Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were resting in their room when Alex sensed it.
Inside Asuramaru, his perception spread outward like a dark ripple. A presence was tearing through the night at frightening speed, heading straight for the wisteria mansion.
"Tanjiro," Alex warned at once, "a demon is approaching. Fast."
Tanjiro had been yawning, half-ready to sleep. The drowsiness vanished from his eyes in an instant.
He sprang up, changed into his Demon Slayer uniform, and took hold of the two swords at his waist.
"A demon is coming this way."
The mont those words left his mouth, Zenitsu began trembling like a leaf in a storm.
"Again?! Why is it never-ending? Tanjiro, what did you do?! Why are demons always coming after you?!"
No one answered his despair.
Inosuke grabbed his jagged Nichirin swords, already brimming with excitent.
"How many this ti? I'm definitely killing more than you!"
"Only one," Tanjiro said, pushing open the door.
He stepped into the courtyard first.
Zenitsu's terror eased just a little.
"Oh… only one demon. With Tanjiro here, it'll be fine."
A mont later, the night deepened.
Under the cold moonlight, a figure descended slowly from the air and landed in the courtyard.
The demon's gaze imdiately found Tanjiro.
Hanafuda earrings.
Two swords at his waist.
There was no mistaking him.
This was the boy That Lord had personally ordered dead.
Tanjiro drew Asuramaru. The instant the sword left its sheath, the demon's foul stench struck his nose—thick with blood, rot, and the weight of countless human lives.
It was difficult to imagine how many people this demon had devoured.
The demon was close to Tanjiro in build, but its hair was black and tied into four braids shaped like red maple leaves. It wore a yellow-and-white kimono, and on its pale face sat a dark green marking shaped like the character for "work."
But none of that mattered.
What mattered were the words engraved in its pale purple eyes.
Lower Rank Six.
Tanjiro's expression tightened.
The demon smiled, licking its lips.
"I am Lower Rank Six, Kamanue. By order of That Lord, I will take your head back with ."
His smile widened.
"So die."
"I refuse."
Tanjiro answered without hesitation.
Kamanue's forehead twitched.
"I wasn't asking for your opinion! You selfish little criminal—I sentence you to death!"
The demon's limbs bulged and twisted.
Muscle swelled beneath his skin. His arms and legs transford into thick, patterned claws, powerful and savage, resembling the limbs of a tiger.
On a human-shaped body, the sight was grotesque.
From within the sword, Alex watched closely.
Kamanue.
If his mory was right, this demon should have died in the Infinity Castle, killed by Muzan himself. He had not expected Muzan to send him out early just to test Tanjiro.
As Lower Rank Six, Kamanue's strength would not be low.
And judging by this transformation, his Blood Demon Art was likely a physical enhancent type.
Alex released Demon Power without delay.
Dark energy flowed through the sword and into Tanjiro, reinforcing his body.
Tanjiro moved first.
He kicked off the ground and charged forward, both hands gripping Asuramaru.
Behind him, Inosuke burst out of the room as well, the eyes beneath his boar mask blazing with battle lust.
"Hahahaha! I'm chopping him to pieces!"
With a wild leap, he followed right behind Tanjiro.
Facing the two charging Demon Slayers, Kamanue could no longer suppress his urge to kill.
He lunged forward to et them head-on.
The instant they entered range, he raised one tiger claw and swiped. His claws tore through the air with a sharp whistle.
Tanjiro calmly slashed.
Kamanue's eyes glead with contempt.
His claws were harder than steel. A re sword should have—
The thought ended there.
Asuramaru's edge cut into the tiger claw like it was slicing through tofu.
The sword sank deep.
"How is that possible?!"
Kamanue had no ti to think. He imdiately pulled back, wrenching his arm away and retreating with explosive speed.
That quick reaction saved his hand from being severed.
Even so, the claw had been cut halfway through, leaving a hideous wound that refused to close.
Kamanue stared at it, pupils shrinking.
He had already been warned.
Wounds made by that sword would not heal.
But he had never expected the sword itself to be this sharp.
Had he reacted even a fraction slower, his palm would already be on the ground.
"Damn you," Kamanue snarled. "You dare wound ? Your cri is unforgivable!"
At that mont, Inosuke appeared at his side.
He swung both Nichirin swords toward Kamanue's neck with all his strength.
"Hahahaha! Beco a stepping stone on my path to greatness!"
Tanjiro attacked from the front at the sa ti.
Their coordination was rough, but the timing was dangerous.
Kamanue raised his right arm to guard his neck.
Inosuke's twin swords struck his skin with a tallic clang.
Not even a scratch.
"Get lost!"
Kamanue swung his arm with brute force, sending Inosuke flying back along with the two swords digging uselessly into his defense.
But he had no chance to breathe.
Tanjiro was already in front of him.
"Water Breathing—First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
He stepped in and swung horizontally toward Kamanue's neck.
Water surged along the sword's path, a clean, decisive slash cutting through the air.
It should have landed.
Instead, Kamanue's upper body bent backward with inhuman flexibility.
At the sa ti, he raised one leg and kicked Tanjiro hard in the abdon.
Tanjiro was sent skidding back.
Inosuke also landed heavily nearby.
When the two steadied themselves and looked up, Kamanue's torso had changed again. It had beco leaner, looser, almost fluid—like the body of a civet cat.
Tiger limbs.
A catlike torso.
Power, speed, and flexibility had fused into one grotesque form.
This demon would not be easy to cut down.
"Is that thing a cat or a tiger?" Inosuke muttered, his brain clearly failing to process the answer.
Tanjiro remained much calr.
Enduring the sharp pain in his abdon, he analyzed Kamanue's body.
The catlike torso gave him frightening flexibility, while the tiger limbs granted explosive strength and speed. In close combat, he was a true killer.
Fortunately, Asuramaru could wound him.
And once wounded, he could not recover.
Tanjiro recalled the past few days of brutal training, the progress he had made with Total Concentration Breathing, and the strength brought by repeated Feedback.
He could win.
From the back porch, Zenitsu clutched his sword and trembled as he shouted, "Tanjiro! Will you guys win?!"
Tanjiro did not look back.
"He's troubleso," he said, tightening his grip. "But we'll win."
Beside him, Inosuke flexed his numb hands, and his fighting spirit burned even hotter.
"Shut up! I'm definitely cutting off your neck!"
Kamanue's mouth split into a vicious grin.
"You vile brats," he hissed. "I'll kill you in the cruelest way possible."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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