Seeing Tanjiro collapse to his knees, Nezuko hurried over at once.
She crouched beside him, reached out, and gently stroked his forehead, clumsy but earnest, trying in her own quiet way to ease his pain.
That simple gesture made the room fall still for a mont.
Tamayo, watching from nearby, was finally forced to admit it.
What Tanjiro had said earlier had not been nonsense.
That sword... was likely sothing that belonged only in myths and legends.
But that only deepened the mystery.
Why did it know about events from so long ago?
Why could it imitate Yoriichi Tsugikuni so perfectly?
Questions piled up in her mind, one after another, but she did not voice them. For now, speculation could wait.
She quickly stepped forward to examine Tanjiro's condition.
Yushiro followed right behind her.
Elsewhere, far away from that room, Muzan's gaze had frozen completely at the mont Alex raised the sword and brought it down.
This ti, there was no room left for self-deception.
That posture.
That presence.
That final slash.
In Muzan's mind, the image rged completely with the mory he had tried and failed to bury for centuries.
No one understood that strike better than he did.
He had been cut by it.
Once could be a coincidence.
Twice could be a resemblance.
But not this.
Not when the similarity was so overwhelming that it clawed open old terror as if no ti had passed at all.
Muzan was truly afraid now.
The boy from before and the presence that had appeared just now were clearly not the sa. If this was not madness, then it ant only one other possibility.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni had truly beco so kind of lingering ghost and attached himself to that brat.
Even if the strength displayed so far did not seem close to the original—
Even if this whole thing could still sohow be fake—
Muzan Kibutsuji was Muzan Kibutsuji.
Cowardice was etched into his bones.
No matter how small the possibility, he would never allow danger to remain unchecked. And this boy now represented exactly that.
A threat.
Staring into the darkness ahead, Muzan issued an order that spread to every demon under his control.
"All demons, wherever you are, hunt down the Demon Slayer wearing hanafuda earrings. Kill him, and bring his head."
The command rippled outward through the blood.
Across distant towns, mountains, forests, and hidden lairs, demons froze as the order reached them.
Even the Upper Rank demons felt it.
So of them were intrigued.
Just what had this swordsman done to make Muzan target him so personally?
But intrigue was all it was. A weak Demon Slayer—one who was not even a Hashira—was hardly worth their imdiate attention.
The Lower Rank demons, however, reacted very differently.
Many of them were already stirring with excitent.
If they could kill this target and earn Muzan's favor, it might be their chance to rise.
Inside the sword, Alex opened the system panel and looked at the fresh harvest.
Thirty thousand Emotion Points.
Just from scaring Muzan.
The corners of his mouth lifted on their own.
As expected of Muzan.
You really are my personal cornucopia.
Still, satisfaction alone was not enough.
Alex looked over the abilities on the panel and considered his next move for only a mont before making up his mind.
He chose Demonization.
Without hesitation, he poured all thirty thousand Emotion Points into unlocking it.
It was a huge investnt.
But it was worth it.
Muzan would undoubtedly start sending demons after Tanjiro now, one after another. That ant exactly one thing: a steady stream of prey.
Alex's job was simple.
Help Tanjiro cut them all down.
The more demons Tanjiro killed, the stronger both of them would beco.
And given Muzan's cautious nature, plus the scattered locations of the Upper Ranks, it was unlikely those monsters would move right away. This stretch of ti before the true heavyweights appeared was the perfect growth period.
The more Alex thought about it, the brighter the future looked.
Then he glanced at his current Demon Power—now six hundred—and casually asked, "System, did you already return so Demon Power to Tanjiro?"
The reply ca at once.
[Ding! Thirty percent of the Demon Power obtained this ti has already been fed back.]
Alex lifted his gaze toward the outside world.
There he saw Tanjiro, who had only just managed to force himself back to his feet, suddenly stiffen again as a new surge of power swept through his entire body.
This enhancent was even stronger than the last.
It was enough that Tanjiro imdiately understood what had happened.
Even so, he still said with complete sincerity, "Asuramaru... thank you for lending your power."
"Stop making so much noise," Alex replied curtly.
Then he went quiet again.
After examining Tanjiro for a mont, Tamayo finally spoke.
"It isn't serious," she said. "Just muscle strain. Rest will be enough."
Then her eyes shifted slightly.
"That sword just now... it controlled you again, didn't it?"
Tanjiro nodded without any intention of hiding it.
"Yes. That's right."
Tamayo let out a small breath.
She had no intention of pressing the issue further. The sword clearly had no desire to answer her questions, and she was wise enough not to force what could not be forced.
It was enough, at least for now, to confirm that Tanjiro had been telling the truth.
She looked toward the small window where the darkness outside had already begun to thin.
"It will be dawn soon," she said. "Let's go to the basent first."
Tanjiro ca back to himself and nodded quickly.
"All right."
The group retreated underground to avoid the coming sunlight.
In the brightly lit basent, Tamayo turned to Tanjiro and spoke with her usual calm.
"We're leaving this place."
Her tone was flat, but the aning was serious.
"Muzan Kibutsuji has already discovered us. If we do not relocate quickly, it will beco dangerous."
Then she paused before continuing.
"Also... Mr. Tanjiro, would you be willing to leave Miss Nezuko with us?"
Tanjiro was caught completely off guard.
For a second, he could only stare.
Beside them, Yushiro's eyes widened. The corners of his mouth began twitching violently, as though he could already feel his place in Tamayo's life being threatened.
Tamayo, however, ignored him completely.
"I cannot guarantee her absolute safety," she said honestly. "But she would still be safer with us than following you into battle."
Tanjiro lowered his gaze.
His heart wavered.
Because it was true.
No matter how much he hated admitting it, it was true.
Then Nezuko reached out and took his hand.
Tanjiro looked down.
Her gaze was fixed on him—serious, steady, and full of simple determination.
In that mont, his answer was decided.
He looked back at Tamayo and bowed his head respectfully.
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Tamayo," he said. "But we have to stay together."
His voice did not shake.
"We can't be separated."
Yushiro quietly let out the breath he had been holding.
Tamayo saw the decision in Tanjiro's face and said nothing more. She only gave a faint nod and replied in a voice as calm as still water.
"In that case... I wish you a safe journey."
Then Tanjiro suddenly rembered sothing and hurriedly bowed again.
"I'm very sorry. I forgot to collect the blood from those two demons."
Before Tamayo could answer, Yushiro—who had been silent until then—folded his arms, turned his face aside, and muttered, "I already collected it. You do not need to worry so much about demon blood from now on."
Tamayo's lips curved ever so slightly.
At last, it seed Yushiro had truly accepted Tanjiro.
Tanjiro, for his part, brightened imdiately.
"Thank you so much."
With that, he smiled—a simple, open smile that was impossible to mistake.
A short while later, he took Nezuko back upstairs, found the box, and prepared to leave once more.
Brother and sister set out again.
As they walked along the narrow road leaving the town behind, Tanjiro could no longer hold back his curiosity.
"Asuramaru," he asked, "do you know who Yoriichi Tsugikuni really was?"
Alex did not answer directly.
"Who he was doesn't matter right now," he said. "What matters is that countless demons are about to co for you."
His tone sharpened slightly.
"So be ready."
As if to punctuate the warning, a Kasugai Crow swooped down beside Tanjiro and croaked loudly, "South-southeast! Next destination is south-southeast! Demons have appeared there—"
Tanjiro looked up at the crow, then let out a helpless little sigh.
The workload of a Demon Slayer was truly outrageous.
Ever since he had stepped onto this road, it had not slowed for even a mont.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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