Hell's Demon Slayers

0-2: THE MEATGRINDER

Giyu was the first to fall and reach what appeared to be a safe zone of some sort. Strangely, he didn't take any damage, despite falling from a seemingly unreasonable height. Regardless, he took a few steps forward and simply waited for the other Hashira to come down.

Muichiro was the first to fall. Giyu simply greeted him with a nod and pulled him to a safe spot to wait for the others to land. Tengen was next, and then Shinobu, Gyomei, Sanemi, and Rengoku.

"What's taking Obanai and Mitsuri so long?", Muichiro asked. Tengen shrugged. "I don't know, but-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

Tengen was interrupted by a piercing shriek, as Obanai fell at the same time as Mitsuri, the former covering his ears. "..See? It wasn't THAT bad.", Obanai said.

"..I-I guess..", Mitsuri sniffled. Tengen looked at them before remembering what to do. "Anyway, are all of you ready?"

With a nod from everyone (and a shaky one from Mitsuri), Tengen walked forward, the door opening automatically. It revealed a room with a statue in the middle. No enemies, however, so Tengen and the others kept going. Opening another door, he entered a hallway. Once he took a step forward, the doors locked, and two Strays spawned; one at the entrance door and one at the exit. The others were locked outside, so it was a stand-off between Tengen and these two husks. Both Strays charged up an energy orb and hurled it at Tengen.

"Sound Breathing, Fourth Form: Constant Resounding Slashes."

Concentrating his breathing, he swung his blades in a coordinated pattern, the blades reflecting both orbs to the sender, killing both Strays. The doors unlocked, and the Hashira came inside the hallway.

"What happened?", Sanemi asked, seeing the blood and two fallen Strays.

"Nothing much, just a minor inconvenience.", Tengen replied. "Now come on, let's go."

Walking into the next room, was the familiar sight of a path made out of glass panes, as eight Filth spawned; four at the exit and four at the entrance. Rengoku dealt with the enemies behind them, while Gyomei hurled his flail, shattering the glass and causing all four husks to fall into a grinder.

In the next room, two streams of blood covered the floor, and a statue holding a yellow orb lay in the middle. But, just before the exit door closed and locked, a strange yellow machine-like figure could be seen running. Rengoku was the first to see, but he was given no time to question it, as several Filth and Strays filled the room.

"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"

Several slashes filled the room, as the husks were quickly taken care of. The door unlocked, and Rengoku swiftly went through the next room, seeing if he could catch up with that.. thing.

In the next room laid two doors; one locked and one unlocked. The locked one must be where the machine was, Rengoku thought. But, seeing as it couldn't open, he was forced to go through the other door.

"What's gotten you in a rush?", Sanemi asked.

"I saw something- a robot, I think..", Rengoku replied.

"A.. robot? You sure you're not just seeing things?", Tengen said, walking forward.

"No, no, I'm pretty sure I saw it.", the Flame Hashira replied.

Going through the unlocked door, they walked through a hallway, two Filth spawning in. Tengen raised his blades in an offensive stance, but not long before the Filth were crushed under a hydraulic press.

"Huh. That works too, then.", Tengen said, shrugging. He got through to the next door safely and made sure the other Hashira did as well. The next room had another hydraulic press in the middle, with four statues in the corners. The doors locked, and yet again, the Hashira were bombarded with Filth and Strays.

Once the Hashira dealt with those, they entered a hallway, with multiple pairs of hydraulic presses on the side of the walls. Once they reached halfway, three Strays spawned at the end of the corridor, only to be killed by a yellow machine.

"See! There it is!", Rengoku pointed.

"Huh, that's certainly.. interesting.", Tengen muttered, as they progressed.

The Hashira entered a large room, separated into halves. On their half, two Strays appeared. On the other half was the Machine, fighting off two Strays on its side as well.

"You know, maybe it's an ally?", Mitsuri remarked, slicing two Strays at once. "It seems to be killing things too.."

"Possibly.", Shinobu replied, injecting her poison inside one of many Filths that spawned. "We'll never know until we meet it in the flesh- or well, in the metal, I guess~"

Finally, the Hashira reached what appeared to be the final area; a room with a large channel of blood pouring from a gap beneath the entrance, passing through 3 sets of crushers and into a pit below. Six Filths and five Strays spawned near the entrance, running at the Hashira.

"Serpent Breathing, Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent."

With unmatched speed, Obanai's blade twisted and curved, slicing apart every Filth and a majority of Strays at once. The final Stray was crushed by a hydraulic press, due to it running at Muichiro, who was in front of the press and not paying attention. A large red door appeared at the end of the room, and inside was yet another hole.

"Alright, look, it's not that bad, you know that now, right?", Obanai said to Mitsuri.

"I think so..", Mitsuri replied, still shaky at the unending darkness inside.

"Then come on.", Obanai said, grabbing Mitsuri's arm and, on the count of three, jumping in. The others followed swiftly after.

0-2: COMPLETE

RANK: P