Chapter 27 : 27th Stance

HOWL!

The wind howled once again, before a gust struck Takeo, causing his white hair to flutter in wind. The rain had already ended, but puddles of water were still scattered around.. One of the those puddles in particular was dyed red, with Akaza's blood.

In-front of the puddle was a young man, holding a blood-soaked blade...

The scene was so gruesome....so alarming, that even Muzan watching was surprised, thinking that the young man resembled a demon himself...

'Demon....'

Seeing enough, Muzan stopped watching the scene in-front of him, walking up to the sight of his headquarters.

---------------

Running around the forest was a black squirrel. Right when Akaza was about to release a destructive blow on-top of Takeo, Takeo threw him away.

After that.....Yuko could only watch the fight, concerned for Takeo's health.

'Where are you!' he thought, before he heard a noise...

RUSTLE!

Running into a bush and coming out the other end, Yuko stared at the young man in-front of him...."Takeo?" he asked.

Unsure if it was actually him or not.

In response, the young man turned and stared at the squirrel.

His blood red eyes soon faded back to purple, as a mark on his chest subsided.

'What was that...' Takeo thought, as he clutched his chest.

He had never felt more unimaginable pain but also great power in his life.

Whilst he was thinking, Yuko couldn't understand what was going on.

'What was that? Was that Takeo??' he thought, as he stared at him, remembering the insidious aura he felt.

After a couple of minutes, Takeo felt pain from his chest.

'That attack definitely broke some of my bones', he thought, before he picked Yuko up, who awoke from his daze....before he began to limp away into the darkness with his blade on his waist.

------------------

A couple minutes prior,

BOOOOOOOMMM!!!!

A group of 5 Demon Slayers that were looking for Takeo, heard a loud distant boom....looking at each-other before they nodded, they ran over to the location of the noise.

After a couple of minutes of running, they found a destroyed environment with the smell of blood in the air.

Noticing marks towards a forest further in-front of them, they made their way there whilst remaining diligent.

VOOOSHH!!!!

Whilst making their way there...they felt a blood-curdling aura inside the forest.

"Feel's like a demon..." one of them stated, before another commented, "Remember to be careful, we don't know what's inside.....if it's a demon we'll deal with it quickly before we continue looking for the traitor."

"Got it."

SHING!

Wielding their swords, they entered quietly.

After searching for a while, they found a puddle of blood and a trail going somewhere east.

"What ever was here...it seems to be injured." one of them stated, noticing blood was along the whole trail.

"....If that thing is a demon....it'll be dangerous to let it go. We'll continue our search for Takeo after we deal with it." the leader stated.

Listening to his input, they began following the trail.

---------------------------

Making his way out of the forest. Takeo clutched his chest whilst he tried to find shelter.

'With Akaza dead.....the ranking in the Upper Ranks will surely shift as they'll need to find someone to match his strength. Whilst they're doing that, I'll attack them before the Demon Slayers can....slaying them and Muzan before the Infinity Castle Arc.' Takeo thought.

'Before I do kill Muzan, I'll have to know where Zamuza is'.

RUSTLE! RUSTLE!

Whilst in thought, he heard some noises behind him. Darting his head backwards, he was met with the sight of 4 Demon Slayers.

"Captain....isn't that..." one of them stated, before the leader finished, "Takeo Yasushi...."

'What's going on...' Takeo thought, oblivious to the 'bounty' he had on his head.

Pointing his sword towards Takeo, the leader spoke, "Don't move you traitor! In the name of previous Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, we shall behead you like the demon you are!"

'You've got to be kidding me....' Takeo thought with veins sprouting on his head.

Whilst they four demon slayers and Takeo were met in a stand still, the 5th Demon Slayer was still in the forest, hiding behind the tree-line as he ordered his Kasugai Crow to alert other Demon Slayers in the area.

CAW! CAW!

The crow yelled, before it flew into the sky.

Noticing a crow fly into the sky, Takeo realised that reinforcements were coming his way.

He couldn't be bothered to reason with them.....even though he was injured, he could easily deal with people of their calibre.

SHING!

Unsheathing his sword, he took a deep breath, exhaling steam before he vanished.....

ZOOOOOOM!!!!

'Where did he go!' The demon slayers thought.....but it was too late.

Ripping through the air like lightning, Takeo slashed his blade across all of their necks....decapitating them immediately with the destructive force of flames.

<Honō-Kaminari no kokyū Ichi no kata : Unknowing Thunder>

THUD! THUD!

All 4 of their bodies dropped on the floor, without giving them an opportunity to retaliate.

Exhaling once more time whilst he stood above their bodies...Takeo turned towards the demon slayer hidden in the forest.

Spreading an ominous aura towards his direction, he looked like a monster.....

"P-PLEASE! Don-Don't kill me!" the slayer shouted.

After a few seconds of silence, Takeo stared deep into the slayer's eyes before he stated...."Don't make me see you again...." before he vanished.

VOOOSH!!!!

"....."

Even though he was gone, the slayer was scared for his life.....

DRIP! DRIP!

Takeo had intimidated him so much, that he made him wet himself in fear.

'....How are we supposed to hunt that...that's not a human!' he thought, still shaking.

-------------------

Meanwhile,

After dispatching those demon slayers, Takeo quickly searched for some shelter.

'Finally...' he thought, as he stared at the cave before him.

Immediately going inside, he walked till the end of the cave, and sat down against a wall, gripping his blade in hand before he sighed.

"Haaa!"

Staring at his hand, 'Akaza was really strong.' he thought, before he clenched his hand to form a fist, as he immediately thought of mastering this new power he'd gotten.