Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

If he hadn't sheathed his sword in time, Kyojuro Rengoku felt as if his Nichirin Blade had been sucked into it.

"My shadow can devour everything. If a blade cuts in, it will only sink into darkness, sinking deeper and deeper."

Can your knife burn through this darkness?

Pero looked up, his five fingers gripping his Nichirin Blade tightly: "It's been a long time since I've held a sword like this. Now, it's your turn to face my attack."

"boom!"

As soon as the words fell, the demon's figure moved suddenly, like a swift wolf, wielding a samurai sword and launching a sharp attack on Rengoku Kyojuro.

The skills of human swordsmen were fully displayed at this moment, and even Rengoku Kyojuro was being forced to retreat under Pero's swordsmanship.

It wasn't that Kyojuro Rengoku's swordsmanship was inferior to Pero's, but rather that when his Nichirin Blade struck Pero, it was like striking mud; all the damage was absorbed by Pero's shadow. On the contrary, he, as a human, would absolutely not be able to withstand a single strike from Pero.

"Humans are so weak. Even without firearms, they can still easily end your life with an old-fashioned samurai sword."

As he spoke, Pero launched his attack.

Throughout the entire fight, Kyojuro Rengoku remained silent, focusing solely on the battle. His 'Breath of Flame' flowed slowly through his body, flames erupting from his blade, and golden-red light danced in the darkness.

The sword form of 'Breath of Flames' was unleashed in his hand.

"Breath of Flame, First Form: Shiranui"

Flames exploded on the blade, and Purgatory's figure, leaving a scorching trail, hurtled towards Pero.

This strike lacked the speed of the previous one, as the injury to his shoulder significantly reduced his explosive power, but the flames on the blade were even more intense than before.

Pedro raised his knife to parry.

A deafening clang of metal clashing exploded in the night sky.

Kyojuro Rengoku's Nichirin Blade struck Pero's katana, sparks flying between the blades.

But the shadow on Pero immediately surged up, climbing onto the blade of Purgatory like a living thing. That sluggish feeling of sinking into a swamp returned, and the flames gradually dimmed under the shadow's embrace.

With a powerful push, Pei Lang sent Purgatory staggering back two steps.

“It’s no use,” Peron said in a low voice, “your flames can’t burn through my shadow.”

Kyojuro Rengoku steadied himself, his chest heaving violently.

His breathing grew more and more rapid, each inhale like pulling a rusty bellows. Blood seeped from the wound, pooling at his feet.

He didn't stop.

"Breath of Flame, Second Form: Ascending Flame Heaven!"

The blade slashed upwards from below, flames erupting like spewing lava. Pelang dodged to the side, his shadow stretching from the blade like a long black whip lashing towards Purgatory's side.

Rengoku parried with his sword, but the shadow whip wrapped around the blade, attempting to wrest the sword from his hand. Rengoku Kyojuro gritted his teeth, gripping the hilt tightly, and flames suddenly exploded on the blade, shattering the shadow whip.

But more shadows surged up.

Pero's figure weaved through the shadows, his katana slashing from every angle.

Each strike carried the power of a shadow, each collision momentarily halting Kyojuro Rengoku's sword. Kyojuro Rengoku parried, countered, and parried again, the flames flickering on the blade like a candle in the wind.

Kyojuro Rengoku's body is bleeding.

With each swing of the knife, the wound on his shoulder was torn open a little more.

With each movement, the penetrating wound in his leg caused him to stagger.

With each deep breath, blood seeped from the bullet wound on his side.

Pei Lang's knife came down.

Rengoku Kyojuro raised his sword to parry, and the moment the two swords clashed, his knees buckled.

"You've reached your limit,"

Pero's voice came from beneath the wolf's head, deep and calm.

"Five or six gunshot wounds, excessive blood loss, and breathing techniques are almost failing him, why isn't he collapsing yet?"

"You should fall now, Rengoku Makijuro."

Chapter 209 Have you done everything you were supposed to do, everything you were supposed to fulfill, well?

"You deserve to die, Rengoku Makijuro."

Looking at the man before him, Pei Lang knew that the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of this man would finally come to an end today.

"Father……"

Hearing the demon in front of him mention his father's name, Rengoku Kyojuro gritted his teeth. He had longed to gain his father's approval, but in the end, he never had the chance. In fact, he didn't even return after his father's burial.

"Born in purgatory, burning with the original aspiration."

Rengoku Kyojuro murmured this aloud, something the Rengoku family had remembered for generations, and something almost etched into the hearts of every member of the Rengoku clan.

Gripping his Nichirin Blade tightly, Rengoku Kyojuro stared intently at Pero with burning eyes: "Death is nothing to worry about. It's the responsibility of a 'Pillar.' As long as we can kill you, this Twelve Demon Moon, every 'Pillar' will fight with all their might, and every 'Pillar' will not fear death."

At this moment, Kyojuro Rengoku's aura reached its peak.

Such an aura gave Pei Lang a sense of disorientation. Although it had a face almost identical to that of the former Rengoku Makijuro, its temperament was completely different.

The Makijuro I once saw was like a falling sunset.

The person before me, however, seemed like the rising sun.

"Also, my name is not Rengoku Makijuro, but Rengoku Kyojuro. Makijuro is my father."

While speaking, Rengoku Kyojuro also blocked the attack from Pero.

Looking at the man in front of him, Pei Lang suddenly realized that the man's face was obviously young: "So he is Maki Juro's son. No wonder, the difference in temperament is huge."

Pero still can't forget the Rengoku Makijuro he saw when he was just an ordinary demon—a颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, decadent, or dispirited) and alcoholic...

But what lies before us is a burning faith and passion.

"Whether it's Makijuro or his son Kyojuro, they will both die at my hands today."

As Pei Lang spoke, shadows surged forth from beneath his feet like a tide, covering the surrounding ground. The darkness condensing on his katana grew increasingly intense, like a solidified abyss.

"Just death."

Kyojuro Rengoku gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes still burning with fury. In that moment, he seemed to see his gentle mother, and longed to ask her a question:

"Did Kyojuro do a good job?"

What to do

What needs to be done

Did you all do a good job?

But there was no gentle mother figure before him, only the powerful Lower Moon Three of the Twelve Demon Moons. His body was filled with a tearing pain in his lungs, the shattered bones in his shoulder grinding against each other, the penetrating wound in his leg bleeding, and the bullet wound in his side burning…

Kyojuro Rengoku didn't know if what he was doing was enough.

Kyojuro Rengoku only knew that he was born stronger than others, that he was born with a head start, and that he should use his strength to do what he should do.

Protect the weak and slay the evil, man-eating demons.

This was the duty he was supposed to fulfill.

It is also the duty of the 'Flame Pillar'.

He felt increasingly weak, but the flames in Rengoku Kyojuro's eyes burned ever hotter. He once again retreated to dodge the samurai sword that was being slashed by Pei Lang. Rengoku Kyojuro gripped the hilt of the sword tightly. At this moment, the blade of the Nichirin Blade seemed to be getting hotter and hotter, and the temperature was getting higher and higher.

Sensing this, Pero frowned in disgust, as more and more of the annoying power of sunlight emanated from his Sun Wheel Blade.

"Your shadow can devour blades, it can devour all the damage that comes its way, but..."

Kyojuro Rengoku's eyes burned even brighter, and the blade of the Nichirin Blade he held seemed to be on fire.

"Can it swallow up sunlight?"

"Then let me see if you can devour the sun."

Pero's pupils suddenly contracted.

At this moment, it was clear that not only was the Nichirin Blade radiating scorching energy, but Rengoku Kyojuro's body was also radiating scorching energy, as if something was burning inside this man's body.

This energy made Perron feel as if his shadow was trembling slightly.

"boom……"

At that moment, Kyojuro Rengoku moved once more, faster and with an even sharper blade.

Pero felt a sudden sense of dread. Before, when Rengoku Kyojuro's Nichirin Blade struck him, almost all the damage was absorbed by his shadow. But now, Pero felt his shadow slowly fading away.

His own Blood Demon Art, Halberd's Chamber - War Wolf Formation, is slowly dissipating.

impossible……"

Pero gritted his teeth, compressing more of his shadow onto his body.

Darkness surged in from all directions, trying to fill the melted parts.

But no matter how he tried to add to it, the shadow was dissolving at an irreversible rate.

At that moment, Rengoku Kyojuro unleashed another slash.

The dark red light on the blade grew brighter and brighter, pushing back the surrounding darkness inch by inch. Pei Lang felt as if he were watching a sun rise above the ground.

But these things were fatal to him.

His shadow was powerless against the light.

It was not severed, it was not shattered.

Instead, it was burned to ashes.

Like withered leaves falling into a fire, like snow melting in the spring breeze, the darkness that clung to him let out a silent lament in the light.

Then it dissipated into nothingness.

"This...this is impossible..."

Pero's voice began to tremble. He gripped the katana in his hand tightly, the only thing on him that hadn't been corrupted by the light, because it wasn't a shadow, but a sword he had wielded as a human, a sword that carried his past pride and dreams.

"Why has your sword suddenly changed? Why... it couldn't cut through before..."