Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Chapter 118 Exposed

"Mr. Purgatory!"

Tanjiro shouted anxiously.

"Don't worry, Kyojuro looks fine."

The one who answered him was Rinkou's calm voice.

But if the fight continues, that's not certain. Rinko didn't say the second half of the sentence.

According to Akaza's habit, the more he hits, the harder he will hit, and the more serious the injury will be. At that time, Akaza will begin to induce and persuade, hoping that the human whose injury cannot be healed will be willing to accept the suggestion of becoming a ghost.

So even though Kyojuro looks fine now, if this continues, Kyojuro will undoubtedly be the only one who will be seriously injured.

Maybe he would die.

"So you're here. The adults said you were nearby, but I looked everywhere but couldn't find you..."

The voice appeared earlier than the real body. The pair of golden eyes were like candles flickering in the darkness, gradually getting closer from far away.

"So I thought if we fought, at least you'd notice the commotion over here and be willing to come out. I didn't expect you'd want to fight yourself. That's quite some progress, Rinkou."

Unlike Kyojuro who had already prepared his moves, Akaza was almost taking a leisurely stroll.

As soon as he came out, he immediately set his eyes on Lin Guang who had finally appeared. After not seeing him for a long time, the boy was still as hard to find. As long as the other party did not appear in his sight, he could not find any trace of him in the entire area.

But even if the other party was standing there, the fighting spirit on his body was so thin that it was difficult to detect with the naked eye. From the perspective of fighting spirit, Lin Guang looked even worse than the boy next to him.

"Your opponent is me! Stay away from that kid!"

The one who answered Akaza was not Rinko, but Kyojuro who flew out at an angle.

The blade was blocked by his arm, and as he exerted force, the muscles locked tightly, and he couldn't pull it out. Akaza's eyes darted around before finally landing on Kyojuro's face. He sighed as if he had suddenly realized something.

"Ah, I see... You're playing a game, so that's why you're hiding."

The ambiguous remarks made Kyojuro frown tightly, but Akaza's subtle attitude and the conflicted expression on Tanjiro's face, everything seemed to imply that there was some incredible secret.

"It's a shame, Rinkou, but it's time for playtime to end."

Akaza's tone was leisurely, and one arm was enough to restrain Kyojuro's blade as he swung it with all his might. As he exerted force to shake his arm away, Kyojuro's hand holding the blade was also pulled to the side by the force.

"Then it's time to follow me, Rinkou."

Akaza put one hand on his waist and spoke in an almost helpless tone.

"Rinko."

It was Tanjiro who called out. He looked at Rinko, who had remained silent since emerging from Akaza, standing there as still as a wooden sculpture. He knew Rinko was a demon, but what kind of demon was she? Did she have some unknown connection to this Upper Rank Three who had appeared out of nowhere? And what was the purpose of his calling out? There were so many questions that even Tanjiro didn't know what to expect.

This call seemed to awaken the sculpture, and Rinko finally opened his mouth, but not towards Tanjiro, but towards Akaza.

"First of all, I wasn't hiding. I was just watching. I had to move here because you guys were fighting in the woods. Second, I wasn't playing games. I was serious about making friends."

"Being friends with humans? Yuhu is at least right about this. Your brain is really going to be damaged by human food."

Akaza took a step forward, completely ignoring Kyojuro who was holding a knife and ready to strike, and also ignoring Inosuke and Tanjiro who were right in front of him, and walked straight towards Rinko.

Naturally, Kyojuro becomes an obstacle.

"I don't understand what you're talking about! But no matter what! I won't let you hurt them!"

"You still don't understand the situation, Kyojuro! Of course he won't die here!"

You spoke and he spoke, the battle started again in an instant, and Rinkou almost sighed.

Why did these two come together? A hyperactive teenager with a love for fighting, and a straightforward, enthusiastic stove owl. Neither of them combined could create a complete brain capable of calm thinking and a mouth capable of normal communication.

"So that's why you're here."

Rinkou interrupted the fight with a question, and when Akaza heard the sound, he quickly shook Kyojuro off, jumped up and then fell down, keeping a certain distance from both sides to prevent Kyojuro from interrupting him again.

"Obviously, your temporary playmate is unqualified, so I have to take over."

His tone was relaxed, his expression was calm, and he was completely relaxed with one hand on his waist. His free hand was casually spread out, and he shrugged.

The hand fell along with the last note and stretched out towards Rinko.

To be honest, the atmosphere now is a bit subtle.

Kyojuro still gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, ready to explode at any moment, but it just stopped there for a second; Tanjiro's mouth opened and closed, he struggled to stand up from the ground, obviously wanting to say something, but not a single syllable came out; Inosuke didn't dare to move at all, he dared to fight when facing the boy, but facing an Upper Rank 3, he even had difficulty breathing.

"Rinko!"

The call that broke the silence came at the moment when Rinkou was about to take a step forward. His foot landed in the forward position, and that direction was Akaza. There was no doubt that the boy had made his choice.

"Rinko, maybe you can come back with us... Becoming a ghost isn't the only path."

Tanjiro's voice was trembling and his words were stuttering. He didn't know how to express himself, nor was he sure if it was ridiculous to say such words in front of another ghost. He just wanted to keep Rinko.

The boy tilted his head and stood there without moving, but thought seriously for a while, finally looked at him and shook his head.

"I don't seem to have any reason to stay."

The topic was ended in one sentence.

He was right. Even Tanjiro had to admit that it was unreasonable for a demon to stay with a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Moreover, Rinko was not Nezuko. No one could prove his innocence, and no one could vouch for him. If he was taken back, he might be killed immediately...

"and many more."

When Rinko turned around, Tanjiro called him again. Rinko turned around patiently. What he saw was Tanjiro holding the wound on his abdomen with one hand, and the other hand seemed to be groping for something in his arms.

"I think this should be yours. I've seen patterns like this on all the things you left behind."

Before Lin Guang opened his mouth to ask what it was, he saw the thing clearly. His pupils contracted in an instant, his heart seemed to be pinched, and his breathing stopped.

It was an exquisite wood carving, undoubtedly made by him, because it was exactly the image of Lei.

Silence, deathly silence.

Only the boy's footsteps could be heard clearly in everyone's ears. He walked up to Tanjiro and looked at the wooden sculpture stretched out in his hand.

"Where's the spider silk?"

he asks.

"What."

Tanjiro didn't know what Rinko was asking. He also lowered his head to look at the wooden sculpture, but still couldn't understand the meaning of this sentence.

"Where's the spider silk?"

The boy who asked the question just stubbornly and stubbornly repeated his question again. Looking at the exquisite wooden sculpture, the pair of wooden hands stretched towards the sky, there was nothing in them.

The child, who had always been slow to react, only realized at this moment what he had lost.

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"It's not your fault! Don't be so discouraged! Besides, we haven't gained nothing!"

Kyojuro's usual high-pitched tone couldn't really comfort Tanjiro. He didn't understand. He clearly wanted to keep Rinko and hoped that she would be willing to stay. When he took out the wooden sculpture, she came back just as he expected.

But in the end, why did it end like that?

Tanjiro turned his head to look out the car window, but what was reflected in the glass was not his face, but Rinko's appearance that night.

The boy lowered his head for a long time, looking at the wooden sculpture in his hands, so long that Tanjiro almost felt his arms stiffen. Then he raised his head. Before he felt relieved and wanted to say anything, he saw those eyes, calm as a pool of stagnant water.

Nothing happened, and Rinkou didn't say anything.

But Tanjiro felt that at that moment, he seemed to have really lost something and could never catch it again.

"I understand, thank you."

Rinko took the wooden sculpture from his hand, turned around the next second, and walked towards Akaza without any reluctance.

"Rinko! I mean, if you want..."

"I do not want."

Before he could finish his words, the boy interrupted him, for the first time.

The hand grabbed Akaza's hand and was picked up lightly by the other party. No one dared to stop them, and no one would stop them. Kyojuro seemed to be still digesting everything in front of him, and Tanjiro still couldn't understand what was happening.

But in the next second, they had no time to think about those things.

Because in just a moment, the feeling of oppression, pressure, and even the aura almost all disappeared. Although the two ghosts were still clearly standing in front of him, their existence seemed to be erased, and what remained in his sight seemed to be just non-existent phantoms.

If it weren't for the light taste that still remained, Tanjiro would almost doubt his eyes.

"I hope we never meet again, Tanjiro."

The boy turned his head, and there were clear words in his eyes.

First moon zero.

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【tips：

Let's chat for a moment. Although Rinko knew she was exhausted, she didn't know it was Tanjiro's doing. She'd only heard about it, and while it was painful, she hadn't realized the full extent of the pain like she did now.

They say the saddest thing isn't when someone dies; the saddest thing is discovering the traces they left behind. But after a demon dies, all traces of their presence vanish. So, seeing the vanishing spider silk was far more shocking to Rinko than simply seeing the wood carving itself. He also knew that Lei had died, and the moment he saw the wood carving, he realized that this gift could only appear in the hands of someone who was on that mountain at the time. He didn't see it when he passed by the two pillars, but Tanjiro did. So, regardless of whether Tanjiro was the murderer, Lei was there when he died. (Because Lei was carrying this gift with him.)

Why did Rinkou suddenly reveal himself? One reason was that he had already exposed himself to Tanjiro, and the other was that he now clearly understood the fundamental contradiction between humans and demons. Demon hunters want to kill demons. He had never thought it was a big deal before, but after someone close to him died, he realized how dangerous these people were. The balance in his heart completely tipped to one side. (You could also say, he gave up on himself.)

Why didn't Kyojuro and Tanjiro kill Rinko? Tanjiro promised Tamayo that he would bring her back alive. Although Kyojuro didn't clearly know Rinko's identity, he realized it belatedly under Akaza's sarcasm. However, with the case of Nezuko before him, he would of course prioritize protecting the more unique and familiar Rinko. However, no one had thought that Rinko was not only a demon, but also an upper-rank demon.

I think the Demon Slayer Corps, knowing about Rinko's special case, will prioritize keeping him alive. But if there aren't any conditions or opportunities, they'll prioritize killing him, after all, he's an Upper Rank. I'll try to organize a meeting later to share the information with the Demon Slayer Corps.