Chapter 34: It's useless for you to hide

In an instant, their vision was bathed in red, but none of the Pillars showed the slightest hint of panic. Each of them responded with their own defensive techniques:

"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"

"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"

"Stone Breathing, Third Form: Stone Skin!"

Even those without specialized defensive techniques parried the incoming crescent-shaped blood blades with remarkable speed.

Clang, clang, clang! The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air like firecrackers. Though many of the blood blades were deflected, those that escaped their attacks shredded nearby wooden buildings into splinters. Buildings were rapidly torn apart, and even a few unlucky civilians still attempting to extinguish fires were caught in the aftermath. Their screams and cries mixed with the crackling of flames, adding to the chaos.

"What?! My strongest attack... It didn't even make any of you move an inch!" Gyutaro's pupils narrowed to pinpoints, blood vessels bulging in his eyes as he realized the gravity of the situation. Impossible! Could it be... Are these Pillars all stronger than me?

No, it's not all of them. It's just those three—those three have an aura different from the others. They're strong. Ridiculously strong. They not only blocked all my attacks but also had the strength to help the others fend off the blood blades!

I have to escape. Now. My sister's head has already been cut off. If they take mine as well, we're both finished. But if I can escape, even if they capture Daki, she won't die!

"Run!" Gyutaro lunged toward what he perceived as the weakest Pillar, hoping for an opening.

"Blood Demon Art: Flying Blood Sickles!"

"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm." Giyu Tomioka, his face emotionless, drew his blade.

Suddenly, an overwhelming stillness spread throughout the space Giyu's sword could reach.

"What?! My Blood Demon Art... It's been neutralized!" Gyutaro watched in disbelief as his blood blades dissipated into harmless liquid the moment they approached Giyu.

"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash." Without hesitation, Giyu followed up with another technique.

In a flash, Gyutaro's arms were severed. "My hands! They were cut off in an instant!" He panicked.

"Stone Breathing, Second Form: Upper Smash!" Seizing the opportunity, Gyomei Himejima, the blind monk, charged forward, bringing his flail down onto Gyutaro's chest. The demon was sent crashing into a nearby gatehouse, the structure crumbling under the force of the blow.

"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!" Kyojuro Rengoku followed up swiftly, plunging his Nichirin Blade into Gyutaro's chest, pinning him to the ground like a nail.

"Aaaagh!" Gyutaro screamed in agony, his eyes wide with fear. The attacks were too relentless; he couldn't even find a moment to react!

It's over. I'm finished. Lord Muzan...

"Don't give him a chance! Take his head off now!" Sanemi Shinazugawa roared as he charged forward, his blade aimed at Gyutaro's neck.

Clang! Gyutaro's demonic body was tougher than Lower Rank demons, and his neck felt as solid as steel.

"Get away from me!" Gyutaro bellowed, veins bulging and his skin splitting open as he tried to summon another Circular Slashing Rampage.

But before he could release it, Kanae Kocho's blade pierced his skin, releasing the scent of wisteria flowers into the air. The flowers bloomed in an illusion around Gyutaro, wrapping him in their calming presence.

"Uraaagh!" Snap!

In the next moment, Gyutaro's head was severed cleanly, as easily as cutting through tofu. His eyes were filled with terror, but he could no longer speak. As his head tumbled, his gaze caught sight of his sister Daki's decapitated head being kicked over by Shinobu.

Sanemi spat on the ground next to Gyutaro's severed head. "Damn, that neck was tough."

"Well... that was easy," Tengen Uzui stretched nonchalantly, clearly unimpressed. "I didn't even get to do much—didn't even land a single cut."

"You set the fire, didn't you?" Giyu chimed in, emotionlessly as always.

"Hey! I didn't want to set the fire! There wasn't any other choice, you know? You could learn a thing or two about how to talk, Giyu," Tengen retorted, feeling a bit miffed.

"Even if setting the fire wasn't ideal, it did help save a lot of people. If you hadn't scared off the civilians with the fire, Gyutaro's Blood Demon Art would've caused far more casualties," Shinobu noted, agreeing with Tengen's actions.

"So, what's our next move?" Giyu asked, his face still serious.

"Wait, the heads of these two demons haven't disintegrated yet," Sanemi observed, looking at the heads, which were turning to ash much more slowly than usual.

"Upper Ranks are still Upper Ranks," Kyojuro said. "It makes sense that they'd take longer to vanish than the others."

"Rengoku Kyojuro said with a determined smile.

'I wonder what it'll feel like to chop off Muzan Kibutsuji's head,' Sanemi Shinazugawa mused, clearly eager for the challenge.

'Don't worry,' Tengen Uzui reassured him, tapping the "God's Eye" device at his waist, 'The other members of the Demon Slayer Corps are already out hunting demons across the land. Lady Kitsune has given us fifty origami cranes.'

'Those cranes never fail to find demons. Even if Muzan is hiding in that Infinite Castle, once we've eliminated most of the demons on this land, the cranes will all point to a single location.'

'Exactly. Once Muzan Kibutsuji is the only demon left, the cranes will have nowhere else to point but to him,' Uzui added with confidence.

'As long as Muzan is still on this land, finding him is only a matter of time,' Uzui declared, his voice full of certainty.

'And when we do,' Sanemi chimed in, 'I'll be the one to land the first blow.'

Meanwhile, Daki began to wail loudly. 'Brother! How could you be killed? You were so strong! Why did you die? And now I'm going to die too!'

'No matter how strong I was,' Gyutaro groaned, 'there's no way I could fight against eight Pillars! I didn't want to get decapitated either!'

'What do you mean you can't fight eight Pillars? You've eaten fifteen of them! Eight should be nothing! You're just useless!' Daki shouted in frustration.

'What?! You've eaten seven Pillars yourself, and yet you couldn't even handle one!'

'It's your fault! You're the useless one! What are we going to do now? Lord Muzan won't want such worthless demons like us!'

'Worthless? If it weren't for me, you would've died a long time ago—'

'Alright, enough already. You're both about to die anyway,' Shinobu Kocho interrupted, crouching down to look at the bickering demon heads with a calm expression.

She then spoke aloud, addressing the still-unseen Muzan Kibutsuji. 'Muzan Kibutsuji, we've received word from the gods themselves. We know that you can see the memories of your fallen demons.'

'It won't be long before the Demon Slayer Corps finds you and severs your head. As long as you remain on this land, you cannot escape. Not even that Infinite Castle of yours will be able to protect you from us.'