Splintered wood chips swirled and fell in the night breeze.
Staring at the bottomless hole in the wall, Karaku, holding his fan, froze for half a second before his lips curled into an exaggerated grin, and he burst into a fit of uproarious laughter.
"Hahahaha! This is so interesting! That hot-tempered Sekido actually got punched away by someone! This brings me pleasure!"
As Karaku laughed until tears nearly streamed down his face, he raised the giant fan in his hand.
Although he was laughing, the killing intent in his eyes intensified to its peak in an instant.
"To repay you for this pleasure, die!"
Whoosh!
He swung the fan downward, and a hurricane, several times more fierce than the one that had blown Muichiro away, rose from the ground.
The wind pressure, like tangible blades, ruthlessly shredded the tatami mats, wooden pillars, and even the foundation along its path, transforming into a tornado that swept through everything, heading straight for Yamada and Tanjiro and the others behind him.
"Yamada-san, watch out! That wind can shatter bones!" Tanjiro shouted, enduring the soreness in the back of his neck.
Yamada stood directly in front of the storm, not even twitching his shoulder. He gripped the hilt of his Kusanagi Sword with his right hand, and Chakra flowed through his meridians into the blade. A streak of intense current coursed along the blade.
"Break."
Yamada uttered the word softly, flicked his wrist, and slashed upward casually.
Crackle!
A crescent-shaped slash shot out from the blade, colliding head-on with the roaring wall of the hurricane.
That tornado, capable of overturning the entire house, was cleanly sliced in half right down the middle by Yamada's sword strike.
The wild winds roared past both sides of Yamada, blowing the courtyard wall behind him to pieces, yet they couldn't even lift a corner of his clothing.
Karaku's laughter came to an abrupt halt, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"He split the wind with a sword? What kind of monstrous strength is this?"
Before he could figure it out, Yamada's figure had appeared before him, though he hadn't noticed when.
"You're laughing quite happily. Since you like the excitement so much, why not call out your whole family?"
Swish!
The black blade left an afterimage in the air, and Yamada, relying on pure physical speed, slashed across Karaku's neck.
The head soared into the sky. Immediately following this, a furious roar came from the ruins not far away.
Sekido, who had just been punched into the rock wall, charged out, covered in blood. The features on his face were completely distorted by rage, and he raised his staff to smash down at Yamada's back.
"I'll kill you! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Yamada didn't even look, just swinging his hand back.
Sekido, who had just rushed to the front, along with the staff in his hand, was sliced cleanly in half at the waist by the Kusanagi Sword.
Both demons were instantly decapitated and bisected. If they were ordinary demons, they would have turned to ash by now.
But Tanjiro, standing in the back, keenly smelled that the demonic aura in the air not only hadn't dissipated but had instantly surged twofold.
"Yamada-san! They've split!"
Sure enough, accompanied by the sound of wriggling flesh, a large amount of flesh and blood rapidly gushed out from the severed sections of Karaku and the bisected Sekido.
In just one or two seconds, the original two demons had become four.
In addition to Sekido holding the staff and Karaku holding the fan, two new figures appeared on the scene.
One held a cross-pattern spear, his face full of sorrow, with the character "Sorrow" carved into his tongue.
The other had wings on his back, his fingernails were as sharp as a hawk's, a playful smile hung on the corner of his mouth, and the character "Joy," a variation of "Pleasure," was carved into his tongue.
Aizetsu and Urogi!
"Oh my, this is so exciting! It's been a long time since we've encountered prey that could force all four of us out at once!" Urogi vibrated his wings, hovering in mid-air, and let out a sharp, piercing laugh.
Aizetsu held his spear and sighed, "How sorrowful. We have to engage in boring slaughter again."
Sekido tightened his grip on the staff, lightning crackling on his body, "Cut the crap! Attack together, and smash this human's bones inch by inch!"
Four distinct yet equally deadly auras intertwined, making the air in the entire backyard thick and viscous.
Zenitsu, who had just climbed up from the ground, saw this scene, his legs went weak, and he collapsed again, hugging Tanjiro's thigh and wailing, "Four! Why are there more the more we fight! What kind of demonic ability is this! We're dead!"
Just then, a loud "boom" sounded from outside the gate, and Inosuke, wearing his boar mask, crashed through the remaining courtyard wall and charged in.
"I heard the sound of fighting! Where is the prey!"
Inosuke had just struck a pose when he met the cold, icy gazes of the four demons, and he swallowed the second half of his sentence, the white steam in his pig snout stopping instantly.
"Tanjiro, keep an eye on these two idiots. Fall back fifty meters."
Yamada lowered his Kusanagi Sword to his side, his gaze sweeping over the four demons surrounding him. He was not only completely unperturbed, but a sense of boredom surfaced in his eyes.
"Arrogant human! Die!"
Urogi, hovering in mid-air, was the first to attack. He opened his mouth wide and took a deep breath.
Blood Demon Art: Screeching Pressure Wave!
A visible, circular ultrasonic wave, carrying terrifying destructive power capable of shattering internal organs and pulverizing rock, descended from the air in a cone shape, covering Yamada.
At the same time, the cross-pattern spear in Aizetsu's hand moved.
Blood Demon Art: Piercing Tears!
Five fierce spear gleams, like vipers emerging from their den, sealed off all of Yamada's retreat paths.