With how Shinobu is slaying each demon she meets with no mercy, rumors around her begun to spread on both demon slayers and demons. Nobody who she is and what she is due to retaining her human appearance and can only be identified as a demon when she engages in combat.
"This is...a corpse. This man had been dead for days but he was still able to move. The dirt on his feet is still fresh and so is the human blood on his fingertips"
Shinobu inspected the mysterious corpse lying on the ground with an expression of agony frozen as it had drawn it's dying breath. Shinobu lifted the limp arm and easily identified the reddish liquid on its fingers as fresh human blood. Then she inspected the the feet where dirt had accumulated and thickened from travelling barefoot.
Yeah. It's one of his experiments probably. This is his Blood demon art
"His blood demon art?"
Hirokuma can manipulate the flesh of others, like a sadistic butcher. I never thought he was capable of manipulating already dead people
"Was it his blood demon art to why we're fused?"
I'd say yes. He forcibly transplanted and infused some of my parts to you. Since you were still breathing and compatible, you didn't end up like this poor bastard
"To think there was a possibility I'd end up like this..."
Luckily we both didn't end up like this or we might have been killed easily. I don't want to be reduced into this walking corpse
"For the record, this is still my body and not yours"
Shinobu reminded Akane that the body they share originally belongs to her. Even if Akane had been passive lately, she had used Shinobu's body before like her own.
"Isn't there any way you can track this demon called Hirokuma? You said he's the real one responsible for our situation?"
He doesn't use his real body most of the time. The one we encountered was a random body implanted with a piece of himself so he can move it like his own
"Not only he can experiment with the flesh of others but use them as well. What an annoying power"
It's not destructive and not very powerful but yes...it's annoying. Still, dealing with these corpses is the only way we can track him
"..."
What's the matter?
"It's not just ordinary people but normal demon slayers as well. This damn demon is using the bodies of demon slayer to kill other humans"
On very rare occasions, a Pillar like you. Though it's difficult to incapacitate a Pillar since only Upper Moons can easily take them down like shishou
"Back then, he appeared when I was on the verge of death. Even if I'm the weakest Pillar, he waited for me to be heavily injured"
He can take you on but he can't take me on directly. He waited for both of us to be lying on the ground and unable to move. His only mistake was not waiting for you to die. So you ended having your consciousness intact even after being turned into a demon
"I don't remember much what happened when I was on the verge of death"
As they start to discuss about their target and what happened to them, Shinobu walked away from the scene but her left hand gently clutching the sheathed sword in the case a threat would appear before her.
I don't remember much either but when I woke up after having my flesh infused and my blood transfused to you, I realized I was in your body. I trashed around and escaped from him
"Then what happened?"
It was hazy but I remember running to a mountain and collapsing in an abandoned house. I think we were both unconscious for two days and it took that amount of time for you to fully transform into a demon
"It's been at least a few weeks since I turned into a demon. It's scary how I'm beginning to adjust to this curse..."
Shinobu stopped on her tracks and gazed up on the moon, the thought of being adjusted in her demon self which she despised scared her.
What if there's no possibility to regain your humanity? Will you accept being a demon or let yourself die?
"..."
Shinobu, are you scared that one day you will lose yourself? There might be a day where your demon nature will consumed your human consciousness. You might not remember your old allies and kill them without knowing
"Are you in the same situation? You no longer remember your human past. You don't know whether you had a family or killed your friends"
...
Shinobu returned the question to the demon voice who became silent as well. The two two went silent for a few minutes, the question they asked to each other remained unanswered.
"You don't have an answer too, huh"
Same thing goes to you
"Demon or not, revenge is all that matters to me. Even if I were to die, I will do what it takes to accomplish it"
You're determined. Even I don't have level of determination
Shinobu isn't certain whether the demon is impressed or annoyed at how she is focus on revenge more than anything else.
"Right now, we should focus on tracking more of those mangled demons like the corpse we found. There might be more demon slayer corpses he used"
Shinobu remembered the reanimated demon slayer corpse she encountered and killed, Shinobu's anger rose as she gritted her teeth since she had to put down the miserable existence before it killed more people.
SOMEWHERE NEAR A VILLAGE
Past midnight and Giyuu inspected the bloodstains on nearby trees. Fresh and old bloodstains mixed together, and the stench of blood reeked in the air. Giyuu gently touches and traces the claw marks where the bloodstains are found, comparing it to his own fingers. The width of each mark separated from each other isn't far off when Giyuu touched each four marks, indicating the source of the claw marks isn't bigger than a regular human.
"More blood on the ground...and it leads to a nearby village"
Giyuu narrows his eyes, suspicious of the unknown village about about three meters from where he stands. He looks around first, sensing or spotting no demon from all directions.
"The demon swordsman couldn't have done this. There isn't a trace of a sword cut anywhere. These are all claw marks"
Giyuu bends on his knees and inspected another claw marks beneath him. Unlike the claw marks in the trees, the ones on the ground are cut short and shallow. He confirms that the markings are certainly not from a sword and unlikely from who he is looking form.
"Does this demon swordsman even exists? Why am I even looking for it? Rengoku is the one insisting I should try searching for it even if it's just a rumor. The one I'm looking for is that mysterious swordswoman"
Giyuu looked above, recalled the moment he encountered the unnamed and unknown swordswoman. The latter wore a white and red canine-like mask and only spoke to him briefly so Giyuu is intrigued to know who was the girl who appeared out of nowhere and chased the flesh-absorbing demon.
"Why do I feel like I knew her somewhere? The way she spoke to me...is like she knew me too. She even knew my name"
Even if it was just for a moment, Giyuu still thought about the unknown girl he met that night.
"I'm overthinking this. I should just try to find if this demon swordsman really exists. There's no way I can meet that mysterious girl anyway"
Giyuu shakes his head and returns to his original objective. He wants to track the existence of the rumored demon swordsman while he is out hunting demons past midnight.
"The demon attack is too near. Maybe there's a demon in that village"
Giyuu prepares himself in the case he'll encounter a hiding demon within a normal human village. After finishing inspecting his surroundings, he steps forwards and heads towards the village not very far from him.
"Hmm?"
Before he enters the village, Giyuu immediately stops in his tracks and looked down. On the ground a few feet from the entrance of the village, Giyuu notices fresh blood splat on the soil.
"This is human blood. There is indeed a demon here"
Giyuu holds both his sword's sheath and handle, preparing to face off whatever demon is lurking in the strange village.
"This is odd. This village is too quiet as if no one's here. Did the villagers abandon this place?"
As a Pillar, Giyuu heightens his senses and instincts to great lengths. He can tell that there isn't a human around. Even if they are sleeping, he would know if there's anyone in the village but not a single sound, just the night breeze blowing.
"...?!"
He immediately raised his guard when he heard footsteps around the corner. Just as he was about to draw his sword, Giyuu slightly eased himself when he saw a seemingly normal person walked out of a corner.
"Excuse me but you shouldn't be out at this late, there's-"
When he slowly approaches the man, Giyuu immediately back away when is already a few feet from the quiet man. His instincts quickly kicks in so he jumps back and draws nichirin his sword. Giyuu prepares strike the moment the strange man makes the slightest move.
"...?!"
The moment the man turns around, Giyuu sees bloodshot eyes and visible hostility in him. The unknown man reveals himself to be a demon when he faintly growls and bear his fangs. Giyuu pushed himself forward, instantly decapitating the pale and feeble looking demon.
"Wounds and bruises?"
The demon slowly disintegrates but before the entire body disappears, Giyuu notices bruises and open wounds on both the wrist and and chest.
"...?!"
The demon vanishes but Giyuu still raises his sword when several more people appear, surrounding him in all directions.
"What's with their appearances? They don't look very alive for demons? It's like they're already dead but still moving. Are these...corpses?!"
Giyuu widened his eyes when he thinks the possibility of the demons around him to be formerly corpses rather than living humans.
"Guuaaarrghhh!"
About ten immediately charges and leaps at him but even with large numbers, Giyuu effortlessly moves and decapitate the demons before they could even touch him.
"An entire village turned into a demon? Were they all instantly turned or someone slowly turned them?"
The crowd surrounding him is enough population to fill a regular village so he thinks all the demons around him are all residents of the village which explains the blood near the village and at the entrance.
"Ki...ll"
Giyuu decapitates three in a swift slash in front of him. A demon jumps from a roof, aiming to bite down his neck, but Giyuu turns his foot then himself and also decapitate the demon.
"It's unbelievable how an entire village was turned like this. No sign of struggle or whatsover. It's like they really were all turned overnight"
It baffles Giyuu how an entire village turned into a demon and no one seems to have noticed it. No leftover of chaos or struggle was visible when he entered the village, so he thought the villagers were really transformed into a demon in one night.
"What kind of demon could have done this? Is this a Blood demon art I haven't seen?"
Demons are capable of countless possibilities with the various abilities of their Blood demon art which ranges from mild to supernatural. The only explanation be can think of is that a demon used its Blood demon art to help turn a whole village into a demon overnight.
"From the looks of these demons, they're already dead. They were already corpses before they became demons. They've been dead for a few days"
Even when he moves with each second, his eyes examines his opponents even before he cuts them. The crowd of demons pouncing at him left to right have bodies on the stage of decomposition.
"These really are corpses turned into demons-"
Giyuu doesn't faze even when he is relentlessly slaughtering moving corpses as if his opponent is a demon, he isn't going to hesitate the slightest. He isn't giving them a chance to land a single scratch on him. He decapitated three more in single swing but he widens his eyes when a figure jumps from a rooftop and swings a sword in the same manner as he does.
"What-?!"
A feminine figure gracefully lands down, one foot first before the other. The girl with a mask moves her arms and swings her sword almost similar to how he does it.
"That kimono and mask. You-! You're the swordswoman I met two weeks ago"
After decapitating another demon, Giyuu recognizes the masked girl as the same one from his mission two weeks ago.
"Oh? It's the Water Pillar. What a coincidence meeting you here"
Shinobu, currently disguising herself through a change in clothing and donning a mask, casually speaks with Giyuu since he doesn't recognize her real identity.
"What are you doing here? Are you a freelancing demon slayer? You have a nichirin sword since an ordinary one wouldn't kill a demon" Giyuu pointed out
"I am something like that. I hunt demons by myself so I wander from town to town. I'm also aware about your group"
The two converse as the remaining crowd slowly whittles down. The demons doesn't hesitate to charge and pounce even when they can see how the two are easily slaughtering them.
"Back then, you called me by my family name even if I didn't tell you my name. How did you know?" Giyuu is slightly suspicious
"I've come across several demon slayers and they mentioned about the Pillars, you in particular"
Giyuu can handle all the demons surrounding him but with the mysterious swordswoman, the numbers quickly whittles down. The mowed down an entire village worth of demons.
(That Breath style...)
While using his first form to take down two demons on opposite directions, he couldn't help but notice the the form the girl is using. Giyuu continues to take down the numbers until Shinobu stabs the last one and pins it on the nearest wall.
"This is the same one we found earlier. Unlike that one, this one had been dead for a few days" Shinobu murmured to herself
While Shinobu, currently a mysterious swordswoman in Giyuu's perspective, physically inspects the demon, Giyuu couldn't help but notice the purple butterfly hairclip tying her short hair.
"Last time, you appeared out of nowhere and tried to kill an escaping demon and now you appeared of nowhere again and helped me kill these demons. Who are you exactly?"
"I can't really tell you my name but I'll tell you I hunt demons but I'm not part of the demon slayer corps like you"
"I noticed the way you fight. You used Water Breathing"
As the Water Pillar, Giyuu can immediately recognize the Breath style he mastered for years. At once glance, he knows the way the mysterious girl uses Breath of Water just by his fluid and quick movements.
"I did. If you want to ask who taught me, I'll tell you I simply learned it after I witnessed it several times. It's one of the few things I paid close attention"
"You moved better than an average Water Breath user. Whoever you learned it from must be an expert"
"Hahaha. Oh, you have no idea" Shinobu giggled
"If you're skilled with killing demons, why not join the demon slayer corps. You can learn and train with other demon slayers"
"I'm not interested. I prefer killing demons myself. Not like I can go back like this anyway" Shinobu whispered the last statement
For Giyuu, the girl in front of him is an unknown swordswoman who can easily kill demons and can use Water Breathing like him. He doesn't know why she prefers hunting demons by herself so he currently views her with curiosity.
"This is indeed like the last one"
Shinobu pulled out her sword and the second the demon broke free, she decapitated it in a split second and casually sheathed back her sword.
"Here I thought I won't see you again after we met for a moment back at that mountain"
"We're bound to see each other again sooner or later. We both hunt demons but I do it by myself"
"Where did you learn to kill demons? You're not a demon slayer but you can effectively kill demons. You also use Water Breathing. Whom did you learn to use Breaths?"
"I learned to use Breaths after I observed a Breath user train several times. That same Breath user also gave me several key points to remember but I wasn't taught directly"
"Who is this Breath user?"
"That person is skilled Water Breath user. Maybe you already knew each other" Behind the mask, Shinobu smirked
For Giyuu, the masked swordswoman is someone who learned by herself, not knowing she the "expert" who the expert she learned it from. This is why she couldn't help but chuckle a little when she told Giyuu how she learned without revealing who taught her.
"You know-"
The moment Shinobu takes a step forward, she instinctively springs herself back when fist bursted out right beside the house she is standing near. Shinobu manages to severe the arm but the other arm struck her from the side and sent her flying away by a few meters.
"...!"
Giyuu quickly springs into action, and sliced off the other arm while the one Shinobu slice still regenerates. The demon backs away as she Shinobu stands up, completely unharmed but her mask had been hit so it begins to crack but not enough to shatter it in instant.
"I finally found you, brat. You've been killing off my puppets-" The demon growled at her
A demon about ten feet tall glares with deep resentment and murderous intent towards Shinobu, completely ignoring Giyuu who instantly incapacitates him by slicing off his one leg then the other. The demon falls on his back and the pair approach him while his limbs slowly regenerates.
"That voice. You're the demon from the mountain. The one responsible...for this" Shinobu gritted her teeth
"I should have waited for you to die first. You ended up escaping when I took your body"
"Do you know this demon?" Giyuu approached
"I know him. I'm hunting him down but he's doing the same thing now. I also hate him more than anyone" Shinobu clenched her fist
"To think the brat who follows Kokushibo around is being quiet and submissive to someone like you. Here I thought she'd try to be the dominant of the two consciousness"
"Unfortunately, we both agreed to get revenge on you. We can't kill you because of that man but I can slice you over and over again"
"Hmph! How long will you remain that way? You may cling to your own human personality but it will slip away soon"
Giyuu takes a step, ready to permanently silence the demon but the masked swordswoman takes her step first, not planning to cut off the puppet medium just yet.
"You and that brat have your own personality but such thing can't coexist in parallel forever. Your human side will give in soon and you'll lost yourself"
"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me. You are the reason for this cursed existence"
"That curse gave you strength car superior than you originally had. Then again...you stubbornly cling to humanity"
"..."
"I should have waited off the Insect Pillar when I had the chance..." The demon puppet grunted
Giyuu steps forward and points his sword when he clearly hears the demon mention the "Insect Pillar". With cold and ruthless looking eyes, he looks down on the demon standing on his knees.
"What do you mean by that? Are you the one who killed the Insect Pillar?"
"I'm the reason that weak human is gone"
"It's hard to believe someone as weak as you managed to kill the Insect Pillar"
"That Pillar fought a demon and after both she and the demon were finally heavily injured and worn out, I went to finish off the Insect Pillar. What a surprisingly weak human. I can't believe someone like her-"
The demon chuckles in a mocking a manner, provoking Giyuu into instantly decapitating the demon. The head flies off by a meter or two while the body collapses the front, mildly surprising Shinobu. He didn't even hesitate the slightest, his cold eyes looking down at the disintegrating demon body.
"Even if you kill him, that's not the real body. That's why he didn't hesitate to attack even with a Pillar around"
"Then I'll just have to find his real body. Even if I have to cut down hundreds of fake bodies"
"That demon is my main enemy. Don't meddle with my affairs, Tomioka-san"
The masked swordswoman, jumps forward and lands on top of a rooftop.
"This concerns me as well. That demon killed someone I know" Giyuu frowned
"And you believe him? Demons are less honest than humans. For all we know, you're playing by his games"
"..."
"Revenge doesn't suit you. Also, don't involve yourself with the problems of other people"
"I'm not-"
"That demon is mine to deal and kill, so I suggest not to get in the way. You should only focus on your duties as a Pillar"
After the brief encounter, Shinobu warns Giyuu not to interfere or involve himself with the demon Hirokuma. She wants to push him away from her situation since she doesn't want Giyuu to endanger himself and find out she is alive but as a demon now. She leaves Giyuu confused and dumbfounded, curious at the lone swordswoman.
"Was Kochou really killed by a weak demon like that? No, someone like her can't be overpowered by a pathetic demon"
Giyuu shook his head and refused to believe that Shinobu was taken down by a demon he can effortlessly kill. Even if Shinobu was the weakest Pillar and incapable of decapitating demons, that kind of demon wasn't enough to take her down.
BUTTERFLY ESTATE
After another mission, Tanjiro returns and meets up with his friends in the Butterfly estate. Both Inosuke and Zenitsu are still recovering from a recent with Kanao helping them.
"I told you not to charge in recklessly! We almost got crushed, you know!" Zenitsu screams at the top of his lungs
"Huh?! That's because you're too scared to even fight the demon!" Inosuke screams back
"It's big and it has an horrifying maw! I mean it's like the demon had a snake for a tongue!" Zenitsu trembles remembering his last opponent
While the both Zenitsu and Inosuke continued to scream at each other about how they ended getting injured on their last mission together, Kanao approaches Tanjiro who didn't mediate with the two.
"It looks like there's something you want to tell us"
"Yes. I learned something important on my last mission and I want to tell all of you"
Inosuke and Zenitsu stops pinching and pulling each other's cheeks when they hear Tanjiro's response whose eyes have become serious. They both behave and turn to look at him, curious at what Tanjiro wants to tell the three of them.
"I fought and killed a demon that was a demon slayer. It couldn't be reasoned with so I had to kill it"
"What?!" Zenitsu and Inosuke dropped their jaw in unison
"It's hard to explain it but I think the rumor of missing demon slayers and no bodies being found is because of a demon who is turning them into a demons"
"Is it Muzan?" Kanao frowned
"No, it's not him. The smell that demon had was a dead one. He was already dead even before becoming a demon"
"Dead demons?! How can a dead person walk back to life even as a demon! This is beyond what I can handle!"
"The body is already dead but it was still moving. It can be killed normally since I managed to do so when I decapitated it" Tanjiro rubs his chin
"Do you know who's doing this?" Kanao swallowed her breath
"I don't know but the person who knows about this more than anyone might know"
"Hmph! Walking corpses or not, I'll rip and tear right through them!"
Inosuke proudly laughs, not fearing about the fact that even dead people can turn into demons somehow. He even looks like he's looking forward on encountering one and shredding through them with his serrated nichirin blades.
"I also learned something more important"
"What's that?" Kanao tilted her head
"You know about the rumored demon swordsman, right?"
"Rengoku-san keeps telling us about it. He's excited to track it down and face it" Zenitsu scratched his head
"Apparently it's not just a rumor. There really is a demon hunting other demons out there"
"How?" Kanao raised an eyebrow
"The person who was investigating about the demon corpses happened to witness this demon swordsman one night. He said he saw it fight and decapitate a demon with a nichirin blade"
"What?! It has a nichirin blade! Don't tell me it can use breathes too?!" Zenitsu screamed
"I don't care if this demon is a swordsman! I'll fight it if it's strong!" Inosuke crossed his arms
"What's this about a demon swordsman? Is it about the rumor going around? I was resting when I heard these two screaming"
Genya walks in, visibly curious at what he hears with the four of them talking. The demon eater sits beside Tanjiro who isn't done explaining about what he wants to tell everyone.
"The rumored demon swordsman is real. There's a demon hunting other demons out there. It uses a nichirin blade but I don't know if it can use breaths. The one investigating it was the demon swordsman fight and decapitate a demon" Tanjiro explains to Genya
"I knew it was real. I'm curious about it too since during one of my missions, the demon I was hunting was already taken out but I saw sword cuts everywhere" Genya reveals
"The most important thing I want to tell is that this person saw the demon wearing our uniform so there's a chance it can use Breaths. We haven't fought demons who can use breaths so we're not sure"
"Are you kidding me?! First, walking corpses, now breath using demons!" Zenitsu messes his own hair in a panic
"Are you going to track it down like Rengoku-san"
"Yeah. I want to know something else. I want to confirm if with my own eyes..."
Tanjiro briefly lowers his head and stares at the floor while his hands tenses up, clutching his hakama.
"Tanjiro?" Kanao looks worried
"Kanao, Shinobu-san's body was never found, right?"
"Y-yeah. Only her sword remained and no one found her body" Kanao nods
"There's a chance Shinobu-san's body was taken by a demon and she became one of them"
"...?!" Kanao widened her eyes
"The three of us chased after a demon during a mission. That demon had Shinobu-san's scent. Then there's the demon Kanroji-san encountered. Connecting what I told everyone now and these two things..."
"...There's a chance master is still out there, but as a demon...I don't know if I can fight her"
Kanao clenches her fists as she's already feeling conflict about what to do if she encounters Shinobu again. She doesn't know if she can swing her sword against her former mentor and adoptive older sister.
"I'll help finding more about this demon swordsman and possibility that the Insect Pillar had become a demon. The more the merrier, right?" Genya looks at Zenitsu and Inosuke
"Huh?! I'm not volunteering in fighting walking corpses!" Zenitsu shakes his head
"Too bad because we're all in this!" Inosuke slaps Zenitsu's back
"If Shinobu-san is alive and even if she has became a demon, I can only pray she can still remember us. If she had become like the demons we fight...then we have no choice but to put her down" Tanjiro taps Kanao's shoulder
"I hope too. I don't want to fight master after I couldn't do anything on the night she died..."
The guilt still lingers in her heart about Shinobu's death and it would devastate her if she has no choice but to fight Shinobu if they confirm her being alive again as a demon.
"Hey, everybody! Guess what happened to Tomioka-kun last night~"
Kanroji Mitsuri enters the scene, grabbing and dragging a reluctant Giyuu who couldn't look at her in the eyes.
"All five of you are here? That's perfect! I have great news for everyone!"
Mitsuri sees the five young demon slayers stares at her in confusion after she pays a visit out of nowhere, with Giyuu of all people. If Obanai is present, he would be sharply glaring at Giyuu with intense hatred.
"Kanroji-san? What's up..." Tanjiro awkwardly raised his hand
"Tomioka-kun met his crush during his mission last night
"She's not my crush. I don't have any feelings for her or anything" Giyuu grunted
"What's going on exactly?" Tanjiro tilts his head
"Tomioka-kun met this mysterious swordswoman one night and he met her again last night. Rengoku-kun told me all about it. Tomioka-kun is in love! Can you guys believe it?!"
Giyuu covers his face in embarrassment and turns away from everyone while the five young demon slayers are speechless while Mitsuri doesn't pay attention to their awkward reactions and continues to talk about a girl she presumes Tomioka has feelings for.
Chapter 13:
Ever since the last encounter with Giyuu, Shinobu contemplates whether she should reveal herself to Giyuu or not. While she continues slaying other demons as the rumored sword-using demon, Giyuu continued to think about the identity of the mysterious swordswoman when he Tanjiro told him about what he told the others.