Isekai Adventure in the Dimensional Cube

"Boom—Boom—Boom—Boom—Boom—"

Sucessive explosions appeared in a corner of the small town, causing houses to collapse in the blasts, turning them into ruins.

The seemingly endless ribbons rampaged here, like giant pythons, constantly rolling, leaping, and darting, igniting a series of shockingly intense explosions.

The edges of these ribbons were sharp as razor blades, whether it was buildings or the ground, anything they brushed against was immediately shaved off significantly.

Such groups of ribbons, snake-like, ravaged and danced through the area, naturally cutting down building after building, continuously turning them into ruins as they fell.

Kochou Shinobu's figure flew out from the thick dust, her toes tapping on the ground, dodging the oncoming ribbons.

"Stop bouncing around! Just hurry up and die!"

Daki also flew out from the dust, shouting while letting the ribbons around her whip out, cutting through the air and attacking Kochou Shinobu from all angles.

Kochou Shinobu stopped her footsteps, dodging the ribbon slashing from the side and then the one chopping at her neck from behind, her body as nimble as a real butterfly. Even mid-air, she could elegantly dance, flipping her body, moving freely.

Until a certain moment, Kochou Shinobu suddenly accelerated, sprinting forward.

"Insect Breathing, Centipede Dance, Hundred-Legged Snake Belly."

Kochou Shinobu's toes burst with incredible force on the ground, as if they could crack the ground open, carrying a series of explosive sounds, she slithered towards Daki.

The Insect Breathing Shinobu used was a rather unique type among the many breathing techniques.

Unlike other derived breathing techniques, such as Love Breathing, Mist Breathing, Sound Breathing, and Snake Breathing, which are respectively developed from Flame Breathing, Wind Breathing, Thunder Breathing, and Water Breathing, Shinobu's Insect Breathing is a secondarily derived breathing technique.

This is a breathing technique derived from Flower Breathing.

And Flower Breathing itself is a derived breathing technique from one of the five fundamental breathing techniques, Water Breathing.

Thus, among the many breathing techniques, only Shinobu's breathing technique is a secondarily derived type.

This type of Insect Breathing, its sword forms are not named after 'forms' like other breathing techniques, but are named 'dances'.

Just like at this moment, Kochou Shinobu is using one of the many 'dances' of Insect Breathing, by stepping powerfully enough to upheave the ground, winding in every direction, confusing her opponent, then taking the opportunity to attack with her blade.

"Whoosh!"

Thus, with a speed and technique that even Daki couldn't react to in time, Kochou Shinobu dashed up to Daki and unleashed a fierce stab toward her eye.

"So fast!"

Daki was shocked, tilting her head at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the stab.

But in her hasty dodge, though Daki dodged the direct hit to her eyeball, her cheek was slashed by Kochou Shinobu's blade.

"You, you dare to slash my face!?"

Feeling the stinging pain on her cheek, Daki was furious, flinging her hand, and the ribbons immediately slashed towards Kochou Shinobu like steel knives.

"Clang!"

Kochou Shinobu raised the Sun Wheel Blade to block the ribbon strike, but was shocked by an astonishing force and was sent flying through the air, landing amidst howling winds and stirring up clouds of dust.

"Ah, what a pity."

Kochou Shinobu straightened up, tiptoed slightly as if the manner of her landing had been too rough, and now there seemed to be a slight sting.

"You hypocritical woman! Stop speaking with that tone and expression!" Daki bellowed with rage. "Even though your way of attacking is so vicious, you still pretend to be as harmless as an animal; it's disgusting!"

"Can't help it, I am a woman after all, and it's not a bad thing for a woman to appear a bit frail, right?" Kochou Shinobu replied to Daki with a gentle smile. "But you, Miss Demon, though your tone is so arrogant, your abilities don't seem to match your words."

"What did you say?" Daki widened her eyes.

"I'm stating the facts," Kochou Shinobu twirled the Sun Wheel Blade and lifted a hand to her cheek, saying, "I once asked Mr. Rengoku how strong the Upper Rank demons actually were."

"Mr. Rengoku said that an Upper Rank Three he fought was extraordinarily powerful; he was no match at all. If not for Lord Tsukiguni being there, he might have died."

"Because of Mr. Rengoku's words, I assumed that all Upper Rank demons were generally stronger than the pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, among whom probably only one could manage to tackle an Upper Rank demon alone?"

With that, Kochou Shinobu's gaze toward Daki became more intriguing.

"Yet your strength does not seem to match up to this evaluation; we've fought for so long and yet you haven't managed to inflict a significant wound on me. Why is that?"

"Could it be because the disparity in strength among the Upper Ranks is so vast? The difference in strength between you, the lowest of the Upper Rank demons, and an Upper Rank Three, seems too exaggerated, doesn't it?"

"With your level of strength, not to mention killing many pillars, it seems you hardly surpass even the Lower Rank demons you look down upon."

The smile on Kochou Shinobu's face remained gentle, yet her words had turned somewhat biting.

"If this is the level of power of an Upper Rank Six, then unfortunately, you are not capable of defeating me. No wonder you are at the bottom, truly at the bottom."

Such words, when heard by Daki, were naturally highly insulting.

"You dare look down on me?" Daki shouted loudly: "Watch as I tear that vicious mouth of yours!"

Daki then prepared to attack Kochou Shinobu again with her ribbons.

However, at that moment, Kochou Shinobu's voice turned solemn.

"Too late."

The moment her words fell, Daki's movements suddenly stiffened.

Suddenly, spots appeared on Daki's cheeks as they began to necrotize, gradually turning to a rotting hue.

"What, what is this!?"

Daki felt unbearable pain in her face, causing her to scream out.

"How does it feel?" Kochou Shinobu asked with a smirk. "This is poison extracted from the wisteria flowers. It should be quite effective against demons, shouldn't it?"

As the only Pharmacist among the current pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kochou Shinobu was naturally very skilled in concocting poisons.

Her blade, though slender and seemingly harmless, was coated with a powerful poison, and every time Kochou Shinobu sheathed her blade, she would alter the poison's formula.

In battle, Shinobu would adjust the poison formula according to the demon she faced, with most of these formulas featuring poison derived from wisteria flowers.

Wisteria is a type of plant despised by demons, its mere presence and scent are enough to repulse them and drive them away.

Shinobu often utilized the poisonous properties of wisteria to create poisons, targeting demons.

"My poison is lethal enough to kill, so among the current pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, I am the only Swordsman who can kill a demon without needing to decapitate them with the Sun Wheel Blade."

Shinobu then made a farewell gesture toward Daki.

"Enjoy this last bit of painful time and atone for the murders you've committed."

"If you survive this, then your sins will be redeemed."

"At that point, I'd be happy to coexist with you peacefully, Miss Demon."

Leaving those words behind, Kochou Shinobu turned and left the place.

"Uh... Ah...!"

Daki suddenly fell from midair, clutching her decaying head as it seemed to rot, struggling in agony and crying out.

"Save me... Save me... Brother...!"

Daki cried out in such a way, her cries turning into sobs as she called.

"Gurgle..."

In that instant, Daki's back suddenly swelled as she lay face down on the ground, screaming.

"..."

Kochou Shinobu stopped in her tracks.

She slowly turned around, looking in Daki's direction, her smile still on her face, yet a bead of cold sweat rolled down her forehead.

"So that's what it is," murmured Kochou Shinobu, "no wonder the Upper Rank Six is so weak."

"So, the real Upper Rank Six is someone else."

As Kochou Shinobu spoke, someone broke through the flesh on Daki's back, emerging from within her.

"...Could you please stop bullying my sister?"

A deep, neurotic voice sounded, sending shivers down Kochou Shinobu's entire body.

A fierce and violent aura surged from that person, rushing toward Kochou Shinobu.

"This is troublesome indeed..."

The murmuring voice of Kochou Shinobu drifted far away.

...

Inside the Ubuyashiki house, in the courtyard.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya had already left the room and stepped onto the connecting corridor.

Listening to the constant turmoil outside in the courtyard—the sound of explosions, screams, and even cries—Ubuyashiki Kagaya coughed repeatedly, then spoke up looking straight ahead.

"Since you're here, why not come out and meet?"

The person Ubuyashiki Kagaya was addressing was a pot that appeared abruptly in the courtyard.

"Shoo shoo shoo, my apologies for being rude, head of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Ubuyashiki family leader."

With a laughter-like sound, a strange demon emerged from the pot.

Who else could it be but the pot itself?

"This is my first time facing the head of the Demon Slayer Corps like this, and although it's a rare opportunity and I'd love to say more, to be honest, I'm somewhat disappointed and not in the mood anymore," said the pot, looking at Ubuyashiki Kagaya's nearly disfigured face and emaciated body, laughing for a while before speaking coldly.

"I never thought the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps would be a dying man, a body riddled with disease, as if cursed. It can hardly be used as material for the art pieces I want to create, which is quite upsetting."

"It really can't be helped."

"In such a case, I can only ask you to die now. Could you please not resist?"

The pot chuckled shoo shoo shoo, while its hand morphed into another pot.

Against this, Ubuyashiki Kagaya showed not the slightest trace of fear.

"I will soon die, that much is certain."

Ubuyashiki Kagaya admitted this flatly, even smiling as he did.

And his last words were as follows.

"It's a pity, the last person I should see before I die isn't you, but Kibutsuji Muzan."

"So, I must refuse your proposal."

The words of Ubuyashiki Kagaya prompted another bout of cold laughter from the pot.

"That's not something you can simply refuse," the pot twisted its body and said, "The only reason I didn't kill you immediately is to ask if you know where Tsukiguni Yoriichi is."

"If you tell me, perhaps I could use you as a scrap of material when I make my pots?"

Upon hearing this, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's smile calmed even more.

"You're looking for Tsukiguni Yoriichi?"

That's what Ubuyashiki Kagaya said.

"Well, here he comes."