Opening his eyes again, El stared at the ceiling of the infirmary. "Why am I so miserable?" El hissed in annoyance. "In fact, my original intention was not like this."
From the beginning, El had planned well. First, El would utilize his battle against Akaza to obtain the Demon Slayer Mark, then kill him to complete all the main missions.
After all the main missions were completed, El could leave the world of Kimetsu no Yaiba and undergo the reward evaluation.
El was not worried about the development of Tanjiro's power. With the strong protection the World provided, Tanjiro would always be healthy. On the other hand, El had also left enough clues for Tanjiro to grow stronger.
However, ever since the appearance of the side mission that brought the punishment of the Demon Slayer Corps' destruction, forcing him to attack the Infinite Castle, things have been very messy.
The path, which was very clear, was now full of unexpected possibilities. Many erratic ramifications, as if shrouded in a fog of mystery.
"Well, anyway, let's take the positive side," El muttered with a faint smile. "I indirectly utilized Tanjiro to get rid of some Upper moon."
"On the other hand, I'll be practicing to reach the Selfless State. And nothing is more important than that," El said, her voice calm and cool. "Every journey begins with a single step."
El closed his eyes again, slowly trying to sleep. "The point is, once I have fully recovered, I will attack Infinite Castle."
...
The next morning. That morning, the sunlight penetrated through the gaps in the trees, creating streaks of golden light that bounced between the leaves.
The fresh air was filled with the scent of moist soil and dew that still hung on the grass. Birds chirped cheerfully, as if welcoming a new day, while a gentle breeze blew, bringing calmness to the entire forest.
The soft morning light gave a sparkle to every drop of dew that fell, creating a peaceful and refreshing atmosphere, like a world waking up slowly from its slumber.
"Uncle, are you sure," Tanjiro said with a worried expression. "Can I attack you as practice?"
"Tanjiro, you are seriously injured. There is no time to hesitate. Fight me, it's for Hinokami Kagura practice." El said it in a flat tone, no hesitation, just an emphasis on what to do.
Under the bright morning sky, Tanjiro and El were still wearing patient clothes because they were still not healed. However, Tanjiro forced himself to train to get stronger as soon as possible, even though he was not fully recovered.
This left El with no choice but to start Tanjiro's training sooner, even though El had intended to wait for Tanjiro to recover first, then start his training.
There, El and Tanjiro faced each other with wooden swords in their hands. At this time, El decided to personally train Tanjiro the correct Hinokami Kagura moves, so that Tanjiro would be much stronger.
So that in later arcs, Tanjiro can win his battles against other Upper moons. That way, El's goal of using Tanjiro indirectly to get rid of several Upper moons was carried out very well.
The reason El trained Tanjiro was quite simple. That's because when El did a demonstration by fighting Akaza, Tanjiro's eyes couldn't follow their movements.
Actually, besides training Tanjiro, El also plans to train Zenitsu and Inosuke. However, both of them chose to practice on their own without direction. This training would be very useful for them when fighting Daki and Gyutaro later.
'As long as they go through the training, no problem,' El thought, as spacious and calm as a cloudless sky, free of doubt.
"Okay," Tanjiro said with a serious expression. "I'll begin, Uncle Adrian!" The hilt of the wooden sword in his hand Tanjiro held tightly.
"Hn." El responded expressionlessly, his voice flat and calm. "Attack me, whenever and wherever you like. Use Hinokami Kagura." he said without any tone of threat or emotion, just absolute calm, like water flowing unhindered.
This time El was not holding the sword to defend or attack, just simply the action that needed to be done, without ego.
"Okay!" Tanjiro exhaled his breath that seemed to burn the air. Softly murmured, "Hinokami Kagura."
Shwoosh
Tanjiro stepped out like lightning, swinging the wooden sword in his hand with the first movement of Hinokami Kagura, Enbu.
A visual of flames swirling with the blade of the wooden sword was created, leaving a fiery red trail, slashing through the air with full force.
Slash!
However, El calmly read the movement, shifting his body to the side with light steps. As if the wind alone was passing through his body, El dodged the attack with ease, leaving Tanjiro's sword to only cut through empty air.
Swinging the wooden sword in his hand. El's slash glided like a spring breeze, so light and gentle.
But beneath its gentleness, there was an immeasurable power, like a calm wave cutting through a rock.
Plak!
The wooden sword slid, hitting Tanjiro's rock-hard head, knocking him to the ground, "Ugh! That hurts!" he grimaced in pain.
"Your moves are good, but still predictable," El said sternly, "A lot of unnecessary moves, fix that."
Hearing that, even though his head hurt a lot, Tanjiro tried to understand the meaning of El's words that held a mystery, like the deepest ocean.
"Yes, Uncle!" Tanjiro said that with enthusiasm.
***
The sun had begun to lean to the west, its golden light slowly fading on the horizon, signaling that the day was coming to an end.
The two of them had been practicing for two hours, but only Tanjiro's body was now exhausted. The boom of two blunt objects filling the air was replaced by Tanjiro's heavy breathing.
But suddenly, in the midst of the silence that had been created, a low moan was heard. However, Tanjiro still tried to stay upright, even though his body was trembling in pain.
Tanjiro's face was pale, cold sweat ran down his temples, and his hands grasped his sides. Fresh red blood began to seep through the bandage beside his stomach, breaking the silence of the afternoon.
"Your wound is open," El said in a flat tone, his eyes staring at the dripping blood. "That's enough. Practice is over."
"But... Uncle, I should be able to learn Hinokami Kagura soon," Tanjiro said, holding back the pain.
El continued to stand calmly, without any change in expression. "If you keep pushing yourself in this state, you will destroy your body. Rest, heal, and then resume training."
Tanjiro looked down, struggling to accept the fact. El's words sounded harsh, but logical.
"You're not wrong..." Tanjiro finally said, before turning around and walking slowly towards the Butterfly Mansion.
"Tanjiro," El said before Tanjiro left and took out a small box from the space storage ring. "This contains Akaza's blood, you need 12 Kizuki's blood to make Nezuko's medicine."
With a happy and emotional expression, Tanjiro immediately took the box. Later, the box would be given to Chachamaru, Tamayo and Yushiro's pet cat.
"Uncle Adrian, thank you very much!" said Tanjiro, wiping away his tears. "The blood of Upper Moon Rank three will definitely come in handy."
"Hn, go... Give the blood to Tamayo-san." said El, with no emotion, just a cold, malicious tone of voice.
Tanjiro immediately left El alone in the forest. Silently and without any change of expression, just calm like flowing water, El watched Tanjiro's back as he moved away.
"What can I give as a gift?" muttered El, thinking silently. "Shinobu never explicitly mentions what she likes. It's never mentioned in the manga either