"Do you hear that? Thunder. Looks like it's going to rain."
Kuroba Chiyo wiped down her Nichirin Blade and glanced at the boy beside her, a neat, serious-looking youth.
Narumi Sakuya—a swordsman who used Thunder Breathing. Kuroba Chiyo had seen him use it before. The air around him would tremble, and the instant he drew his blade, it would erupt with a crash like thunder itself. She was using that as an excuse to strike up a conversation. He was strong, and after meeting not long ago, the two of them had decided to travel together for the time being.
Only after hearing Kuroba's words did the boy, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly open them and look toward a certain part of Mount Fujikasane.
She was right.
The thunder rolling through the mountain was loud, jarring in the night.
That rhythm...
Narumi Sakuya listened carefully, counting it out—and then his eyes flew wide open.
This was...
The frequency of Thunder Breathing.
He lifted his head and looked at the sky, and the moment he did, he understood.
The night was clear and still. The moon shone unobstructed, with not a single cloud in the sky.
So where could thunder possibly come from?
There was only one possibility.
Thunder Breathing.
Almost instantly, the words of his cultivator came back to him.
This time, a disciple of the former Thunder Hashira was participating in the Final Selection. That meant there were only two swordsmen in this entire selection who used Thunder Breathing: himself, and that other disciple.
The thunderous crashes kept sounding, one after another.
Narumi Sakuya stared in that direction, dumbfounded.
Even if the other person was the disciple of the former Thunder Hashira, they should still only be a candidate swordsman right now.
Could someone at that level really use Thunder Breathing to this extent?
Even without seeing it in person, he could imagine how terrifyingly powerful those sword techniques must be.
"Narumi-kun, what's wrong?" Kuroba Chiyo asked when she saw him sunk in thought.
"That probably isn't thunder," Narumi said. "The moon is bright, and there aren't any clouds in the sky."
"If it's not thunder, then what is it? Don't tell me it's the sound of someone using Thunder Breathing?" Kuroba asked, puzzled.
Narumi nodded.
"That's exactly what it is."
Kuroba Chiyo wore the same expression he had just moments ago.
"No way. How could a swordsman taking the Final Selection pull off something like that? Come on, Narumi-kun, stop joking. Better think about what we're going to eat later. It's almost the second half of the night. If we don't restore some stamina, that won't do."
Narumi fell silent for a moment, then decided not to dwell on it further.
"You're right. Let's go see if there's any game deeper in the mountain."
Demons rarely ate animals, which meant the small creatures living in the mountain were untouched. And Thunder Breathing was naturally well suited to hunting. That, too, was one of the reasons Kuroba Chiyo had decided to travel with Narumi for a while.
The two of them put away their Nichirin Blades and stamped out the campfire. Kuroba picked up the fox mask at her feet and put it back on.
"By the way, that mask's really well made. Where did you get it?" Narumi asked, looking at the petite girl behind him.
"My master gave it to me." Kuroba waved a hand. "The old man's strict, but he really cares about his students. It's a warding mask, you know."
She flashed him a playful smile.
"Don't let appearances fool you. I'm really strong. My master said that when I finished training, the rock I cut was a pretty impressive size."
"I see..." Narumi nodded.
And then suddenly, he shoved Kuroba aside and roared—
"Get down!"
The earth split open.
Two bluish-gray arms burst out of the ground. One reached for Kuroba, but because Narumi had pushed her away, it missed. Narumi reacted instantly, kicking off the ground the moment it cracked and throwing himself into the air—but doing that meant he lost the stable footing needed to fully launch Thunder Breathing.
To avoid being ambushed by demons while resting, they had chosen a clearing with no trees nearby.
Narumi swept his gaze across the terrain.
Then a rotting stench hit his nose.
Below him, the two bluish-gray arms merged into one and suddenly lengthened, snaking upward to seize his ankle.
Crack.
Narumi's ankle could not withstand the force. Bone shattered instantly.
Cold sweat burst across his forehead from the pain, but his mental discipline was excellent. He forced his breathing back under control and drew his Nichirin Blade.
"Thunder Breathing! Total Concentration!"
The pain receded into the background. His focus narrowed onto that bluish-gray arm.
"Thunder Breathing—Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!"
Lightning exploded from his body, blasting the arm gripping him into fragments on the spot.
"What—how are there still more?!"
After shattering the arm, Narumi began to fall, but the ground split open again. Five more bluish-gray arms erupted out, their surfaces covered in festering boils, coiling toward him like giant snakes.
"Narumi-kun!"
Kuroba Chiyo drew her sword and rushed in. Moisture in the air surged upward.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
She moved to cover him—
but failed to notice the enormous shadow rising behind her.
From the darkness, a single massive fist shot out and smashed straight into her.
The girl was sent flying.
She crashed into a rock in the distance. Her small body could not endure the force. The right hand holding her sword was completely crushed, and her spine had likely been broken by the impact as well.
Kuroba Chiyo forced her eyes open—
and turned deathly pale.
The arms rising from the ground had dismembered the boy in midair.
Blood-slick organs slapped onto the earth. His Nichirin Blade fell uselessly beside them.
A swordsman who used Thunder Breathing, once robbed of an ankle, no longer possessed the godlike speed needed to deal with a situation like this.
At last, the enormous shadow in the dark stepped fully into view, revealing its true form.
It was a giant demon over three meters tall. Its flesh was bluish gray, covered in swollen growths and lumps. Dozens of human arms were layered around its neck, and folds of flesh wrapped around its head, leaving only two dark yellow eyes marked with cross-shaped symbols exposed.
The stench of rot engulfed the girl.
She wanted to raise her blade, but she could no longer move. All she could do was watch helplessly as the grotesque demon approached.
Its eyes curved with amusement as it looked down at her.
"My, my. Break the leg of a Thunder Breathing swordsman, and they turn into meat waiting to be carved."
As it spoke, the grotesque demon stuffed pieces of Narumi's dismembered body into its mouth.
"Cough—cough—!"
Kuroba tried to speak, but that blow had likely shattered her insides. All that came up was blood.
She could only stare in terror at the monstrous demon.
How could something like this exist on Mount Fujikasane?
The demons held here—captured alive by Demon Slayer swordsmen—were supposed to be minor things that had eaten only two or three people at most.
The grotesque demon's eyes rolled and settled on Kuroba's fox mask.
"Thirteen."
Perhaps sensing the confusion in her gaze, the demon explained with unsettling patience.
"You're Urokodaki's thirteenth student, aren't you? Didn't your master ever tell you? Every one of his students dies on Mount Fujikasane. Hehehe! I ate them all! That damned Urokodaki captured me and locked me up in Mount Fujikasane, but he never imagined I'd live very well here... very well indeed!"
It fixed its gaze on the mask.
"That mask—that's the disaster-warding mask Urokodaki gives his students, isn't it? Same carving style as that damned tengu mask of his. Easy to recognize. It's wonderful, truly wonderful! Every time I think about how the mask he gives his disciples to ward off disaster becomes the very sign of their death, I tremble with excitement!"
No...
How could this...
From blood loss, the girl's consciousness began to blur.
The bluish-gray grotesque demon crouched there like a giant toad.
And she was nothing more than a tiny insect about to be swallowed whole.
Master Urokodaki...
You have to come kill this bastard...
In her fading awareness, that was all she could think.
The grotesque demon cackled excitedly. It reached out and grabbed the girl. The mouth hidden beneath its mass of arms opened wide—
without noticing that the thunder in the mountain was drawing closer.
Until a mountain-shaking peal of thunder exploded right beside its ear.
Through her blurred vision, Kuroba saw dark-violet lightning descend from the sky.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter100)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 60
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 50
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 50
The Way the Umamusume Look at 31
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 26
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