Demon Slayer: Start With Heroic Spirit Legacy System

Just when it seemed things had settled, a new crisis emerged.

Every time Zhou Yi went out, trouble seemed to find him.

Last night, it was Upper Moon Two, Dōma.

And tonight, two other Upper Moons had arrived.

Tamayo and Yushiro immediately looked toward the source of the voice.

It came from the rooftop of a house across the street.

Under the moonlight, they identified the intruders.

"Upper Moons!"

"And not just any—Upper Moon Four and Five!"

The master and servant duo froze in fear, their confidence evaporating.

In all their years of fleeing, they had never encountered an Upper Moon.

At most, they had dealt with lower-ranked demons, and even then, they had been pushed to the brink of despair.

Now, standing before them were two genuine Upper Moons.

The distinctive markings in their eyes were unmistakable.

Yushiro glanced at Zhou Yi and then at Tamayo. His mind was made up—he was ready to sacrifice himself.

"Zhou Yi! Take Lady Tamayo and run!"

"I'll buy you some time!"

He pulled a stack of talisman papers from his pocket and handed them to Zhou Yi.

"These talismans can help you stay hidden!"

"Why are you just standing there? Run!"

Yushiro nearly shouted.

His legs were trembling uncontrollably, the oppressive aura emanating from the rooftop suffocating him.

If not for his unwavering resolve to protect Tamayo, Yushiro might not have had the courage to resist. He would have collapsed to the ground in despair.

"Yushiro, don't waste your efforts. These things are useless against Upper Moons..." Tamayo's voice was filled with hopelessness. She understood far better than Yushiro just how formidable the Upper Moons were.

Let alone the fact that two Upper Moons had arrived simultaneously.

The only outcome awaiting them was death.

"Lady Tamayo! Now isn't the time to give up! Let the Water Hashira help you escape!"

"With his strength, taking you with him shouldn't be an issue!"

Yushiro desperately tried to persuade Tamayo, urging her to give it a chance.

But Tamayo shook her head, dismissing his suggestion as futile.

"You don't understand, Yushiro."

"Even a Hashira is absolutely no match for an Upper Moon..."

Yushiro couldn't believe his ears. The once composed, elegant, and unwavering Tamayo now sounded utterly defeated.

"No! Zhou Yi is so powerful—he can definitely help you escape!"

Grabbing Tamayo's arm, Yushiro shook her desperately.

"Even if there's just the slightest hope, you mustn't give up!"

Still, Tamayo refused.

"Yushiro, there's something I've never told you."

"No! That doesn't matter now! Please, you must leave... Mmph!"

Tamayo gently pressed her hand over Yushiro's mouth.

Her hand was so warm.

If he were to die here alongside Lady Tamayo... perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Yushiro wasn't sure whether to feel sorrow or joy. His emotions were a tangled mess as he finally calmed down and stepped behind Tamayo.

"Do you know how long the battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and demons has lasted?" Tamayo asked Yushiro, her face filled with sorrow.

"It's been nearly a thousand years."

"That's right—nearly a millennium."

"But there's something you don't know."

A bitter smile crossed Tamayo's lips.

"What is it?"

"For almost a thousand years, not a single Upper Moon has ever been killed by the Demon Slayer Corps."

"Not even defeated once."

The revelation hit like a thunderbolt on a clear day.

Yushiro, who had raised his hand to knock Tamayo unconscious, froze in place.

His hand fell limply to his side.

The plan to knock Tamayo out and have Zhou Yi take her away was instantly shattered.

"What... does this mean there's no chance of fighting back at all..."

Yushiro muttered to himself.

He turned his gaze to Zhou Yi, hoping for an answer from the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.

"Tamayo is right. Until now, the Demon Slayer Corps has never slain an Upper Moon," Zhou Yi said calmly.

"Why? You useless fools! After all these years, you haven't defeated even one Upper Moon!"

"How can you say this so calmly? Don't you feel any shame?"

Yushiro's rage boiled over. Standing on his toes, he grabbed Zhou Yi by the collar and shouted in frustration.

"Yushiro! That's too rude! Zhou Yi is only twelve years old!"

Tamayo quickly intervened, trying to calm Yushiro down.

"..."

"I'm sorry... I just... I'm so devastated... If it were just me, dying here wouldn't matter. But Lady Tamayo..." Yushiro deflated like a punctured balloon, releasing Zhou Yi's collar and bowing his head to apologize.

"I understand," Zhou Yi replied, straightening the wrinkles in his clothes. He didn't hold a grudge against the emotional Yushiro—his devotion to Tamayo was something Zhou Yi could respect.

After all, whenever it came to Tamayo, Yushiro would always lose his composure.

"Heh heh heh! So you're the 'Escapee'! The more you know, the more troublesome it is!"

The voice came from Sekido, Upper Moon Four, whose forehead was marked with the character for "anger."

"If you're talking about Hashira-level demon slayer, I should have killed about ten of them already."

Beside him, the shape of Gyokko also began reminiscing.

"Haha, I've killed more than you! I have eleven Hashiras' lives on my hands!"

Gyokko, as usual, couldn't resist taunting.

What!

Yushiro clearly underestimated the strength of the Upper Moons.

"These two demons have already killed twenty-one Hashira-level demon slayer!"

"Twenty-one! Zhou Yi is now all alone!"

At this moment, Yushiro understood Tamayo's despair even more deeply.

"It's useless, no matter how much we struggle... We won't survive, will we?"

"Heh heh heh, it's great that you've come to this realization!" Sekido, with the character for "anger" on his forehead, was becoming increasingly impatient and was already cracking his knuckles.

"But, this all happened before I arrived."

"Last night, I just chased away one Upper Moon, I think it was Upper Moon Two, called Dōma."

"That guy ran off pretty fast. I was about to kill him, but he managed to escape."

Zhou Yi said calmly.

??????

Tamayo and Yushiro, both demons, looked at each other in shock.

"Lady Tamayo... Did you hear that?"

"Mm!" Tamayo lightly covered her mouth with her small hand. "Dōma? Yes, that's Upper Moon Two!"

It was unclear how Tamayo had come by this information, but she somehow knew Dōma's identity.

After all, few people could survive an encounter with Dōma and live to tell the tale.

Zhou Yi was also slightly surprised.

"So, you know him too?"

Zhou Yi turned to Yushiro seriously.

"Our Demon Slayer Corps members are human. We can get hurt, and we can die. Compared to demons, our strength is weaker, and we can't heal wounds quickly."

"Compared to demons, we are frail."

"But we have endless potential!"

"From now on, I promise you, I will cut off the head of every Upper Moon!"