Alex stood lightly upon the sword's hilt, then turned and crouched, resting his chin against one hand.
A quiet wind swept across the endless boundary of sea and sky, tugging at the hem of his clothes and stirring his long hair. His crimson eyes lowered toward Tanjiro, calm and unreadable.
"Do you want to save them that badly?"
Tanjiro clutched at his chest without realizing it. Even here, in the inner world of the sword, pain seed to follow him. His breathing was ragged, but his answer ca without hesitation.
"They're my companions. My family. I have to save them."
That resolve was real.
Alex could feel it—hot, stubborn, unbending. Even with death pressing against his back, Tanjiro still thought first of Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and the people behind him.
But sincerity alone could not fill the gap in strength.
Alex's voice cooled.
"Your will is admirable, but your strength isn't enough. That demon pierced your heart. Right now, you're standing at the edge of death. Even I can't heal that kind of wound imdiately."
Tanjiro's expression stiffened.
Alex looked at him and delivered the final blow.
"It seems this is the end."
Tanjiro's knees struck the surface beneath him.
For a mont, the boy who had endured loss, blood, hunger, exhaustion, and hatred looked utterly hollow. His hands trembled against the ground.
"Is there really no other way?"
Alex watched him for a second.
Then he stepped off the sword hilt and drifted down, landing soundlessly in front of Tanjiro. He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper beside Tanjiro's ear.
"There is one."
Tanjiro's head snapped up.
Hope returned to his eyes like a fla catching dry tinder.
"Really?"
"There is," Alex said. "But only if you fully accept my power."
Tanjiro's expression froze.
Alex did not give him ti to misunderstand.
"Listen carefully. This power has consequences. In your current state, if you take it in, you'll have three minutes at most before your sanity collapses. After that, you'll beco a true demon."
"A demon?" Tanjiro's pupils trembled. "Does that an—"
"What nonsense are you imagining?" Alex cut him off, irritated. "Not the sa kind of demon as those things outside."
He stepped back and turned toward the boundless horizon, where sea and sky t in a line too distant to reach.
"To beco stronger without sacrifice… even I can't make that happen." His voice softened, but only slightly. "Tanjiro, do you have the courage to beco a demon for the sake of others?"
The question fell between them.
For a breath, Tanjiro said nothing.
Then, strangely, he cald.
The despair on his face faded. The fear did not disappear, but it no longer ruled him. He looked at Alex and smiled—a tired, battered smile, but bright all the sa.
"For revenge, and for protection, I need strength."
His hand tightened over his chest.
"I want to protect Nezuko. I want to protect Zenitsu. I want to protect Inosuke. I want to protect everything I still have."
His gaze steadied.
"So yes. I need power. Even if it ans becoming a demon."
Tanjiro lifted his head.
"Give that power, Asuramaru."
Alex stared at him.
Those crimson eyes t Tanjiro's without blinking.
Then, suddenly, Alex laughed.
"You really are broken."
There was no mockery in his voice. Not entirely.
"To protect others, you don't even care what happens to yourself anymore?"
He gave a small, helpless sigh, though the corner of his mouth remained raised.
"Greedy, reckless fellow."
Alex raised his hand.
"Fine. Let your wish be granted."
His palm pierced straight through Tanjiro's chest.
Tanjiro's body stiffened.
Alex's voice rang across the sea and sky.
"Wake up, Tanjiro Kamado."
His crimson eyes sharpened.
"Go make a spectacle of yourself."
Tanjiro smiled through the pain.
"Thank you, Asuramaru."
…
Outside, the room was in ruins.
Zenitsu scrambled through the broken debris with shaking hands, throwing aside splintered wood and shattered wall fragnts until he uncovered Tanjiro.
The sight made his breath catch.
Two horrific wounds had been torn through Tanjiro's chest. Blood soaked his uniform. His breathing was shallow, so faint it could disappear at any mont.
"T-Tanjiro… are you… are you all right…?"
The words fell apart before he could finish.
Zenitsu began trembling again, his face twisting into an expression so miserable it bordered on inhuman.
If Alex had seen it, he would have had only one evaluation.
This guy had been born with a talent for looking grotesque.
Still, fear or not, Zenitsu had not run.
His eyes darted toward the broken wall where Inosuke had been blasted away. The boar-headed swordsman was buried in rubble, badly injured and unable to move.
The old woman was no fighter.
Nezuko was still nearby.
Which ant the only one left standing was him.
Zenitsu gripped his sword until his knuckles turned white.
You can do this, Zenitsu.
You still have to get married.
So you absolutely, absolutely cannot die here!
Kamanue approached across the courtyard, each step slow and deliberate. When he saw Zenitsu shaking so hard his teeth nearly clattered, the demon almost laughed.
"Even trembling like that, you still want to fight for your companions?"
His tiger-like claws flexed, still stained with blood.
"How touching. How pointless."
A cruel smile stretched across his face.
"You heinous creatures will all die in agony. Be grateful. I am the one who will erase your sinful lives."
Zenitsu's expression twitched even harder.
"No, no, no… I can't win. I definitely can't win. I'll die. I'll really die here. I haven't even gotten married yet…"
Then, in the middle of his panic, a desperate idea struck him.
He turned toward Tanjiro's sword.
"Th-that Asu… Asuramaru! Please heal Tanjiro quickly! If you can't, then maybe help instead?!"
No answer ca.
Kamanue sneered.
"Talking to a sword now? Have you gone mad from fear?"
He stepped onto the corridor.
Zenitsu's hands shook around his sword.
Then Nezuko rushed past him.
She threw herself toward Kamanue first, moving to protect Tanjiro. But the difference in strength was too great. Kamanue's claw tore across her arm and sent her flying aside.
Zenitsu's eyes rolled back.
He fainted on the spot.
Kamanue licked the blood from his claw, faintly puzzled.
"This demon is different from the others."
He glanced toward Nezuko.
"No matter. I won't kill her yet. Perhaps I should bring her back to that lord."
Then he looked back and saw Zenitsu collapsed on the floor.
Kamanue nearly burst out laughing.
The Demon Slayer Corps had fallen this low?
Were they so desperate for people that they accepted trash who fainted before the fight even began?
But in the next instant, the unconscious Zenitsu stood.
His eyes remained closed.
His breathing changed.
His trembling vanished.
One hand rested on his sword hilt, and a sharp, compressed aura gathered around him like the air before lightning struck.
Kamanue's smile faded slightly.
"Oh? You still intend to attack head-on?"
He still did not take Zenitsu seriously.
The difference in power was obvious.
Then Zenitsu drew.
"Thunder Breathing."
The air cracked.
"First Form."
His body lowered.
"Thunderclap and Flash."
In the next heartbeat, Zenitsu vanished.
A streak of lightning tore across the courtyard, and the sound of thunder exploded after him.
He appeared behind Kamanue with his sword extended.
The slash had landed squarely on the demon's neck.
But it had not cut through.
Not even a shallow wound appeared.
Kamanue slowly touched his throat, then turned with a mocking smile.
"Good speed."
His fist crashed into Zenitsu's abdon.
"But too little power."
Zenitsu was blown across the ground, sliding through broken wood and dust before finally coming to a stop. The mont his body settled, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes fluttered open.
"Huh…? What happened…?"
Pain hit him all at once.
"My stomach… feels like it's splitting open…"
His consciousness blurred.
Kamanue walked past him without interest, heading straight for Tanjiro.
Zenitsu stared after him, despair swallowing what little strength he had left.
Am I going to die here?
His fingers twitched weakly against the floor.
I haven't even fulfilled my wish yet…
Kamanue raised his claw over Tanjiro.
Far away, within the Infinity Castle, Muzan watched through the demon's eyes.
And this ti, he could barely restrain his laughter.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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