"Is that your sister?" Giyu Tomioka looked coldly at Nezuko, who was lying in Tanjiro's arms.
"Nezuko is innocent, she hasn't eaten anyone!" Tanjiro hugged Nezuko tighter.
As a cold wind blew, Giyu Tomioka pushed off his feet and snatched Nezuko from Tanjiro's arms.
"My job is to slay demons," his voice was as chilling as ice.
"And that includes cutting off your sister's head."
"Mr. Allen." Tanjiro looked at Allen for help; now, only this strange young man could help him get his sister back.
"Don't call me 'Mister,' just call me Allen. Give me one minute." Allen closed his eyes and lay quietly in the snow, recovering his strength.
"Please don't kill her! I won't let anyone hurt her! I must turn Nezuko back into a human!" Tanjiro's cries echoed through the silent, snowy forest.
"It can't be cured. Once you become a demon, you can never turn back into a human," Giyu Tomioka shattered Tanjiro's illusion with a blank expression.
"I will definitely find a way, so please don't kill her." Tanjiro refused to give up, looking at Giyu Tomioka with pleading eyes.
But the other party merely raised his nichirin blade expressionlessly, its tip pointed directly at the unconscious Nezuko.
"I've already lost my other family members, so please don't take anything else from me." Tanjiro's tears fell onto the snow, melting it. He knelt in the snow, his voice choked with sobs.
Giyu Tomioka's movement paused slightly, the blade tip just an inch from Nezuko's throat. He gazed at the weeping young man before him, a flicker of imperceptible wavering in his eyes.
If he had arrived half a day earlier, perhaps this young man's family wouldn't have died, but he had no way to turn back time.
"Don't let others hold the power of life and death! Don't miserably grovel on the ground!" Giyu Tomioka roared at Tanjiro.
"If that kind of thing worked, your family wouldn't have been killed!"
"A weakling who can't even control the situation, can he cure his sister? Can he find his enemy?"
Tanjiro was stunned by Giyu Tomioka's words, tears frozen on his face.
"The weak have no rights or choices! They will all succumb to the power of the strong!"
Tanjiro's pupils constricted violently. Giyu Tomioka's words were like a sharp knife piercing his heart. He looked down at his trembling hands, his nails digging deep into his palms.
Giyu Tomioka's nichirin blade gleamed coldly under the moonlight, its tip only an inch from Nezuko.
Tanjiro suddenly looked up, his tears not yet dry, but a new flame had ignited in his eyes. He scrambled up from the snow, ignoring the pain in his knees, and stumbled towards Giyu Tomioka.
Giyu Tomioka's eyes flickered slightly, but the blade tip remained motionless.
Allen lay in the snow, feeling the slow recovery of strength within him. He opened his eyes and saw Tanjiro desperately trying to snatch Nezuko back from Giyu Tomioka, but the young man's strength seemed so insignificant before a Hashira.
He slowly sat up from the snow, stretching his still-sore shoulders. Although his stamina hadn't fully recovered, it was enough to handle the current situation.
"Tanjiro, step back." Allen's voice was calm and firm.
Tanjiro looked back in surprise, seeing that Allen had already stood up. His black uniform was still stained with some snowflakes, and though he looked a bit disheveled, the aura he exuded made one shiver involuntarily.
Giyu Tomioka's blade tip still pointed at Nezuko, but his gaze shifted to Allen: "Outsiders shouldn't interfere with the Demon Slayer Corps' affairs."
Allen didn't answer, merely walked slowly forward. His steps were light, yet left clear footprints in the snow.
As he approached, Giyu Tomioka's brows furrowed slightly, instinctively feeling a hint of danger.
Giyu Tomioka frowned, pointing his blade at Allen: "You're not an ordinary person. Who are you?"
"Put that girl down." Allen ignored his question, simply stating his demand calmly.
Tanjiro watched the two confront each other nervously, unconsciously clenching his hands. He could feel the tension in the air, like the stillness before a blizzard.
Giyu Tomioka remained silent for a moment, wanting to test this strange young man. He suddenly swung his blade at Allen.
The strike was as fast as lightning; an ordinary person would have no time to react.
Allen's eyes showed no ripple. He hooked the blade with his index finger.
He gently stroked the edge of the nichirin blade, thinking he might take one back to play with.
Giyu Tomioka's pupils suddenly constricted. He had never seen anyone block his attack so easily with just one finger.
"I said, put that girl down." Allen's voice was still calm, but his tone now carried an undeniable authority.
Tanjiro stood by, watching in shock.
He hadn't expected this young man, who didn't look much older than himself, to be able to block the attack of a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman so easily.
Giyu Tomioka slowly retracted his nichirin blade, a flicker of vigilance in his eyes: "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter." Allen lowered his hand.
"What matters is that this girl still has humanity; she won't harm humans."
Giyu Tomioka was silent for a moment, his gaze shifting between Nezuko and Tanjiro, but he wouldn't give up just because of the young man's strength.
Giyu Tomioka stared at Allen, his nichirin blade in hand slightly lowered.
He could feel the dangerous aura emanating from the young man before him, a sense of oppression far beyond ordinary people.
"How can you guarantee that?" Giyu Tomioka finally spoke after a moment of silence, his voice still cold.
Allen didn't answer immediately, but instead turned to Tanjiro: "Hold your sister tight."
Tanjiro quickly stepped forward, carefully taking the unconscious Nezuko from Giyu's hands.
Giyu Tomioka didn't stop him, merely watching Allen's every move vigilantly.
"With this." Allen slowly raised his hand and punched towards the forest.
A terrifying punch wind roared past, pulverizing all the trees for dozens of meters ahead. The accumulated snow was lifted by the air current, forming a white curtain of snow.
Allen looked at his weak attack and couldn't help but sigh. He could only exert such a weak amount of strength now. Even with his super recovery ability, he would need to find a place to rest for a few days to return to his peak state.
Giyu Tomioka's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. He had never seen such pure power. This punch used no breathing techniques; it was solely physical strength that reached such a level.
Even demons with powerful physical abilities were probably far weaker than this pale-faced young man. And it seemed the other party was in a very poor state, probably only able to exert eighty or ninety percent of his strength at most?
But if only eighty or ninety percent of his strength was so terrifying, how strong must the person who injured him be? Was the person who injured him the Demon King Muzan?
"Now, can we talk properly?" Allen retracted his fist, his tone calm.
Giyu was silent for a moment, then slowly sheathed his nichirin blade: "Who exactly are you?"
"An ordinary passerby."
Giyu Tomioka silently watched Allen, the cold moonlight falling on his haori.
After a moment, he slowly spoke: "Even with a strong person like you vouching for her, a demon is still a demon. You can't guarantee her for life."
Allen gently shook his head: "It's enough for Tanjiro to become strong enough to control her."
He gathered strength within his body. If Giyu Tomioka continued to pester him, Allen would make him take a nap. Only those who had slept enough could stay more alert.
Tanjiro hugged Nezuko tightly, his voice choked: "Please, give me a chance! I will definitely find a way to turn Nezuko back into a human!"
Giyu Tomioka's gaze shifted between the three of them, finally resting on Allen: "How do you plan to make him stronger?"
"Don't you already have the answer in your heart?" Allen smiled. He knew Giyu Tomioka would definitely send Tanjiro to train with his master, Sakonji Urokodaki.
Although Giyu Tomioka appeared cold on the surface, he was actually a very compassionate child. Allen could tell from the color of his haori.
The left half had the same pattern as his deceased friend Sabito's clothes, while the right side had the same pattern as his deceased sister Tsutako's clothes.
So Allen was not at all worried that his intervention would leave Tanjiro with nowhere to go.
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