Chapter 54: I'm sorry, I'm too useless, I can no longer protect you.
"Haa huu
Tatsu fought through the excruciating pain of his muscles tearing and began to adjust his breathing rhythm.
This was not merely simple lung expansion, but rather sinking his consciousness into every single cell.
He recalled the silhouette of Tanjuro dancing, recalled the Hinokami Kagura that seemed capable of dispelling all the biting cold in the world.
Gradually, Tatsu's originally weak breathing changed.
It transformed into a low, rumbling sound like magma churning inside a volcano.
"Boom!"
A visible, scorching wave of air suddenly erupted from Tatsu's body.
The wisteria poison that had originally invaded his system began to make a "hissing" evaporation sound in the face of this incomparably domineering Sun fire.
The toxin was quickly neutralized and burned away, turning into wisps of black smoke that were expelled from Tatsu's pores.
But at the same time, Tatsu let out a pained grunt.
That scorching breath burned within his lungs, searing his demon cells, bringing him agony no less than the wisteria poison.
However, for Tatsu, this pain was bearable.
Compared to the despair of the wisteria poison, which deprived him of his ability to move and left him waiting for death, the pain brought by Sun Breathing was filled with power.
He could feel his muscles regaining vitality, and the numbness was rapidly fading.
His body could move again.
"What?!"
Kocho Shinobu watched the scorching aura radiating from Tatsu and the black smoke being expelled, a flash of shock passing through her purple eyes.
The wisteria poison had actually been neutralized?
How was that possible!
This was the toxin she took pride in, the one that could even severely injure a Lower Rank demon!
But the shock lasted less than half a second.
Kocho Shinobu's combat intuition allowed her to react instantly.
Since the toxin was neutralized, she would take advantage of him not being fully recovered and pierce his heart directly.
"Die!"
Kocho Shinobu stepped forward, her entire body closing in on Tatsu as if teleporting.
The tip of her nichirin sword locked onto Tatsu's left chest and stabbed down fiercely.
However, just as the tip of the blade was about to touch Tatsu's clothes—"Swish!"
Tatsu's figure suddenly blurred.
Sun Breathing not only neutralized the toxin but also greatly enhanced his physical functions.
At the critical moment, Tatsu's body tilted to the right at an incredible angle.
"Sshhh— —"
Kocho Shinobu's nichirin sword brushed past Tatsu's chest and missed, only tearing a layer of his clothing.
He had dodged it!
On the other side, Kanae saw that Tatsu had successfully neutralized the crisis, and her tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
But at the very moment she was distracted, Sanemi Shinazugawa's attack followed like a shadow.
"How dare you look around while fighting me! You are too arrogant, Kanae!"
"Riiip— —"
The wind blade sliced through Kanae's Haori, leaving a shallow bloody scratch on her arm.
Kanae felt the pain and was forced back into defense.
But during a gap in their exchange, Kanae looked up at the sky.
The originally pitch-black night sky was now faintly revealing a trace of extremely weak dawn light on the eastern horizon.
The moon was about to disappear below the treetops.
"There are probably two hours left until dawn..."
Kanae silently calculated the time in her heart.
Two hours sounded long, but in this high-intensity life-and-death struggle, it was just a fleeting moment.
Although Tatsu had temporarily neutralized the crisis using Sun Breathing, he was ultimately a demon.
Once the sun rose, this open space without any shelter would become his true grave.
And given the current situation, she was being tightly held back by Sanemi Shinazugawa and simply could not break away.
Although Tatsu had regained his ability to move, wanting to escape under the relentless pursuit of Shinobu, which was like a bone-eating maggot, was by no means an easy task.
"I cannot drag this out any longer..."
A trace of sorrow flashed in Kanae's eyes.
She suddenly swung a heavy strike and used the recoil force of Flower Breathing to forcibly create distance between herself and Sanemi Shinazugawa.
Then, she did not assume a defensive stance again, but instead turned around, facing the direction of Tatsu, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Tatsu—run!!!"
"Run! Keep running! Before dawn, find a place without sunlight to hide! Never let the Demon Slayer Corps find you again!"
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm too useless, I can no longer protect you..."
Kanae's tears fell like pearls with broken strings.
She hated her own powerlessness; she had clearly sworn to prove that demons and humans could coexist, she had clearly wanted to protect this kind-hearted boy, but in the face of cruel reality, her promise seemed so pale.
She could only use this most humble way to pray for Tatsu to survive.
She also knew what her words meant for a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
She was ordering a demon to escape; she was completely violating the rules of the Demon Slayer Corps.
From the moment she said these words, she was no longer the high and mighty Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, but a "sinner" who harbored an evil demon.
But she did not care.
As long as Tatsu could survive, as long as this "anomaly" who was the only one in this cruel world to retain humanity could survive, she was willing to bear all sins.
"Bastard! Kanae, you idiot!!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa heard Kanae's words, and his entire being instantly fell into extreme rage.
"You actually let an evil demon escape? What do you take the blood shed by our Demon Slayer Corps over the past few hundred years as? What do you take those innocent humans eaten by demons as?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's roar was deafening, even drowning out the howling of the wind.
He could not understand, he truly could not understand!
How could a Hashira who had slain countless evil demons and witnessed countless tragedies fall to such a state!
"Since you are beyond saving, I will disable you first! Then I will go and slay that demon!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa was completely enraged.
He no longer held anything back, no longer had any misgivings.
He wanted to take down this "crazy" colleague as quickly as possible; he absolutely could not let that demon live to see tomorrow's sun.
"Wind Breathing, Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa gripped his nichirin sword tightly with both hands, his body spinning violently in mid-air, and swung a massive, incredibly violent slash like a black tornado from bottom to top.
This slash was not only astonishing in power but also covered a huge area, sealing off all of Kanae's retreat paths.
The wind howled, and the cherry blossoms wailed.
Loving Book So Far? Check Out 30+ Advanced Chapters At PA Treon
patreon.com/FictionOP