A month later, at Butterfly Mansion, the sun was warm and gentle. Aoi was hanging clothes in the yard, enjoying the pleasant weather.
Raiden stepped out through the door. Nothing significant had happened during the past month. The demon‑slaying missions he faced were all weak demons, ones Raiden handled with minimal effort.
Most of his time had been spent exploring his fully awakened Transparent World.
Thanks to his superior talent, Raiden had progressed rapidly in mastering Transparent World. He could feel that he had begun to grasp its core essence. Once he fully understood that core, mastering Transparent World would only be a matter of time.
Raiden's advancement in strength hadn't lagged either. Two weeks ago, he broke through to Middle Pillar, and now he was steadily approaching Upper Pillar. Although he still had some distance to go, Raiden estimated it would take another one or two months before he reached that level.
"Aoi," Raiden greeted casually.
Aoi paused as she saw him. She was about to say "Good morning," but then remembered his promotion and quickly corrected herself.
On the day Raiden returned to Headquarters after the Entertainment District, Master had announced him as the new Sound Pillar. The two accomplishments attached to his name—repelling Upper Moon Two and killing Upper Moon Six—were enough to make anyone one of the strongest members of the Demon Slayer Corps.
From that day forward, Raiden was officially the tenth Pillar in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Aoi looked at Raiden, glowing in the morning light, and found herself briefly lost in thought.
Raiden had overcome every obstacle he faced to become a Pillar. Meanwhile, she had passed selection only to dedicate herself to logistics because of her fear of fighting demons. The gap between them felt undeniable.
"Good morning, Aoi," Raiden said with his warm, familiar smile.
He had no sense of arrogance at all. In that regard, he was like Tanjiro—he believed that everyone had their own role, and as long as someone carried out theirs, it deserved respect.
Besides, Aoi was truly talented at caring for others. Under her care, Tanjiro and the others recovered from injuries in just a day or two.
A week after the Entertainment District incident ended, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and the others had all returned to active missions.
Seeing Raiden's gentle demeanor, unchanged from when they first met, Aoi's hands stilled while hanging clothes. Raiden was still smiling as usual, and she realized she had overthought things.
"Inosuke, what are you doing hiding there?" Raiden asked, turning his head toward the grass in the courtyard.
There was nothing remarkable about the grass itself, but two pink ears popped up over the edge of it, impossible for Raiden not to notice.
At the sound of Raiden's voice, the ears twitched.
"Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Did Raikoku see him? Of course not! He was hidden perfectly, flawlessly!
"Hmph, he must be trying to trick me, the great king of the mountains, into coming out. Ridon, you underestimate me. I am the god of the mountains…"
Paji.
Raiden simply reached down and grabbed one of Inosuke's pink ears. "I'm talking to you, Inosuke. Why aren't you answering?"
Inosuke froze instantly, as if someone had squeezed every drop of his lifeblood. Was he really found? Damn it! And he hadn't even drawn on his Beast Breathing yet!
"Don't just pinch the great king's ear. I've completed three missions now!"
"Oh? Then why are you crouched in the grass? You look silly," Raiden replied with a fair tone.
Raiden shouldn't have said that. As soon as he called Inosuke silly, Inosuke's temper flared.
"Silly? Who are you calling silly? You're silly! A duel! I challenge you to a duel!"
Inosuke jerked his head, trying to pull his ear back, and pointed at Raiden with both blades.
"Inosuke, Raiden is a Pillar now. You should show him some respect…"
Aoi quickly stepped forward, putting down her clothes to intervene.
"It's fine, Aoi. Take care of your tasks," Raiden said with a small wave, dismissing her concern. They weren't fully bonded yet, so a little sparring could help deepen Inosuke's connection with him.
Besides, Inosuke's strength was nothing more than a casual flick from Raiden's perspective.
"Pillar? Respect?" Inosuke's blue eyes behind his mask blinked as his brain slowly processed the meaning of those words. After a few seconds of intense thought, they began to spin. Clearly his mind was overloaded.
But none of this changed his desire to fight Raiden.
"Ronpachiro, here I come!"
With blades gripped in each hand, Inosuke charged at Raiden with full momentum.
"Bang!"
In Aoi's vision, a dark figure flew backward across the courtyard.
Inosuke, defeated again—his ninety‑third challenge against Raiden—slid slowly down the wall with a helpless look.
Aoi stared at Raiden, who was clapping his hands lightly, then at Inosuke, and let out a small, resigned sigh.
This match had ended just as quickly as always.
Over the past month, Inosuke had been thrown like this countless times. Aoi knew the outcome every time, yet she still couldn't help but step forward to try to stop him.
Just then, Zenitsu walked into the courtyard. He glanced briefly at the fallen Inosuke before his gaze shifted to Raiden.
Zenitsu didn't even have to think to know why Inosuke was in that state.
That hotheaded guy had endless energy. If he didn't get beaten up at least once a day, Zenitsu would think something was wrong.
"Raiden!" Zenitsu called out.
"Have you finished your mission?"
"Yeah," Zenitsu said with enthusiasm. "This mission was pretty tricky. That demon had strong defense and power, but luckily its speed was slow."
"I relied on First Form to slowly slice through its neck. And it was snowing where we fought…"
Zenitsu excitedly recounted what he saw on his mission, while Raiden listened quietly without interrupting.
Over the past month, Zenitsu had gone on four missions, and each time he returned, he shared the details with Raiden.
Seeing Zenitsu become more cheerful made Raiden genuinely happy.
Zenitsu's development wasn't a complete turnaround compared to the original story, but it was a noticeable improvement. Compared to the more timid version Zenitsu shown in the anime, this version was more fitting, and Raiden found himself enjoying Zenitsu's presence—strange looks and all.
Time passed like a swift current, and another month quietly slipped away.
At Butterfly Mansion's training ground in the backyard, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke sat in a row on the edge, watching Raiden stand in the center.
Raiden stood like a sculpted figure, motionless, eyes closed. His breathing was deep and calm, and with each breath the air around him seemed to hum as if responding to his aura.
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