I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds Chapter 39 39: The Awakened Hinokami Kagura

A figure stepped out from the storm of dust.

It was Tanjiro.

His uniform was torn, his body battered, and blood stained him from shoulder to waist. Yet the sword in his hands no longer carried the flowing surge of water.

Flas burned along its edge.

The fire roared bright enough to drive back the darkness of Mount Natagumo, turning the surrounding spider silk crimson beneath its glow.

"What?!"

The expressions of the demons changed at once.

He was alive.

After taking that combined attack, he was still standing.

More than that, the feeling he gave off had changed completely.

The one who sensed it most clearly was Alex, hidden within Asuramaru. The mont Tanjiro used the Hinokami Kagura, sothing inside him seed to unlock. His breathing, his posture, the way his muscles moved, the rhythm of his heart—everything had changed.

Water Breathing had been sothing Tanjiro could use.

But the Hinokami Kagura was different.

It was as if it had been made for him.

Outside, Tanjiro reached back and carefully lowered Nezuko's box from his shoulders, placing it on the ground behind him.

Then he moved.

His figure cut through the forest, sword blazing in his hands.

Rui reacted first.

He raised both hands in front of him, and countless blood-red threads gathered rapidly between his fingers. They twisted together, layering over one another until they ford a spinning crimson wheel.

"You insulted the bond between and my family," Rui said, his voice trembling with hatred, "and you still refuse to take it back. Then die and atone for it!"

"Blood Demon Art: Thread Rotation!"

The crimson wheel shot forward.

It tore through the air, grinding apart branches, stone, and tree trunks in its path.

Tanjiro faced it head-on.

There was no fear in his eyes.

If I stop now, the backlash from forcing my body to switch from Water Breathing to Hinokami Kagura will hit all at once.

Once that happens, I'll be weak.

So I can't stop.

I have to cut down these four demons in one breath.

Alex's warning echoed in his mind.

When I tell you to run, don't hesitate.

But Tanjiro had understood it another way.

If Asuramaru did not tell him to run, then he could still win.

More than that, he could not escape.

If he fled now, Zenitsu and Inosuke would die here.

So he would fight.

No matter what it cost.

"A rapidly spinning thread attack…"

Tanjiro's thoughts beca sharper than ever. He held Asuramaru with both hands and felt his body resonate with the sword, as if their power had beco one.

"Ashura Kannon: Death-Granting Sword Aura!"

He slashed forward.

Black mist burst from the fla-wreathed sword, rging with the fire and forming a burning sword aura that flew straight at the crimson wheel.

The two attacks collided.

A heartbeat later, the thread wheel shattered.

Tanjiro followed the sword aura in, his feet pounding against the earth as he sprinted toward Rui.

Rui's eyes darkened.

"That many threads… cut apart so easily?"

He raised his hands again.

"Then I'll just make more."

The other demons finally moved.

Mukago, Lower Rank Four, controlled several vines behind her. They writhed through the air like snakes, the swollen flower buds at their tips opening as their fruit-like projectiles prepared to fire.

"Don't let him get close!" she cried, her voice bright and sweet in a way that made the scene even more unsettling. "Everyone, attack together!"

The vines aid at Tanjiro and fired.

A dense storm of fruits shot through the air.

Tanjiro swung his sword calmly.

Even when one or two pierced into his body, his expression did not change.

He trusted Asuramaru to heal him.

All he needed to do was keep moving.

All he needed to do was kill the demons in front of him.

That look put pressure on every demon present.

They were no longer facing an ordinary Demon Slayer.

They were facing soone willing to tear himself apart if it ant taking them with him.

Even Rokuro, the oldest among them, felt a chill crawl up his spine. Still, their numbers gave him confidence.

"Four of us can't handle one Demon Slayer who isn't even a Hashira?" Rokuro barked. "Stop watching. Kill him together!"

"Blood Demon Art: Wood Manipulation!"

The nearby trees twisted violently.

Trunks bent like living bodies. Branches sharpened and stretched into spears. Grotesque demon faces bulged out of the bark, their mouths opening to release shrill cries that pierced the night.

In the shadows, Wakuraba's instincts scread danger.

Several shuriken appeared in his hands. Dark green liquid spread across their edges, coating them in a withering poison.

"Blood Demon Art: Withering Shuriken."

The attacks ca from every side.

Tanjiro's gaze did not waver.

I can't lose.

Lend everything, Asuramaru!

I have to protect everyone!

He swung the burning sword to its limit, cutting down every obstacle before him.

Alex's voice sounded in his mind.

"You might die here. Demonization is almost at its limit. There's still ti to escape."

Tanjiro answered without hesitation.

"If it ans protecting them, I won't hesitate—even if I have to die with these demons."

Alex sighed.

"I knew you'd say that. Honestly… there's no helping you."

Then he increased the output of Demon Power.

Tanjiro's strength surged again.

Dark smoke began to rise from his hands, his arms, his shoulders—then from his entire body. More terrifying still, a single demon horn grew from the right side of his head.

Tanjiro did not care what he looked like.

He only smiled from the heart.

"Thank you, Asuramaru."

"Focus on surviving first," Alex snapped.

Tanjiro answered with that sa bright, stubborn smile.

Then flas erupted.

He reached Rui.

The spider webs blocking his path were cut apart cleanly.

Rui knew at once that close combat was too dangerous. Threads wrapped around his body and lifted him back through the air, pulling him away.

The other demons attacked with everything they had, trying to stop Tanjiro or kill him outright, but none of it could break his montum.

He chased Rui relentlessly.

One fleeing.

One pursuing.

Rui's expression twisted. Suspended in midair, he tightened the threads around him. They gathered into blood-red spider webs, spreading out in every direction and surrounding both him and Tanjiro.

Every escape route vanished.

"Just die already, you irritating scum!"

Tanjiro heard only his own breathing.

Heavy.

Burning.

His sword felt unbearably heavy in his hands.

Then he rembered the dance.

His father's footsteps.

His father's breathing.

The unbroken rhythm passed down through their family.

Everything suddenly felt natural.

His body twisted. His feet shifted. The flas followed his movent, wrapping around the sword and leaving a blazing trail through the air.

Like a falling star.

Brilliant.

Scorching.

Unstoppable.

"Hinokami Kagura—Dance!"

…..

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One Piece: My Crew Is Full of Monsters