Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

At this moment, Giyu Tomioka seemed to realize something, and his figure quickly ran towards the distant jungle.

Su Mu smiled upon seeing this.

…………

Tokyo

The wind is strong tonight, but the bright moon hangs high in the sky.

"boom!"

A violent explosion shattered the tranquility of the night, and flames shot into the sky.

Several houses collapsed almost simultaneously, rubble flying everywhere and thick smoke billowing. The figures of several Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen disappeared into the flames, not even having time to let out a scream.

Perrin stood on the high rooftop, his military overcoat fluttering in the night wind. His white-gloved hand rested lightly on the detonator, the shadow of his wolf-head military cap obscuring most of his face, revealing only one eye that gleamed with excitement. He watched the crumbling houses in the flames, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"You were so scared you peed your pants, weren't you?"

With a light tap of his toes, Pero leaped to a nearby house, where he watched the two swordsmen who had narrowly escaped with their lives.

The two swordsmen had barely recovered from the aftershocks of the explosion when they heard Pei Lang's voice and saw the character 'Xia San' in his pupils. They knew they were facing the Twelve Demon Moons. Even if their entire squad hadn't been wiped out, they were no match for the Twelve Demon Moons, let alone now.

Even so, despite their fear, the two swordsmen gripped their hilts tightly and charged towards Pero with shouts.

"Then let's welcome a romantic fireworks display."

Pei Lang chuckled as he watched the swordsman charging towards him with his blade, then pressed the button in his hand.

"boom!"

A violent explosion erupted on the path of the two swordsmen, instantly blasting them into the air, their flesh and blood flying everywhere.

"It was truly a magnificent display of fireworks and blood."

Pero stuck out his tongue and licked the few drops of blood that had splattered on the corner of his mouth, his face filled with excitement and fervor: "The power of the bomb is really amazing. Even if 'Pillar' were blown up, he would die."

"Let me kill a few more 'pillars' so that I can get more 'adult' blood and become stronger."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Peron looked up.

A figure was rushing over rapidly, like a walking flame.

Red hair danced in the wind as the man ran, the fiery feathers rustling in the wind.

The man arrived quickly and stopped in his tracks.

Looking at the bloodstains on the ground and the power of the explosion, the man's piercing eyes beneath his thick, dark eyebrows seemed to burn with flames.

"I...I'm late."

The man looked at the blood on the ground, his voice filled with self-reproach.

"Rengoku Makijuro!"

Almost immediately upon seeing the man's face, Peron blurted out.

I will never forget the humiliation I suffered at the hands of this person when I was still an ordinary demon, before I became one of the Twelve Demon Moons.

At that moment, Rengoku Kyojuro also looked at Pero, never expecting to hear his father's name from this demon.

"Father……"

He murmured almost in a low voice, for he had always longed for his father's approval, and he believed that with his own efforts, that day would eventually come.

But everything was shattered a few days ago when my father was killed by Upper Moon Three, Akaza.

He once thought his alcoholic father had forgotten his duty as the 'Flame Pillar,' but his father's final battle with Akaza until his death showed him that his father had not forgotten.

My father fought until his death.

But he himself misunderstood his father.

He didn't know why his father lost his fighting spirit, but in fact, he had never changed; he had only paused briefly.

And he will never receive his father's approval.

"Father……"

Kyojuro Rengoku raised his head, his hand on the hilt of his sword, looking at the dark night sky, and softly murmured: "Born in purgatory, burning with the heart of the first love."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Rengoku Kyojuro moved.

"First Form - Shiranui!"

A scorching aura exploded on the blade, and Purgatory's figure transformed into a blazing streak of light, hurtling towards Pero at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

The blade slicing through the air with a sharp hiss, aimed straight for Pedro's neck.

Even Perez didn't have time to react.

But the moment the blade struck, Purgatory sensed something was amiss.

There was no tactile sensation of the blade cutting into flesh, nor any resistance to severing bone.

He felt as if he had plunged into a bottomless dark swamp, his blade enveloped by some invisible force, gradually sinking as if about to be swallowed up.

"what?!"

Rengoku Kyojuro's pupils contracted slightly, and he instinctively drew his sword and retreated.

As he retreated, he glanced at the blade out of the corner of his eye.

A thin layer of black mist clung to the blade, slowly dissipating.

"How does it feel to strike a shadow?"

Pero appeared from a distance, tilting his head to look at Rengoku Kyojuro. "My Blood Demon Art—Shadow Manipulation—if I attach my shadow to my neck before you strike me, your blade will never be able to cut into my flesh."

He stretched out his hand, the shadows at his fingertips writhing like living things.

"Your blade will cut into my shadow, like sinking into a swamp, getting deeper and deeper. And you... can't cut anything."

Kyojuro Rengoku gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes growing even sharper.

"I see, excellent Blood Demon Art."

He repositioned himself, and flames reignited on the blade.

Pero's smile faded slightly. He pulled a Nambu Type A pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Rengoku Kyojuro.

His shadow spread silently across the ground, like a black carpet, rapidly extending towards Rengoku Kyojuro's feet.

Purgatory noticed the unusual movement beneath its feet and leaped backward.

But the shadow spread much faster than he expected—black tentacles sprang up from the ground and wrapped around his ankles like living things.

"This is--"

He swung his sword to sever the shadow binding his ankles, and the blade once again felt that sluggish, swampy sensation.

More shadows surged in from all directions, like a swarm of black snakes, trying to coil around his limbs.

Purgatory swung his blade repeatedly, flames surging on the edge, shattering the approaching shadows one by one.

The severed fragments of the shadow drifted in the air, emitting a faint sigh-like sound, before slowly dissipating.

"As expected of a pillar,"

"Your reaction speed is incredibly fast! You're truly a powerful swordsman!" Pei Lang exclaimed.

His expression suddenly turned ferocious.

But you don't remember me at all!

Kyojuro Rengoku remained unmoved, his figure rapidly approaching.

You—you don't remember me at all!

Pei Lang's voice suddenly rose, his eyes burning with a complex emotion—anger, humiliation, and hatred, "Rengoku Makijuro, do you still remember when you drove me to the brink of despair?"

"Let me run away like a stray dog! That humiliation... that fear..."

Instead of immediately firing at Kyojuro Rengoku, he pressed the gun to his own temple.

"boom!"

A shot rang out.

Purgatory's pupils contracted slightly; he hadn't expected Pero to do that.

Blood spurted from the bullet hole in his temple.

But a shadow quickly emerged from the wound, filling the bullet hole, and Pero's head slowly straightened, his smile growing increasingly maniacal.

“I shoot myself in the head every day,” Perron said softly, the gun still smoking, “to remind myself not to be driven into a corner again, not to be as pathetic as I was that day.”

As he spoke, he raised his gun again, pointing it at Rengoku Kyojuro who was charging towards him, a sneer in his eyes:

"Powerful swordsmen, times have changed."

"This is no longer the era of samurai."

Chapter 207 He stood firm, not retreating an inch.

"Times have changed. This is no longer the age of samurai."

Pedro sneered at Rengoku Kyojuro, his white-gloved finger pulling the trigger.

With the trigger pulled, the bullet whistled past, almost instantly hurtling towards Kyojuro Rengoku.

This was also the first time that Rengoku Kyojuro had faced firearms directly. Although he was prepared, the bullets were too fast. Even if he maintained his breathing, his physical condition had already exceeded the limits of the human body, and he could not completely dodge them. He could only slightly turn to the side to avoid vital points.

The bullet struck his shoulder, and the penetrating force instantly brought Rengoku Kyojuro's high-speed movements to a standstill.

Lowering his head slightly, Rengoku Kyojuro looked at his shoulder. Although the wound was just a small hole made by a bullet, far less severe than the gash caused by the Nichirin Blade, this tiny bullet had pierced through his body, even shattering his bones.

Kyojuro Rengoku could feel the impact of the high-speed bullet as it entered his body, spreading outwards instantly. Even though it was just a small bullet wound on his shoulder, barely the size of a thumb, it stretched, tore, and squeezed all the surrounding tissues.

Not only that, other organs near the body that were not hit also felt the impact of the bullet hitting the body at this moment.

And this was only because the bullet hit the shoulder, a relatively non-lethal location.

What if it hits another spot?

As a human being, Kyojuro Rengoku naturally knew how fragile the human body was. If the bullet had hit other areas, such as the chest or abdomen, it could have caused the lungs to collapse almost instantly, the liver and spleen to rupture, and the intestines to perforate. The internal bleeding might not be noticeable in the early stages, but as the bleeding worsened, it would quickly endanger life.