[center][h2][b][color=f7941d]Rengoku Hinotora[/color][/b][/h2][/center] [hr] [sup][i]From the Roof and back to the Daikaku Shrine...[/i][/sup] The rooftop where the Sun Hashira and Demon Lord's duel had begun was starting to get a bit... [i]crowded[/i]. Firstly, the was the arrival of some jackass with a Korean accent. Hinotora wasn't sure if his misogynistic declaration that amounted to "get back in the kitchen" as intended for herself or the Mist Hashira (who she noted she'd yet to see since shortly after this fight started), but either way, she didn't bother dignifying his words with an actual response. Whether he was addressing herself or Kairi, giving up her concealment over some petty provocation would be stupid. [color=f7941d][i]By all means, you "manly man", take the first shot at the motherfucking Demon Lord. Please. I truly do insist,[/i][/color] she thought sardonically. In this situation, she could appreciate all the backup they could get, so she would choose not to ask questions about the stranger's arrival. However, she didn't think she'd shed a tear if he was the "one to die" from Takaya's prophesy. Then, the head of Daikaku Shrine arrived. Hinotora hadn't really seen much of what he could do, but she expected he was probably pretty strong if he was squaring up with a Demon Lord without hesitation. So, for now, she consider him more an asset than a liability and assume he could handle himself. And then, considering that the Mist Hashira was likely lurking somewhere waiting for a chance to strike from the shadows as well, that swelled their numbers to a grand total of 5 to the demon's 1... A lone demon that had, as far as she was aware, quite historically never fallen to such numbers before. [color=f7941d][i]Hahah... we are going to get our asses kicked, aren't we?[/i][/color] Realistically, it wasn't a very funny situation at all, but she still found herself laughing humorlessly on the inside. Still, Hinotora braced herself for the inevitable, watching intently, as the clearly furious Demon Lord looked around wildly at the opposition arrayed against him... before most ominously calming down. The maddened aura of demonic power around him receded in a rush of cracking flesh. Hinotora's eyes widened, as he scattered out a handful of roses in all directions. [color=f7941d][i]Shit.[/i][/color] Hinotora released her grip on the still hot and slightly melty roof edge, dropping down to land nimbly upon the window ledge of the floor below a moment before a flood of pink mist billowed over the edges of the rooftop. Glancing upward, she was in just the right position to see the Demon Lord practically [i]catapult[/i] from the mist in a flying leap, a fresh wound on his chest trickling blood. [color=f7941d][i]He's.... actually running?![/i][/color] Her eyes widened further, as she saw the way the Demon Lord landed, legs shattering and reassembling in moments, daunting him not a bit in his continued rush. [color=f7941d][i]No... not running.[/i][/color] A chill of dread crawled down her spine, as she saw quite clearly from her position the Demon Lord's path... directly back towards the Daikaku Shrine. [color=f7941d][i]He's focusing on his true goal here![/i][/color] Gritting her teeth, Hinotora inhaled sharply, deeply, the fire in her chest swelling, as she took off in a flying leap, explosive strength rushing through her legs in a way that made them ache. [color=f7941d][i]Third Phoenix Form: Fire Bird's Spirit![/i][/color] For a moment, however, she felt a strange sensation. A moment after she leapt, it was as if her skin was crawling, a shudder running through her form so violently that it felt like every cell was protesting. For a moment, she almost imagined she had smacked face-first into a body of molasses... only to pass through the film and land atop an adjacent shorter rooftop unaccosted. A gasp heaved from her chest, as she landed with a stumble, fingers twitching with a sensation of pins and needles crawling across her skin. Another steadying breath of Phoenix Breathing's Form 1 stilled most of the discomfort, but the alien sensation continued to tingle in her memory. [color=f7941d][i]What... what in the fuck was that?[/i][/color] Snapping her head back towards the building she'd just leaped away from, Hinotora couldn't see the rooftop now, not at this angle, nor through the fading cloud of pink mist. However, a sensation of [i]wrongness[/i] was shivering through her. [color=f7941d][i]Where...? What happened to everyone else? There were... They were... Shouldn't they already be in pursuit?[/i][/color] She glanced back in the direction of the Shrine, a part of her hoping to see the Hashira already ahead of her. Heck, even that Korean jackass that had decided to butt in. But no, the only person in sight that was heading towards the Shrine was still the Demon Lord. Nobody else was in pursuit... and she didn't know why! [color=f7941d][i]Was it that weird feeling I just had a second ago? Are they all... trapped? No...[/i][/color] An echo of Takaya's prophesy rippled through her mind... [i]"Kaw-caw! Police will capture y'all, only one shall escape!"[/i] [color=f7941d]"Shit... Shit... [i]Shit fuck motherfucking [b]bitch[/b][/i]!"[/color] Hinotora hissed, forcing herself to keep her breathing steady, to clear out the arches in her body, even as veins of furious frustration and understanding bulged on her face. Without a moment left to hesitate or reconsider, she [i]moved[/i]. Propelling herself off the roof in a hurtle, the world blurring around her, she abandoned stealth entirely for pure speed, letting the fire roar in her veins. She drew deep breaths in preparation, filling her cells with life-giving oxygen, packing away a trickling reserve of strength, as she dedicated the majority to speed and reinforcing her body enough to not tear itself apart. She had to close the distance, to catch up to the Demon Lord, to foil whatever their plot was... All the while, her thoughts were flying, the prophesy's words continuing to flow... [i]"After the Master he is, Blue Spider Lily as well."[/i] [color=f7941d][i]Damnit! Damm, damnity damn![/i][/color] Takaya was back at the Shrine's vicinity, wasn't he? The same Shrine that was responsible for growing Blue Spider Lillies?! The Demon Lord's assault hadn't been to avoid the toxicly anti-demon defenses of the Shrine... No, it had been to lure the Shrine's defenders away, so the Demon Lord could enter without resistance! [color=f7941d][i]That was some kind of Blood Demon Art barrier, wasn't it?![/i][/color] Hinotora recalled the sensation she had run into before. [color=f7941d][i]Nobody else is in pursuit, because they [b]can't[/b] pursue![/i][/color] And yet, somehow, she had been the only one able to pass through the barrier's boundary...? [i]"-only one shall escape!"[/i] [color=f7941d]"Fuck!"[/color] Hinotora hissed, her breath escaping her lips in goats of steam now. Her mind was whirling, desperate for options, but the reality of what lay before her was unchanging. The Shrine had been emptied of nearly all the defenders capable of competing with a Demon Lord. Sure, the monks were probably plenty skilled in their own rights, but Hinotora had no doubt in her mind that they would be slaughtered to the last even with the Demon Lord hindered by the environment. She recalled records of the last war's conclusion... [color=f7941d][i]This motherfucker is going to pull a Muzan and just stroll right on in, regenerating straight through any damage he takes![/i][/color] And the only ones left to face that Demon Lord, an Upper Moon tier foe with fewer weaknesses than the prior generation, in the dead of night, was herself and the retired and still permanently injured Wind Hashira. That was all they had, against a foe that had slaughtered who even knew how many Slayers in the past, Hashira or not. Even if they took advantage of his regeneration hopefully being hampered by the Shrine's environment... [i]"Death upon someone tonight! Bells are ringing it is."[/i] Hinotora had not witnessed what happened atop the rooftop after Ryoshu's retreat, and so, she was entirely unaware of the peril both Takaya and Ryunosuke were truly in. In fact, it didn't even occur to her that the Sun Hashira, who Takaya had instructed her to protect, could possibly be in greater danger than the Shrine was. Not in the now absence of the Demon Lord. Not with the presumed protection of at least one other Hashira and other Slayers of competitive strength. She had no way to know that the BDA barrier deployed was the work of a Demon Consort, a being that could threaten even such a gathering of strength nearly as much as any Demon Lord. The only concern in Hinotora's mind now was the protection of the Blue Spider Lillies. More than any single Slayer's life, those flowers held value in the eyes of the DSC. She only knew a little about them, but what she did know told her that the demons must not be allowed to have them. No matter the cost. For the sake of those flowers and the preservation of the critical supply line that the Daikaku Shrine represented as a whole, the Demon Lord must be stopped in his tracks. Whatever it took. She had no way to know for sure what would be lost and what would be saved, but the line in the sand needed to be drawn nonetheless. [i]"Fortune! Fortune! Pyrrhic victory it is!"[/i] Even if she ended up the only one left to draw it. She had no way to know that victory was already pyrrhic. Hinotora had no way to know that it might only be just the start. [hr] The Demon Lord was passing through the gates of the Daikaku Shrine now, and a mist billowed off his form, the nichirin construction of the structure and the air of flowering wisteria burning at his cells enough to inconvenience at worst. Indeed, it seemed the dreadful truth was confirmed. For this Demon Lord, one of this era's Upper Moons, his regeneration was far too powerful to be stopped by something like that. If the Demon Lord had been forced to contend with a full group of Hashiras at the same time, then it might have been a reliable hinderance, but now that his scheme had clearly borne fruit and removed all the truly able defenders from the premises, those that remained might as well have been no better than wheat before a scythe. The monks made a valiant effort, but it was entirely for naught. If they got in the Demon Lord's way, they died, plain and simple, brutally so even. And Hinotora had no doubt that if allowed to run rampant, the Demon Lord would slaughter the entire compound to the last man. The entire sect would be exterminated, and without the Shrine's caretakers, the Shrine itself would likely collapse as an institution capable of supporting the Demon Slayer Core. [center][youtube]https://youtu.be/jaF02lUBUU0?si=iLnZcgNu9iGPs09w[/youtube][/center] [color=f7941d][i]I don't know if anyone else will even be coming, but no matter what...[/i][/color] Her focus narrowed, as she plotted her route, the world blurring around her. [color=f7941d][i]It's my duty to hold the line. Even if it's the last thing I do.[/i][/color] A deep inhale flooded her body with revitalizing energy, her breath coming easier with a fresh surge of oxygen. The burn of her muscles straining was replaced instead by the burn of tensed, gathering strength. [color=f7941d][i]Burn... Burn my fiery spirit! Even if your body dies, rage against the dying light![/i][/color] Her left foot came down on the edge of the rooftop nearest to the Daikaku Shrine's boundaries with a thundercrack. Muscles flexed so hard they threatened to snap her own bones, even as a portion of her breath flowed into those same bones to reinforce them and seal the already forming microfractures. Her entire body tensed like a loaded spring, fire roaring through her cells in a storm of released energy, as steam and licks of flame escaped from between her lips. [color=f7941d][i]Become the Firebird that rises from its ashes! Give it [b]everything[/b] and then go beyond![/i][/color] She pushed Pheonix Breathing further than she'd ever dared to before, until the inside of her body felt like a sauna, until it felt like her blood was on the edge of boiling, till even her sweat turned to steam. She pushed until her eyes itched, growing dry from her own heat. [color=f7941d][i]Before you is a Demon Lord, an Ultimate Evil, so become the Light of Justice needed to strike! [b]Him! DOWN[/b]![/i][/color] [color=f7941d]"[i]Pheonix Breathing - Third Form-[/i]!"[/color] She hissed under her breath, nearly choking the words out with the effort of keeping her breathing Forms steady, as she raised her blade high. [color=f7941d]"-[i]Meets Fire Breathing - Fifth Form-[/i]!"[/color] [color=f7941d][b]"-[i]FLAME TIGER[/i]!"[/b][/color] The rooftop underfoot cratered, the edge shattering to pieces from the force with which Hinotora kicked off. She angled herself carefully in her leap, as a flaming corona burst into existence around her with a yowling roar, taking the form of a tiger that nearly blurred into a streak of light with the way she shot through the air like a small comet. Despite leaping from a height that might normally be a bit dangerous, she wasn't concerned. The angle of her trajectory was carefully aligned to carry her just over the top of the Daikaku Shrine's walls at speed, and once she reached ground level, she would be in a position to transfer safely into some kind of slide or roll. And it was with that resolution that Hinotora finally engaged with Blood Moon Upper 4. [hr] [sup][i]The Stand at Daikaku Shrine...[/i][/sup] [@TimelessParagon] The Slayer entered like a howling meteor, a flaming streak of motion that ripped through the air, just barely clearing the top of the Daikaku Shrine's walls on a direct course for the Demon Lord. There was a certain irony in her approach perhaps, that she might launch herself almost akin to an arrow loosed from a bow towards the demon archer, as she leveled her first strike towards his neck. A blistering howl of heat followed the motion, the flaming tiger surrounding her body yowling its fury with the opening attempt at decapitation. Of course, Hinotora knew all too well that even if she managed to behead the Demon Lord, that would only inconvenience him at worst. And that was why it was only the [i]first[/i] of the Fifth Form's multiple strikes that she launched at him. As a distraction and interruption of his pace. For indeed, Hinotora's momentum did not put her on a direct crash-course with the Demon Lord, but instead angled her for a gloried drive-by-shooting. With a sword. Hurtling right past Ryoshu in the same motion, she was already bending her knees to transition into a slide across the ground, the flaming tiger curling around her in a flaming cloak, burning away at whatever mist the Demon Lord might have already unleashed anew, as the tiger's claws lashed out and reduced nearby demonic plants to ash, acting in defense of whatever monks could still be saved. Hinotora came to a sliding stop, the flaming tiger fading away into embers, as she exhaled a gout of steam so thick it sounded more like a wheeze. Steam billowed off her body, her sweat continuing to flow and evaporate as fast as it could leave her skin. Blinking quickly, she increased the flow of water to her eyes, clearing the bout of itchy blurriness from them, as she continued to inhale and exhale deeply, raising her blade up before her in a defensive guard. [color=f7941d]"[i]That[/i]... I think..."[/color] she hissed quietly, chest heaving with every word, as her Breathing Forms worked overtime to wash away the aches wracking her form, [color=f7941d]"is about as far as you go, Demon Lord..."[/color] Without taking her eyes off the Demon Lord for a single moment, Hinotora said firmly to the monks still alive in the vicinity, [color=f7941d]"[i]Go[/i]. Now. This fight is beyond any of you!"[/color] She grit her teeth, steam and licks of flame continuing to hiss from between dry lips. [color=f7941d]"The Demon Lord is after the Blue Spider Lillies! Takaya's prophesy decreed it! So, run! Hide what you can, and [i]destroy[/i] what you cannot! [i]Hurry[/i]! What is lost can be replanted later, but the demons must [i]not be allowed to have that flower[/i]! By any means necessary!"[/color] Eyes narrowed at the foe before her, Hinotora sucked in another steadying breath, the trembling of her body finally starting to fade a bit, as she tightened her grip on her sword. [color=f7941d]"I will hold the line and buy you time... for as long as I can."[/color]