"You think you can beat ?! I can take you with one hand!"
The ox-like demon actually withdrew one arm, curled the other into a fist, and swung it straight at Inosuke.
Inosuke did not dodge.
He planted his feet, crossed both Nichirin swords before his chest, and t the blow head-on.
Fist struck steel.
Sparks burst in the dark.
For a brief mont, the demon's brute strength forced Inosuke backward. His heels dug trenches into the soil, his arms trembling beneath the impact. Then his eyes beneath the boar mask sharpened.
"Not hard enough!"
With a roar, Inosuke pushed back.
The jagged edges of his swords bit into the demon's fist, broke through flesh harder than iron, and carved cleanly through its arm.
The demon's eyes widened.
Before it could scream, Inosuke twisted his body and poured the last of his strength into an upward slash.
Two chipped Nichirin swords crossed through the demon's neck.
Its head flew.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Even as it died, the demon could not understand the result. Its body had been its pride, its defense, its absolute confidence. Yet that confidence crumbled with the rest of it, dissolving into ash beneath the moonlight.
Inosuke, on the other hand, threw his head back and laughed like a beast that had just conquered a mountain.
"Hahahahaha!"
Zenitsu rushed over, staring between the fading demon and Inosuke with a face full of disbelief.
"Wait—did you just save ?"
Inosuke turned toward him, utterly confused.
"Hah?"
Zenitsu decided that was answer enough. There was no ti to unpack the emotional complexity of being saved by a boar-headed lunatic.
"Never mind! We have to hurry and help Tanjiro!"
The two rushed toward the sounds of battle deeper in the forest.
Branches whipped past them. Leaves shook loose overhead. The sll of blood and demons thickened with every step.
Before long, they reached the battlefield.
By then, the fight had reached its decisive mont.
Tanjiro stood among the trees, holding Asuramaru with both hands. His breathing was steady, his eyes locked on the enemies before him.
Only three demons remained.
The bat demon, one wing severed.
The female demon who controlled iron.
And the tall, thin demon who had not moved until now.
The bat demon opened its maw first.
"Blood Demon Art: Sonic Resonance!"
Invisible waves scread through the forest, shaking the air.
The female demon moved at the sa ti, flinging out broken tal fragnts and fresh daggers from her sleeves.
"Blood Demon Art: Iron Manipulation Chaos!"
tal ca from all directions.
Sound pressed down from the front.
The familiar pincer attack closed around Tanjiro.
Tanjiro's expression remained calm. He adjusted his stance, preparing to cut through the assault.
Then Alex's voice cut sharply through his mind.
"Watch your feet. That tall one used his Blood Demon Art!"
Tanjiro reacted without hesitation.
He kicked off the ground and leaped.
"Thank you!"
The earth where he had stood burst open.
A pair of hands tore up from beneath the soil, grabbing for his ankles. If he had been even half a breath slower, they would have dragged him into the ground.
At the sa ti, blades closed in from both sides.
From the edge of the battlefield, Zenitsu broke into a cold sweat.
"Oh no! Tanjiro's in danger!"
Inosuke had already charged forward with his twin swords, but even he was too far away to interfere.
Tanjiro was alone in midair.
No footing.
No place to dodge.
The attacks converged.
Tanjiro gripped Asuramaru with both hands and swung downward with all his strength.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
His sword ca down like a falling cascade.
A column of water surged up around him, crashing into the ground below. The hands reaching from the earth were severed in an instant, and the rising water swallowed Tanjiro's body like a shield.
The daggers and tal fragnts struck the water pillar and lost their force.
Even the bat demon's sound waves were scattered by the roaring flow.
Within the water, Tanjiro saw it.
The Thread of Opening.
His lungs expanded as he pushed Total Concentration Breathing to its limit.
Now.
He burst through the water pillar, his body spinning low across the ground. The three demons moved at once, desperately trying to stop him.
The bat demon released another wave.
The female demon dragged every scrap of tal toward him.
The tall demon tried to open the earth beneath his feet again.
Tanjiro stepped through it all.
His sword cut down the tal.
His footwork slipped past the ground attack.
His breathing endured the sound.
The water around Asuramaru grew heavier, denser, gathering with each movent until it seed to coil around him in the shape of a living dragon.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
Tanjiro advanced.
One step.
Two steps.
Three.
The water dragon surged with him, growing stronger with every swing. It swept past the bat demon first, tearing through its neck. Then it curved toward the female demon, cutting through her frantic defense. Finally, it reached the tall demon, whose hidden hands could no longer reach him.
Three heads flew into the air.
"This is impossible..."
Those were the last words any of them managed.
Their bodies collapsed and began to burn away into ash.
Tanjiro landed, breath still controlled, and sheathed Asuramaru.
His first instinct was not relief.
It was to turn back and check on the others.
But when he looked toward the forest, he saw Zenitsu and Inosuke standing there in a daze, both alive.
Only then did Tanjiro let out a long breath.
"I'm glad," he said, smiling. "You're both okay."
"Eh... Eh?!" Zenitsu rushed over, eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Tanjiro, you're way too strong!"
He had known Tanjiro was powerful.
He had not known Tanjiro was this powerful.
Even Inosuke, who usually treated complints as a foreign disease, stared at him for a mont before grunting.
"You really are strong."
Tanjiro scratched his cheek, looking a little embarrassed.
Inside the sword, Alex quietly absorbed the Demon Power from the fallen demons and directed another portion back into Tanjiro.
Warm strength spread through Tanjiro's body again, reinforcing muscle, bone, and breath.
At the sa ti, the system chid in Alex's mind.
[Ding! Detected fear from Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji. Gained 1,000 Emotion Points!]
Alex's mood brightened at once.
Thank you for the generosity, Boss Muzan. Another thousand Emotion Points.
At this point, with Tanjiro's current strength, Alex felt he could already contend with the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. If Demonization was added on top of that, defeating the lower-ranked mbers among them should not be a major problem.
Probably.
Still, looking at the Emotion Points he had accumulated, Alex fell into thought again.
What ability should he unlock next?
...
After the three regrouped, the Kasugai Crow returned, flapping above them and leading the way once more.
They walked along the country road beneath the night sky.
Tanjiro kept glancing at the two beside him.
Zenitsu seed mostly fine. Terrified, noisy, and one loud leaf away from another breakdown, but physically fine.
Inosuke was different.
His breathing was rough, and his movents were not as smooth as usual. The fight against the ox-like demon had clearly left him injured.
Thinking that these demons had co because of him, Tanjiro could not help feeling guilty.
"Asuramaru," he said in his mind, "sorry to trouble you, but please heal Inosuke."
Alex was silent for a mont.
So this is how it is now?
Before, Tanjiro would politely ask whether it was all right.
Now he went straight to the request.
Practice really did make perfect.
Even so, Alex did not refuse.
"Fine. Put your hand on him."
Tanjiro imdiately placed his right hand on Inosuke's shoulder.
Inosuke turned his head sharply.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to help heal your injuries," Tanjiro said honestly. "Please bear with it."
Zenitsu's attention snapped over at once.
He had only heard about this strange healing ability before. This ti, he wanted to see it properly.
Wisps of black smoke rose from Asuramaru's hilt.
They gathered into thin, dark threads, winding up Tanjiro's arm before connecting to Inosuke's shoulder.
Then Alex released Demon Power and activated Healing.
Inosuke had been about to resist, but the mont the warmth entered his body, he stopped.
His aching muscles eased.
The pain in his bruised arms faded.
The hidden injuries left behind by the fight gradually closed and vanished.
In the blink of an eye, the black threads dispersed.
Tanjiro withdrew his hand.
Inosuke imdiately twisted his body left and right, bending into several strange poses no normal person would even consider attempting.
"My injuries are gone? Hahahaha! What was that just now?"
Tanjiro's expression softened.
"That is my most important companion, Asuramaru."
Zenitsu stared at the sword at Tanjiro's waist.
So it really did have a consciousness.
Then did it have a human form?
Was it male or female?
Was it beautiful?
His thoughts began drifting in an extrely dangerous direction.
...
At the sa ti, within the Infinity Castle, Muzan Kibutsuji's expression had twisted into sothing hideous.
He really was hiding his strength.
Ordinary demons were useless.
No matter how many went, they would only die.
Then he would send a Lower Rank.
Conveniently, one had already arrived nearby.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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