A shower of blood rain!
Followed by a piercing scream!
The phantom vanished... The trees stopped swaying... The glaring white snow rustled down, and the Evil Ghost crashed heavily onto the ground, an arm flying off instantly, rolling to a stop at Tanjiro's feet.
[Combat Technique +1]
Tanjiro's pupils suddenly enlarged, staring in a daze at the severed arm turning into black smoke... His emotions surged like waves crashing!
Excitedly raising his fist, he shouted loudly at Roy, "Well done, Nii-san!"
From stillness to action and back to stillness, Roy swinging the hoe took just the blink of an eye.
This was clearly a simple motion, yet what it encompassed made Sato Takeshi's spine shiver!
"Are you a 'Hashira'?" Sato Takeshi flipped over from the snow, staring at Roy intensely, his expression serious.
The so-called "Hashira" corresponds to "ghost", the Twelve Kizuki among the Ghosts. Sato Takeshi was once fortunate to have seen the Upper Moon One, observing from afar, seeing how casually a strike from that great lord could bring forth blade waves full of crescent moons.
It was said that before becoming a demon, he was at the 'Hashira' level in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Later, he ate people at the foot of the mountain and was pursued by the Water Hashira. Fortunately, due to the other's old age and frailty, and with his companions coming to aid, he narrowly escaped death.
And today, in this godforsaken old forest, to his surprise, he encountered the third one!
But unfortunately... Roy is not a Hashira.
In the Demon Slayer Corps, to become a "Hashira", one has to either defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki or kill fifty Evil Ghosts.
But Roy, who knew the storyline, was quite clear that the most important distinction for a "Hashira" isn't these rigid rules but the mastery over the Breathing Technique.
Just like in the world of Hunter, the only condition to distinguish whether a Nen user is a top-tier fighter is to look at how well they have developed and mastered their own Nen abilities.
Poor mastery or wrong development direction, even with talent, makes it difficult to become a skilled Nen user.
Such as Haseki Dorou, who suffered from having no expert guidance, developing "Conjuration" clones instead of his innate "Enhancement".
So, in this dream entry, besides mining coal and improving the Kamado Family's meals, Roy has another task - searching for a master to learn the Breathing Technique.
For now, the nearest former Water Hashira "Urokodaki Sakonji" is a good choice.
Roy dragged the hoe, drawing a straight thin line in the snow.
He didn't answer Sato Takeshi's question; instead, he looked at the other with interest, watching him grow a new arm, asking curiously, "How many times can your Ghost Blood sustain your recovery?"
Sato Takeshi gritted his teeth, saying fiercely, "Enough until I've ripped out your heart without a problem!"
Roy nodded, "That's good, words must count."
"If my heart isn't ripped out today, nobody leaves."
Sato Takeshi & Tanjiro: "?"
Utterly confused...
The latter didn't know what his big brother was thinking, wondering why they didn't attack again while the other's arm hadn't yet recovered.
The former instantly raised his alertness... then -
Quickly bent down and grabbed a handful of snow from the ground, throwing it towards Roy... Using the flying snow to obscure his view, Sato Takeshi utilized his top speed, turning around and fleeing!
"Bounce... Bounce... Bounce... I bounce! I bounce again!" Trees trembled underfoot, in the blink of an eye... Sato Takeshi had already escaped over a hundred meters!
Tanjiro was wide-eyed, not yet reacting to what had just happened.
Then he saw his brother... a dark face appeared directly!
'My bag of experience that was right there... My bag of experience that was just there...' Roy was immensely angry!
At least demons shouldn't be so cunning... Possessing a Blood Demon Art like "Bullet Kill" just to flee at the slightest sign of change?
Watching the other getting further and further away...
Roy furiously raised his right foot, with force kicking a stone which "whizzed" after Sato Takeshi's departing back like lightning.
However, not having learned "Shu" yet, Roy couldn't attach "Nen" to a detached object to enhance its speed... Besides, the other maintained heightened vigilance, the awakened Blood Demon Art suited for fast escapes through the forest...
This led to the other easily dodging this strike with a crouch.
"Then, there's no other way now."
Two hundred meters, three hundred meters, watching him get beyond visual distance.
Roy simply rolled up his sleeves.
For the first time, using the Breathing Technique.
At this moment, the wind moved the clouds, and the sun shone through a gap in the clouds, casting a ray of light on Roy's handsome face.
The young boy lifted the hoe, using it as a long sword, positioned his legs in a bow step, and took a deep breath.
Immediately, it felt as though a speed switch was pressed inside him, blood boiled, heart raced, and even the capillaries on his skin burst one by one, swiftly spreading throughout his body!
The direct reaction on the panel was... The column recording Roy's constitution showed great change!
Visibly, from -
[Constitution: 10.051] leapt to [Constitution: 20.102]!
Literally doubled!
"Sun Breathing" using Sense as fuel...
It was as if Roy's eyes ignited with two Divine Fires, seizing this brief enhancement, thrusting forward in a move!
"Whoosh——" The hoe pierced the frigid wind with an ear-splitting sharp sound!
Tanjiro felt his vision blur, as though something flashed by, then upon a second look—
His brother Eiichiro, in a single breath of time, spanned nearly three hundred meters, appearing above the Evil Ghost's head.
Then came a downward Sword Technique from above——
Sun Breathing——Dance!
"Swish——"
The fiery streak carried the harsh blade light evaporating the icy snow, forming a circle, encircling Sato Takeshi within.
Sato Takeshi initially felt nothing and then, realizing he was floating, his lower half still standing in place, suddenly understood... He had been sliced in half!
He glared with grudging blood-colored eyes, angrily pointing at Roy, loudly rebuking, "And you say you're not a 'Hashira'?"
Suddenly everything went black, "Thud~" he fell straight into the snow.
Blood like a thin stream stained a patch red, painful cries, though delayed, arrived.
The figure wearing thick cotton socks and shouldering a hoe approached unhurriedly... Sato Takeshi's eyelids twitched, disregarding pain, attempting to restore his body using Ghost Blood...
But, this time... didn't work!
Terrified, panicked, fearful, trembling, he clearly sensed life force slipping away from his filthy body...
Restlessly raising his head, he questioned Roy, "What technique is that of yours?"
Roy halted his steps, looking at the snow-covered mountains, sighed deeply, "You really are untrustworthy, forcing me to use 'Moon Breathing' to kill you."
"Now, are you satisfied?"
Sato Takeshi's pupils shrank...
Screaming, "Who... who exactly are you?!"
Roy did not answer, merely lifted a foot, stomping and bursting his head.