Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 132: The gathering of Pillars

[3rd POV]

{Toyama Region)

The Toyama region was home to one of the three sacred mountains of Japan, Mt. Tateyama. The mountain range was like domineering towers overlooking the entire landscape.

The mountains act like natural walls that stop the cold winter clouds from spreading throughout Japan. It was one of the reasons why it was considered a sacred mountain, people believed that these masses of earth protected them from the frigid winter.

On the peak of the highest mountain in the region, where the temperature could plummet well below -30 degrees, there sat a man who was built firm like the mountains around him.

"Namu Amida Butsu," the man prayed while sitting in a lotus position. He held a prayer bead between his palm which he would occasionally roll around in his hand to test if he could still feel them amid the cold.

"Namu Amida Butsu,"

He was the personification of a mountain in human skin. His Demon Slayer uniform and his haori that proudly declared 'Stone Pillar' was covered in a new layer of snow but other than that, there was no indication that he was in a freezing temperature.

His body was tight, in a way that showed his skin was barely able to contain the muscles beneath. His body was almost all sculpted muscles without unneeded fat and so thick veins popped all over his body, thrumming with life and seemingly begging for violence.

In all its glory, it was obvious that his body was bred for war. It was the ultimate tool of violence and destruction.

But his body akin to that of a god of war was contrasted by his peaceful facade. He had blind eyes, whiter than snow and a kind expression. You could tell from a glance that it was not the face of a warmonger but that of a saint. Buddha perhaps.

One could only imagine if his body was attached to another head. The world would've been in chaotic times.

The man was Gyomei, the Stone Pillar.

He took a deep breath and created a vacuum around his nose. His body trembled with raw strength and his muscles bulged like living snakes under his skin. But he remained completely still, showing absolute control over his power.

Soon after, his body started producing smoke and the snow which was on top of his clothes fell off or melted away due to his increase body heat. He was akin to a volcanic mountain at that moment, ready to explode.

The hazy smoke only receded after he stopped flexing his muscles and disrupted his breathing pattern.

"Still not enough," he said soon after when he felt the overall strength of his body.

The statement was insanity. Anyone in the world would be more than satisfied to wield the power he did. But to him, his strength was nearly not enough.

It was nearly not enough to protect everyone. It was not enough to defeat his enemies. It was not enough to take the burden of being the strongest from his younger brother.

This amount of strength was not enough for Gyomei.

"I need to be stronger, I need to be tougher and I need to be more unyielding," his deep voice penetrated the frigid air.

"Lord Buddha, turn me into an immovable object between my loved ones and my enemies," he prayed deeply, "So that the people behind me shall be at peace and the enemies that stood before me shall yield,"

He pressed his hand so hard the prayer beads turned into powder and a map of veins appeared in his hand.

"Namu Amida Butsu,"

The sound of air being sucked by a vacuum followed. Oxygen was scarce in such high altitude and cold air. It was a certain death to everyone else but it served as the perfect training ground for Gyomei.

His muscles tensed and churned with strength. The simple act of producing enough body heat to survive in the freezing temperature put a strain on his body and it was moulding it to be stronger and tougher.

At this point, he was not comparable to Gyomei in the manga.

He was so much stronger than his canon counterpart. Even without mentioning how the Upper Moons emerged earlier and the other changes in fate, Gyomei always took the fact that Seiji was the strongest personally.

He had been the strongest before and he knew the burden that title entailed. That sense of duty and responsibility should never fall on a young soul like Seiji.

It should be him instead.

So he was always training like a madman to take the burden back when his canon counterpart remained stagnant.

The region of Toyama was much like Gifu, covered in snow and winter. There had been no increase in demon activities but that didn't mean relaxing for Gyomei. It only meant that he had more time to train so here he was, at the highest peak of the mountain range and training his breathing while trying to achieve the Demon Slayer mark.

It might seem not so wise to try to get your body temperature to increase in such a cold place but Seiji did it in a colder situation - a direct attack of an Upper Moon.

So he was simulating that in both body and mind, trying to reach the same enlightenment as his young comrade did.

But his training was interrupted by the sound of a bird flying towards him. That was a curious observation since almost no animal resides in the mountain anymore with the ongoing winter.

Gyomei stopped his breathing and headed to the lying bird. He allowed the bird to fly close to him and eventually land on his shoulder.

And then the bird whispered to him a message that froze his body where the freezing temperature failed.

"Seiji," Gyomei whispered and his frozen body exploded in raw strength.

The mountain trembled as the Stone Hashira took a giant leap in the air. His humongous body started falling from the edge of the mountain.

After falling for a few seconds, he landed on the steep side of the mountain and then he started scaling down the towering earth.

BOOOOOM!!!*

There was no finesse in his action, only raw power. So as he scaled down the mountain, the thick layer of snow was moved by the shockwaves and they started flooding down as well.

An avalanche started, just like that.

Gyomei cared little about that since he knew there were no animals in the mountain Instead, he started scaling down faster and faster. He was like a boulder rolling down the mountain.

At one point the avalanche grew big enough to become a moving calamity. Gyomei rode on it to scale the mountain even quicker.

The trees and frozen vegetation were destroyed as Gyomei changed the landscape with each step he took.

When he finally came down the mountain, he took a small compass out of his pocket and felt the direction.

He then proceeded to the east. To the region neighbouring the Tomaya region.

Gifu region. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He noticed as he made his way towards the east as fast as he could, that the Kasugai crow of Seiji was flying in another direction.

'West,' Gyomei observed briefly, 'That is his territory,'

It seemed it was not just him but every Hashira nearby that the bird was summoning. Gyomei commended the bird mentally and wished her luck.

He did not know what the situation was but he knew that if the strongest among them had called for help...

It must be the gravest of situations.

...

...

...

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[3rd POV]

Raven flew above the clouds enduring the harsh winter air. She flapped her tiny wings as fast as she could since she knew her partner's life depended on it.

She flew to every region around Gifu and sent the message to them. It was a call for help from Seij and one that was serious enough that he believed he might lose his life.

She went to Gyomei first like she was instructed and now she had just finished relaying the message to the second Hashira.

...A Hashira who was somehow even faster than her.

FLASH!!!

Tengen was a blur of speed as he manoeuvred through the forest. He had ignored the long winding roads and made a direct line through the forest towards the Gifu region.

His body cut through the air like an arrow. He knew he had to reserve his energy while travelling so that he could fight when he reached the destination. His shinobi training screamed at him to slow down and run more efficiently.

But he ignored all that.

Breathing alone proved to be a challenge at the speed he was going. But he utilized his breathing style to the limit anyway and used the new form he had learned from Seiji.

At one point he had asked the younger Hashira for how to get faster. And he was introduced to the unique styles taken from Wind Breathing and Water Breathing.

"Sound Breathing : Seventh form,"

The Gifu region was around 60 kilometres. Tengen wanted to reach there in ten minutes.

"Echoing dash,"

..

..

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[IMAGE]

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