Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 21 - Unlocking True Strength

Yuki's mind and body filled with rage watching Akaza smirk at her, but she swore she would kill him with her own two blades. A bright blue flash blinded everyone within view, which gave Yuki an opening to free herself.

She cut off Akaza's arm that was impaling her, freeing herself from his body. Once she was free, she charged towards him, aiming to slice through his neck with both of her swords.

Without hesitation, Akaza slammed down on one of her blades, sending it cutting down through his stomach, while he caught onto the other one, "You're a lot stronger than you look! I bet if you were loyal, you would be an Upper Rank by my side."

"After what Kibutsuji did to my family, I would never be loyal to that bastard!" Yuki yelled, letting out a large burst of ice towards Akaza.

He scoffed, baraging Yuki with more and more attacks, going quicker than he was before, "That's such a shame. I would have loved to challenge you under better circumstances, but Lord Muzan will get his way whether you like it or not."

Kyojuro was heavily injured while he was fighting Akaza, but he tried to pull himself off the ground.

"Mr. Rengoku! What are you doing?" Tanjiro yelled, seeing him attempt to stand.

"I have to help her!" Kyojuro shouted, using his sword to prop himself up.

"Stay back Kyojuro!" Yuki shouted, creating a large wall of ice in between them.

"Yuki!" Kyojuro shouted in kind, coughing up some blood as he tried to stand again, "You can't take him on your own!"

"I said stay back! You're injured! I can handle this!"

Kyojuro was worried seeing how much energy she was using. He knew the major consequence using her powers had. He worried about the toll her mind and body would have.

Akaza laughed at the shouting match between the two, "Ha! The lovebirds are trying to protect each other! It's a shame it won't mean anything after tonight."

"Just die you damn demon!" She screamed, letting off a slash of ice from her blade.

Akaza easily dodged the blast, his face still wearing an excited grin, "It seems your blood demon art is similar to another demon I know, but you're nowhere near as strong as him."

The two continued to battle intensely, but Kyojuro was growing increasingly worried about Yuki. He needed to get to her to give her her medicine, but he couldn't risk reopening his wounds either. He looked back at Tanjiro, a serious expression on his face, "Young Kamado, where are Zenitsu and Inosuke?"

"I can only assume they are still helping people get out of the train."

"Dammit. I need one of them here. Yuki's in grave danger."

Tanjiro could see the worry on Kyojuro's face, "I know. She's taking on an Upper Rank on her own."

"That is not why she's in danger," Kyojuro explained, "She's in danger because of her powers."

"Her powers? What are you talking about Mr. Rengoku?"

"Unlike normal demons, Yuki's powers are based on her stamina. Once she runs out, she begins to lose control of them. If she remains in that state for too long, it completely drains her of her energy."

"Is there a way we can stop that from happening?"

Kyojuro nodded, pulling out a box that contained a syringe and a vial of purple medicine, "This medicine is able to keep her from losing control, but it needs to be administered intravenously for it to be effective immediately."