Higashikuze Akiho's very existence was thought to be taboo among demons and humans alike: she was a half-demon, the first of her kind. But being taken in and rasied by a former pillar with a strong sense of justice and a hatred for Kibutsuji Muzan...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
第十八话
The news of Kyoujurou's death was immediately sent to Kagaya and the other pillars. The kakushi worked hard to clean up the scene and took a headcount of all of the passengers on the train before letting them go. Since only a few were awake during the attack, mainly those who were manipulated by Enmu, the others simply thought it was a train malfunction and they were lucky to have all survived. The pillar's body was moved and the injured slayers were immediately taken back to the Butterfly Estate.
But one person was not present.
After Akiho witnessed the death of the Flame Pillar, something snapped and she had this look on her face. It wasn't of sorrow or regret, but of pure, unadulterated rage. Of course she was angry; anyone would be. But Tanjirou picked up an unsettling scent from the girl, and even Zenitsu disclosed that the 'sound' she made caused him to be apprehensive and so he stayed with Nezuko and her box until help came. Once the kakushi appeared, Akiho had taken off to retrieve her sword and disappeared without another trace.
Thus the crows that were delivering the news of Kyoujurou's honorable sacrifice also relayed the following message:
"Demon slayer Higashikuze Akiho has gone rogue!"
⚔
Akaza ran through the darkness until a giant mansion came into view. He had escaped from the sun at the nick of time and saved himself from getting burned and disintergrate into the sun, but the words from the weak demon slayer wearing hanafuda earrings stuck to him like a terrible rash.
"Don't run away! The Demon Slayer Corps are flesh and blood humans! Our wounds don't close quickly and lost limbs don't grow back! And yet you'll only fight us in the dark of the night when you have the advantage! Coward! You're afraid to admit that you haven't won today! Rengoku-san hasn't lost! He didn't let anyone die and so he's stronger—much stronger than you! This is your defeat!!"
He didn't want a weakling telling him that—it made him angry with frustration because he was not a coward. He set out to kill a strong pillar and that was what he did. And he did it perfectly. So why... Why did he let the punk's words affect him like this?!
The sword that was lodged in his chest... He kept it so that he can engrain the boy's face into his memories. He remembered that there was another slayer who threw her sword as well and it only grazed his cheek. She wasn't that notable aside from his surprise that she used some blood technique on him.
Is she a demon? He didn't get a look at her but he could sense that she wasn't completely human. Her technique didn't seem to do anything to him, either. The wind picked up as Akaza landed on the balcony on the second floor of the mansion. He bowed before a pale young boy with black hair and plum red eyes.
