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Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: Please Don’t Leave Me Again, Okay?

Aoi noticed the anomaly as well. "That sound... it felt like it was coming from every direction at once. I can't lock onto its position at all."

As the words left her lips, she closed her eyes, focusing her senses on the environment. As a user of Wood Breathing, she shared a profound, almost spiritual resonance with plant life. She attempted to extend her consciousness outward, weaving her mind into the "senses" of every tree within the forest.

Giyu didn't disturb her. He stood silently before her, a vigilant sentinel guarding her focus, his eyes scanning the eerie silence with the sharp intensity of a hawk.

Aoi's awareness spread through the roots deep underground. She could "see" the intricate vascular systems of the trees and "hear" the frantic information they whispered. At first, everything seemed tranquil, but soon, a sickening dissonance invaded her perception.

Deep beneath the earth, she felt a surge of frigid, malevolent energy.

This energy was like a gargantuan web, ensnaring the entire mountain. What horrified her most was how it acted like a parasitic vine, violently draining the life force from the land—the nutrients of the trees, the vitality of the soil, and even the faint, lingering essences of the murdered villagers trapped in the dirt.

Those bizarre whispers weren't coming from a specific mouth; they were being broadcast through this wicked network, echoing from countless points on the "web" simultaneously.

"It... it's underground!" Aoi snapped her eyes open, her face pale with dread. "The entire forest is acting as its body! It's consuming everything on this mountain!"

The moment she cried out, the world shifted.

Without warning, the ground beneath Giyu's feet gave way, collapsing into a bottomless pit. His reactions were instantaneous; with a sharp flick of his toes, he launched himself backward like an arrow from a bow.

But just as he was about to clear the danger zone, a massive hand—coalesced from mud and jagged rock—erupted from the hole and clamped around his ankle with a bone-crushing grip.

"Ngh!" Giyu let out a low, muffled grunt as he was violently jerked downward.

"Tomioka-san!"

"Don't worry about me!" Giyu's voice remained terrifyingly calm even as he was dragged. "Locate the main body! Strike the core!"

No sooner had the order left his mouth than he was swallowed by the earth. The pit sealed shut instantly, leaving the ground as smooth as if nothing had ever happened.

No... I can't panic!

Aoi gritted her teeth, forcing her mind into a state of frigid clarity. She sank her entire being back into her connection with the forest. This time, she ignored the roots lashing out at her; she looked through the obstacles, extending her perception infinitely deep into the soil to find the source of that rotting energy.

There! Found it!

Aoi's eyes snapped open, blazing with resolve. "Wood Breathing, Third Form: Blade of Withered Judgment!"

She raised her blade high above her head and brought it down against the earth with everything she had.

A shimmering slash erupted from her sword, splitting into two distinct, crescent-shaped waves of energy. They struck the ground in rapid succession. The force radiated outward from Aoi like a massive, invisible shockwave, plunging deep into the strata.

BOOM—!!!

The entire forest shuddered. The roots constricting Aoi were shattered into splinters, turning into a blizzard of woodchips. Deep underground, the countless energy filaments connecting the demon to its "body" were forcibly stripped away and snapped like brittle spiderwebs under the weight of the vibration.

"Wh—What?!" A roar of startled rage echoed from beneath the earth.

The demon could feel it—the connection to its physical form was being severed by force.

Immediately after, the second arc of emerald energy followed, acting like a precision drill. It traced the "channel" carved by the first strike and bored into the depths of the mountain without resistance.

"NOOOO—!!!"

A piercing, soul-shredding shriek erupted from the deep, sounding as if the earth itself were wailing in agony. Aoi could feel something massive surging toward the surface.

CRASH—!!!

With an explosion more violent than any that had come before, the ground beneath Aoi's feet buckled and burst upward. A massive pillar of water, mud, and stone shot into the sky. At the crest of the eruption, two figures were hurled into the air: a monstrous demon and a man.

It was Giyu!

His haori was tattered and torn, his skin covered in grime and fresh abrasions, but his blue eyes remained as calm as a deep, sunless sea. Even as he was launched, he adjusted his posture mid-air and landed with perfect stability.

"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"

His feet barely touched the ground before he blurred into a streak of motion. He charged toward the massive demonic silhouette still tumbling through the air. His blade, wreathed in a torrential dragon of water, swept downward with unerring precision, carving through the demon's neck.

The moment the head hit the ground, the massive body crumbled like collapsing sand, dissolving into black mist that scattered in the wind.

"Tomioka-san!"

Overcome with relief, Aoi burst into tears and ran toward him. She threw her arms around him, burying her face against his solid chest and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Waaaaah... Tomioka-san... I thought... I thought I'd never see you again..."

Giyu's body turned rigid. He was poorly equipped to handle such raw, explosive displays of emotion. He instinctively started to raise his hand, but hesitated, unsure of where to place it.

Finally, after a long moment, he reached out. Using the pad of a calloused thumb, he gently brushed a tear from her cheek. "You did well."

As the demon faded, the souls of those he had consumed manifested as glowing, pearlescent dust, rising slowly from the soil. They hovered for a moment, wearing smiles of liberation, and offered silent nods of gratitude toward Aoi and Giyu. Then, following the path of the moonlight, they vanished into the night sky.

The tension holding Aoi together finally snapped. Her head felt heavy, and the world began to tilt and sway before her eyes. Her grip on Giyu's arm slackened, and her body began to slide toward the ground.

Giyu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Without a word, he caught her, sweeping her up into a horizontal carry before sprinting down the mountain.

While trapped underground, Giyu had felt the unique nature of Aoi's breathing. It was resilient, filled with the tenacity of life itself and a natural affinity for the world. But he also realized that forcing such a power came at a devastating cost to her own body.

"...Kazama Aoi, don't die," Giyu murmured under his breath. 

He thought of his sister. He thought of Sabito. He thought of all those who had been carved out of his life.

He was tired of losing people. So please... don't leave me again, okay?

 

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