Tanjiro saw it.
In the instant he was sent hurtling through the air, his mind raced faster than the fall itself. Then, with both hands locked around the hilt, he brought the blade crashing downward.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
A torrent-like slash dropped with him.
Water erupted beneath his feet in a roaring column, swallowing the force of his descent and breaking the impact. Using that brief opening, Tanjiro twisted his body and flipped off to the side, landing in a low crouch instead of crashing headfirst into the ground.
His chest heaved once.
Then his eyes sharpened again.
Surprisingly, he did not feel nearly as battered as he should have.
Between the earlier Feedback and the Demon Power Alex had just pushed into him, his body was no longer comparable to what it had been in the original tiline. His strength, speed, and endurance had all risen by another step.
This was no longer ordinary Tanjiro Kamado.
This was Tanjiro Kamado Plus.
Inside the blade, Alex fell briefly silent.
Then a thought hit him.
Wait a second.
Had he really beco Tanjiro's cheat item?
Was he not supposed to be the protagonist here?
The realization left him feeling deeply conflicted for all of half a second.
Then he put it aside.
The fight mattered more.
Besides, Alex knew his limits. His edge over the situation ca from knowing the plot and having a few broken abilities. Put him in a straight fight without those advantages, and he was not even sure he could outperform Tanjiro.
So when it ca to actual combat, Tanjiro still had to do the real work.
A reminder here. A warning there. That was enough.
Only by fighting for himself would Tanjiro truly sharpen his instincts.
Across from him, the monk demon had also realized sothing was wrong.
It pressed one hand against its neck and stared in disbelief as blood continued to seep through its fingers.
"How...?"
Its expression twisted.
"Why isn't it healing?"
Then understanding hit.
That Demon Slayer.
It had to be because of that sword.
Its face contorted with rage. It raised both hands and roared, "You filthy brat, die!"
The eyes in its palms snapped open.
Several red arrows shot through the air toward Tanjiro.
This ti, Tanjiro did not et the attack with confusion. Thanks to Alex's earlier warning, he already understood the basic principle behind the demon's Blood Demon Art. As he dodged, his thoughts moved just as fast as his feet.
A plan ford instantly.
Use the whirlpool-like motion of a sword form to catch the arrows.
Then use footwork to close the gap in one burst.
The next second, Tanjiro moved.
He cut forward in a twisting, flowing step, his body weaving like water over rock while the arrows pursued him relentlessly from behind. The mont he entered striking range, he drew the sword in with both hands and exhaled sharply.
Water swirled around him.
The rushing current gathered around the sword in a tight, spiraling flow, pulling the incoming arrows into its orbit and tangling them within the movent of the technique.
Tanjiro's muscles tensed.
The weight transmitted through the sword was imdiate.
Heavy.
But still manageable.
Still within his limits.
He stomped down hard enough to crack the ground beneath his feet, and in the sa instant, all the accumulated force gathered into the sword.
"Second Form Modified: Lateral Water Wheel!"
He spun.
The slash tore out horizontally, carrying the redirected force of the arrows with it.
This strike was far stronger than the one he had used before.
The monk demon had no ti to evade.
The blade flashed across its neck in one clean, unstoppable arc.
Its head flew.
The prayer beads around its neck snapped apart at the sa ti, scattering across the ground as its headless body pitched backward.
But Tanjiro himself was still airborne from the force of the technique, his balance beginning to fail.
That was when Alex stepped in.
He seized control of Tanjiro's body at the perfect mont and did sothing that should have been impossible. With a sharp adjustnt that completely ignored normal posture and montum, he forcibly corrected the fall and landed steadily.
Then, without pausing for even a breath, he ripped the Nichirin Blade from Tanjiro's waist and hurled it with full force.
The sword shot through the air like a streak of light.
It pierced straight through the monk demon's severed head, pinning it and completely snuffing out the last trace of its life.
A mont later, the corpse and head both crumbled into ash and scattered into the night.
Inside the shared consciousness, Tanjiro was still a little dazed from having his body taken over so abruptly, but even so, he did not resist.
He trusted Asuramaru.
Still, he could not help saying, "Asuramaru, the other demon! Nezuko and the others are still in danger!"
Alex, anwhile, was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Now that he was directly controlling the body, he could feel just how outrageous Body Control truly was. It was not partial assistance. It was not crude possession. It was absolute command.
Even the Breathing Style flowed through the body as naturally as if it had been engraved into the flesh itself.
After taking a mont to savor it, he replied in a tone of lofty reluctance, "Since my Sword Master is begging , I suppose I can help a little."
He held Asuramaru in one hand and began walking toward the other battlefield.
There, the female demon was still engaged with Nezuko, Tamayo, and Yushiro.
The instant she noticed movent, she turned—
And saw Tanjiro approaching slowly, sword in hand, while her companion was already collapsing into drifting ash behind him.
Her expression changed at once.
"How is that possible? He actually died?"
At the sa ti, sowhere far away, Muzan Kibutsuji—who had been watching through her—finally let out a faint breath of relief.
After watching the fight just now, he had not seen even the slightest trace of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Maybe it truly had only been a coincidence. Maybe the resemblance had just been—
Then Tanjiro looked up again.
Or rather, the thing inside Tanjiro looked up.
Through the female demon's eyes, Muzan saw it instantly.
The way he held the sword in one hand.
The shift in presence.
The complete overturning of temperant.
This was no longer that boy.
Even before a word was spoken, Muzan knew it.
Then, in the darkness, Tanjiro's body opened its mouth and spoke in a deep, icy voice.
"Muzan Kibutsuji. I know you're watching."
The words were simple.
But every one of them struck like a blade.
"Rember this. I am coming for you."
His grip tightened.
"This ti, I will not fail."
The mont those words landed, Muzan's composure shattered all over again.
His face twisted with naked horror before he could suppress it. But this ti he was not standing there in person, and because of that, he managed to steady himself far faster than before.
Still, his thoughts were a complete ss.
Was this really Yoriichi Tsugikuni?
Had that monster died and turned into a vengeful spirit?
Had he possessed this boy just to continue hunting him?
How was that possible?
And what was that strength just now?
The more Muzan thought, the less anything made sense.
On the other side of the connection, Alex could not have been more pleased.
He had already driven Demon Power through Tanjiro's body to its limit. The borrowed body surged with strength as he stepped forward and drew the blade through the air in a flowing arc.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."
His body spun.
The blade moved with a fluid elegance that looked almost gentle—until it wasn't.
In a single instant, all of the female demon's arms were cut away.
Every last one.
Before she or Muzan could fully process what had happened, Alex had already stepped in.
Then he raised the sword overhead with both hands.
That posture.
That exact posture.
It was the sa movent burned into Muzan's mory from years ago, like a dead scene returning to life before his eyes.
The female demon did not even have ti to dodge.
The sword fell.
Her head separated from her body at once.
As her vision spun away, the last thing she saw was her own headless corpse collapsing where it stood.
Alex smoothly sheathed the sword.
Inside the blade, he felt wonderful.
Then the system chid again.
[Ding! Negative emotions detected from Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji. Obtained 5000 Emotion Points!]
[Ding! Fear detected from Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji. Obtained 4200 Emotion Points!]
Another rich harvest.
And honestly, Alex felt that the answer was obvious.
What could possibly be more satisfying than scaring Muzan?
Not far away, Tamayo had witnessed the entire exchange with her own eyes.
Looking at Tanjiro as he was now—his bearing, his movents, that impossible pressure—the image of Yoriichi Tsugikuni from her mory rose once more.
Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "Are... are you Lord Yoriichi?"
Alex only gave her a sidelong glance.
Then, without answering, he imdiately released Body Control and returned Tanjiro's body to him.
The mont Tanjiro regained himself, the backlash hit all at once.
His chest convulsed violently.
He dropped to his knees on the spot, gasping so hard it seed his lungs might tear apart. Every muscle in his body scread in pain. It felt as if all his strength had been drained away in a single instant, leaving behind only weakness, burning exhaustion, and the lingering ache of having been pushed far past his usual limits.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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