An entire day had passed since Eira's epiphany. The majority of the sunlight hours were spent travelling to the crucial location of the mission. Occasionally, Eira would glance at Asumi, more specifically at the light blue Amare Flos that she placed ever so securely on her hair.
Now that the sun had set and once more the moon shone, the three friends stood at the entrance of the village. The abandoned village which was reported as 'demon-infested' was surrounded by absolutely nothing, no forest or terrain, just a barren landscape with a single river a kilometre or so away. As Eira took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, it became apparent to her just how catastrophic the 'infestation' was. As she focused, she could spot the sea of filthy brown, envious deep green and furious dark red auras that populated the whole village. Fortunately, none of them stood out to Eira, none of them posed a threat.
"So many weak demons…" Eira opened her eyes and looked back at both Asumi and Kaze. And just then, there was an insecure flicker in Kaze's usually stable aura.
He was hiding something. Eira's eyes slowly travelled to Asumi, who avoided eye contact completely.
What was going on? What were they hiding? What had they been saying behind her back?
"Anything wrong?" Eira's tone remained calm, she even offered a kind smile, hiding a concoction of insecurity from the current situation, and excitement for the mission that was to come.
"No," Asumi replied quickly, her eyes now moved up confidently to meet with Eira's.
"Great," Eira took a deep breath and exhaled, "We'll enter then"
As Eira looked forward, Kaze and Asumi exchanged glances and they both nodded to each other. The cold night air was full of tension and anticipation
The wind howled loudly like an anthem as they entered. The tall rusty gates were enough to showcase the size of the village, the gates spread out far enough into both directions for them to be consumed by the darkness of night.
There was a slim chance that they'd even find Ali tonight, after all, there wasn't much evidence that Ali would even be here. Either way, the three of them were completely ready to approach the mission with full dedication. Ultimately, the mission's result depended on who found Ali. Even if Asumi and Kaze had the number advantage, Eira wasn't the Ice Hashira for no reason. Eira's abilities were inhumane and otherworldly, her speed was one of the best among all the Hashira, with combined speed and perfect form, she was one of the most formidable Hashira.
In relation to the mission, Eira's speed alone would allow her to cover the same distance as both Kaze and Asumi in the same amount of time. If Asumi and Kaze wanted any chance at 'saving' Ali's life, they would have to ensure they put all their energy into searching. The trio slowly travelled straight until they reached a fork between paths, left, right and straight. Each path was somewhat similar, collapsed houses and clouded darkness. The only difference was the straight path had a visible obstruction, a large tower-like structure.
"Alright, we'll split up here," Eira clenched her sword as she looked back at the two of her friends, the moonlight that shone down was dampened by the thick clouds that floated over it.
Almost immediately after Eira's statement, Asumi and Kaze dashed in opposite directions. Kaze to the right, and Asumi to the left. They sprinted as fast as they could, their eyes wide, focused on scanning the area for any sign of him. Ali. They had made an agreement to go all out, and ensure that Ali was found by one of them.
"So that's how it is," Eira let out a small chuckle as she watched the two blast off straight away, she could sense their desperate auras flail all over the village.
"I won't show off just yet," Eira exhaled and looked upon the tall tower.
"Perfect," She mouthed. Within a second, she had travelled close to a hundred metres to the base of the tower without breaking a sweat. Her hand loosened from the grip of her sword and studied the tower, it seemed unstable and fragile.
Eira shrugged and looked to her sides, two medium-sized buildings. Eira took a step backwards and inhaled deeply.
As she exhaled, her body launched itself forward, her feet found grip in the worn material of the tower, she began to run directly upwards like a spider. Even with her speed and utility of breathing, running straight up a building was a hard feat even for a superhuman. Her legs felt the burn of supporting her entire body weight and unleashing enough force to run up the building. Just as she felt the decrease in speed, she leapt backwards off the tower. Her body backflipped like an acrobat, the cold air rushed along her face as she kept a straight face, her eyes just managed to catch the top of one of the buildings she had observed earlier. She landed on the roof, and without wasting any momentum, she pulled her sword out of the sheath. Her legs bent down and strained. The light blue blade glimmered with excitement to unleash its power once again, the very air around Eira became cold. Eira believed that breathing forms weren't restricted to offence and defence, there were many more uses.
Ice Breathing. Seventh Form. Blistering Icicle.
Eira's body rocketed at an insane speed upward as she pushed herself off the roof, right to the tip of the tower. A mist followed as her blade stabbed into the top of the tower, securing her placement. She pulled the blade out and brushed the dust off.
From the top of the tower, Eira could see some of the village, most of it hidden behind houses and others clouded by shadow.
"Now, time to wait," Eira sat down nonchalantly. She inhaled deeply and tried to focus on the different auras in the village; she could still somewhat sense Asumi and Kaze in opposite parts of the village. The sea of demons hindered Eira's ability to concentrate, it was like trying to write your name while throwing a rubber ball up and down. Eira's mind blasted with frustration and she opened her eyes.
"I'll just count on my plan," Eira stared at her sword once again, a slight grin forming on her face.
From the perspective of the poor demons, the narrative was much more different than Eira's joy or Asumi and Kaze's eagerness. Although the village was silent, the demons were able to spread news like a gossip chain. The message had travelled all over the village.
"Hide and don't come out til these Demon Slayers leave."
Usually, if a Demon Slayer came to the village, several demons would jump the slayer in an attempt to get a nice meal. The village was a somewhat close-knit community. It was a shock when the ten demons that confronted Kaze were obliterated in a few swings. The sight of their fellow demons rotting on the floor sent all others scurrying like cockroaches. A similar situation unfolded with Asumi, as she dashed through the narrow debris-filled paths, she decapitated any demon in sight. In total, seventeen demons had been killed by Kaze and Asumi alone.
Terror mongered like a jar of ink that split on fresh paper, excitement for a meal transformed into ghastly fright of death. Asumi and Kaze were a level of power that these demons had never seen.
A particular demon hid in a small shed, curled up in the corner, consumed by fear. Dark green skin allowed it to blend in with the darkness, but still its courage was too little for it to even move. There was a constant cycle of fear whenever it heard any sound. According to the whispers, the trio of Demon Slayers had already killed seventeen demons, whispers alerted the whole village of a slayer with a pink blade and another with a dark one.
"I don't want to die…" The demon's one wish was this, it knew it would be somewhat safe in this small shed, even when the sun rose it would be shielded from sunlight.
Suddenly, the shed's door was pierced by a punch, a single fist had broken through the wooden door. The arm remained dormant for a while, the veins pulsed and the fist clenched. Slowly, it pulled back and the fingers clenched tightly at the wood around the hole. The door was ripped off right from its hinges. Dim light entered the shed, the demon's eyes widened, its body paralysed. The figure, shadowed by the light, stood there.
"Why is it so quiet around here tonight?" A chuckle echoed as the figure's head turned toward the demon in the corner. The demon studied the figure, there was no sword on them. It wasn't a human, it was a fellow demon. With this knowledge, the demon felt a little more relieved at the figure's sudden appearance.
"There's powerful Demon Slayers running-" The demon's eyes widened as it witnessed the figure blur forward like an illusion, a single hand was placed on its chest.
For a single second, a gap in the clouds let the moonlight shine down on the village, infiltrating the shed. The dark shed now hosted enough light for the demon to see the figure fully.
"Nothing personal," Light brown eyes with writing stared back at the demon, confirming the identity of this figure. Lower Moon One, Ali.
The demon felt its entire body, cell by cell lose energy and all power. Every single trace of lifeforce was wrung out by Ali's absorption. The demon's skin turned grey, then it began to crack and wither. Without a sound, the demon had been turned into dust, its life was nothing but a source of energy and further power for Ali.
"Powerful Demon Slayers?.." Ali thought as he exited the shed. He flexed his arms as he felt the cold breeze brushed against his torso. Ali never realised how similar his outfit was to Akaza's. It came with the only things to wear being Akaza's clothes. The only differences were that the baggy pants he wore were dark rather than light and that he didn't sport a little jacket like Akaza.
"I'm really his student," Ali sighed but smiled slightly at the resemblance. He slowly brushed the crescent marking on his arm, crickets chirped and the wind blew. Ali couldn't deny the unusual silence of the area. Ali cracked his knuckles as he continued walking.
A loud clash sound rang through the village, the sound of a sword. Ali's ears picked it up immediately and his head turned quickly to the right, on the other side of the large building was the origin of the sound. A screech followed. Intrigued, Ali blasted off the floor and jumped onto the roof of the house. Below on the street, there was a large scuffle, the situation wasn't clear through the cloud of dust and dirt that billowed out of the fight. All of a sudden, four demon heads flew out of the commotion-filled cloud.
A head flew directly at Ali, he dodged it, his eyes glued on the cloud. Just who was this Demon Slayer?
Ali hopped down from the building and waited for the dust and dirt to fall
"Did they finally send a powerful Demon Slayer down here?" Ali's confidence shone through his signature grin and laugh, he believed in his strength enough to start a conversation with whoever it was. Maybe he could finally feel more… human.
Although the moon was covered by clouds, the stars still shone brightly. The little dots of light in the sky glimmered with excitement and anticipation. The wind blew at the cloud of dirt and dust.
Black hair, dishevelled from the arduous scuffle but beautiful all the same. Pink eyes met light brown eyes once again. The string of fate pulled tight. The stars burned bright, but love burned brighter as eyes met for the first time in over a year and a half.
"Ali…" Asumi's voice came out as a whisper.