As Sukuna's words faded, Shinobu and Kazumi, still standing where they were, felt the entire earth tremble violently. It felt as if something beneath the ground was churning in secret, stirring up raging waves.
"What... what is happening?!" Kazumi nearly fell from the earthquake-like tremor and only managed to stay upright by grabbing onto a wooden wall.
Shinobu was in a similar situation. Having been crouching to examine clues, she shifted to one knee to steady herself.
Beyond the two of them, buildings within a radius of over a hundred meters were clearly affected, as if by a real earthquake. The screams of panicked people rang in Shinobu and Kazumi's ears.
Shinobu's expression changed. She did not know what Sukuna had done, but the scale and impact were far too excessive.
She had slain demons with Blood Demon Arts before, but none that could replicate anything close to an earthquake.
A quick glance told her the affected area exceeded a hundred meters. This completely overturned Shinobu's understanding of demons and Blood Demon Arts alike. Even though she was starting to believe Sukuna was not a demon, she could not help comparing him to demon standards.
So this was the difference between a demon and a demon god...
Shinobu could only force herself to remain calm and force a smile as she explained to Kazumi.
"The demon seems to be hiding underground. He is currently... hunting it."
Her explanation lacked confidence. She did not really understand what was happening either.
"...This is the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Kazumi, knowing nothing, accepted the explanation far more easily.
At least a being capable of such divine feats was on humanity's side. That was far more reassuring than the opposite.
The reason for this display was that Sukuna had not targeted the ground itself with his Cleave this time. Instead, he had aimed at what lay beneath it from the very start.
As Cleave took effect, Sukuna quickly noticed something unusual. The cutting feedback did not go deep before the ground gave way—not to packed earth, but to something more like a swamp or an underground spring.
Deep within that subterranean swamp, the Swamp Demon had no idea what was coming. He only sensed night gradually falling and prepared to surface, as usual, to find a woman to devour.
As he rose, he vaguely felt something happening above. After all, the slashes of Sukuna's technique did not have a physical presence.
The Swamp Demon possessed the ability to split himself into three separate entities that could act independently.
The most eager one, rising ahead of the others, was instantly shredded in the swamp and turned into a cloud of blood mist.
What?!
Before the other two could react, the slashes covered them both at the same time. Their fate was the same—cut into mince.
This would not kill him outright, but regenerating from this level of damage would take considerable time and effort. He was even forced to pull his three split bodies back together to speed up his recovery.
Even now, the Demon could not figure out what had just happened to him.
The slashes destroyed the hair ornaments he had collected as souvenirs from the women, yet he did not even feel anger.
In the Demon's view, this attack was clearly a Blood Demon Art. There was no way it could be connected to those Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen.
But a Blood Demon Art powerful enough to instantly kill him like this could not possibly belong to an ordinary demon. It had to be one of the Twelve Kizuki serving under Muzan.
Yet it was not fully dark yet, and the Swamp Demon could not think of anything he had done to warrant being targeted by one of the Twelve Kizuki.
Just as the Demon was slowly regenerating, Sukuna's attack finally ended.
Sukuna looked at the ground, slightly puzzled. Had that actually killed the demon?
He had thought this demon was supposed to be special, so he had put in a little effort as a greeting.
Once the tremors stopped, Shinobu immediately came to Sukuna's side. She opened her mouth, hesitated, and ultimately did not dare to ask what had happened.
Sukuna slowly stood up, crossed his arms over his chest, and asked Shinobu.
"Not all demons with Blood Demon Arts are strong?"
"..."
Shinobu did not answer immediately. She thought carefully for a long time before speaking.
"Strength depends on what you compare it to. Compared to demons that cannot use Blood Demon Arts, they are stronger. But compared to you, they are merely weak."
This was not Shinobu deliberately flattering Sukuna. It was simply that stating the facts sounded like flattery to anyone listening.
Seeing Sukuna simply standing there waiting, Shinobu quietly waited beside him.
In truth, Sukuna could smell the increasingly strong stench of blood from his attack. He was waiting for the demon to come out on its own. Digging it out would be too much trouble and too stupid.
Before long, they saw a patch of pitch-black shadow appear on the ground not far away. From it emerged a red-eyed demon with disheveled hair, a bare, pale upper body, and a tangle of limbs.
The reason for him being naked was that Sukuna's slashes had destroyed everything he had been wearing.
Straight, vertical lines of scar tissue could be seen across his body and face—signs that he had not yet fully regenerated. He looked quite ragged.
A demon!
Shinobu instinctively reached for the Nichirin Blade at her waist, but the moment she pulled it two fingers' width, she noticed the weight was wrong. She remembered that her sword had been broken in the fight with Sukuna.
She glanced at Sukuna, who had not moved, and ultimately abandoned the idea.
As for the Swamp Demon, he was stunned when he saw two Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen—Sukuna and Shinobu. Where was the Kizuki who had attacked him?
Was that Kizuki traveling with these two swordsmen?
He could not possibly be expected to believe that the attack just now had come from those swordsmen, could he?
What a joke... Hm?
As the Swamp Demon ground his teeth in rage, he suddenly noticed Sukuna's face. The second pair of eyes beneath his normal ones—those did not seem to be decorations, did they?
...Was he a demon?
A demon who had become a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman?
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Sorry for the late update, I was trying out how to schedule chapters here, and it went a little wrong.
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