The Greek hashira chapter 4

During the Hashira meeting the master brought up a point that raised my eyebrow. Most of the Hashira trained by me were being targeted by demons specifically, and strong ones at that.

"Do you think it could be upper moons?" I asked curiously.

Ayano shook her head and said, "Muzan wouldn't risk sending out upper moons to do something like this, nor would he send lower moons cause I have a feeling after what happened with Rui and all the other Lower Moons Nikolaos has killed he probably got rid of the lower moons, I have a bad feeling these demons are Muzan's 6 eclipses."

This caught all of us off guard as Rengoku sensei said, "Muzan has demons stronger than the upper moons!"

Ayano nodded and said, "Nikolaos took down one of them before, Horoko, she was eclipse number 6. The 6 eclipses are demons from outside of Japan who are as old or older than muzan and considered demons in their own countries. Muzan would recruit these strong demon and give them a sizable portion of his blood making them as strong or even stronger in some cases as an upper moon.I think because of Nikolaos's involvement here in Japan Muzan's hand was forced to release his ace card to kill the slayers giving him the most problem, in this case Nikolaos's trained slayers. Normally Muzan just has them in caves dormant until needed."

I looked smugly at the other Hashira and said, "Huh so it looks like I have aggravated two different demons so far, Douma and now Muzan himself, this should be interesting."

Gyomei then said, "so what is the plan master? Hunt down these other 5 eclipses and kill them?"

The master nodded and said, "I think it would be best to leave the slaying of these eclipses to Nikolaos and Ayano, and Gyomei cause out of all of you I think they're the most adept at killing strong demons beyond upper moons."

Sanemi got pissed at this and said, "now wait just a minute master, even though I respect your decision wouldn't it be wise for all of us to go after these eclipses?"

Ayano shook her head and said, "negative, eclipses are specialized demons meant to be muzan's second answer to Hashira, so let's put it this way the unorthodox weapons used by Gyomei and Niko will have an easier time killing them and will be less likely to die by the hands of one"

This seemed to piss Sanemi off, but he conceded and backed off.

The master then said, "now on to some rumors I have been hearing, mainly about you Nikolaos."

This caught my eye and I said, "oh what kind of rumors?"

The master chuckled a bit and said, "rumors have reached my ears recently that people think you are a demon, a good demon, but a demon none the less. In Tokyo they call you the bronze clad demon, in Asasuka they call you the demon of war, every big name city has a name for you and are both afraid and pray for your protection, mainly because you are a foreigner wearing armor that no one in Japan has ever seen, this is worrisome as it means you are drawing way to much attention to yourself so if possible can I ask you to refrain from wearing your armor during the daylight hours?"

I gave a hardy laugh and said, "no disrespect master, but this armor is a symbol of my homeland, if I were to give it up, I'd be giving up my very identity, Shinobu sensei has been trying for years to get me to wear the Haori that her and Rengoku sensei have made for me, I would rather die than wear something other than my armor."

The master sighed and said, "very well Nikolaos just promise me you will be careful. There have been reports of mass demon slayer killings in northern Japan, Nikoloas you and Ayano are to go and investigate"

I bowed getting up and said, "master…I wish I could make you a promise, but this is me we're talking about…." Before getting wrapped in a cloak.

Confused I looked behind me to see Shinobu sensei who smiled at me and said, "at least while you travel you can wear this to hid your armor, I can't do anything about the helmet but this cloak should do well for your body….the spear and shield will have to remain on your back, or on the side of your horse when you travel however.

Smiling I said, "Thank you, Shinobu sensei, Ayano lets go"

Ayano got up and bowed to the master saying, "I wish you all a good day and I hope to see you all again!" before running up to me.

Ayano looked up at me as we walked out of the manor to our horses and said, "so how did you get that armor anyways? I mean Greece has long since passed the time of Greek hoplite armor am I correct?"

I nodded my head and said, "this armor has been polished and maintained in our family for generations, it belonged to my ancestor the first great lion of Sparta, Athanasios Aristokles who led a mighty legion along Brasidas of sparta…he died alongside Brasidas fighting the Athenians, and ever since then the armor and shield have been passed down and maintained by our family..." before mounting my horse and holstering my spear and shield on the side of my horse.

Ayano mounted her horse and said, "damn so its ancient! Its actually impressive how well maintained it is!"

I smiled and said, "thanks Ayano, that means a lot to me" and with that we rode away from the manor towards northern Japan where the demon in question has been killing a bunch of our slayers.

Relaxing at a dumpling shop I decided to make some small talk with Ayano.

"So Ayano, can I ask you some questions?" I asked.

Ayano took a bite of dumplings and said, "yeah sure, whats up?"

"Muzan's stronghold, where is it?" I asked taking a bite of my own set of dumplings.

Ayano shrugged and said, "that's the question on everyone's mind, even the other demons don't know where it is…and that's only because of that damn demon…"

I raised my eyebrow and said, "demon?"

Ayano nodded and said, "Muzan has an unranked demon by his side at all times, a Biwa player who's blood demon art is a castle in her own pocket dimension that only she can control using her Biwa, she can summon people to it and send people out of it with one pluck of the strings, we call this realm the infinity castle, Muzan rarely leaves it, only when maintaining a secret identity of his own does he leave it, and even then its only briefly or to maintain appearances, and before you ask no I don't know what he looks like"

This caught my eye as I said, "but young Tanjiro said he saw-"

Ayano cut me off and said, "Look Nikolaos I know what your gonna do and I won't have it, your gonna run off after I give a vague descritipon of what Muzan currently looks like and get yourself killed, Muzan has been around since the Heian period nearly a thousand years old, he's killed more demon slayers in his time than you have killed demons, and I don't want your blood on my hands just cause you believe you are built strong enough to kill him….there is a reason the upper moons fear him and its not cause he controls their cells…he's a monster…"

I sighed and let it go changing the subject, "so…Ayano did you have any family?"

Ayano shook her head and said, "I- I cant remember much of my old life, Muzan made me from some on he knew in the Sengoku period…he kept me around just as an informant to check on the lower moons and keep the location of the 6 eclipses mapped to a small degree…and he said I was a valuable asset to him so he gave me barely any of his blood, just enough to make me a demon but not enough for his curse to be a threat to me, the man can't even bend me to his will anymore…and more importantly he gave me special skills to walk in the sun so I could find his precious blue spider lily"

That raised my eyebrow again and I said, "wait what?"

Ayano took another bite from her dumplings saying, "yeah…that's the reason he's been making demons in the first place, his ultimate goal to conquer the sun through the usage of a flower from his time era, the blue spider lily as he called it…but none of us have been able to find it, at this point im not even sure it exists anymore…so It scares me to think what he would have done to me if I hadn't ran off with you, he probably would have eaten me for my powers over the sun…"

I gave Ayano a hug and said, "well I am glad to have you as my translator, my ally, and my lover."

Ayano blushed and kissed me on the cheek saying, "you know if we had met when I was still religiously loyal to Muzan I don't know if I would have loved you then…I was a different girl, fanatical, condescending, not much of a fighter and just an informant."

I gave a hardy laugh and said, "in Greece we had a saying, two lovers who have met each other in battle will always find each other again in a different life and still fall in love, this was the case with my ancestors, my father who met my mother while he was fighting the ottoman empire, my grandparents said they had the same fire and eyes as their grandparents when they met in the Russo-Turkish war, gods those were the times, so who knows maybe you and I were fated to meet"

Ayano blushed at this and leaned her head into my arms and said, "you really do know how to make a girl swoon Nico…I'm happy to have met you."

That night we camped out along the way to the village and I made stew using some mushrooms and some wild boar and Ayano couldn't stop eating it.

Through mouths of food Ayano said, "Niko how is it that you are one of, if not the most dangerous brutes I have ever met and yet you can cook like a damn god!"

Eating some of the stew I said, "my Pateras taught me at a very young age that a man who could cook good is as rare as diamond and could keep any woman happy."

Ayano ate more of the stew saying, "well your father was right! This stew is amazing!"

I smiled as Kotoyami landed on my shoulder and I said, "send word back to headquarters, let the master know we are about a day away from the location, also send word to Rengoku sensei and Shinobu sensei, let them know the same thing and that I am happy they both came to my aid in defending young Tanjiro"

Kotoyami nodded and flew away as Ayano put down her bowl and suddenly leapt on to me, and we spent the rest of that night in pure bliss.

Waking up the next morning I smiled as I saw Ayano laying happily on my chest cuddling up with me. She was by far the cutest person I have ever met, and I am honestly happy to have met her.

Rubbing the top of her head I said, "Ayano, its day break we should resume our long march"

Ayano groaned still partially asleep saying, "damn it I don't wanna goooo, just five more minutes…I'm super comfortable."

I chuckled and said, "yeah laying on my muscles."

Ayano realized what I said and started blushing as she bolted up and started to get dressed saying, "boy yeah I'm fully awake now! Hahahaha so we should be approaching the village soon where the demon slayers have been turning up dead! You all set!"

Getting up and putting on my armor and then putting on my cloak I nodded and said, "lets go"

The journey was long, but we made it finally to northern Japan where we found a village that Kotoyami confirmed was close to the area where the demon slayers were found dead.

"Kotoyami, the master never said but do you know the extent of how much damage was done to the slayers?" I asked as we road towards the village.

Kotoyami nodded and said, "70% of the bones were pulverized, the men were found with kisses on their faces which is strange, but they were broken brutally, not torn apart or eaten just broken as if the demon was just fighting them for sport"

This did make Ayano curious as she said, "and it was just the men?"

Kotoyami nodded and I said, "you recognize the demon?"

Ayano nodded and said, "eclipse number 3 we call her The brute, she's refused to give anyone her name but just like Horoko she's Greek, but I don't know exactly the extent of her lineage"

I chuckled and said, "since you kept tract of the eclipses, do you know where they are from?"

Ayano nodded and said, "there are 2 greeks, a Chinese, a Persian, an egyptian, and a Nord"

I raised my eye and said, "well Muzan truly has a…unique set of demons in his eclipses, a Persian though that's troublesome…if its someone from the Persian immortals that could be nerve racking."

This confused Ayano as she said, "Persian immortals?"

I nodded my head and said, "theyre one of the worlds most infamous special forces of the ancient world, 10'000 at any given time no more no less, they were as strong as the mighty 300…"

Ayano shuttered and said, "well I can confirm this one isn't the persian but point still stands the brute is Greek…and vicious"

I grin happily and said, "well now this is exciting!"

Ayano raised her eyebrow looking at me saying, "are you insane? She'd kill you!"

I laugh hardily and said, "I know but the idea of fighting another Greek who fights like Horoko gets my blood flowing and it makes me feel on fire!"

Ayano rolled her eyes and said, "you should probably get that checked out I don't think blood should be flowing only when you feel like fighting someone who can kill you"

I laughed again dismounting my horse and said, "oh you know what I mean! Come on lets get some information from the villagers and see what they know"

The villagers were more than hesitant to talk to me because of my imposing height, and strange helmet but Ayano calmed them down and started asking around and found out the demon slayers came through this area and during the night there were hundreds of screams of pain and the trees would shake.

Looking towards the area with the trees I realized just how hard this would be. The trees covered the entire area around the mountain, like a cover of night, if there was an Eclipse in there it had no need to worry about the sun as the forest of tall trees went on for miles.

I looked at Ayano and said, "lets wait till the cover of night before we enter the forest the demon is probably sleeping now…"

Ayano nodded and we made our way to the edge of the forest and went over our gear. we only brought our weapons but we also had enough food to get us back to the Bronze Pavillion once the mission was done.

The smell of sulfur then hit my nose and I looked into the forest and said, "strange…Ayano whats with this forest"

Taking a look into the forest too Ayano said, "the mountain near the back of the forest has a total of 50 different caves each one connected to a sulfur vein, a very potent one that could be smelled all the way into the village…I think that's why the demon has not been killed or discovered till now…cause no slayers could pick up her scent with the amount of sulfur in the forest"

I nodded and said, "you think we'll encounter other demons in there? I mean the forest would be like a haven for them"

Ayano shook her head and said, " I doubt it, most demons can sense an Eclipse as a bad omen, the closer they are to a territory marked by an Eclipse the more afraid they get, the moment they enter the Eclipses territory, they fall into a coma from the fear alone, however the 12 Kizuki, Muzan and Myself are immune to this effect"

I smirked and said, "good so it will be an honorable fight then! That's good!"

Night would soon approach and with it a thick fog.

Smirking I got up and readied my spear and shield and said, "lets go" and the two of us made our way through the forest coming across wooden crossed with demon slayer clothing and swords as we got deeper, along with a huge altar with blood.

Getting close to it I tasted some of the blood and said, "goats blood its fresh…this altar was recently used and judging by the small statuettes this was a sacrifice to the gods"

Ayano looked at me curiously and said, "do you recognize the gods?"

I nodded and pointed to a hand carved statue and said, "that one is Artemis Orthia, the other is of Ares of sparta… I fear whoever set this up was praying to the gods for strength and grace, perfect for a warrior"

Ayano then looked at the ground and noticed the huge bloody footprints and said, "we can follow these, come on"

I nodded my head and we trekked farther into the forest.

As we went deeper the forest we came across a clearing of sorts, still covered up by the trees but still something felt…familiar about this… the area was large and there was a large cave at one end with stone carved lantern scattered around the area. Immediately the stench of corpses and sulfur filled the air.

Ayano looked at the ground and said, "the ground is very rough…its not dirt or sand its…. Nikolaos do you recognize it?"

I looked a bit panicked as I kneeled down and felt the ground, it was rough and course but well-padded down and I mean really rough almost like clay, around the clearing there were smooth stones lining the area almost like a circle and looking up I saw them, and realized exactly what this was.

"Ayano, whatever you do, do not panic…" I said calmly.

Ayano looked confused and said, "what do you- OH MY FUCKING GOD!" before looking up.

Strung up on chains made of stone hung on the trees, were dead bodies of demon slayers on hooks, completely dried up, with flies and maggots. These slayers had been here for a while…and worst of all I recognized some of them as Hashiras who had been killed long ago.

I started to put two and two together, the altar we found, the many crosses with demon slayer clothing on wood, this arena! This wasn't just a clearing.

Suddenly a loud bit of laughter almost like my bellowing laugh could be heard from the cave as the many lanterns and braziers burned to life showing the number of swords, axes and other weapons stuck into some of the trees.

Getting up and removing my cloak I said, "Ayano ready yourself…this area…it's an arena."

This shocked Ayano who looked at me and said, "oh gods."

I nodded and watched as light started to come from the cave and out came by far the biggest woman I had ever seen! She was probably 12 feet tall with strong glowing violet eyes with the Greek symbol of omega in her right eye glowing blue. She wore a near full set of Greek armor with a large Corinthian helmet with two sets of plumes that went down all the way to her back, her cuirass depicted a great lion with a snake in its mouth on either boob and the armor itself was…well it had a been cut in the middle to expose her cleavge in a way that left her top half open but everything below her boobs was well defended by the bronze armor. She was well plated I'll give her that her armor was segmented and had only room to show off her impressive legs and arms while still keeping her protected.

This woman practically make Horoko look weak with how well armored she was…

The demon looked down at me with a dominant Smirk speaking in Greek saying, "well, well, well! Another warrior has decided to enter my arena! I knew that the Hashira had a Greek in their ranks, but I didn't think it was a hoplite! And a strong one at that! Tell me Greek from which city state do you hail from!"

Readying myself just in case I said, "I hail from Sparta, a member of the great armies! And more importantly I hail from the Neochori Village!"

This shocked the demon in a happy way as she said, "no way! You're from Neochori! I remember a time when the strongest of Spartans came from Neochori, in my youth I always dreamed of meeting a man from there! You seem to be of great stock too! Strong willed, I can sense your will of fire, stronger than the other men of Neochori! Very well I shall make you, my husband! Give up and I'll make you mine!"

This confused Me and Ayano as the demon flexed and said, "ah it would be very rude of me to not give my name to my future husband, I am Harangel the ex-leader of the Corinthian 25th legionnaire the great manticore legion!"

This raised my eyebrows even higher than they already were and excitedly I said, "wait- as in Harangel the amazonian! The same Harangel who led the famous Corinthian war party of 400 against an Athenian force of over 5,000!"

Ayano didn't seem to care as she started to get angry and said, "I don't care who she is! She is not taking my man!"

Harangel smirked taking a tower shield and an Epsilon Axe off Her back and slamming them against each other before winking at me and saying, "that's right love the same Harangel who once tried to storm the great city of Athens! So, face me, great warrior! Face me not as a Hashira but face me as a spartan against a mighty Corinthian! And if you truly show me your fire, I'll name you, my husband! Now then what is your name? it would be only fair that I know who dear Ayano here is traveling with."

Ayano looked at me and shook her head with her eyes wide. She didn't think it was wise to give someone as ancient and as deadly as Harangel my name…. Unfortunately for her I am not that wise, and tradition outweighs my intelligence.

Taking up a mighty stance slamming my spear into the ground I shouted, "Very well Noble Harangel, I am Nikolaos Aristokles, last of my name, first of my village to believe in the old ways! The last true hoplite of Sparta! They called me the great Lion, he who stood strong in the great Balkan wars! A foreigner to Japan and known as the bronze clad demon of Tokyo…. apparently, I am the Greek Hashira he who wields a mighty spear and shield into combat, hear me roar with the might of my ancestors!" before letting out a mighty roar and returning to my phalanx stance.

Harangel smiled and put down her shield and epsilon axe and started to clap as Ayano face palmed and mouthed the words, "you moron…. there are times I wonder why I love you so much."

Harangel's laughter bellowed like a giant as she said, "my, my! What a fierce reputation! Just the sound of your roar has me all tingly inside! I am gonna enjoy making you mine, warrior!"

This caught me off guard and I said, "wait what."

And Ayano got pissed saying, "Oh hell no! you are not taking my man!"

Harangel then puffed out her chest saying, "come now little Ayano, I think Nikolaos here would like a woman with a big set of abs and perfect muscles, instead of a tiny woman with sad muscles and barely any boobs"

I blushed and averted my eyes as Ayano said, "That's not true! Niko loves me, my muscles and my boobs aren't that small! Right Niko"

I kept averting my eyes and started to sweat as Ayano looked at me and said, "Right Niko?"

Ayano noticed I was looking away and got close to me and got in my face and said, "Nikolaos?"

Changing the subject I said, "Ayano we need to strategize, what do you know about this eclipse?"

As I got myself ready Ayano said, "Sooooo here's the funny thing…even though I knew that Muzan had the 6 eclipses I didn't know what their powers were or how strong they were…the only one I knew about in detail was Horoko because she was ridiculously active…how fucked are we with this one?"

I looked at her and said, "well I only know about her from legends, Harangel was the youngest of 15 older brothers…they were all soldiers and she was expected to stay home and just bare children…but when all of her brothers were killed in battle she took up arms and became one of the most dangerous soldiers…a brute of a woman, don't get to close to her, it is said she could cleave through trees with trunks as thick as a in one swing with that axe of hers, and that shield was gift from Hephaestus for completing a quest….she will be a hard opponent even for me….it was said that she spent most of her military career hunting mercenaries who she believed were strong enough to be her suitors only for them to be weaker than her, in my village we called her the immortal desperate lady"

This…. may have struck a nerve with Harangel who grit her teeth and said, "I am not desperate for a husband damn it! I just can't find one who suits me and as such I must keep looking to find one, so I am not alone…"

I then looked at the many demon slayers strung up and said, "were these men unworthy of you?"

Harangel nodded and said, "they were strong yes but they lacked fire, they got scared easily of me and my strength and once their swords or axes broke they just started to run away in fear, some had this aura of cockiness to them too so they were automatically killed as those who boast do not deserve to live!"

Ayano looked at me and said, "she really is insane" and I shook my head in agreement before getting grabbed by my leg by Harangel while I was distracted and slammed me against the ground before throwing me to the side.

I grinned happily and started fighting Harangel rushing her and leaping out of the way of her axe stabbing her in the chest as Ayano leapt forward using my shield as a springboard to get up and try to cut her head clean off.

Harangel gave a simple grin and we both watched as she used her shield to block Ayano and sent her flying into a tree. Ayano used the tree as a springboard to try and cut her, but Harangel merely used her shield to push me back and then leapt out of the way of Ayano who had missed her shot and was now right in front and unable to block.

Harangel tried to cleave Ayano in two with her axe with a laugh but acting fast I used my spear to grab Ayano by the collar of her shirt and using all my strength I flung her behind me and put my guard up as Harangel bolted forward, our shields clashing against each other.

This was a proper phalanx battle now with Ayano pulling out her small shield and using it to push me forward. This was my turf finally and using my spear I reached around and tried to stab her but that's when I noticed, none of my attacks were leaving any proper marks on her. Her skin was just too tough.

Harangel must have noticed my shock and with a laugh she shouted, "did you expect fighting a member of the eclipses to be easy! Hahaha no, not even sort of! My skin is as tough as steel, and only the strongest of weapons can truly cut through it!" Before taking a step forward, her strength was too much and the phalanx was starting to fail as we were pushed back.

"Hold the line!" I shouted as I took up a stronger stance and kept moving forward trying to push her back.

Ayano shouted, "it's impossible Niko! She's taller than us and stronger!"

I shouted back, "that doesn't matter! Our will and resolve is stronger than diamond keep moving forward!" before finally Ayano and I started to push Harangel much to her shock.

"she's moving! This is our chance! Counterattack!" I shouted keeping up the pressure before finally we knocked her off balance and with a deep howl I lunged forward and stabbed her in the chest finally making a dent in her unnatural defense. Ayano then leapt off my back and got on top of Harangel and started to leave all kinds of slices and gashes in her shoulders and even tried to slice her neck clean off but yet again Harangel just grabbed Ayano and slammed her into the floor before punching me in the shield sending me flying.

Harangel then said, "I'll deal with you later sweet child, right now I wanna deal with you, Ayano lord Muzan has made it clear you are to be killed!" Before rushing at Ayano.

Brushing myself off I grinned and gave a wicked howl while I watched Ayano bob and weave out of the way of Harangel's grasp.

I grinned and said, "oi, oi, oi! Don't think I'm out of this fight I'm just getting fired up! pantheon breathing style 11th form Dionysus running through the vineyards!"

I then purposely stumbled forward like a drunk man and sloppily stabbed at Harangel leaving jagged spear marks before shouting, "pantheon breathing style 9th form Athena's 300 perfect strikes!" before turning my sloppy looking stance into one as strong as a mountain and with lightning fast reflexes I stabbed at Harangel with my spear leaving holes in her body and then following it up with dislocating her right leg with my shield causing her to fall.

Harangel growled in anger but smiled as she relocated her right leg and slammed her axe into my shield splintering it and breaking my arm as she used the flat head to send me flying with my spear still stuck in her body.

I howled in pain for the first time in my life and I could finally understand what Rengoku sensei was talking about...I had taken demon hunting as a joke, a way to test myself but it was a serious matter and if I didn't treat it as such I would die.

I looked down at my broken arm and winced in pain as I unstrapped my shield as Ayano rushed up to me shouting, "Nikolaos! Niko are you okay! Oh god, oh my god your arm! Niko parts of your bone are sticking out!"

I tore off part of my cloak and wrapped it around the wound biting down on my own tongue as I did to ignore the pain as I forced my bones to stay in place.

Once I was done, I looked at Harangel who was just waiting there not even bothering to hurt Ayano even though her back was turned and was in cleaving range and shouted, "what? You're not gonna try and take a chance to end us, an injured man and a woman with her back turned to You!"

Harangel looked offended and said, "I may be a demon, and one of the many eclipses but even I have honor! I will never fight an opponent while they are bandaging a wound or not facing me head on, there is no honor in it!"

Standing up I watched as she took my spear out of her chest and threw it to me saying, "I will not face an unarmed opponent, come on then keep fighting me! Show me your fire your will! I want to see it catch fire like the very mountains where typhon is said to be held!" before getting herself ready to fight again.

I picked it up and readied myself for what she was about to do and said, "Ayano, whatever happens I want you to run, get as far away from here as possible and send Kotoyami to get back, I will deal with her for as long as my body can handle."

This shocked Ayano who looked at me and said, "Niko! What are you saying, you barely have a shield left, your arm is broken and for god's sake you're bleeding from places you shouldn't be bleeding from! If you don't run away, she will kill you!"

I looked at Ayano and said, "she'll kill us both if you stay here! the other Hashira need you alive, not here dying with me! Look I know you love me, hell I love you too! I love you with all my being but that won't matter at all if one of us is dead! So do me this one favor and run!"

Ayano shook her head and said, "if I die, I'll die with the man I love, now how about you grow a pair and fight!"

Harangel laughed before rushing us and instinctively I rushed her head on as Ayano flanked her and used my broken arm to grip her shield and shouted, "Pantheon breathing style, 10th form, Hera's Gambit!"

I had to be smart about this and hope she fell for this as I rushed to strike her heart with my spear, if she took the bait, I'd strike her in her heart still but the force from her blow would slice her chest wide open.

She took the bait and as she reeled back in pain, she ended up dropping her shield clenching at the wound, but she did also snap my spear in two as she blocked it and would follow it up by punching me in the stomach causing me to cough up blood and sending me flying near the end of the arena.

I watched in horror as Ayano rushed Harangel with her sword drawn shouting, "Stay away from my man, you homewrecking bitch! Blood demon breathing 4th form! Dancing Kappa!" before turning into a spout of water and trying to slice Harangel's neck.

Harangel merely laughed and said, "Such fire! I like that!" before using her hand to block and slam Ayano in the face.

Ayano tried to get out of the way but was then hit by the back of Harangel's Epsilon axe sending her flying into a tree, her sword being knocked out of her hand in the process shocking me.

"Ayano!" I shouted in a panic trying to move towards her.

Harangel laughed and said, "tch that girl has quite a fire I will admit, she would have made a great love rival if she was stronger".

I struggled to get up using the broken bit of my spear as a crutch. Looking at my leg I finally noticed it had been broken by the fall…shit I wouldn't be able to do most of my breathing techniques with injuries this severe, but I couldn't just let Harangel kill Ayano, or worse me!

Suddenly I experienced what Shinobu sensei called a trauma induced memory. I was back at the butterfly mansion training with Shinobu when she finally disarmed me of my spear and shield, and I was left at the mercy of her sword to my neck.

Shinobu sensei smiled at me and said, "and that's a point for me Nikolaos, you're really starting to become predictable…tell me, what other forms have you been working on?"

Curiously I said, "forms? You mean like the breathing techniques?"

Shinobu nodded her head and said, "yes, as a demon slayer you may specialize in one particular form such as my insect breathing or Rengoku's fire breathing but it always good to draw from others, become a jack of all trades in a sense."

I sighed laying down defeated on the floor and said, "considering I always use a spear and shield it seems Pantheon breathing is my only form."

Shinobu then hit me in the stomach and grabbed my Kopis saying, "then what's this huh! Just a decoration? I have fought you and trained you for months and not once have I seen you use this regularly, you have a shield strap for a reason damn it, so you can holster your spear into your shield and use your kopis, so use it."

I blinked a couple times, and I was back watching as Harangel had walked over and was now just pummeling on Ayano.

I felt nothing but rage and anger and got up and started to walk forward towards Harangel and Ayano, "get away from her!" I shouted.

Harangel smiled and said, "sorry love but she decided it was wise to fight me! She betrayed Lord Muzan and as such I must kill her!"

Mustering a deep breath, I gritted my teeth as I slammed my arm into my leg resetting my leg and causing one of the sharpest pains to course through my body. Harangel had destroyed my shield, snapped my spear in two, I was running on barely any weapons, but I wouldn't let that stop me, if this was the strength of Muzan I would need to show that I am not afraid.

I mustered up a fire in my stomach and slammed my fist into the ground before unsheathing my Kopis and shouted, "I may be able to put up with a lot of shit but when you hurt my Ayano, YOU MEET A SIDE OF ME NONE OF THE HASHIRA KNOW EXIST! Set your heart a blaze….AND LET YOUR WILL OF FIRE BURN AS BIGHT AS THE SUN ITSELF! Roar LOUDLY"

My surge of hatred changed as I howled turning from an orange almost to an electric yellow, like the very fire itself was changing color. With a loud yell I shouted, "Pantheon breathing! 1st form, Glory of Zues Olympia!" and I ran forward like a bolt of lightning.

I could no longer feel the pain but at the same time I could feel my heart clench as if my muscles were squeezing it. I howled loudly and rushed Harangel, this was all or nothing a mighty charge.

Harangel looked at me with a smile of arousel saying, "I can feel your will of fire boiling over! It's like a mighty volcano! Can you feel my will of fire my love! Its passion like that of a thunderstorm! yes! Come and embrace me, my lover! I am ready for you! let us embrace!"

As I rushed her, I picked up Ayano's katana and kept my charge feeling my blood vessels start to burn from the inside. Harangel laughed and tried to embrace me.

Howling I leapt out of the way and with my still broken arm I thrusted my Kopis straight into Harangel's heart and used Ayano's katana to behead her.

I watched as Harangel's head bounced for a bit before finally rolling into a tree. I had to show this wise and ancient warrior some respect, so I walked over to her head and put it in her left lower hand and then I grabbed her shield.

Harangel smiled and said, "that shield is made from the purest of bronze, stronger than the remains of your shield, take it…as a reminder of our fight, and know that I Harangel who has killed millions of warriors who dared to challenge me, the Harangel who stormed Athens and laid siege to the forces of Agamemnon long before troy, and she who was born of Corinth name you the strongest Hoplite of Greece, leave me your shield's remnants warrior, I shall take it with me into the stygian plains…I pray we meet again if the gods will it, cause I would embrace you in my arms as my lover"

I smiled and gave Harangel a kiss on the forehead and said, "I wish I could say the same…but my heart beats for another woman, you two may be alike in many ways but her fire…"

Harangel finished my sentence saying, "her fire burns brighter…I know…. which is why I didn't kill her, she will wake up I know it, but your wounds may end up killing you Nikolaos, you must fight to stay alive…. for her"

I nodded my head placing the remnants of my great shield in her arms and stood there and watched as she and my shield disintegrated into dust. I almost fell over but I could hear a rough voice calmly say, "stand tall, my spartan."

And when I looked over it was Harangel's ghost in her normal human form smiling at me. She honestly was an exotic beauty dressed in a long burgundy toga with vibrant violet eyes, nice pure olive skin, muscular as hell still with a nice rack and a long brown ponytail. I nodded and before I could fall forward, I planted my best foot forward and kept my balance using her shield to keep myself up right and stood there.

And like that everything went black.

End of chapter

Ayano: boy that was something! I really hope this isn't it for Nikolaos and now time for a Taisho era secret! You're probably wondering why my sword doesn't resemble Kanae's even though it is the same sword! well that's because when I started using blood demon breathing the blades edge started to turn a blood red as I kept pouring my own blood on the katana. Next chapter, chapter 5 you either return with your shield or on it! Please don't die Nikolaos! I want to have your child!