Chapter 8

Wow! So strong—!

Hustark gasped at Star's skill, and even more at her courage—she could charge forward without hesitation, seize a fleeting opportunity—she is… a born warrior.

Although I'm not a warrior and can't give you much advice, watching her fight should help you see your own shortcomings," Frieren said calmly.

In Frieren's view, among the characters that have appeared so far, if ranked by strength, the strongest should be Kafka and Silver Wolf, followed by Dan Heng and Star, then March 7 and Alan.

Kafka's swordsmanship is exquisite, but even more dangerous is her ability called Word Spirit; Frieren pondered for a long time, and aside from plugging her ears, she could not immediately find a reasonable counter.

Silver Wolf's close-combat ability is hard to gauge, but the troubling aspect is her teleportation-like power, which she describes as 'just casually throwing out a coordinate.'

Dan Heng and Star are very strong in close combat—especially Dan Heng; his gunplay is truly impenetrable, dazzling to watch.

March 7… is more like the team's mascot.

——

The trampler that had just been violently beaten by the Pioneer did not collapse on the spot; instead, it struggled and let out a roar toward the sky, after which a large number of void soldiers were summoned, surrounding everyone.

Then, a tearing-through-the-air sound rang out; a delicate drone flew in from afar, sweeping across the sky like a gust sweeping leaves, and wherever it passed, the void soldiers turned to dust.

Because of its extreme speed, the void soldiers didn't even have time to react before their bodies were shredded by the drone's blades.

This…!

At the Demon Slayer Corps' quarters, seeing the drone's ghostly speed and lethal power, Shinobu couldn't help but exclaim.

Good… so strong!

Even in the eyes of those Pillars who have endured countless trials, the drone's speed is extremely fast, nearly matching that of the Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen; to an ordinary swordsman, they couldn't even see the attack clearly, let alone react.

The key is that this lump-of-iron-like machine doesn't need the years of forging a Pillar undergoes—decades, even—just having one allows you to slay demons with extreme efficiency.

Because it flies high and fast, probably only the Upper Rank demons that one encounters only once every few decades could destroy it; no other demon could.

It's practically a minion-crushing machine!

But…

Shinobu's originally bright eyes gradually dimmed.

This is clearly an object not of their world—not even a perfect 1:1 replica, let alone a copy. A heavy lump of iron flying in the sky… never mind figuring out the principle; just imagining it makes Shinobu feel it's beyond belief.

Yet she didn't want to give up so easily.

Shinobu stepped forward and advised Kagaya Ubuyashiki: 'My lord, I believe our Demon Slayer Corps should devote manpower and resources to that new kind of weapon; if we can develop it, it will surely become a great aid in our fight against demons.'

Before Kagaya could speak, the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, impatiently interrupted: 'Hey hey, Shinobu, are you joking? That kind of weapon obviously couldn't be made by people of our world, right? And even if it could, how many years would it take? Fifty? A hundred?'

'But we've been fighting demons for a thousand years with no result; if we could spend decades or even centuries advancing their extinction… even if it's just a small step, I think it would be worthwhile.'

Shinobu stared into Sanemi's eyes and said, 'Although we may not live to see that day, isn't that day worth persevering for?'

'Hmm.' Kagaya nodded, agreeing with Shinobu's words, but he also wanted to hear Sanemi's opinion: 'Sanemi, what do you think?'

'I actually think these otherworldly humans' martial arts have merit as well—whether it's that woman named Kafka or that boy named Dan Heng, their strength is not bad. Although we can't learn their mind-controlling Word Spirit, there are still techniques worth borrowing.'

Sanemi's words also received the affirmation of the Stone Hashira.

The Hashira's strength relies on various breathing styles, and their techniques have been standardized through centuries of transmission; if we could adapt these otherworldly martial arts to that foundation, perhaps we could truly bring new vitality to their breathing styles.

'That makes sense.' Kagaya gave Sanemi an approving look, 'Both of your suggestions are good, so let's split up—Shinobu, you'll research the new weapon, and the other Hashira will try to record Dan Heng and the others' techniques.'

'No matter what disagreements arise, our goal is only one.'

Taking a deep breath, a hint of icy killing intent finally appeared on Kagaya's severely disfigured face; he forced himself upright, clenched his teeth, and spoke each word clearly.

'Kill Muzan, exterminate all demons!'

——

The view shifted to the light screen; seeing the drone's cover, Dan Heng decisively judged and shielded everyone as they hurried toward the elevator.

The elevator doors closed just in time, and only then did everyone finally exhale, their tense bodies able to relax.

When the elevator arrived, the camera turned to a woman with fiery red long hair.

The woman bore an elegant, dignified presence, wearing a black military coat made of high-grade fur, half-off the shoulders, with a white high-slit dress underneath; black-and-gold patterns adorned her waist and cuffs, exuding an indescribable air of nobility. Her golden eyes held a gentle smile, making her look both tender and intelligent.

Especially those long, slender white legs peeking from the high slits—worthy of being called a 'straight‑male slayer of level ten.'

"Ahhhh—I just want to go on an adventure with a big sister like this!! This is why I became an adventurer!!" When he realized the big sister on the light screen could only be looked at, not touched, Zan Yin, sitting by the wall, clutched his wine bottle and let out a hoarse, anguished wail.

Red hair! Big sister! A flawless appearance and figure!

Each of them dances on Zan Yin's XP.

And when that beautiful big sister, who looked to be in her mid‑twenties, revealed her full face, in the office of a certain Valkyrie Academy, the instructor Himeko suddenly showed a shocked expression: 'Ah…? Is that me?'

This time, not only Bronya was stunned; Mei and Kiana also gaped: 'Aunt… Aunt Himeko?'

"Himeko..." On another side, Valtor Yang, who works as an animator at a certain company, felt his pen‑holding hand begin to tremble slightly.

Why is Himeko in there? Besides, her attire and demeanor are completely different, but that face is unmistakably from the same mold—even if looking alike were fine, having the same name too—what's going on?

But don't say, it's still quite pretty.