After bidding farewell to Tanjiro, Luochuan looked at Zenitsu, who was still standing dazed. Luochuan stepped forward, grabbed Zenitsu by the back of his collar, and began walking up Mount Fujikasane.
Feeling himself getting closer and closer to the demon-infested mountain, Zenitsu suddenly snapped out of it and began flailing his arms.
"Luochuan, what are you doing? Don't be in such a rush!"
"Luochuan, I'm begging you, don't go any further! There are real demons ahead! What if we get eaten...?" Zenitsu's voice grew smaller and smaller, seemingly afraid that his noise would attract a demon.
Luochuan tuned out Zenitsu's voice and surveyed their surroundings. The area was filled with towering trees, their branches crisscrossing to make the already dim environment even darker. After walking for a bit, Luochuan's footsteps paused.
Behind him, Zenitsu's crying stopped abruptly. His entire body froze in place as if he had been hit with a paralysis spell.
"There's something... over there, Luochuan. The sound coming from there is very piercing!" Zenitsu sniffled, pointing into the dark, dense forest to Luochuan's front right.
Luochuan turned slightly. Having Zenitsu's talent, he naturally heard the sound as well. However, for Luochuan, this was the first time he would see a demon with his own eyes, and he felt a spark of curiosity.
Emerging from the thicket was a gaunt, skeletal demon. Its blood-red eyes bulged slightly, and a long row of white bone spikes protruded from the sides of its arms.
> [Bone Demon]
> [Race: Demon]
> [Rank: Mizunoto (癸)]
> [Comprehension: Inferior]
> [Aptitude: Low]
> [Talent: None]
> [Skills: Pounce (Mastery), Bite (Mastery)...]
>
"What great luck. To run into two brats at once, I'll definitely eat my fill this time," the Bone Demon said, extending a tongue the length of a forearm to lick its lips.
After reading the demon's info, Luochuan's interest instantly vanished. He was fine with making friends with demons, but a demon like this... he didn't want it. There wasn't a single attribute on its body that he needed.
Seeing Luochuan's expression, the Bone Demon's nearly non-existent eyebrows furrowed. What's with this kid's face? Disgust? Disdain? Shouldn't a normal human be filled with terror and panic?
Annoyed and humiliated, the Bone Demon clenched its fists, and the spikes on its arms protruded even further.
"Run, Luochuan! It's going to pounce!" Zenitsu instinctively tried to pull Luochuan away. He knew Luochuan's physical limits well—he struggled even with basic training, let alone the formal drills.
But as he grabbed Luochuan's arm, he found Luochuan was like a statue, completely immovable. Zenitsu didn't have time to wonder why Luochuan's arm felt so hard and powerful; he simply stepped forward to shield Luochuan.
Drawing the sword at his waist, Zenitsu swallowed hard while staring at the demon. No, I can't leave. If I leave, something will happen to Luochuan.
Seeing the trembling Zenitsu standing in front of him, the corners of Luochuan's mouth curled up. Zenitsu hadn't fainted to "log into his main account"; instead, he had stood his ground to protect him. Luochuan was actually a bit moved.
The Bone Demon saw Zenitsu's shaking hands and grew even more contemptuous. Were these pathetic swordsmen just sent here by the Demon Slayer Corps as food supplements? The demon licked its spikes. Then, it lunged.
As the demon closed in, Zenitsu's breathing accelerated involuntarily. His flickering blade followed the demon's movement. Don't be nervous, Gramps said...
Before Zenitsu could finish his thought, the demon was practically in his face. Looking at the bare-chested demon with its foul-smelling tongue exposed, Zenitsu's mind went blank, but his silhouette in front of Luochuan never wavered.
At that moment—
Schwing!
A flash of golden lightning lit up the dense forest. The light appeared and vanished in an instant. Then, Zenitsu saw the Bone Demon in front of him split in two at the neck. It tumbled to the ground. Because the kill happened so fast, the demon's body took two more steps forward before collapsing. Its head rolled a bit and stopped at Zenitsu's feet.
Zenitsu stared blankly at the head. The demon... is dead?
Was that the sound of a sword being unsheathed? The sound seemed to come from behind him. Zenitsu turned his head mechanically to look at Luochuan, who was slowly sliding his blade back into its scabbard. Zenitsu's mouth felt dry.
"Luochuan... you...?"
Luochuan had always played a support role at Mount Momoyama. Aside from the very beginning, he rarely trained. He spent his days moving about the yard and taking care of Zenitsu. Zenitsu had seen Luochuan's desire to get stronger, but he also knew that Luochuan simply couldn't learn due to his lack of talent. Zenitsu always felt he was training for both of them.
But now, something was very wrong. Luochuan's strength seemed... even greater than his own?
"I had an epiphany the two days before we left the mountain. I learned Thunder Breathing."
"You learned it in two days?!" Zenitsu was stunned. During his year of training, every day felt like hell, and even then he hadn't fully mastered the style. Luochuan did it in two days? Was an "epiphany" really that powerful?
After the shock, Zenitsu suddenly lunged forward and hugged Luochuan. "You should have said you were this strong earlier! You scared me to death! I thought we were going to die here!"
Luochuan was surprised. He thought his sudden strength might cause friction or jealousy, but Zenitsu was genuinely happy—happy that Luochuan was strong enough to survive.
After dealing with the Bone Demon, they headed deeper into the forest. Along the way, they encountered several more demons. Each encounter only deepened Zenitsu's realization of Luochuan's power. One strike. Every demon was finished in a single strike. Luochuan cut through them as easily as carving melons. Zenitsu couldn't even track the trajectory of the flickering blade.
Luochuan is so strong! He's even stronger than Kaigaku!
"Zenitsu, I'm going to rest for a bit. Keep watch for me."
"Me? Well... okay." Zenitsu looked uneasy, but he agreed. He doubted he could protect Luochuan if a demon came, but he didn't want to be a useless burden. He had to be of some use.
Sitting cross-legged, Luochuan didn't actually need the rest; killing those demons was like crushing ants. He just wanted an excuse to fuse Tanjiro's talent and then use it to find the Hand Demon.
[Would you like to fuse talent: Opening Thread now?]
"Yes."