The Stone Pillar: Gyomei Himejima!

(1921 Words!)

Anos: "The stone pillar is the only one left. I hope he doesn't dissapoint."

Anos said these words gazing at Gyomei's direction.

-----------(Scene Break!)--------------------

Gyomei walked through the mist filled forest keeping his senses sharpened as he searched for Anos. As he sensed something approaching, Gyomei didn't hesitate to swing his axe at the direction of the approaching entity.

(Clang!)

And as Gyomei expected, the person who appeared before him was none other than the Demon Anos Voldigoad. Gyomei didn't hesitate to launch consecutive blows with both his spiked flail and axe. Using consecutive stone breathing techniques in order to keep this monster at bay.

Gyomei: 'First Form: Serpentinite Bipolar, Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock, Rapid Conquest, Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice.'

Anos calmly dodges all of Gyomei's attacks without much effort. But Gyomei didn't feel annoyed or frustrated, as he already knew long ago that the difference in not just their physical strength, but also their abilities were so far apart from each other that even trying to compare them would be laughable. So he instead chose to use Anos to help him improve.

Anos: "I'm impressed. You already understand the difference between you and I, and instead of feeling sadness, anger, frustration, jealousy or even envy, you choose to improve yourself not to catch up to someone who's strength is unobtainable, but simply for your own self improvement."

Gyomei who had continued attacking Anos with his flail and axe which simply destroyed the ground around Anos in an attempt to blind him.

(Boom! Boom! Boom!)

As the cloud of dirt obscured the vision of the two, Gyomei immediately attacked.

Gyomei: 'Second Form: Upper Smash!'

Gyomei throws both his axe and spiked flail for a pincer move before he smashed down on the chain causing the flail to then rebound and smash his target from afar.

Anos was unperturbed by the pincer attack as he grabbed the flail and axe as he spoke.

Anos: "This won't do. Even if I didn't train you, your physical attributes are already on par to the high ranking demons of this world. So instead of physical ability or even your mastery over your weapon, I'll change your training just a bit."

Gyomei was surprised at Anos's words as he questioned him.

Gyomei: "What are you talking about? My physical attributes are on par with the Upper Moon's?"

Anos: "Yes. You are simply a human with a physical talent that appears around once in a century. With incredible physical prowess, and adaptability. So, I will teach you instead of the demon slayer marks, the see through world, and the selfless state."

Gyomei: "And those are?"

Anos: "Simply put a gamble."

Gyomei: "A gamble?"

Anos: "The Demon slayer Mark is something all of you possess. It allows you to draw upon an even more greater amount of strength."

Gyomei: "And how does one go about achieving this mark, and what are the consequences of the mark?"

Anos: "In exchange for an increase in physical attributes, your lifespan is decreased to the point where you will die by age 25 regardless of what you do unless you become a demon, or you don't use the mark anymore."

Gyomei: "... And what of this see through world and selfless state?"

Anos: "The see through world allows one to perceive the bodies of others as if their skin was transparent. This enables them to track the flow of blood, breathing, muscular contractions and joint movements of the person they are looking at which can be used to predict their movements and evade their attacks with ease. Additionally, those who can access the Transparent World can perceive the world in slow-motion, further increasing their reaction and movement speed."

Anos: "And the selfless state is an esoteric and mysterious state of being in which one completely erases their Fighting Spirit, will to fight, bloodlust, anger, hatred, malevolence, drive and animosity. Once in this state, the user's behavior becomes incredibly tranquil and focused, often being compared to that of a plant. The existence of this state of being remains shrouded in obscurity, known only to a limited few with profound understanding, and even fewer possess the capability to attain it."

Gyomei: "And what exactly are the conditions that need to be met for achieving the mark?"

Anos: "Well, perhaps the most important prerequisite is being in contact with an individual that possesses the Mark, or has been Marked before. Without fulfilling this condition, the Mark cannot be awakened at all. When the first condition is met, the second condition is to sirvive extremely life-threatening conditions, specifically, a heart rate of over 200 beats per minute (BPM) and a body temperature of over 39° Celsius (102.2° Fahrenheit), conditions which can prove to be fatal in most cases."

Gyomei frowned at the information given as he thought about Anos's words before his expression lit up as if remembering something important before he spoke up.

Gyomei: "Anos Voldigoad, you say that there is nothing you cannot do am I correct?"

Anos: "Indeed. Even if I wanted to grant you the mark, the transparent world, and the selfless state without any drawbacks, it would be as simple as breathing."

Gyomei's grip on his weapon became stronger as he spoke.

Gyomei: "Then, could I trouble you to grant me these abilities? I would like to see for myself if experiencing the effect of these ability enhancers will allow me to achieve them more easily since I've learned what it's like."

Anos thought about it for a few seconds before a bright smile appeared on his face as he nodded his head and spoke.

Anos: "Fine, but we do this my way."

(Snap!)

Anos snapped his finger and silence permeated the surroundings for a few seconds as Gyomei stood still in confusion. He didn't feel any different from before. But hearing Anos's words made him understand what Anos did.

Anos: "I've allowed you to access the power of the mark, but your going to have to awaken it like any other slayer. The only difference is that you won't experience your loss of lifespan!"

Finishing his words, Anos vanished from where he stood as Gyomei's eye's widened in shock as his instincts screamed death was before him.

However, Gyomei managed to raise both the flail and axe in time to block the palm that appeared in front of him. The moment Anos's palm came into contact with Gyomei's weapon, Gyomei puked blood as not only was his weapon shattered, but Anos's palm made contact with him sending him flying through dozens of trees in an instant!

(BOOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!)

In less than a second, Gyomei had crashed through dozens of trees before being imbedded into a nearby mountain cratering it. Anos hummed to himself lightly as he wondered.

Anos: "Did he die?"

As Anos approached the cratered mountain, he was pleasently surprised to see Gyomei still alive. But Gyomei was only alive thx to the activation of his demon slayer Mark, and even then Gyomei was sure that almost all bones in his body was almost broken.

Anos looked on in amusement at the ground fissures marking that appeared on the panting Gyomei. Anos already knew that Gyomei was only still alive thanks to his will power, otherwise he'd already have blacked out and die.

Anos: {Ent}

In the next second, all of Gyomei's wounds had already healed, as Gyomei slowly got up he realised the sudden difference he felt. Nothing. No anger, sadness, disbelief, animosity. Its all gone, replaced by a feeling of complete tranquility. He had also noticed that he could see through Anos. His organs, his beating heart, all of it he could perceive. Gyomei then looked at Anos, his face expressionless as he took a single step and vanished! Only to appear with his fist an inch from Anos's face.

(BOOOM!)

But surprisingly, the place where Anos stood was completely unharmed, and instead Gyomei was the one who had disappeared.

Anos: "Hrrm, you really are the strongest Hashira of this era. If it was any of the Upper Moon Demons you would have beheaded most of, if not all except maybe the Upper Moon One and Kibutsuji himself."

Anos spoke as his eyes gazed at the mountain where Gyomei laid. His entire right half had disappeared leaving his organs to spill out alongside the blood gushing out of the missing half of his body.

Anos: "Very remarkable strength of will. Even with half your body missing, you are still alive albeit by a thread."

Anos: {Ent}

Gyomei was once more healed as he gasped for air. His lungs were burning, and his eyes were in just as much pain as he lost the ability to stay in both the see through world, and the selfless state.

Anos smiled in amusement as he spoke.

Anos: "I only said I'd prevent the drawback of the demon slayer mark from affecting you, not the see through world or even the selfless state."

Gyomei was gasping and wheezing in agony feeling his heart beating so fast it felt like it would explode. He was just glad his Demon slayer Mark was still there as he got up and questioned.

Gyomei: "Haah, ugh. Howd you manage to send me flying all the way to the mountain when my fist was only an inch away from you? Cough, cough."

Anos: "I caught your fist, gently flicked the right side of your body, and then you were blown away."

Gyomei: "...."

Anos: "But it truly was incredible seeing you stay alive even with half your body missing. Your will is incredible."

Gyomei took a deep breath as he glared at Anos.

Gyomei: "Once more."

Anos merely smiled at Gyomei's words as the shattered weapon of Gyomei appeared in front of him once more. Gyomei didn't question how Anos fixed the weapon, instead he lunged forward at Anos, prepared to continue this dance of death.

---------(1 Hour later)-------------

Anos hummed a song known as Tanjiro No Uta as he sat atop the back of the bulky figure that was Gyomei Himejima. After 1 hour of arduous training, Gyomei had only manage to access the see through world. Never being able to enter the selfless state again as he was attacked and brought close to death so many times, that Gyomei had eventually collapsed from the training.

Anos: "Oh well, you still have an hour in this dimension, so best enjoy your meal young man."

Anos spoke to the unconscious Gyomei as he sighed before getting off his back, summoning a large piece of meat, and throwing it inside Gyomei's mouth causing him to jolt awake from being suffocated by a large piece of meat.

Gyomei groaned in pain as he struggled to get up, of even balance himself. Even the piece of meat befire him felt heavy. Gyomei sighed in exhaustion as he started eating the meat with extreme difficulties.

Anos: "Finally done with their training. Maybe I should go visit Muzan after this? After all, he needs to pay his respect for the true demon King."

As all the Hashiras finished their training, and eating, the two hours had ended, and they were all brought back to the real world where they all had surprised looks on their faces before staring at Anos for several seconds, sighing in resignation, and leaving for their own manors.

Anos laughed lightly at the comedic scene before turning his gaze towards the butterfly Manor as he spoke.

Anos: "I wonder how Shinobu and Tamayo are doing?"