Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

This is the advantage of two-handed weapons: you can use two weapons to defend against a slash, or use one to defend while using the other to retaliate.

Emiya, on the other hand, chose the second option.

Even though there was no way to withstand such force, it was still a real slash, separated by a samurai sword.

The back of the blade wouldn't slice Emiya's head in two.

"cut!"

Emiya roared and quickly turned around to slash at it.

Even if they don't die, recovering their bodies will be a troublesome matter. With nowhere to hide in the air, the demon can only retract its katana to parry.

And this suited Emiya's wishes.

"Qiang!"

With a loud crash, the blade at the tip of the katana flew through the air.

Seeing the broken weapon, Emiya thought his goal had been achieved. He swung his sword faster and faster, plunging it into the demon's shoulder. At the same time, his other katana, which was blocking above his head, slashed horizontally towards the demon's waist.

As long as the demon is rendered incapable of movement before it recovers, there is a chance to defeat it!

But at this moment, the ghost's feet had already touched the ground.

It chuckled softly, seemingly finding Emiya's attack laughable.

"boom!"

A violent impact rang out between Emiya and him.

"How could a samurai not know the condition of his weapon!"

It sneered disdainfully, threw away the broken katana in its hand, and just as it was about to be cut in half at the waist, it punched Emiya in front of it, sending him flying.

"it's over!"

A smile appeared on its lips once again. To a ghost, killing ordinary people was no different from killing chickens, ducks, or fish.

It can be achieved with just a tap of your finger.

Just then, a voice that was extremely familiar to it rang in its ears.

"Wind Breathing Third Form: Sunny Breeze Tree"

Three wind blades swept out from around the boy almost the instant he stood up!

"What! Aren't you already dead?"

The ghost looked at the sudden attack in surprise, seemingly frozen in place.

The wind blade, created with all its might, is even sharper than a forged Nichirin Blade!

Completely unprepared for the boy's attack, the demon was utterly unable to mount any effective defense, and his only weapon to withstand the attack had already been severed by Emiya.

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The wind blade pierced through its body without any surprise.

"what!!!!!!"

Fresh blood exploded in front of the boy like a watermelon.

Chapter Fifteen, let's continue; this is my last breath of wind.

Despite being knocked away, Emiya, suppressing the sweet taste in his throat, gripped his katana tightly and rushed over.

He dared not linger. Even with the boy's fierce attack, Emiya was unsure whether the demon was dead or not. If it was dead, he would naturally breathe a sigh of relief.

But one can't be too careful to be careless, so Emiya dared not slack off in the slightest. If an unexpected situation occurred, all the previous battles would have been in vain.

In this situation, Emiya dared not gamble, nor did he need to!

"You will definitely make it out alive and become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps!"

The boy, who had stood up, recalled his senior brother who had always taken care of him, as if a flashback had taken over his mind.

He single-handedly withstood the attack of dozens of ghosts, and kicked himself, who was cowering in fear, away into the distance.

He was one of the most talented people in his class, but he lost his life protecting him.

"Senior brother, perhaps I too can die at the hands of a demon like a hero. I only understood this move at the last moment, so I shouldn't be ashamed, right?"

The boy smiled bitterly.

The boy had only learned the first two forms of Breath of the Wind. When he used them, neither the speed nor the power was comparable to normal Breath of the Wind. He knew that he had no talent at all.

The boy was not lazy. He gritted his teeth and underwent various training under the mentor. Every day, after the other disciples finished their training, he would even do extra training on his own. However, even the mentor once told him that he was not suitable for practicing breathing techniques.

The boy persevered. He thought that with such willpower, he should be able to easily overcome his fear when facing demons. But he was wrong. If it weren't for his senior brother, he would have died from fear at the hands of the demons of Fujikiyama long ago.

Unfortunately, I am still as weak as ever.

The boy closed his eyes.

"In the end, I was slightly better!"

The ghost, its body torn to pieces, lay scattered on the ground laughing. No matter how much the boy tried to regain his strength before death, he would ultimately be limited by the harsh realities of life.

How could a single attack significantly improve the accuracy of a slash? It's practically impossible for anyone other than a genius or a seasoned warrior, and the boy just happens to fall into neither of those categories.

Moreover, a body that has virtually no strength left on the verge of life and death is incapable of delivering a powerful strike.

Even if the opportunity was seized, the accuracy and power were still insufficient. In addition, this demon's control over its body was superior to that of ordinary demons, so its body involuntarily adjusted its position the moment it was struck.

This is not a strategy it has developed, but rather a physical reaction honed through constant battles.

For it, a slash that doesn't involve cutting off the neck during breathing techniques is no different from a regular slash.

And it can recover in just a moment!

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and its head rolled to the ground like a ball.

"Baka! A regular blade can't kill me even if it cuts my neck. I'll be able to recover my fighting strength in a few moments. Without the support of the Demon Slayer Corps, you humans are nothing but our prey!!!!"

"The Demon Slayer Corps can't kill me! You can't possibly kill me either!!!!!!!!!"

The ghost, its head already severed, howled loudly, showing no regard whatsoever for the man in front of it who had cut off its neck.

Without the Nichirin Blade, without breathing techniques, without the sun, it truly couldn't imagine how it could have died at the hands of such a human.

Nichirin Blade!

He suddenly realized that his current strength was insufficient to withstand the solar energy contained in the Nichirin Blade. Even someone who couldn't use breathing techniques could kill him with the Nichirin Blade.

What Emiya was holding in his right hand was a katana with green and silver edges!

"I remember now! I remember now—"

For some reason, tears streamed from the corner of that ruthless killer's eye.

"I was once a samurai who fought against demons—"

I fought the demons to protect the village!

Ashes rose from above, and in just a few seconds, its head and the body lying to the side turned into dust and scattered in the air of the forest.

The hand that severed the demon's neck slowly lowered, and Shirou dragged his aching and exhausted body to the boy's side.

At this moment, the boy's body was frozen like a statue, maintaining the previous slashing posture, but his left hand was not in a sword-holding posture, but rather in a state of complete relaxation as if he were about to throw the sword away.

It turned out that the boy had quickly stabilized his body when he slashed at the demon, then released his grip, and the Nichirin Blade fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Emiya, who was running quickly toward the demon's location beside the boy, also saw the Nichirin Blade suddenly fall from the boy's hand.

He also remembered what the boy had told him before—that if he cut off the head of a demon with a Nichirin Blade, it would truly die.

Emiya quickly grasped the boy's thoughts. He released his katana from his right hand and caught the falling katana as the demon defended against the oncoming wind blades. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward with all his might.

"She's already...stopped breathing—"

Emiya placed his hand under the boy's nostrils, but there was no air movement, and the entire forest fell into a deathly silence once again.

The veins on his hands, gripping the katana and the nichirin katana, bulged as he forcefully plunged the katana into the ground.

Today's events have also deeply shocked Emiya.

He witnessed a boy of similar age risking his life, gambling his future, and giving everything just for a chance to kill that ghost.

Such courage and such dedication are what Emiya has always wanted to be.

"sorry!"

But Emiya's heart was still filled with guilt and self-blame. If he had been stronger, would this boy have been spared from losing his life?

How old is he? He has to fight for his life against such a terrifying creature.

And so he died in a desolate, remote place.

I don't even know his name!

They could only be hastily buried in the ground.

Thinking of this, Emiya's hand holding the sword trembled slightly, not because of sadness, but because of anger.

"They shouldn't exist in the world!"

After kneeling for several hours, Emiya plunged his Nichirin Blade into the mound where the boy was buried.

Meanwhile, sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves, shining on the bluish-green Nichirin Blade.

It was also reflected in Emiya's resolute eyes!

Chapter Sixteen: Breath of the Wind

As the morning dew clung to the trees, sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting a fish-scale-like glow on the road in front of Emiya.

The entire forest was no longer as heavy and desolate as it had been at night; it seemed to have encountered a gushing mountain spring, bursting with vitality.

Whether it's the rustling of leaves in the breeze or the joyful singing of birds awakened by the sun, everything indicates that the danger has passed.