This is the first ti Bro has ever praised you.
Tanjiro, you have to prove him right!
A fire, hotter than any coal he'd ever mined, ignited in Tanjiro's chest.
Dohihara's taunt had failed. Seething with frustration, the demon let out a vicious snarl. "Fine! Then I'll snap his neck and rip out his heart right in front of you!" Since he couldn't get around the obstacle, he would simply smash through it. He swore he would make the arrogant human pay for underestimating him.
WHOOSH! Dohihara exploded from his position, launching himself at Tanjiro.
Roy remained leaning against the shrine's pillar, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His eyes, glowing faintly with Gyo, tracked the demon's every move. "Left," he said, his voice calm.
Tanjiro didn't hesitate. He swung the axe in a powerful upward arc, tearing open Dohihara's chest from hip to shoulder.
A spike of agony shot through the demon's mind, but he was a survivor. He knew that if he retreated now, the boy in the back would just keep calling out his attack patterns, and he'd be cut to pieces eventually.
So he pressed the attack.
Ignoring the grievous wound, Dohihara activated his ability. His chest muscles, already regenerating, clamped down on the axe blade, trapping it. Then, with a vicious snarl, he whipped his head forward. His hair shot out, instantly growing and twisting into thick, rope-like tendrils that wrapped around Tanjiro's neck.
"Watch the hair," Roy called out, a fraction of a second too late. He could see it clearly: this wasn't a Blood Demon Art. It was just a clever, high-speed application of a demon's natural regenerative ability. Anyone unfamiliar with demons would be caught completely off guard.
"Bro... you told too late," Tanjiro choked out, already tangled in the living hair. His face, still soft with a bit of baby fat, began to turn a dusky purple. He blinked frantically at Roy, his legs kicking uselessly at the demon's chest.
But Dohihara's body, fueled by demon blood, was like a stone wall. The wound from the axe was already steaming, sealing itself shut.
"Heh heh heh... feel the pain, human!" Dohihara cackled, lifting Tanjiro into the air by his neck. He shot a triumphant, bloody grin at Roy. "I told you! I told you I'd make you pay for looking down on !"
"Ghhk..." Tanjiro clawed at the hair, his lungs burning. This ti, his pride wouldn't let him scream for help again.
Stubborn as a mule, Roy thought, shaking his head. He didn't move from his spot, his voice laced with a cold, practical disappointnt. "Are your hands and feet the only weapons you have? Is your head just for decoration? Bite him. Headbutt him."
The words were like a lightning strike in Tanjiro's oxygen-starved brain.
That's right! I still have my head!
And then, the future legend of the Iron Head finally rembered his most famous and loyal weapon. Just as he had in so many battles to co, he lowered his chin and slamd his forehead forward.
CRACK!
The sound of fracturing bone echoed through the shrine. Dohihara's eyes rolled back in their sockets, his consciousness short-circuiting from the unexpected, concussive force. He went limp, his body crashing to the ground.
The hair went slack. Tanjiro fell, gasping, but his instincts took over. He grabbed the axe, scrambled to his feet, and with a final, desperate yell, brought the blade down.
The demon's head went rolling across the floor.
Tanjiro collapsed, the axe slipping from his numb fingers. He sat there, chest heaving, and turned to Roy, a bloody, triumphant grin spreading across his face. "Bro," he panted. "It's... finished..."
He had finally done it. He was no longer the coward hiding behind a tree.
But to pop the champagne cork too soon is a mistake as old as fighting itself.
A shadow fell over him. The headless body of Dohihara staggered back to its feet, looming over him. Tanjiro's blood ran cold. A pair of sharp, clawed hands reached for his face.
'Normal blades can't kill them.' Roy's words from the blacksmith's shop ca flooding back. Just cutting off the head wasn't enough.
And this is why you always confirm the kill.
A blur of motion. In a flash of Shadow Step, Roy appeared beside the headless corpse. Before Tanjiro could even blink, Roy's hand, glowing with the dark light of Snake Awakens, plunged into the demon's chest and ripped out its heart.
The organ was still beating in his palm.
The sun-patterned earring swayed as Roy looked down at his stunned brother. "This is what you call 'finished'?"
"Sorry," Tanjiro mumbled, his face turning a shade of red that would make a monkey's behind jealous.
Roy snorted. He clenched his fist, and the heart dissolved into a shower of black ash. "If all you can do is apologize," he said, his voice cold, "then you can stop following ."
The headless body finally crashed to the ground. But the surprise attack had bought the demon's head a few precious seconds. It had already sprouted two new, spindly arms and was scrabbling away into the darkness.
That kid is too much! He has to be a Pillar! Only a Pillar could be that strong!
The demon scrambled for its life. But just as it reached the tree line, it heard a sound behind it. It glanced back.
Tanjiro was there. He swung the axe, pinning the demon's newly grown arms to the trunk of a tree. He stood over the head, panting, his mind racing. That demon was so cunning... it ran even without a body... Bro was right, I got careless.
He picked up a heavy rock, his face a mask of sha and determination. He knew Roy was watching. He raised the rock over his head, but his hands trembled, hesitating.
The demon, Dohihara, looked up at him, its face no longer a mask of rage, but of tragic despair. "You think anyone chooses to beco a demon?!" it scread, its voice cracking. "I was a good man! I had a life! But this damned world forced my hand! My boss poisoned a custor with undercooked beans and frad for it! He bribed the officials, and when I was already in jail, he paid the guards to kill ! So tell ," it shrieked, tears of blood streaming from its eyes. "What was I supposed to do?! Because I was an honest man, I deserved to die?!"
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