Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey-Chapter 166: Golden Trio

[3rd POV]

The trio stood at the edge of a dense bamboo forest, the wind rustling through the tall stalks. The sunlight barely filtered through the thick leaves, casting a muted green glow on the forest floor.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke. They were three of the most talented Demon Slayers of this era. They took the Demon Slayer exams together and from then on, they had become an unlikely trio as they did missions together.

Lord Ubuyashiki encouraged joint missions more than individual ones. With the unpredictability of demons these days, it was safer and in case an unexpected demon appeared, one person could survive and pass on information about the demon. That was the main aim of the joint missions.

"Alright," Tanjiro said with his usual gentle smile, adjusting the sword on his back. His sword was a normal katana, but he preferred to put it on his back to imitate his idol. He'd heard his idol used to do that when he was younger.

"The villagers said they've been hearing strange noises at night. It's probably the demon we are looking for,"

"Strange noises?!" Zenitsu's face went pale. His knees buckled immediately, and he grabbed Tanjiro's haori as if his life depended on it. "You mean... like creepy whispers? Or... or footsteps that stop when you listen?! What if it's a ghost?! What if it's worse than a demon?! WHAT IF IT'S BOTH?!"

"Calm down, Zenitsu," Tanjiro said patiently, prying the trembling boy off his arm. "We've fought demons before. This one shouldn't be any different."

"HA! You're all scared of a little noise?" Inosuke puffed out his chest, his boar mask tilting upward proudly. "I'll headbutt any demon that shows its face! I'll even headbutt the darkness itself!" He clenched his fists and roared into the forest, "COME AT ME, YOU COWARDS!"

Zenitsu flinched. "Oh my god, he is making it worse!"

Inosuke just grunted and flexed. "Bah, fear is for weaklings."

"Fear is for survival!" Zenitsu corrected with a shrill voice. "Something you wouldn't understand!"

"Enough, you two." Tanjiro sighed but couldn't help smiling. He wouldn't say it but he appreciated these little moments. Zenitsu's cowardice and Insokue's recklessness balanced each other out.

"Let's just stick together and stay alert. The villagers said the noises came from deeper in the forest," he said before they all went deeper into the forest.

Tanjiro walked in front of the group, his dark red eyes focused on his surroundings and his senses were always alert. A thick forest like this was suitable to be a demon's hideout since they could come out even during the day. A demon could pop out from anywhere even if the sun was still out in the sky.

But time passed quickly as they ventured deeper into the forest. The warmth of the day had begun to fade, replaced by an eerie chill that clung to the air like the silence.

"Tanjiro... d-do you feel that?" Zenitsu's voice trembled as he spoke. His hands clenched tightly around his sword's hilt, knuckles turning white. His golden eyes darted left and right, scanning the dense forest like a frightened rabbit ready to bolt.

Tanjiro inhaled deeply through his nose, his brow furrowing as he picked up on something faint... but unmistakable.

"Blood," he murmured softly.

"B-BLOOD?!" Zenitsu's face went pale, his knees nearly buckling. "Why do we always walk toward the bad stuff?! Shouldn't we be running away from it?"

"We're Demon Slayers Zenitsu," Tanjiro reminded, causing him to groan and question his life choices.

"You do it for the girls...you do it for the girls....you do it for the girls...." he chanted his prayer like Gyomei.

"Stop whining, coward!" Inosuke barked, his boar mask producing smoke from the nose somehow. "Blood means one thing, A FIGHT!"

"Could you not sound happy about that?!" Zenitsu groaned.

Inosuke ignored him, his muscular frame vibrating with raw anticipation. "I can feel it. Something's nearby." He banged his chipped swords together with a resounding clang. "Finally!"

"Shh," Tanjiro shushed softly. "Let's not draw attention before we know what's out there."

Zenitsu, still clinging to Tanjiro's sleeve, whispered, "But we're already here... so we might as well—"

"Move," Tanjiro said abruptly, his tone serious.

The trio halted.

"What?" Zenitsu whimpered.

Tanjiro's expression hardened, his nose twitching as he sniffed again. The scent of blood was stronger now.

It was fresher.

It was moving.

"Something's... coming."

They waited in fearful anticipation but it never came. It seemed whatever was out there had noticed their readiness so it stopped instead of continuing.

The place became tense with silence. The trio sweat even though they remain still. The presence of a demon was always unnerving but this was even more so.

Or was it a demon in the first place?

"Too quiet," Tanjiro murmured, but his voice in absolute silence sounded like a scream.

Zenitsu gulped, his eyes darting around nervously. "W-what do you mean, 'too quiet'?"

"The forest... it's holding its breath." Tanjiro's eyes narrowed, "Even the birds stopped singing."

Zenitsu's grip on his sword tightened. "That's... not a good sign, is it?"

"No," Tanjiro said softly. "It's not."

Inosuke, however, was unfazed. His body was tense, his muscles coiled like a spring ready to explode. He was afraid too but fear seemed to excite him.

"Whatever's out there..." he growled, his fingers twitching over the hilts of his swords. "I'm gonna tear it apart."

"Inosuke," Tanjiro spoke a warning "Don't rush in. We don't know what we're dealing with yet."

"Pfft. Doesn't matter," Inosuke scoffed. "I'll take it down no matter what."

"Let's just stay together," Tanjiro said, being the voice of reason between two polar opposites yet again. "We'll face whatever's ahead... as a team."

Zenitsu swallowed hard. "A team... yeah... I like that plan. Safety in numbers, right?"

"Right," Tanjiro nodded, offering a reassuring smile.

But even as he spoke, a chill ran down his spine.

Something's not right.

..

..

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By sunset, the forest path led them to a clearing where an ancient shrine stood, hidden deep within the heart of the woods. The structure was crumbling, the wooden beams worn down by the river of time. Moss and vines crept along the stone walls, and the ground was littered with fallen and decayed leaves.

The scent of blood was strongest here.

"This place..." Tanjiro whispered, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area.

"C-creepy..." Zenitsu mumbled, his voice barely above a breath. "Why do places like this always look like they're straight out of a horror story?"

"Because they are," Inosuke answered but he seemed excited at the prospect.

Tanjiro's eyes fell on the centre of the shrine where a pedestal stood, cracked and worn. On top of it rested a black orb, pulsing faintly with an ominous greenish hue.

"Whoa..." Inosuke murmured, stepping closer. "What is that?"

"Be careful," Tanjiro warned, his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong.

"Looks like a giant marble," Inosuke snorted, raising his sword. "I say we smash it."

"NO!" Tanjiro and Zenitsu shouted in unison.

"Why not?!" Inosuke growled.

"Because..." Tanjiro's eyes narrowed. "It's not normal."

Zenitsu's voice trembled as he took a step back. "I... I don't like this... that thing feels... wrong."

Tanjiro's expression darkened as he stepped closer, his hand resting lightly on his sword's hilt.

"The blood..." he murmured. "It's coming from here."

Zenitsu's face paled. "What?!"

"Tanjiro..." Inosuke's tone shifted, his instincts picking up the change as well.

"Something-"

Before Tanjiro could finish, the ground beneath the orb shifted.

"GET BACK!"

The pedestal cracked, and the orb shattered with an earsplitting explosion. A pulse of demonic energy erupted from the centre, sending shockwaves through the air. The ground trembled violently as tendrils of shadow burst out writhing like serpents.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Inosuke roared, leaping back to avoid the tendrils.

"MOVE!" Tanjiro shouted, pushing Zenitsu out of harm's way.

The tendrils struck with terrifying speed, slicing through the air like whips.

"Thunder Breathing : First Form,"

The coward was the first to react to the situation as sparks of lighting exploded out from his body.

" THUNDERCLAP AND FLASH. "

Zenitsu moved in a blur of lightning, slicing through the tendrils. His blade cracked like thunder as he cut through them, but more emerged from the darkness.

"IT'S NOT STOPPING!" Zenitsu cried, panic rising in his voice.

"Water Breathing : Second Form,"

Tanjiro flipped in the air and his blade danced in a fluid arc, slicing through the tendrils with lesser force than Zenitsu's but with more precision.

"Water Wheel,"

But the tendrils keep coming no matter how much they cut them off. For every end they cut, three more seem to appear. They were getting overwhelmed.

"This... isn't normal," Tanjiro murmured, his senses picking up on something far more dangerous.

The ground began to twist right then and a demon emerged amid the chaotic tendrils

The demon was tall and gaunt, with pale blue skin covered in jagged black markings. His eyes glowed with demonic red and there was a number written in Kanji.

"One of the twelve Kizuki..." Tanjiro's said in surprise.

This wasn't the mission at all!!

The demon licked his lips, razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the dim light. "Ah... I was hoping for a quiet night,"

He purred in a very creepy way, "But... it seems I've been blessed with a feast."

"Feast?!" Zenitsu roared in rage. "I do the eating around here!! I'm gonna tear you apart!!"

The demon's grin widened. "Come, then,"

"Beast Breathing : Second Fang," Inosuke charged forward, his blades moving in a blur to create an X slash.

"Slice!!"

"TOO SLOW." the demon howled and then moved faster than Insokue could follow. He appeared behind him in just a split second.

"INOSUKE!" Tanjiro's voice rang out as he lunged forward.

"Water Breathing : Sixth Form,"

Tanjiro's blade spun in a deadly spiral, slicing through the air as he forced the demon to back off.

"Whirlpool,"

Zenitsu, despite his fear, gritted his teeth and moved to fight alongside his comrades. Often seen as a coward, Zenitsu was anything but.

After all, the person who fights despite the most fear must be the bravest. He was a human in mind, but also a warrior at heart.

"THUNDERCLAP AND FLASH!!"

The battle that ensued wrecked the forest. It went on for an hour or so, the trio did their best to fight against one of the new Twelve Kizuki but they were just not at that level yet.

Talented they may be, they were young and green.

Had the demon been more skilled, perhaps as killed as previous Lower Moons, the trio would've been dead by now. But the demon was just a product of Muzan's haste to create more powerful demons.

He had raw power but not the skill of a twelve Kizuki.

But even so, that was enough to overwhelm the trio.

"This is quite enough, for now, enough playing," the demon said and healed his wounds in a matter of seconds.

The trio were barely holding on, their breath sounded like needy gasps and their body ached with exhaustion and wounds. They were beginning to lose hope of surviving the night.

"My Blood Demon Art, Viel of Abyss allows me to control shadows and shape them into tendrils. But that is not where my main power lies," the demon said and started laughing darkly.

The moon hung in the middle of the sky, its light dimly lit the forest so the demonic red eyes were so very bright and evil.

"My main power is my domain!! I am a God there, I am unbeatable," the demon spread his arms and the shadow under his feet started expanding rapidly. They were pure black and darkness.

"So come!! Come to my abyss!!" the darkness swallowed the very ground they were standing on. They did not have time to react.

They could feel it, they were captured. They were slowly sinking into the darkness and into the domain the demons was talking about.

A chill ran down their spine.

'This is it...' they thought collectively.

But then something happened.

A blur.

No not even a blur. It looked more like a tremble of space.

So ridiculously fast that no one could see it, not even the demon. The thing caught the demon and took him to the ground. They sank almost immediately.

The darkness under the trio's feet receded and every black combined to form the familiar black orb which they had found in the beginning.

...

"What...just happened....?" Tanjiro asked dumbly.

"I don't know but we should run!!" Zenitus cried out, and his body immediately turned to run away from the forest.

This time, even Insouke agreed as he followed right behind Zenitsu. And then Tanjiro ran behind them, although his eyes lingered on the black orb, wondering what the hell just happened to the demon and what was the thing that took him.

He shook those useless heads out. He was exhausted and was in no shape to waste energy worrying more. They barely survived the encounter.

And so, the trio were saved that night and this encounter pushed them to work even harder.

..

..

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[3rd POV]

Darkness.

But not the absence of light. No.

This darkness was alive.

It stretched endlessly, pulsing like a living organism, the air thick and suffocating. The ground wasn't solid, it was a liquid shadow, viscous and unyielding, swallowing anything that touched it. Waves of inky blackness rippled outward as if the abyss itself was breathing, a slow, dreadful pulse echoing like a dying heartbeat.

The horizon was an endless void where the concept of distance ceased to exist. The sky was a shifting canvas of swirling black tendrils that danced and coiled like serpents.

The whole dimension was despair manifest.

This was Kurogami's domain. One of the newest members of the Twelve Kizuki who had survived a high dose of Muzan's blood and gained immense power.

He was a God here.

...

Or at least he was supposed to be.

"H-How..?" the demon's voice sounded beyond broken as he lay on the liquid shadow. His limbs were cut into pieces and he could not heal them, something was preventing him.

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The only parts that were in one piece were his chest, neck and head. He looked up, every fibre of his being shook as he gazed at the purple eyes looking down at him.

"I am supposed to be a God here," the demon sobbed like a child, "How am I defeated, why do I feel so scared?"

Living's Malice.

But the swordsman did not answer. He merely continued gazing down at him like he was some sort of vermin, lesser than a cockroach.

The dimension slowly dissolved after that and they were back to the real world. The demon felt cold earth on his back as the thick forest surrounded them.

The Purple Hashira continued looking at him with his cold uncaring eyes. And at last he spoke,

"Can you see this?" he said.

"Can you hear this?"

"What..?" the demon was left confused and scared. It was only the two of them in the forest but the Hashria was talking to someone else.

But who?

"Argh!!" the demon goraned in pain as the Hashira grabbed his face in a vice grip and inched his face closer.

His purple eyes looked directly into his eyes.

No..

'He is not looking at my eyes...he is seeing something else..' the demon thought in utter despair. The Hashira was looking at something behind his own eyes.

"You can," the Hashira said and then his eyes grew colder. But the demon knew those eyes were not for him.

"It's meaningless, what you are doing," he said, "I will cut them down as many times as it takes, you're just wasting your time,"

He was talking to Myzan Kibutsuji, the demon realized.

"Just stay put and wait for your turn,"

That was the last thing the demon heard. He didn't even know when the Hashira dealt the finishing blow.

"I am coming,"

..

..

[IMAGE]

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Author : We will not see his training now but as he fights and shows his new techniques, we will get flashbacks. Like Naruto because if it was;t obvious I am a big fan

Can I get a stone?This one was long👊