Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

Just as the swordsman was about to rejoin the fight after a short rest, a hand suddenly grabbed his neck from behind.

"Crack!"

With the sound of bones breaking, the young swordsman's bright eyes quickly dimmed.

A burly demon with six demon drums embedded in its body emerged from behind the young swordsman, and the words 'Lower Land' appeared in its pupils.

It was the twelfth month of the demon moons. The waning crescent moon was on the sixth day. The demon of the drums was in triumph.

One of them, after becoming a demon, quickly reached the limit of power due to insufficient talent and was eventually removed from the Twelve Demon Moons by Muzan Kibutsuji. He has been working hard, hoping to gain Muzan Kibutsuji's approval and return to the ranks of the Twelve Demon Moons.

Recently, as the Twelve Demon Moons have died one after another, Kyogai has once again received the blood of Muzan Kibutsuji, and his strength has returned to that of the Twelve Demon Moons.

Just as Xiang Kai was about to continue hunting swordsmen, he heard the voice of 'Master' in his ear.

Following the 'master's' instructions, Xiang Kai suddenly raised his head and looked into the distance. The sharp blade sliced ​​through the dark night, and one evil spirit after another was beheaded by the other's blade.

"Blood Demon Technique. Swiftly strike the drum."

Almost immediately, he struck the demon drum on his chest.

Su Mu, who had just severed the head of the evil spirit with a single stroke, looked up abruptly and realized that he was in a room, or rather, in a 'ghost house'.

"Xiang Kai?"

As soon as Su Mu sensed the room he was in, the image of this demon almost immediately appeared in his mind. When he was still human, he was a writer who, due to a lack of literary talent, accepted the blood of Muzan Kibutsuji and became a demon in order to gain inspiration.

Even after becoming a demon, Hibiki's hard work in writing still failed to gain recognition from his peers and seniors. They even criticized his writing as worthless, and his drumming skills were ridiculed. Worse still, his manuscript was deliberately trampled on to humiliate him. Enraged by this, Hibiki completely abandoned his human morality, angrily killed those who mocked him, and began to strive continuously as a demon.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

In an instant, a cold light surged, and three claw-shaped attacks came crashing down.

"choke!"

The Nichirin Blade was drawn, its blade flashing and instantly shattering the three claw-like waves of attack. Su Mu looked around; the room was constantly shifting, sometimes even flipping upside down, creating a sense of spatial chaos. He couldn't find Kyōkai at all.

Clearly, he was in the 'Blood House' of Kyokkai Blood Demon Art, which was almost similar to Nakime's 'Infinity Castle'.

Perhaps, in the very beginning, Kyogai became one of the Twelve Demon Moons because Muzan Kibutsuji valued the Blood Demon Art of the 'House of Demons,' but he was ultimately abandoned with the appearance of Nakime's 'Infinity Castle.'

Right now, he is in this almost chaotic space.

Perhaps knowing that he was no match for Su Mu, Kyōkai did not appear. Instead, he kept striking the 'Demon Drum' from a distance, and then wave-like claw-like attacks continuously came from all directions of the room towards Su Mu.

Compared to when the Twelve Demon Moons were stripped away, Kyōgai's Blood Demon Art had significant flaws. Now, with the blood bestowed upon him by Muzan Kibutsuji, Kyōgai's Blood Demon Art is undoubtedly more complete.

"choke!"

With another slash, Su Mu slashed down the incoming claw-like attack. Just as he spotted Xiang Kai, the space around him was reversed once again, and he was transported to another room.

Sensing this, Su Mu stopped focusing on finding Xiang Kai and, after closing his eyes slightly, drew his sword again.

"choke!"

The sharp blade slashed down suddenly, its target the entire 'House of Ghosts'.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the room of the 'House of Ghosts', and then pierced through it, tearing the house apart and completely destroying the entire 'House of Ghosts'.

Just as he was about to strike the 'Demon Drum' on his body, a dull sound came out.

Clearly, the breaking of the Blood Demon Art was a significant backlash for Kyogai.

"die!"

Before Xiang Kai could react, he heard a man's low voice in his ear, and before he knew it, Su Mu's figure had appeared in front of him.

Almost instinctively, I wanted to run away, but a pain shot through my throat.

The sharp blade easily pierced through Kyōkai's neck, severing his head from the ground.

As his head was severed, Xiang Kai's robust body crashed to the ground, scattering several of his treasured drafts along with it.

As his head fell to the ground, Xiang Kai stared intently at the scattered drafts, and soon saw blood-soaked footsteps trampling his precious drafts to the ground.

His eyes widened, filled with rage.

It seems that they are angry that their hard work has been trampled on, just as when people painstakingly write something, it is also trampled on.

If Tanjiro were here, he would probably try his best to avoid stepping on the scattered manuscript papers.

But unfortunately

Su Mu was not Tanjiro. He merely glanced at Kyogai before charging towards the distant horde of demons, his blade mercilessly slashing down at the demons' necks.

With each beheading of a demon, Su Mu's grip on his sword tightened.

Each time he slays an evil spirit, the power surging within him grows stronger, his speed increases, and his spirit becomes more vigorous.

Occasionally, Su Mu would glance at the panel deep in his mind, where he could clearly see his ever-increasing power and the unknown 'Blood Demon Technique' that he had suddenly mastered.

Under the Blood Demon Art of 'Devour', Su Mu's strength is constantly increasing.

Compared to Su Mu's tireless and frenzied killing, many swordsmen were gradually exhausted. Even the 'pillars' like Himejima Gyomei, Rengoku Kyojuro, and Shinazugawa Sanemi were slowly losing their strength.

If this continues, death will be the only outcome for these swordsmen.

Previously, Su Mu wouldn't have cared much about this, nor would he have cared about the lives of these swordsmen; their deaths would have had nothing to do with him.

But at this moment

Unconsciously, Su Mu walked over with his knife, rescued the exhausted swordsmen, and sheltered them behind him.

Feeling the gazes surging from behind, some filled with admiration, others with reverence...

It really is a kind of...

It's a very special feeling.

Chapter 280 Must We Die Today?

Su Mu rescued the exhausted swordsmen and allowed them to rest in the rear.

The rescued swordsmen were unwilling, but their hands, which were almost too weak to lift, forced them to retreat to the back, hoping to recover quickly and rejoin the battle.

……

"I am not exhausted and can fight again. As a 'pillar' and a senior, how can I stop to rest at this moment?"

Rengoku Kyojuro brandished his Nichirin Blade, beheading a demon. Looking at Su Mu, who appeared before him and told him to go and rest, he roared loudly to show that he still had strength left.

However, Rengoku Kyojuro's trembling legs, swaying body, and blood-stained haori all showed just how bad his condition was.

However, as a 'Pillar', in such a critical situation, as a senior, Kyojuro Rengoku had to step forward.

This is what a strong person should do, and it is also the belief that Kyojuro Rengoku has always upheld.

However, reality does not change according to human will. Although the 'pillars' are powerful, they cannot compare with demons. High-intensity combat consumes a lot of physical strength. They can still continue by relying on 'breathing techniques', but their bodies cannot support it.

This is a limitation of being human.

It is a place where humans cannot compare to ghosts.

"Step back, Kyojuro."

Su Mu spoke again: "If this continues, even the 'pillar' body won't be able to hold on."

"But……"

Rengoku Kyojuro stared at the surging demons before him, his trembling hand gripping his Nichirin Blade tightly. As a 'Pillar,' how could he possibly go down to rest at this moment?

"I can continue."

Rengoku Kyojuro gritted his teeth.

"Don't talk nonsense. Every time you keep swinging your knife, you're only damaging your own body."

"I……"

Rengoku Kyojuro raised his head and looked at Su Mu, who was standing in front of him and had killed the surging demons with a single slash. He couldn't help but say, "And you, aren't you the same? Even though Mr. Su Mu is stronger than me, you're still fighting right now."

Su Mu was momentarily at a loss for words to answer Rengoku Kyojuro.

He wasn't human, but a demon, so he didn't need to worry about exhaustion, injury, fatigue, or thirst.

But Kyojuro Rengoku was unaware of all this.

Rengoku Kyojuro only knew that he was the same kind of person as him.

"Go down. If you continue like this, you'll only hold me back."

Su Mu didn't turn around, but said coldly.

Just then, a demon pounced on Rengoku Kyojuro. In the past, Rengoku Kyojuro could have killed such an ordinary demon with a single strike.

At this moment, Rengoku Kyojuro also thought so, but when he swung his sword, he suddenly felt as if the blade was as heavy as a thousand pounds. The Nichirin Blade that he could usually wield at will was so difficult to use at this moment, and he could only watch helplessly as the demon's sharp claws attacked.

"die!"

A cold voice rang out from the side, and a sharp blade flashed in the dark night. It was Su Mu's blade that swung down, beheading the demon that had attacked Rengoku Kyojuro and saving him.

"Step back. Your condition is not suitable for continuing the fight. As a swordsman, don't drag your feet."

Su Mu said something.

"then you……"

Watching Su Mu continue fighting, Rengoku Kyojuro gripped his sword hilt tightly, finally retreating dejectedly: "I'll be able to rest soon, take your place, and fight alongside you again. If you're exhausted, please step down."

"Stop talking nonsense, Kyojuro."

"If you are exhausted, please step down immediately, and I will..."

"Stop talking nonsense"

…………

If we were to say who among the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen has the strongest stamina, it would undoubtedly be the 'Stone Pillar' Gyomei Himejima. This 'Pillar', who has trained his physical body to the limits of the human body, has extremely abundant stamina. Even before joining the Demon Slayer Corps and before he had practiced 'breathing techniques,' he had the experience of punching a demon until daylight, until the demon died bathed in sunlight.

At this moment, amidst the surging horde of ghosts, he wielded a meteor hammer and a hand axe, relentlessly smashing at the surrounding evil spirits. Every second, almost every evil spirit was smashed into mincemeat by Ximingyu Xingming's heavy weapons, turning the area in his path into a meat grinder for evil spirits.

He is also the only swordsman who can still fight alongside Su Mu to this day.

“Mr. Su Mu’s physical training intensity is probably higher than mine.”

With another meteor hammer strike, Xingming of Beiming Island smashed the evil spirits around him into a bloody pulp. Sensing Su Mu's actions through his 'Mind's Eye', he couldn't help but admire him.