Lexon had not been there for long when Shinobu Kocho came running over in a hurry.
"You can't get any blood?" The moment Shinobu opened the door, Lexon's voice arrived first.
Shinobu's expression froze for a moment, then she nodded. "His skin is too hard, and he won't open his eyes."
"Just go and tell him, 'Lexon wants you to spit out some blood for me'."
"Will that work?" Shinobu was a little doubtful.
"It will."
Lexon's attitude was firm, and Shinobu could only leave, half-believing.
Returning to the place where Gyokko's head was kept, Shinobu repeated the words exactly.
Unexpectedly, the Upper Rank demon's head obediently began to bleed from the mouths in its eye sockets.
Shinobu couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. What kind of person was this Lexon, to make a demon so afraid of him?
...
"Mist Breathing, Tenth Form: Misty Sky's Rain of Fire."
The Nichirin Sword in Lexon's hand slashed towards the sky. A stream of mist assaulted the sky, spreading out to form a cloud-like mass of fog.
He slashed again, and a stream of mist converted to the water property merged into the fog cloud. Suddenly, a downpour of rain began to fall within the courtyard.
He slashed one more time, and a stream of mist converted to the flame property merged into the fog cloud.
However, after the flame-property mist merged with it, the fog cloud suddenly dissipated.
"Did it fail..." Lexon muttered to himself. 'It seems it can only be used as a rain-making skill.'
"Although it's very spectacular and impressive, I still don't understand the point of you researching these sword techniques," Shinobu's voice came from inside the house in the courtyard, full of confusion. Clearly, she had seen the scene just now.
For over a month, Lexon had been in the courtyard testing these things.
And Shinobu, in the process of studying Gyokko, had gradually become somewhat familiar with Lexon.
That was why she spoke to him in such a tone.
In Shinobu's understanding, sword techniques were all meant to complement the slash of a Nichirin Sword, with the goal of severing a demon's head.
Although some forms of Mist Breathing were accompanied by the appearance of a thin mist, their ultimate purpose was still to conceal a surprise attack.
But Lexon's attacks seemed to do the opposite. The final damage was often not from the Nichirin Sword's slash.
It was from something else, and the Nichirin Sword seemed to be just a medium.
This was the case with Lexon's self-created Mist Breathing Second Form: Great Fog Flame Pillar.
This made Shinobu a little puzzled. For demons, the slash of a Nichirin Sword, which carried the properties of sunlight, was the fatal blow. Wasn't researching these sword forms that only dealt pure damage while abandoning the slash putting the cart before the horse?
A demon's regenerative ability was well known. Even if shattered into hundreds of pieces, it could reassemble itself. Without the slash of a Nichirin Sword, all other damage should be meaningless.
"Well... how should I put it? Maybe I just simply like it," Lexon replied, pinching his chin.
To Shinobu, demons were the greatest enemy, and everything should be based on the principle of killing them.
But to Lexon, who was in the Main God Space, demons were not his only adversaries, so when creating his sword forms, he wouldn't set the goal as being solely for killing demons.
He already had the sword forms of Water Breathing and Flame Breathing for killing demons anyway, so he didn't care at all.
In fact, it wouldn't be a problem even if Lexon didn't create any sword forms. After all, the focus of his power improvement was still on the "Sign-in" ability. If he was weak, he could just lie low and sign in for a while, and his strength would shoot up.
Creating sword forms was purely a hobby, just for his own enjoyment.
"Lexon, why did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?" Suddenly, Shinobu asked.
"Why do you ask that?" Lexon looked at her, puzzled.
"I'm curious," Shinobu said.
For a moment, Lexon didn't know how to respond. The reason for joining the Demon Slayer Corps? Could he say it was a mission from the Main God?
"Did you know, Lexon? Every time I see or study that Upper Rank demon, I feel an extreme sense of resentment in my heart. I hate these man-eating demons, and I will never forgive them. And most of the Demon Slayer Corps members are the same. Some are for revenge, some are to protect others, but they all have a clear conviction to kill demons." Seeing Lexon's lack of response, Shinobu said with an expressionless face.
"But you are different. In the process of studying the demon, I haven't felt any negative emotions from you towards demons at all. Your strength is great. If you coveted money and power, you should be able to obtain them easily with your abilities. So why? Lexon, why did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Every word she spoke was powerful and resonant, every sentence filled with deep emotion.
Lexon thought, and Shinobu stood there quietly watching him, waiting for his answer.
Lexon knew that Shinobu's parents were both killed by a demon when she was young, and her only remaining relative, her older sister, had also been killed by the Upper Rank Two, Doma, a few years ago. She had an irreconcilable hatred for demons.
The once serious and unsmiling Shinobu had undergone a great change in temperament because of this, learning the speech, behavior, and personality of her sister, Kanae Kocho, and suddenly becoming mature.
'Should I make up a fake reason? Say I joined because of Tanjiro and Master Urokodaki?'
'No.'
Lexon immediately rejected these ideas. It was precisely because he knew Shinobu's past that he didn't want to fob her off with reasons that went against his heart.
'Then what is my most heartfelt reason?'
"Because it's interesting," Lexon looked directly into Shinobu's purple eyes and replied as such.
This was Lexon's most heartfelt thought. The Main God's mission, the convenience of signing in, the responsibility of being human—all of these were unimportant things.
'Interesting.'
That was his truest answer.
"Interesting..." This answer clearly shook Shinobu, causing her to be lost in a daze for a moment.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Lexon's smile at this moment was as warm as a spring breeze, but for some reason, it made one feel an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Shinobu shook her head, indicating that she had nothing more to say.
Then, she walked out of the house and left.
Shinobu went straight to the Master and sat down formally.
"Cough, cough, what did he say?" Kagaya asked, coughing, a gentle smile on his face.
Shinobu repeated her conversation with Lexon in its entirety. After she finished, she lowered her head slightly. "He is a man without conviction."
"Yes, I know," Kagaya still wore that gentle smile.
"Is he really suitable for the Demon Slayer Corps?" Shinobu's face was tilted down, making her expression unreadable.
"He is more suitable than you imagine," Kagaya said. "Don't think of it as so complicated, Shinobu. This isn't something incomprehensible."
"I know. I just don't know why, but I feel uncomfortable in my heart."
"When heaven bestows talent and power upon a person, it does not necessarily bestow upon that person a mission. And what we need to do is simply to obtain their help as much as possible to achieve our goals," Kagaya Ubuyashiki said in a calm tone.
Shinobu took a deep breath, her expression hesitant. After a few seconds, as if having made up her mind, her face became firm, and she said to the Master, "For the past month, while I was studying that Upper Rank demon, the demon would always mutter, 'Lexon is a demon.' Although a demon's words can't be..."
Kagaya's expression showed surprise, and he interrupted Shinobu's words. "What a coincidence. Someone else said the same thing."
He waved his hand to the side, and then, a petite woman walked out from the shadows of the hall.
It was the veteran from Zhongzhou Team Four whom Lexon had met before, Rara.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]