Gathering of the Pillars

Chapter 91 Gathering of the Pillars

The fragrance of wisteria blossoms floated in the cool evening breeze, birds and brave men wandered through the corridors, and the wooden floorboards creaked softly underfoot.

They traveled through the night and finally arrived at the Ubuyashiki mansion before nightfall.

In the very center of the courtyard, several figures had been standing for a long time.

"Ah... Amitabha... This humble monk hears the footsteps of hope. It must be Giyu and Asuka returning."

Beimingyu Xingming, with his towering, mountain-like body, sat cross-legged at the front, his hands rapidly turning the Buddhist prayer beads between his fingers, producing a low, rhythmic clinking sound.

Two lines of clear tears were streaming down his completely white eyes, seeping into the creases of his cheeks.

I can't tell if I was crying tears of joy or if the wind made me cry uncontrollably.

Under the shade of the tree, Obanai Iguro crouched on a slanted branch, the white snake "Kaburamaru" around her neck flicking its tongue uneasily.

...We've finally arrived. Don't these two know they can take a car?

His heterochromatic golden-green eyes gleamed in the shadows, his gaze lingering on the bird: "It seems you're a bit more powerful than I thought, Storm Pillar. Congratulations."

"This is truly cause for celebration, even though it's not Upper Moon One."

"Oh dear, Mr. Iguro, don't be so harsh..." Mitsuri Kanroji sat to the side, forcing a sweet smile. "It's already amazing that everyone was able to defeat the Upper Moon! Mr. Iguro also defeated Upper Moon Six, didn't he?"

"..." Obanai Iguro sullenly withdrew his light, looking helplessly at Mitsuri, who didn't seem to be able to get angry at him.

This made Kanroji Mitsuri quite uneasy. Her large, emerald-green eyes were filled with tension. She would glance at the empty spot left by Kocho Shinobu, and then twist her fingers as she felt Mr. Iguro's burning gaze.

"Well done, Asuka!"

Kyojuro Rengoku was also present at the meeting today. He patted Asuka heavily on the shoulder: "Just one more Demon Moon and we'll be able to face Muzan Kibutsuji! That's truly exhilarating!"

Tokito Muichiro, who had trained Asuka, also looked at him and nodded kindly: "Congratulations."

The only one who remained silent throughout was Sanemi Shinazugawa, who sat quietly on the ground.

As a fellow swordsman from Hayama, Asuka, as a junior, repeatedly achieved great feats, making him both happy for his teacher Arashizaki and troubled by his own situation.

Why haven't I encountered any Upper Moons yet? No way... I have to kill Upper Moon One before this kid does.

At this moment, apart from the severely injured Shinobu Kocho and Tengen Uzui, who was recuperating from the poison he suffered in the battle against Upper Moon Six, all the Pillars had assembled.

Of course, the fist pillar doesn't count.

Kara—

The door to the Japanese-style room was opened.

Two young girls, Nika and Hina, were helping the figure in a plain kimono out, one on each side.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's health is worse than it was a few months ago, and Asuka can sense it.

The purplish-black curse marks had almost covered half of his body, and he was so thin that a gust of wind could blow him over.

Even so, he forced himself to leave the inner quarters, just to personally share this exhilarating joy with the swordsmen: "My brave swordsmen... brave children... welcome back... cough cough..."

With the support of his daughters, he sat down shakily and looked at the crowd with his unfocused eyes.

"My lord, please take care of yourself..." The tall rock pillar bowed deeply, his voice filled with sorrow.

"It's alright, Gyomei... I will not fall until that man's head hits the ground." Kagaya smiled slightly, his voice still as gentle as a spring breeze: "I'm sure you all know why I've gathered everyone here—"

"For the past hundred years, the position of the Upper Moon has never changed, and we have always been in a passive position... But in these few days, the gears of fate... have finally begun to turn violently like never before."

"The Upper Moon demon has been slain! Well done, Asuka, Giyu, Obanai..." He laughed at the participants in the arena, his voice trembling with excitement.

"It's all part of my duty," Asuka replied politely, mimicking the manner of the other two Pillars.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki waved his hand, signaling his daughters to bring out an old book and hand it to everyone: "Besides, in these battles, a miracle spanning a century is being revived..."

"We have grasped the key to defeating Muzan Kibutsuji—the Demon Slayer Mark."

The pillars raised their heads, staring at their lord in bewilderment.

Stripes? What are those?

Kagaya Ubuyashiki was too physically able to speak for long periods of time, so a black-haired boy named Teruya Ubuyashiki stepped forward and explained to the crowd on his behalf: "My lords, the Demon Slayer Mark is a power that has been passed down since the Warring States period. It is said to be able to push a person's physical limits and advance their physical abilities and swordsmanship to a higher level."

"We don't know the specific reason for its appearance, we only know that so far only Lord Asuka and Mr. Tanjiro have awakened similar powers."

After speaking, he looked at his lord beside him and received a nod of approval from the other party.

"Lord Giyuu, tell everyone about the changes in you after the battle at Mount Myoko," Kiriya said softly.

All eyes turned to Giyu Tomioka.

Giyuu, who had been bowing his head in silence, pointed to his cheek: "During the battle, I was almost killed by an Upper Moon demon. A series of flashbacks appeared before my eyes, and I remembered many people and events."

"My body started burning up, my movements became faster, and my reaction speed became more agile."

"above."

"Huh—? That's it?" Shinazugawa Sanemi couldn't contain himself and asked urgently, "If a mere life-or-death crisis can unleash someone's potential, isn't that a bit too easy?"

"I really envy your mind that thinks this is so simple," Giyu said casually.

"...You brat, you think you're so tough after killing an Upper Moon demon?"

No, not at all.

Seeing that Shinazugawa Sanemi was about to erupt, Kanroji Mitsuri quickly intervened to mediate: "Oh dear, does that mean if each of us trains this power, we can easily defeat Muzan? Hehe, that's great, is the chaos about to end?"

Kagaya placed his hand on the shoulder of the somewhat nervous Kagaya, then looked at Asuka: "Asuka, as the first Pillar to awaken your mark, what experience do you have?"

The bird frowned, deep in thought.

He had already discussed the matter of the markings with his lord's crow and Rengoku Kyojuro, but they didn't reach a complete conclusion at the time.

But after Giyu's seemingly contagious awakening of his markings, he felt he had a direction again: "I guess it was Mr. Tomioka's near-death experience that night that triggered his strong emotions."

"The first time I had this experience was when I was fighting against Upper Moon Three. At that time, I just felt that I couldn't lose, I couldn't fall."

"He must be like me, with his blood burning and his heart beating so fast it was almost bursting, which is why he was able to have such an outburst."

"As for the rest, I don't know. That's all."

Although Asuka's description is more specific than Giyu's, it is still quite abstract.

"If I had to say... my heart rate was probably over two hundred beats per minute during that period," Giyu added.

"Two hundred times?" Obanai Iguro frowned. "In that state, a human's internal organs would have been ruined long ago."

Humans are not machines; they can't be adjusted back to normal when overloaded.

With a heart rate like that... Tomioka, are you really okay?

The crowd exchanged glances, finding it difficult to comment on Fu Fengyi's statement.

Muichiro Tokito, who had been expressionless the whole time, was the first to accept the concept: "Perhaps this is the screening method for whether or not the body will develop markings."

"If you can withstand it, you will awaken; if you can't, you will die."

His cold words made the timid Mitsuri cover her mouth, and even the composed Himejima Gyoumei put his hands together and remained silent.

Although the atmosphere was already quite tense, Kagaya still took over, his tone becoming even more serious: "Also, there's something I must explain to you."

"If you activate the markings, it means you are severely overdrawing your life force. You can gain power that surpasses that of demons, but there will be no turning back."

"None of the swordsmen who awakened their markings lived past the age of twenty-five."

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