feet, his left arm hanging uselessly. "In other words... the mission was for nothing? There’s no one left to save?"
"Let’s head back and report to the Master," Obanai cut in, rising to his feet by feel. "At least—"
He stopped cold.
His one ear twitched and his expression went blank.
"They’re coming again..."
The faint sound of a roar was slowly drawing closer from the distance.
The first silhouette appeared among the ruins of the entrance, followed by dozens more. Upright, on all fours, or crawling, a tide of rabid eyes emerged from the gloom.
"At least... a hundred!"
Tengen raised one of his blades, holding it in front of his face. Rengoku held his katana horizontally as fire flared to life once more along the edge, lighting up the area.
"Fight to the death!" he shouted. "Kill as many as you can!"
No one uttered the word "flee."
This was exactly why the Demon Slayer Corps existed!
There’s no such thing as running away!
If you can kill even a single demon, you can save the lives of several people—dozens, even.
Even if it means risking their own lives, they must fight to the death and never retreat!
’Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!’
’Sound Breathing, Fourth Form: Constant Resounding Slashes!’
’Serpent Breathing, Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile!’
Dragging their dying bodies, they hurled themselves into the center of the demon horde.
Severed limbs flew through the air and blood stained the ground.
This time, they had no intention of holding anything back.
All that remained was the resolve to perish together and kill every demon that stood in their path.
"Obanai! How do you activate the mark?!"
"Speed up your blood circulation and raise your body temperature! Keep it up!"
"UNDERSTOOD!!"
They knew the method, but except for Obanai, none of them had awakened it.
Did they fear death?
Did they fear not living past the age of twenty-five?
Even though they felt fear, that wasn’t the reason they hadn’t activated it.
They were saving it for the final battle against Muzan; activating it now would be throwing their lives away for nothing. They preferred to hold on to it, to give their comrades every possible second against the Demon King.
But the situation left no other choice.
They knew they wouldn’t get out alive. With the mark, they’d at least wipe out the entire horde.
However, just as they were swinging their blades while breathing raggedly, boosting the oxygen in their blood and intending to rapidly raise their body temperature, the demons in front of them moved.
But they didn’t lunge at them.
Suddenly, all of them turned their heads backward at the same time.
Then they ran desperately toward the outskirts of the town.
Rengoku’s breathing stopped, Tengen’s blade froze in midair, and Obanai tilted his head, disoriented.
The demons were fleeing en masse beneath the moon, forming a tide in the same direction.
"What’s going on...?" Tengen murmured.
And before he could finish, an enormous wooden door sprang up from the earth amid the rubble.
With a roar, the door swung wide open.
The horde flung itself inside and vanished into the glow.
Bam!
The door slammed shut.
The village fell into absolute silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire.
Exhausted, the three collapsed to the ground at once, staring at one another in utter bewilderment.
"They ran..."
"We survived..."
"But... why?"
The demons’ retreat was as sudden as their arrival.
"Right when the door opened..." Obanai murmured, trying to make sure of his senses, "I think I heard a familiar voice. Did you two hear it?"
"Who’s got better hearing than you right now?" Tengen snorted, tilting his head wearily as he drove his blade into the ground. "Just say it already. What voice saved our lives?"
Obanai’s lips moved uncertainly.
"Marcus."
Tengen was stunned, and Rengoku frowned.
"...You’re saying Marcus is in Infinity Castle?"
"What did he say?"
"He..."
Obanai’s expression turned strange as he tried to recall each word.
"He seemed to be asking Muzan... whether he’d hidden himself well enough."
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