"That's right. I'm not sure if Kyojuro Rengoku mentioned it to you before."
"This ability—I call it Iron Body. I think by now, you've seen what it can do. Once mastered, it allows you to harden your muscles to the strength of iron."
"So? Want to learn it?"
"Seriously, Yohan... are you really willing to teach us something like that?" Kanae Kocho asked, wide-eyed and disbelieving.
They had long suspected that Yohan possessed some mysterious abilities, but it never crossed their minds that such a power could be taught—let alone that he would willingly pass it on to them.
"It's no big deal. If I give you Iron Body, that just means I get to ask something from you in return too, right?"
"Hahaha!"
Yohan spoke his intentions plainly. From his point of view, sharing the Iron Body technique was a trivial thing. With the system backing him, it wasn't like he lacked resources.
"Come on, sis. He's offering to teach us himself, isn't he?"
"And this is Iron Body! Why are you hesitating at a time like this?"
Shinobu Kocho couldn't stand seeing her sister being indecisive and jumped in for her, answering for Kanae without a second thought.
"Then Yohan, please teach us right now!"
Clearly, Shinobu had become even more intrigued with Yohan ever since her body underwent dramatic improvements after consuming the food he gave her. To her, Yohan always had something magical up his sleeve. Her straightforward personality made her all the more drawn to someone like him.
"Alright, alright. Since I'm teaching, all of you gather around—saves me the trouble."
"Once you master it, pass it on to the rest of the Demon Slayer Corps."
Kyojuro Rengoku, Kanae and Shinobu Kocho, and Kanao Tsuyuri quickly gathered around Yohan, listening attentively as he began explaining the foundations of Iron Body.
"Iron Body works by fully activating the blood flow and muscles in your body, which then allows you to..."
After a detailed explanation, Yohan had them start practicing on their own.
"If you have questions, feel free to ask Mitsuri Kanroji. She's insanely gifted at picking up Iron Body."
When Yohan specifically praised Mitsuri and even named her as an instructor, she giggled happily.
Slapping her shoulder with a cheerful grin, she said, "Come to me if you're confused about anything! I'll teach you everything I know!"
With that, everyone dove into their training with enthusiasm.
"Oooh! So this is how it works?!"
Rengoku, already boasting incredible physical strength, was the first to grasp the key to activating the Iron Body technique.
He looked at his fists—now coated in a pitch-black sheen—and broke into thunderous laughter, like a child who just got his hands on a new toy.
Not long after, the other three also managed to perform the basic form of Iron Body. Clearly, their previous physical enhancements were paying off, allowing them to learn the technique much faster.
Excited, each of them practiced eagerly on their own.
"Well? What do you think, Yohan? I taught them well, didn't I?" Mitsuri returned to Yohan's side, grinning with pride like a student awaiting praise.
"You did great. My Mitsuri really is the best."
Yohan didn't hold back on his compliments for the radiant girl in front of him.
"Hehe... My... Yohan said I'm his... hehe..."
Even after all they'd been through together, and despite how much more confident and lively Mitsuri had become, she still turned into a blushing mess every time Yohan said things like that.
"Alright, it's getting late. Now that you all can roughly perform the technique, all that's left is to keep practicing regularly."
"But let me be clear—while Iron Body helps you defend against demon attacks far better..."
"Don't let it make you reckless."
Yohan couldn't help but stress this part.
What worried him was that they'd start thinking they were invincible now that they had Iron Body. But the reality was, to reach his level of defense, just mastering the technique wasn't even close to enough.
"Understood."
Kyojuro Rengoku and Kanae Kocho seemed to grasp his message the most clearly. They understood that strength shouldn't breed arrogance.
After all, they only had one life—there was no room for carelessness.
"That's settled, then. Kyojuro, I'll leave you to teach Mitsuri the Flame Breathing techniques. I'm going to rest for a bit."
Yohan turned to leave.
"Um—Yohan, can we—" Kanae started to ask, but his figure had already vanished.
Rengoku, sensing what Kanae was about to say, turned to her and smiled.
"Kanae, there's no need to ask."
"The moment Yohan taught us, he was already sharing it with the entire Demon Slayer Corps."
"Among friends... there's no need to be so formal."
With that, he waved his hand and walked off with Mitsuri to begin her breathing technique training.
"Friends, huh...? Yeah, that's right."
Realizing that, Kanae smiled to herself.
She had been drawing lines too rigidly. Meeting someone like Yohan was clearly a once-in-a-lifetime kind of luck for all of them.
She passed on the technique information back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, and the group dispersed to go about their own business.
As for Yohan, though he said he was going to rest—
In reality, the system had just notified him that one of his earlier missions was completed.
And he couldn't wait to claim the reward.
"System! Hurry up!"
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host.]
[Mission: Spread of Core Ideology (Completed)]
[Reward: DarkKnight Shadow (Shield Tower)]
A flash of light burst before Yohan's eyes.
In front of him appeared a large shield with a deep black finish streaked with vivid crimson markings.
So this is DarkKnight Shadow...
He equipped the shield onto his left arm and gave it a few practice swings through the air.
Nice. It had a fantastic weight and impact—just the kind of thing that would feel amazing smashing into an enemy.
Yohan couldn't help but picture himself subduing foes with a shining backlit figure, standing tall with the shield in hand.
Now, what else can it do?
He asked the system, "How do I check the shield's stats and level?"
[The host only needs to will it in your thoughts.]
Yohan closed his eyes and focused.
Immediately, the shield's properties appeared in his mind:
…
[DarkKnight Shadow (Shield Tower)]
Level: LV1
Trait:Destructive Growth — The shield auto-repairs and levels up every time it's damaged (Repair Time: Instant)
Skill Slot: Empty
…
Seeing the Destructive Growth trait, Yohan couldn't help but burst into laughter.
At that moment, he suddenly started to miss Upper Moon Three.
Now that he had awakened his Sage Body, enhanced his physical strength, and obtained the DarkKnight Shadow...
He could barely wait to teach Upper Moon Three what it truly meant to be a demon.
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