Chapter 30: Demon Slayers
"You must bring him, bring him for me. I'm so so sorry for all the sacrifices you had to make," The Mother Demon sheds a slight tear.
The Mother Demon's reality shakes and vibrates violently, with the same words uttered within her. The aura surrounding her intensifies as she recovers. The Demon Slayers are assaulting her. She must bring him.
Kagero and Utazon sprint opposite one another, obtaining her attention from both sides of her vision. She quakes the earth with her Eclipse Domain, further increasing and darkening the environment once more.
'Oh my… this is rough… oops,' Kagero trips into the snow because of the amount of sensation that had suddenly affected him.
Utazo sees him fall face first and into the shape of a scorpion just before an explosion trip right in front of Kagero, sending him backward.
"AGHHHHHH!" Kagero screams as he's launched in reverse from his scorpion.
"This lucky idiot," Kagero lifts his enormous blade into the air and then pierces it through the snow, launching himself upwards.
'This trash domain won't stop me,' he bites into his lip to contain his feelings.
The Mother Demon prepares to counter what Utazo plans to do with his aerial advantage, especially with the weight of his potential attack. Her mind skirts back, "wHeRe Is hE," she speaks out. She searches for Faolan, but she senses a flaming sensation encompassing through her arms and legs.
Kagero had already recovered,
"Flame Breathing: First Form: Unknowing Fire."
Kagero had blasted through the snow with his flames burning her sides to crisps. His head and nose bled, and blood dripped down his teeth as he struck.
Utazo notices this as well, 'How the…. Never mind, I have to do my part now!' He angrily breathes in his and focuses his enormous blade to pierce within her chest.
"Echo Breathing: First Form: Ringing Finch!" Utazo pierces into the flesh of the Mother Demon, and her blood squirts outwards as his enormous blade vibrates violently within her, shredding the armor from within and outwards, along with the burns inflicted by Kagero.
The Mother Demon cannot react to the situation. Her mind is boggled. She attempts to slash Kagero with her claws, but he evades in time to get behind her.
"Flame Breathing: Third Form: Blazing Universe!"
Kagero unleashes a fiery vertical slash that is arched downwards and burns off the armoring of the Mother Demon. He continues to slash repeatedly before The Mother Demon can recover. Utazo continued holding his form, eventually cutting her innards completely open. He could see the glowing organs.
It motivates him to hunker down.
The Mother Demon turns to him and slashes his back with her one arm, tearing his uniform little by little and cutting the surface of his skin.
"BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM BRING HIM!" The Mother shouts uncontrollably.
Arashi blazes by, rips off her right arm with the flame of his blade, and joins Kagero behind her, slicing into her before she can quickly recover.
"CUT NOW, KAGERO, DON'T STOP," he shouts.
"DON'T YOU SEE WHAT I'M DOING YOU BASTARD!" Kagero slices faster as steaming flames are drawn from his blade.
Yukina then approaches with a smaller nichirin dagger, pierces it into the chest cavity of The Mother Demon, and rips it a bit open,
'It's weak enough,"
She then pierces her nichirin blade into Mother Demon's chest cavity
"Frost Breathing: Fourth Form: Frostbite,"
Yukina focuses on the mechanism of her blade to infuse the blade with unspeakable levels of cold. Drawing her blade through the chest, the frost infests and freezes the demon's regeneration, making it easier for the other to continue slashing and holding their position. Yukina forcefully draws out of the rest of the glowing organs by shattering the ice from the chest.
'There it is,' Yukina stares darkly into the invisible eyes of the Mother Demon.
The Mother can feel the fear,
'Is this how I want to die?'
She feels her life hanging in the balance.
"Where is he? Where is he,"
She scours for the boy."
"I'm
Sorry
You
Had
To
Go
Through
This."
The world is blanketed in this darkness. Of Nothing.
"WHATS HAPPENING?" Utazo shouts.
Yukina inspects the darker surroundings, 'Something is coming. We need to finish this now!'
"FAOLAN, YOU MUST HURRY NOW BEFORE SOMETHING WORSE HAPPENS IF WE TAKE TOO LONG!"
Faolan readied his position, charging the electricity into his legs and his blade. He feels the impending darkness obscuring the world.
"FAOLAAAAAN!! NOWWW!!" Everyone shouts.
"Be at…"
Faolan jolts across the snow, and light slashes through all the glowing organs within the blink of an eye. The snow burned, and the world was enveloped.
In total darkness.
Faolan found himself in this total darkness.
He hears a cry.
In his tattered and weary state, he approaches the crying person.
He realizes that this is the "Mother Demon," almost the same age as him.
She looks to him and away in shame.
Fallen stands in silence. Allowing her to cry her feelings out.
He then sits by her.
"I know I deserve this," she cries.
"I've done such horrible things!"
"I don't deserve mercy,"
She continues to cry as Faolan sits in silence,
"Why won't you say anything?" She asks.
"Have you not suffered enough? Why would I want to add to your suffering?" Fallen replies.
"I deserve it because I ate literal families, good people, just so I can live, I had to," she cries.
"I know," Faolan says.
"I'm not perfect. I've felt evil."
"It's not the same as hurting them." She replies.
"It's not you're right, but based on what I believe in, we all fall short of good. My mom would tell me the story of a man who persecuted innocent people for their beliefs and murdered them. However, one day he was judged for it, and he realized his wrongdoings, and he actually started following their beliefs and was forgiven."
"Is that not the same? Pretty crazy thing, right?"
"Who could forgive such acts?" She asks.
"There's one being in the whole universe who could possibly do that." Faolan smiles.
She turns to him, "I want to be forgiven. I want to face the consequences."
"I won't judge you, though I understand the pain of the other families. It's not for me to judge you."
Faolan hugs her.
"You've taught me a lot, and I promise to bring you justice," Faolam says.
"Are you sure these beings are dangerous?" She says.
"They are more dangerous than Muzan himself."
Faolan curiously looks at her.
"Who are the culprits?" He asks.
"He is a kind man. He reminds me of you in some way, he gave me all this, but I didn't know what it could bring, but he did what he could for me and promised a way to change everything.
As you can see, I have nothing.
But he gave me a mission and asked me if I would do it.
I said yes. So this is why I'm responsible, but I also want to survive.
I wanted to make him proud.
There are many of them, but he's the only one that could see my pain." She looks into Faolan's eyes.
"Aside from you," she says.
"He's kind, but he's allowed this to happen to you?" Faolan questions her description.
"He took me in when I had nothing, I wanted to repay him, he warned me not, I insisted," she sheds tears.
"That's why I said I deserve the punishment, but when I took on the responsibility, he knew I would have a more difficult life. He warned me of what would happen. I could hear him. Even now, he gave me a mission. I felt like I had a purpose. Even if I suffer. I made excuses to you.. That this was thrust upon me. It was a lie. A lie I told myself to survive when I couldn't accomplish this mission, I made myself do atrocities, some atrocities I committed to protect those from being..." she stops.
"To protect what?" Faolan asked.
"I wanted to protect those who were gonna go to another," she says, crying.
"Like Madam Aika?" Faolan questioned.
She looks rapidly, "You've met her then. We were alerted of you. She is vile, she does horrible things, she and another. I don't know why he keeps her if he wants to change the world," she wipes her face.
"Even so, you had no control over the predicament of your life," replied Faolan.
"To some extent, I did. You don't have to victimize me entirely, and I have to take responsibility,"
"I see," Faolan frowns.
"You are special. You may be the one," she says.
Those words send waves through Faolan.
"May be the one for what?" He asks.
"A great change, to change the world. I saw it in your eyes. He saw it too," she then coughs.
"You have to go."
"I said something worse is yet to come,"
"You have to finish this?" She says.
"Where are we?" Faolan asks.
"You've entered my True Domain," she states.
"He will come, and you won't be able to do anything."
Faolan frowns.
"You are… special," she whispers.
"I wish things were different," Faolan states.
She sits in silence,
"You've introduced me to a new hope. Your Mom seems like a wise woman." she smiles.
"Yeah, she is for sure," Faolan wipes a small tear.
"You must finish this now," She says.
"What's your name?" Faolan asks.
"I think it was..Julieanne," she states.
The world crumbles and shutters, everything fades, and Faolan finds himself at the precipice of the fight. His blade needed a single inch to end the life of the Mother Demon. She looks into his eyes, feeling differently, other than fear. She feels that same feeling the kind man gave her but in a much more bountiful explosion of colors. The world's winds blew greatly, and the sky shook in a circular motion.
"Peace."
Faolan cuts through the last organ.
"WOOOOOOO!" Kagero shouts in victory.
"Good work, idiot," Arashi compliments Kagero.
"Tch," Utazo dejects his blade from the Mother Demon and begins walking away from the scene.
Yukina looks to Faolan. She observes that he's just standing there, looking into the Demon. The people of Sattokotta slowly appear and cheer for the defeat of the demon. She sees that, unlike the others, he feels differently about this victory. To him, it wasn't even a victory. Should it even be something celebrated?
She approaches Faolan.
"Come, we must go check on Ketsueki and Jasumin," she taps Faolan.
Faolan stands in silence, and his eyes glow brightly when Yukina inspects. It sort of shocks her when she notices tears.
'You're so intriguing,' she thought.
"Hey, Faolan, let's go," she tugs his shoulder.
"Okay," he says.
They walk away as the Demon dissipates from existence, and the people cheer for the Demon Slayers.
"We're supposed to be a secret organization; this event has caused some noise," Yukina says.
"Luckily, we have Ken to brush it up for us," she adjusts her ribbon.
"We should talk some more later, Faolan," she gives him a serious look.
Faolan walks, listening, cutting through the darkened snow, extremely injured. He falls to his knees.
"FAOLAAAN!" Kagero shouts.
Extreme exhaustion had finally warned Faolan out. Yukina had caught him before falling into the snow. She gazed upon the scars, cuts, injuries, and bruises Faolan had endured during this fight. She looks at him intently.
"You are…" she is interrupted.
"Let's get him to a professional," Arashi states, approaching Kagero.
"Agreed," Yukina states.
"Kagero, you carry him since you want to keep shouting," commanded Yukina.
"That's alright for me. Let's go, buddy ol' pal!" Kagero carefully picks up Faolan, aware of his injuries.
"Wasn't expecting you to carry him so easily," Arashi states.
"He's not that heavy," Kagero replied.
Yukina slowly followed behind the two, pondering on the situation. This was the most unique demon-hunting experience for anyone here. Aside from Faolan and possibly Ketsueki. This is a new occurrence, and if it is from Muzan, this is extremely dangerous. However, if it isn't and greater powers are involved, this is possibly the most dangerous threat the Demon Slayers have ever faced.
There's no other lead from this demon. She believes that she'll need to question Faolan later and possibly Ketsueki. No, most likely him too. More importantly, she assumes that the greatest leads to finding another threat such as this. Would be interrogating Ken, the government authority. The missing person's case, these new building accommodations appearing, and much more. There's a deeper plot.
Yukina thinks back to her older mentor, a mysterious masked man, thinking of all the brilliant strategies she could utilize to obtain what she needs.
She looks into Faolan's unconscious eyes. She sees something else, familiar.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AM_Sensei
AM_Sensei Thank you for reading the chapter!
We're reaching the conclusion of this arc! It was a tough journey, but we're moving along and pressing forward.
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Ranking 
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