Chapter 444: Why Isn't a Single One of Them Any Challenge?
Insect Breathing: Not sure if it's just me, but every demon I hunt down turns out to be a total pushover. Finally ran into a Lower Rank, and ended up accidentally beheading it in one stroke.
Insect Breathing: Wanted to take one alive for questioning, but... it was just too weak.
Insect Breathing: Weak enough that I genuinely mistook it for some random underling demon.
Insect Breathing: That was Lower Rank Three?!
Insect Breathing: I don't even feel like I've gotten that much stronger, honestly? So why does it feel like not a single demon out here is any real challenge? Is that just me?
Shinobu trudged through the thick snow, grumbling away in the chat group as she went.
Over this past month-plus, she'd genuinely grown comfortable with the group's members.
Not that the relationships ran especially deep, but things certainly weren't as awkward as they'd been at the start.
If the demons she'd just cut down could somehow hear this particular brand of "humblebragging," she wondered what expressions they'd make.
RawrSoFierce: It's not that the demons are weak — it's that your current strength has flat-out outscaled the entire Demon Slayer power system at this point!
RawrSoFierce: You can cut through solid iron with ease now, can't you?
RawrSoFierce: A Swordmaster's level of skill, in the Demon Slayer world...
RawrSoFierce: Not even counting Muzan himself.
RawrSoFierce: You could handle any number of Lower Ranks or Upper Ranks without the slightest issue. Honestly, it'd be genuinely hard for them to even land a hit on you.
Insect Breathing: !!!!!!!
Insect Breathing: But it hasn't even been two months since I joined the Dimensional Chat Group!
Insect Breathing: Have I really gotten this strong?
Shinobu genuinely questioned her own grasp on reality.
Was she really this powerful now?
Was Admin-sama absolutely certain he wasn't just messing with her?
She felt a little lost, honestly.
She couldn't help asking again, carefully, testing the waters.
Insect Breathing: Um... Admin-sama, you're sure you're not joking around with me here?
RawrSoFierce: Unless your world's suddenly had some kind of upheaval that jumped its whole power system up several tiers overnight, what I'm telling you is dead accurate.
Kaguya-sama: Sure, Admin-sama likes to joke around sometimes, flirt a little, tease the female members — but he never messes around when it comes to stuff like this.
Kaguya-sama: Oops! Accidentally let slip one of Admin-sama's little flaws there. Wasn't on purpose, I swear.
RawrSoFierce: Why do I detect a faint hint of pettiness in that message?
Insect Breathing: So... I really have gotten this strong?
Kaguya-sama: If you don't trust your own strength yet, I could clear some time to spar with you — give you a clearer sense of exactly where you stand these days.
Insect Breathing: Sparring with Senpai Kaguya, huh...
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya: Someone called for me?!
Insect Breathing: ...Huh? No, sorry, I meant Senpai Kaguya Shinomiya...
Insect Breathing: Mind if I ask — when exactly did Senpai Ōtsutsuki join the group?
Kaguya-sama: Let's see... a good while ago now, actually? I joined around the same time as Whitebeard-ojii-sama, Little Sphere, and Yukari-nee.
Insect Breathing: Hiss—!!!
Which meant she was genuinely one of the Dimensional Chat Group's founding elders!
Sparring with someone on that level?
Shinobu had the distinct feeling Kaguya Shinomiya could end her with a single flick of a finger.
The two of them weren't even remotely on the same tier!
Just picturing that scenario was enough to send a shiver down her spine.
Not that she needed much help in the "shivering" department, standing out here in a blizzard already.
Though this particular chill came from somewhere else entirely.
Insect Breathing: I think I'll just go find an Upper Rank to practice on first. I got a lead on Lower Rank Two's location from a demon earlier — I can probably work my way up to Upper Rank intel through them.
Insect Breathing: As for anything about Muzan himself, I won't hold my breath on that.
Insect Breathing: Even though everyone keeps saying I could beat him...
Insect Breathing: He's still the Corps' sworn enemy, after all...
Insect Breathing: Might sound a little embarrassing, but I'm still genuinely nervous about it.
Insect Breathing: Or maybe just scared, honestly.
"..."
Having said that much out loud in the chat, Shinobu couldn't help a rueful, faintly bitter smile.
It really was how she felt, deep down.
Her hatred for demons was real, and there was nothing wrong with that.
But buried inside that same hatred...
Was a fear of truly powerful demons that simply wouldn't fade, no matter what.
She still hadn't found a genuinely clear sense of where her own strength actually stood.
And without that clarity...
Shinobu decided she needed to stay cautious, at least for now — not let her own growth swell her head too much. There was always someone stronger out there, after all.
The group was full of people far more powerful than her. How much room was there, really, for her to get carried away?
Caution was necessary.
Stay grounded.
Don't let it go to her head.
Get her composure back.
Whew.
She let out a long breath, the cold air turning every word into a puff of white mist as she murmured to herself. "I'll limit myself to hunting down an Upper Rank to test my own strength, for now. Muzan can wait until I've reached Grand Swordmaster — no rush there."
Shinobu understood she currently sat at "Swordmaster" level, though she didn't have a clear sense of exactly how much stronger "Grand Swordmaster" actually was.
Still, adding "Grand" onto the title surely meant stepping up into an entirely different realm altogether.
Had to be an absurd jump in strength, she figured.
Once she reached Grand Swordmaster, maybe she'd finally have the confidence to face Muzan head-on — and take his head in a single stroke!
But before confronting Muzan directly, there was one thing she needed to do first: personally cut down the demon who had killed her older sister!
A flash of cold, sharp killing intent flickered through Shinobu's eyes.
"Oh, right!" Something clicked for her. "Would Admin-sama happen to know which demon actually killed my sister?!"
The thought alone had her clenching her teeth, forcing down the bloodlust rising in her chest.
She took a deep breath, steadying her thoughts.
Insect Breathing: @RawrSoFierce, Admin-sama, could I ask you something that means a great deal to me?
RawrSoFierce: What's up? If I know the answer, I'll tell you.
RawrSoFierce: Though don't expect me to know absolutely everything.
RawrSoFierce: I'm not exactly omniscient, after all.
Insect Breathing: Admin-sama, I want to know — which demon killed my older sister, Kanae Kochō?!
Having finally asked the question she wanted answered most, Shinobu found her own breathing growing uneven.
She stared fixedly at the chat, her heart filled with anxious hope.
RawrSoFierce: The one who killed Kanae Kochō, huh?
RawrSoFierce: Pretty sure that was Upper Rank Two.
RawrSoFierce: Name's Doma, if I remember right.
Insect Breathing: !!!!!!