Taking advantage of the situation

"Eh? Why?"

Kanae didn't expect her suggestion to be rejected so straightforwardly.

In a situation where only one person can survive, each person will prioritize his or it own life. Kanae thought Rio would agree, how unexpected she was rejected without hesitation.

"Tsk..."

Rio clicked his tongue to endure the pain as his left leg was hit by a very sharp shard of ice.

"Ha Ha Ha... Keep running, I want to see how long you can run away while carrying a load."

Doma was not in a hurry to kill the humans in front of him, he each wanted to play until the other party was desperate.

Rio continued to run as hard as he could without paying attention to the words of Doma who was chasing behind.

"Honestly, I really wanted to throw you here and run as far as possible."

"Then why are you carrying me?"

Receiving Rio's response from not speaking, Kanae asked her doubts.

(Of course because of the Hidden Quest Reward, why would I risk my life to save an unknown person) Rio replied in his mind.

If it wasn't for the Reincarnation Room system warning not to mention anything related to Quests and the Reincarnation Room, Rio would have wanted to say that for a long time.

"Because… I can't stand seeing beautiful women killed in front of me, maybe?"

Rio wasn't very good at lying, so he made random excuses.

Kanae's eyes opened wide hearing this answer, out of all the possibilities she thought of, there was no option.

Kanae's heartbeat was beating fast, a blush colored her face all the way to her neck and ears

No man had ever praised her beauty, this was the first time she had experienced something like this. Unknowingly, Kanae's hand that was hugging Rio's neck became tighter.

(What's with this woman? Her face is red, and she hugs me tighter... Could it be that the wound is getting worse?)

(Damn it! If this woman dies, won't the Hidden Quest fail? Even if there is no Penalty, my efforts will be in vain!)

Because of <Apathy>, Rio had almost no interactions with other people, much less interactions with the opposite sex. He misunderstood Kanae's wound getting worse when he saw the face of the woman in him arms turned red like a tomato.

"This can't go on like this, sooner or later I'll be exhausted and then I'll be caught by Doma."

Rio's vitality attribute was only slightly better than an ordinary person who had 10 vitality points, plus he was now taking Kanae away from Doma. His stamina was drained very quickly.

Kanae also looked at Rio who was starting to breathe exhausted and said:

"I respect your feelings, but most importantly match the Upper Rank 2 ability information to the Demon Slayer Corps."

"You practice Thunder Breathing has speed compared to me, just leave me and leave immediately."

Honestly she didn't want to die, but Kanae also didn't want Rio to die because of it, she struggled for Rio to be released.

"You troublesome woman, can you just obey." Rio said somewhat annoyed, it's just that his expression was always flat.

"Let me go."

Kanae was still trying to free herself from Rio's embrace.

"Do not blame me."

Holding Kanae with his right hand, Rio raised his left hand hitting Kanae's soft buttocks.

*Plak*

The springy sound of a slap was heard.

Kanae stopped struggling when she felt the pain in her butt, it took a few seconds for her to react.

"Y-You hit my ass?" Kanae looked at Rio in disbelief.

"If you keep struggling, I'll keep hitting your ass until it's swollen." Rio said without the slightest sense of guilt.

"You have no shame! Nasty! You bastard! Dirty!"

Kanae covered her reddened face with both her palms, if it wasn't for the impossible situation, she would have fought Rio all out.

"Have you teased each other enough, you guys seem to have forgotten my existence."

Doma's voice was heard a few meters from behind.

"Damn! I was distracted because of this woman."

Rio's pupils contracted as <Danger Detection> gave him a dangerous warning.

"Time to get a little serious..."

"Blood Demon Art : Hasuhagori (Frozen Lotus)"

Doma swung the fan in his hand forward.

The fan slash created razor-sharp ice shards along with several ice lotuses.

*Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh*

Still defending Hekireki Issen (Thunderclap and Flash), Rio moves zigzag avoiding the ice lotus. But due to the weight being lowered, his speed slowed down a bit and several ice lotuses hit his back.

"Ugh..."

Rio only let out a muffled sound as his back was injured by a sharp slash.

"Hehhh… Not bad, you didn't scream in pain despite being hurt." Doma compliments.

If it was replaced by another Mizunoto rank Demon Slayer, that person would have long since lost hope of life when he encountered an Upper Rank Demon. But Rio was not only trying to run away, he was also carrying a burden.

"But how long can you last."

Doma swung the fan a few times which created dozens of ice lotuses.

"I can't avoid this."

If Rio was alone, he could use Kawarimi no Jutsu to dodge this attack. Unfortunately this move has a weakness, namely that it can only replace itself.

If Rio used Kawarimi no Jutsu, Kanae who was needed would be hit by Doma's attack.

"There is no other choice."

When the dozens of ice lotuses were less than a few centimeters away, Rio and Kanae's figures disappeared.

The ice lotus passed Rio's previous position without successfully hitting the target.

"Hmmm???"

Seeing this scene, Doma was confused for a moment. Then he saw Rio appear quite far away from him.

"Teleport? No, apart from the Breathing Style which is a martial technique, humans don't have supernatural powers like Demons."

"That means that white-haired youth is using some kind of extremely fast movement technique."

"Interesting martial arts technique, if Akaza finds out about this, I'm sure he will want to turn the white-haired youth into a demon."

Doma is a cold and calculating individual who has a very sharp intellect. In just one glance, he already knew the essence of the technique Rio was using.

"You make me even more interested, but you're still going to die today."

Doma increased his running speed following Rio.

"So heavy…" Rio complained.

"I'm not heavy! I only weigh 40kg, I'm not heavy at all."

Kanae who heard Rio's complaint immediately gave an excuse.

There are two taboos that should not be mentioned in front of women, namely their weight and age.

Even in this Taisho era, no woman enjoyed being called heavy or old.

*Plak*

"Why are you hitting my ass again!"

Kanae felt a pain in her butt, she was sure her butt was really red right now because Rio wasn't holding back his strength.

"Who called you heavy? I'm just complaining how serious the situation is!"

"I'm only a Mizunoto Rank Demon Slayer, but I have to be chased by an Upper Rank 2. Aren't I so unlucky?"

"Hey woman, I heard from that Demon that you are a Hashira, is that true?"

"Can you stop calling me a woman? I have a name, my name is Kocho Kanae and you already know my name yourself." Kanae replied weakly, the slash wound on her chest getting worse and worse.

"If we both manage to survive this situation, can you promote my ranking?"

Rio didn't want to waste this precious opportunity. If possible, the achievement of saving a Hashira from an Upper Rank Demon could promote his rank by several ranks.