63. Mitsuri's Way of Fighting
Soon, the other Demon Slayers and Kakushi found numerous time bombs placed in various locations. With the help of the Kasugai Crows, the information about the bombs and how to dismantle them was conveyed to everyone.
'To think there would be a day I'd be dismantling a bomb...'
Kotaro was in doubt. Wasn't he supposed to fight demons? Why was he working as a bomb specialist and dismantling bombs? It was lucky his hands didn't tremble and cut the wrong wire, or else...
But the bombs weren't the only danger.
Grr...
"Hmm? What are these things?"
Black shadow wolves, with teeth and eyes all over their bodies, pounced on him in a group. Kotaro, unfazed, wielded the staff he kept on his back and attacked the incoming wolves.
Crackle!
Hamon was infused into the staff without delay, and Kotaro walked toward the incoming wolves, spinning his staff and hitting one wolf after another.
He spun the staff and accurately hit one wolf's head, then, without paying any more attention to it, twirled his staff using his shoulders as if it were an extension of his body and slammed it into another incoming wolf from the right.
Left! Right! Back! Above!
He wielded the staff beautifully and, in a matter of seconds, struck all the wolves. Looking at him, the last wolf ran toward him from the front.
Grr!
"Damn! Here, take this!"
Then he kicked the wolf that pounced on him from the front. The wolves howled before vanishing into ashes. Kotaro infused Hamon into each of his strikes. While the amount infused wouldn't be enough to kill a Ranked Demon, it was enough to slay wolves made of Demon Blood Arts.
Moreover, his Nichirin Staff is a Hamon amplifier, so it was inevitable.
"Is Mitsuri alright?"
...
At Mitsuri's side.
As much as both of them wanted to work in pairs, the current situation made it difficult to do so. They needed to search as many places as possible to look for bombs.
"Mitsuri, be careful."
"Yes!"
So, both Kotaro and Mitsuri nodded at each other and quickly split off to search for bombs in different areas.
It didn't take long for Mitsuri to find a bomb hidden in a nearby place. Under the instructions of the Kasugai crow, she dismantled it and released a breath of relief.
But then...
Grr!
"Mom!"
The sound of a child in distress and the howl of an animal made her ears perk up. She noticed a pack of wolves surrounding the same child and mother she met earlier. Without hesitation, she ran toward them, drew her blade, and slashed at the shadow wolf, wanting to cut it apart.
But...
Grr!
"Wha---!"
She didn't feel the sensation of cutting it. When she looked closer, she found her blade was stuck in the wolf's neck. The wolf was made out of Demon Blood Arts, involving shadows. Because of this, her blade's damage was absorbed, leaving the wolf unharmed.
In Kotaro's case, the enemy's absorption ability only made his Hamon more effective. But that wasn't the same for Mitsuri.
The another wolf behind it didn't miss the opportunity and pounced on Mitsuri, biting her thigh!
"Aargh!"
Bam!
She punched it and threw the wolf, pulling her blade out of the shadow with sheer strength, then stepped back, shielding the child and mother behind her.
"Sister!"
The child, recognizing the familiar sister from before, called out to her in tears. Mitsuri turned back and smiled as brightly as she could at him.
"Don't worry, this sister will defeat all of them."
Clench! Mitsuri's grip tightened as she placed her blade in front of her.
Breathe in... Breathe out...
'You can do it, Mitsuri!'
She looked at the wolves surrounding her. They appeared quite creepy, and their ability to absorb damage was annoying. But...
"There should be a limit."
Earlier, she had wielded her blade a bit roughly and hadn't used her breathing properly, but now she had time.
Whoosh!
She dashed toward the wolves, jumped, flipped several times in the air, and, using all her strength, slashed the wolf, splitting it in two.
"Mitsuri, be yourself."
That's right. She had to be herself and use that to defeat demons!
Mitsuri used all of her abnormal strength and flexibility, jumping and flipping to perform acrobatic moves. Using the centrifugal force, she cut down the wolves one by one without any problem.
"I will use the love in my heart and pour it all into defeating the demons!"
It's her way of breathing. It's her way of fighting. It's her way of being herself. It's her love that gives her strength.
That's why the name of her breathing is Love!
Love Breathing: Third Form – Catlove Shower!
Mitsuri leaped into the air and sliced as fast as she could, making her slashes rain down on the wolves like a shower.
The wolves crumbled to ashes as she landed with ease.
"Hmm! Done!"
Kotaro-sama, I did it!
Mitsuri smiled, having completed her mission of slaying the wolves. But then she felt like she had forgotten something.
"Huh? What am I forgetting?"
"Sister!"
"Oh!"
She had been so engrossed in the battle and her feelings that she forgot there were two civilians behind her.
"Wuuu~ Such a mistake!"
But putting her embarrassment aside, she went near the child and mother, kneeling down and asking if they were alright.
"Are you hurt? Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
Now, it was the mother's turn to be overwhelmed by the sudden barrage of questions. But still, she answered.
"I-I'm alright. And my son is fine too!"
"Whew! That's good."
Mitsuri then looked at the child, who was staring up at her. She smiled and patted his head to calm him down.
"Didn't I tell you? This sister will defeat all of them. You're safe now."
Sniff... Sniff...
"Waa!"
"Huh? W-What happened? A-Are you hurt somewhere?"
The child started crying, making Mitsuri flustered again. Didn't she defeat all the demons? Why is he crying? Did she make any mistake?
It was oblivious to her that this time, the child's tears were not out of pain, but out of relief.