Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 8

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Urokodaki woke up from his slumber, quickly getting up from his bed to put on his mask. He wasted no time in getting prepared. Once he was ready, he opened the door to the Slayer's room to find the man absent. He was shocked upon seeing this but was left with no time to ponder as he heard something crash outside his shed. He looked through his window to see the sun was starting to rise from the horizon. He leaves the building and looks to find a tree laying against the ground. The Slayer was at it again. It's been nearly two weeks since their training began yet the Hellwalker refused to sleep. It was as if he was allergic to the idea of it.

The Slayer swung from one tree branch to the next, calculated and efficient with his movements. All the while, he was maintaining a regular breathing pattern to enhance his physical prowess. With nothing to actually attack, he was using his imagination to envision himself in a battle. The trees were the obstacles of his arena, and he would interrupt his own movements to evade an imaginary attack. He would bounce from one tree to the next, taking quick hops between the trees to advance around the forest.

He leaps from the tree he's on into the open area. Before, he would've aimed his Super Shotgun and used his meathook to latch onto the nearest target. However, he doesn't quite need it considering his current capacity. He attempts to reach a tree that was very far from him to see if he could. However, he began to descend by the time he got close. Left with no other choice: he extends his arm blade and uses it to slice the tree in half. It was like a hot knife through butter as the Slayer made his cut, passing by where the tree was and avoiding collision. Once he landed on the floor, the tree he sliced had crashed to the ground. He had noticed Urokodaki left his shed and was observing his training. The Hellwalker turns to the older man and retracts his blade.

Urokodaki was baffled to say the least by the Slayer's improvement. The Slayer had been training non-stop, working to hone his capacity for the breathing techniques and his skills with the blade. There was a difference to the sound the trees made when they were cut. Before, it was loud when the Slayer forced his blade through the wood. Now, the noise was brief and faded as quickly as the cut was made. It wasn't perfect, but it was a tremendous upgrade compared to what the Slayer was capable of before.

The old man approached the Hellwalker and asked, "How long were you practicing this time? Don't tell me you were staying up again. You need to rest, my friend. Rest is just as important as training, itself." The Slayer crossed his arms out of disapproval toward the sentiment he heard. Urokodaki didn't understand what was at stake. The longer the Slayer remains away from his dimension, the more corrupted it becomes due to the Dark Lord. He has no time to waste, the sooner he can complete his training: the stronger he will become and get the information needed from Urokodaki to get his next checkpoint.

Urokodaki sighed when coming to terms with the fact that the Slayer won't rest. He then remarks, "I believe it's time we move onto learning some techniques, what do you say?" The warrior nodded his head in approval, uncrossing his arms as he waited for Urokodaki to show him what to do. "Well, you've unkowlingly dipped your feet in the techniques already. That slash you did just now is basically the first breathing form. I don't need to worry about the movements, simply the breathing technique used in this situation. We'll try something else as a result."

Stepping into the part of the area devoid of trees, Urokodaki gives his instructions to the Slayer, "I'm going to teach you the second breathing form: Water Wheel. To nail this motion, I want you to leap forward while doing a forward somersault. While doing so, make sure to swing your blade. Most importantly, take a deep, continuous breath as you perform the maneuver." The Slayer acknowledged what the man said, doing as told and managing to spin several times before landing on his feet. It was a simple task for the Slayer, turning to look at the older man who made a "hmm" sound. The warrior shrugs his shoulders, wondering what was supposed to happen.