"Achoo~"
Mizuki sneezed again, touched the tip of her nose, and said awkwardly, "I think I understand what's going on."
"Hmm?" Kochou Shinobu cast a curious glance.
Mizuki didn't dare say she had been playing a trick on someone, and stammered, "It's probably because someone is thinking about me."
Kochou Shinobu raised an eyebrow: "...Is that so?"
She had a feeling it wasn't a good omen.
Mizuki changed the subject and asked, "How much longer do we have to walk?"
Kochou Shinobu looked around and pondered for a moment: "Less than ten minutes, I think. We're almost there."
Although this was deep in the mountains, it wasn't far from the Demon Slayer Corps' base.
To avoid attacks from Kibutsuji Muzan, the Demon Slayer Corps' base was located deep within the mountains.
Kochou Shinobu was naturally familiar with the area around the base. As a Pharmacist, she often traveled through these mountains and occasionally found valuable medicinal herbs.
Perhaps because Mizuki had mentioned it, Kochou Shinobu couldn't help but ask with concern, "Are you feeling tired, Mizuki?"
Mizuki gave a helpless smile: "I always feel like Shinobu has a strange misconception about demons."
Demons are creatures that fear nothing except sunlight.
As long as they have enough raw food, they can recover from any amount of exhaustion, let alone walking this short distance through the mountains.
Kochou Shinobu froze, her face visibly reddening a few shades, and she lowered her head without speaking.
Mizuki didn't notice her unusual reaction. Thinking of their destination, she mused, "Speaking of which, the Stone Hashira... Mr. Himejima, he's already over twenty-five years old, right?"
Kochou Shinobu straightened up and nodded slightly: "Yes, Mr. Himejima should be twenty-seven this year."
"The limit for the Demon Slayer Mark is twenty-five, right? Aside from your older brother, none of the other swordsmen who awakened the Demon Slayer Mark managed to live past twenty-five." As soon as the sensitive topic of age was brought up, Kochou Shinobu immediately understood what Mizuki was trying to say.
Mizuki lowered her eyelids slightly: "Yes, those who awaken the Demon Slayer Mark are fighting by overdrawing their life force."
"Even if they stop fighting afterward, the consumption of life force will not cease."
"Based on current examples, indeed, no one except Yoriichi has lived past twenty-five."
Mizuki did not often mention this in front of Kochou Shinobu, because Kochou Shinobu had also awakened the Demon Slayer Mark.
At eighteen years old this year, she only had seven years left until she reached twenty-five.
That is, if they managed to survive the final battle against Kibutsuji Muzan.
Mizuki did not regret it... No, perhaps she had regretted it sometimes.
She regretted that if she had known her feelings for Shinobu earlier, she wouldn't have agreed to help her awaken the Demon Slayer Mark back then.
But this thought merely flashed through her mind.
Whether it was her, Kochou Shinobu, or everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps, they had all come together for the sole purpose of slaying Kibutsuji Muzan.
She believed that even if Kochou Shinobu had known beforehand, she would still have chosen the same path.
Kibutsuji Muzan was powerful, a genuine Demon King.
Over the course of a thousand years, he had only encountered one exceptionally gifted existence: Yoriichi.
Since Yoriichi, there had been no swordsman capable of fighting Kibutsuji Muzan.
Even she and Kokushibou were not capable.
To slay Muzan, they had to gather every possible strength.
If they died at twenty-five having exhausted their life force, but successfully slaying Muzan, they could still be said to leave with a smile.
Kochou Shinobu asked, "Does that mean Mr. Himejima won't be able to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark?"
Mizuki shook her head: "No, the Demon Slayer Mark can still be awakened even if one is over twenty-five, but after Awakening it, they will quickly wither away, like the ephemeral bloom of an Epiphyllum."
"The time might only be a few short hours; it would be difficult to survive until the next day."
Kochou Shinobu frowned, let out a long sigh, and said regretfully, "I see. With Mr. Himejima's strength, if he were to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark, it would certainly be quite reassuring."
Listening to Kochou Shinobu's assessment, Mizuki nodded in agreement.
Indeed, that tempered Physical Body was superior to even Michikatsu's body during his human life.
She dared to guarantee that if both were equally equipped with the 'Three Essentials,' Michikatsu in his human form would have his brains beaten out if he encountered Himejima Gyomei.
Michikatsu might surpass him significantly in Sword Form, and it was undeniable that Michikatsu's talent in Breathing Technique and Sword Form was truly formidable—at least in Mizuki's opinion, it was genuinely comparable to Sun Breathing, and was a powerful Breathing Technique that could be called Origin Breathing alongside Sun Breathing.
However, the Stone Hashira's Physical Body was something that skill alone found hard to compensate for.
That Physical Body, tempered to the extreme, was not merely the result of effort, but the crystallization of innate talent.
It could be called an astonishing Physique rarely seen in centuries.
Only Yoriichi could firmly surpass the Stone Hashira in this regard.
"Don't worry, judging by the Stone Hashira's condition, he doesn't need to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark prematurely." Mizuki shook her head. "If it's him, he can achieve a self-Breakthrough during the fight."
Himejima Gyomei lacked nothing; he only needed the catalyst to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark. Mizuki even believed he had great hope for Transparent World and the scarlet blade.
Especially the scarlet blade. Given the strength of that Physical Body, activating the scarlet blade after Awakening the Demon Slayer Mark should be much faster than her previous state after Demonization.
Listening to Mizuki's reassurance, Kochou Shinobu smiled and said, "If it's Mr. Himejima, it certainly feels like that would be the case."
"Mhm."
The two walked into the depths of the mountains, one following the other.
Just as Kochou Shinobu had said, after walking for about ten minutes, the two arrived at Himejima Gyomei's Training Hall.
"Yaaahhhhh!!!"
...No, it was probably another kind of Hell.
They saw a group of swordsmen gritting their teeth beneath a waterfall in front of a small stream, enduring the rush of water that seemed to fall three thousand feet.
Mizuki looked up at the waterfall, which seemed like the Milky Way falling from the Nine Heavens, and couldn't help but stare for a moment.
She hadn't expected this kind of training method actually existed.
She had actually thought of this training method before, and even tried it, but she couldn't last three minutes and was swept away until she couldn't be found.
She ended up gulping down a stomach full of river water.
Yoriichi had to run into the river to fish her out, and she predictably caught a cold afterward, staying in bed for several days.
It was useless.
Facts proved that this method was quite demanding.
Without a robust build, one simply couldn't withstand the force of the waterfall.
As for her, although she had a little bit of abs and was very healthy, her Physique simply wasn't strong enough to endure it.
Beneath the waterfall were two familiar faces.
Rengoku Kyojuro was saying something cheerfully to Tomioka Giyu next to him, but unfortunately, he was wasting his breath.
Because Tomioka Giyu was staring blankly with a deadpan expression, showing no intention of acknowledging him at all.
It must be said that a robust Physique offers a different level of endurance.
If it were the old Mizuki, she would already be downstream by now.
Meanwhile, on a large rock beside the waterfall, several members were lying prone, their faces beaming with happy smiles.
"So warm~"
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