Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Chapter 311 Turnaround

Everything seems a little different now.

But Tanjiro couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. Was it the atmosphere that had changed? In any case, something inconspicuous had changed quietly, very suddenly, in a moment he didn't know, in a second he didn't catch up to see, in a second he didn't hear.

Something happened.

And so some things changed.

So Mr. Rengoku was slapped back hard, and Rinko looked different from before. She was angry, not just by smelling it, but completely visible to the naked eye.

The boy looked so angry that it was almost the first time Tanjiro had ever seen him so angry.

"Kyojuro, is this how you say you're going to cut off my head? Is this how you kneel on the ground and say you're going to kill me?"

Rinko approached step by step, each step light and gentle, without any deliberate attempt to conceal it; each step echoed clearly.

Tanjiro felt an invisible pressure, a completely different feeling from when he faced Akaza. When he faced Akaza, it was like facing a dangerous beast, a dangerous pressure that could be clearly felt and clearly existed. But now it was different. Rinko felt like he was being pushed into water, with soft water strongly covering his body.

It won't make you stiff or unable to move.

But it seems that no matter how much he struggles, he can't get rid of that feeling.

"No! I'll prove to you I'm serious! No one will die here today!"

Kyojuro stood up from the ground, shaking off the debris. He picked up the sword, took a deep breath, and felt intense pain with each breath. The broken bones were a burden, and his lungs ached slightly with each breath. His arms and calves were also sore. The aftereffects of fighting Akaza were starting to take effect at this moment.

But Kyojuro just smiled, raised his long sword, opened his palm, and slowly but firmly gripped the hilt.

"Mr. Purgatory!"

Tanjiro could see how serious the other's injuries were, and he naturally raised his sword, wanting to join the battle, but Kyojuro spoke up almost immediately.

"Don't come any closer! Kamado! Do what you're supposed to do! Leave Rinko to me!"

The loud voice instantly stopped Tanjiro, not because he was afraid, but because he realized the other meaning behind those words.

Do what he's supposed to do.

What is what he should do, what is what he can do now, and what is what he absolutely must do and most needs to do now?

Is it meaningful to think about these questions now? Shouldn't he take action first? No, he already learned his lesson from his battle against Akaza. Thinking is necessary, but acting rashly is wrong.

Mr. Purgatory has held off Rinko; the time he's bought for him is now the most important thing.

Should he go find Mr. Yiyong?

No, that's not the most important thing. Mr. Yiyong will be alright; he believes in him.

Mr. Yiyong would not want to be the one being taken care of; that's not the case.

These are not the focus tonight. Neither Giyuu nor Rinko are the most important things.

All the demons will die if Muzan is killed. Only when all the demons are dead can those of us still in the Infinity Castle be truly safe. That is the most important objective for tonight.

Yes, they were originally looking for Muzan by following the crow's guidance! They were stopped here because they were distracted by Rinko!

Damn it! I didn't realize something so simple until now!

But where is Muzan? And why is Rinko here? All the Upper Rank demons have been scattered to hold them back. Someone has been keeping them scattered to buy time for Muzan and to prevent them from finding him easily. So why is Rinko here? Is she here to stall them?

So why stay here?

Tanjiro raised his head and looked around.

Why choose such a place?

A long corridor? No cover, no hiding place—was it because it was inconvenient to create? No, no, no. When he fought Akaza, that place looked perfectly suited to Akaza's style. The master of this place has the ability to create more suitable battlegrounds for demons. In other words, it's not that they couldn't create them, but that they had no choice. Rinko had to be here, even if the location wasn't ideal.

why.

Was Muzan somewhere after this? Or somewhere further away?

Why is Rinko keeping them stuck here? Wouldn't it be better to just drive them away? Wouldn't it be better to just drag Mr. Purgatory away like before and take them somewhere else? Why keep going around in circles here? There must be some reason why they have to stay here.

Tanjiro gripped his sword tightly, gritting his teeth. He stood there, surveying the surrounding area, the ruins beside him, the blood everywhere, and the scattered corpses in the distance. It was a long corridor, but it couldn't be endless. Was there an end to this corridor?

No, that's not right. Think about it carefully, think about Tanjiro again.

Rin was clearly better suited to a more open battleground with more cover, but he ultimately chose this location. Why? What's here? What's nearby? There must be something here.

Tanjiro's mind raced. He gripped his sword tightly, racking his brains, his eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to find anything amiss.

His nose was almost useless in this place; the smell of blood was too strong. Too many people had died, and the smell was too intense. It was almost like being soaked in a pool of blood. In the end, the entire Infinite City was originally a place filled with ghosts and blood, and now it was even more of a mess.

Besides that, the lingering scent of wisteria on Rinko's body was really bothering his nose.

Why does it smell so strong?!

Wait, wisteria flowers.

Lady Tamayo was right next to Muzan at the time, and Rinko was also there. So if Rinko was there, then Muzan couldn't have been far away.

Whether it's a corpse or blood, even when it's being thrown away, it's not without purpose. Even ghosts have their own thoughts and don't just act without any intention. The location of the scattered corpses, the end of the flowing blood, and the angle chosen when being thrown away.

wrong.

In this long corridor, there was an area that was unaffected. Everyone was moving in the same direction, not because they didn't know where the end was, but in an open space further away from the corpses, the place where they had been blocked and unable to get close.

Almost instantly, Tanjiro took off running towards the only open space.