I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds Chapter 70 70: Upper Rank Four, Hantengu!

If Asuramaru had not warned him, Tanjiro might never have noticed the demon hiding there at all.

The old creature's presence was strange.

There were no characters engraved in his eyes. At a glance, he looked like nothing more than a shriveled, frightened old demon peering from behind a tree, trembling as if he were the one being hunted.

But Tanjiro's instincts scread otherwise.

The pressure coming from that thin, hunched body was terrifying. His demon aura was dense and cold, pressing against the air like a weight. It crawled over Tanjiro's skin and made every muscle in his body tense.

Inside the sword, Asuramaru's gaze sharpened the mont he saw the demon's face.

Upper Rank Four.

Hantengu.

Among the Upper Ranks, this old coward was one of the most troubleso to kill. His Blood Demon Art allowed him to split into clones, each with a different personality and ability. He was slippery, deceptive, and infuriatingly difficult to finish off.

But Tanjiro was no longer the boy who had struggled on Mount Natagumo.

With his current strength, he should at least be able to fight.

Asuramaru's attention shifted briefly toward the open field.

Akaza was facing Kyojuro Rengoku and Sanemi Shinazugawa at the sa ti. Two Hashira should be enough to hold him back for a while.

That made this situation perfect.

A desperate battle against an Upper Rank.

A real threat to life.

A real chance to force the body past its limits.

Let's see, Tanjiro…

Can you awaken the Slayer Mark here?

…

In the open field ahead, Akaza stood before the Fla Hashira and Wind Hashira with a faint, unreadable smile.

"I don't particularly want to kill any of you," he said. "You're all strong. That strength would be wasted if you died as humans."

His golden eyes glead beneath the moonlight.

"So I have a proposal. Why not beco demons?"

Neither Hashira answered.

Akaza's gaze drifted past them, locking onto the fox-masked figure behind their shoulders.

"But before that, I'll need to confirm who that masked one really is."

His stare seed to pierce through bone.

Even from a distance, the pressure of it was suffocating. The sheer violence hidden beneath Akaza's calm made the air feel thin.

Tanjiro t that gaze without flinching.

He gripped Asuramaru tighter, then called out to the two Hashira, "I'll leave him to you! I'll deal with the demon behind us!"

The mont he finished speaking, Tanjiro turned, lowered his stance, and rushed toward the trees.

Rengoku and Sanemi did not look back.

Their attention fixed completely on Akaza.

Rengoku raised his sword, his voice ringing clear and unwavering. "No matter the reason, I will never beco a demon!"

Sanemi's killing intent was far less courteous.

"Enough talking," he snarled. "Just die already."

Akaza's smile widened.

"Then I'll kill you both."

He stepped forward and planted his foot into the earth.

"Technique Developnt—Destructive Death: Compass Needle."

A pale glow blood beneath him.

From above, it resembled a snowflake unfurling across the ground, its lines spreading outward in a precise martial pattern. The air changed with it. Akaza's stance lowered, his entire body becoming a weapon sharpened to the extre.

No more words were needed.

The next instant, the three of them collided.

The field exploded into motion.

Fla, wind, and bare fists tore across the wilderness. Their figures moved so fast that Zenitsu and Inosuke, watching from near the train, could barely follow them. One mont they were apart; the next, blades clashed against Akaza's fists with enough force to send shockwaves rolling through the grass.

On the other side, Tanjiro reached the tree line.

He did not hesitate.

Against an Upper Rank, holding back was the sa as asking to die.

"Water Breathing—Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"

Water roared along Asuramaru's edge.

Tanjiro spun forward, each rotation strengthening the strike. The water gathered into the shape of a dragon, its body coiling around the sword as he brought it down in a single, decisive slash.

The tree Hantengu had hidden behind was cut in half.

But the old demon was no longer there.

He had already leapt away, landing lightly on the crown of another tree.

"No… no, don't bully …"

His voice was thin and quivering, full of false misery.

"I only wanted to see what you looked like under that mask…"

Tanjiro's eyes narrowed.

So fast.

He dodged that?

But the Constant Flux had not ended.

Tanjiro twisted his wrists, redirected the flow of the sword, and kicked off the ground. His body rose into the air, blade arcing upward toward Hantengu.

The demon dropped from the treetop.

Tanjiro reacted instantly.

His body flipped midair.

"Water Breathing—Second Form: Water Wheel!"

Changing forms in the middle of an attack placed an enormous burden on the body. A single misstep could twist the muscles, ruin the breathing rhythm, or leave the swordsman defenseless.

But Tanjiro had trained for this.

The circular slash ca down faster than Hantengu could avoid.

Asuramaru passed through his neck.

The old demon's head separated from his body in midair.

For one brief instant, Tanjiro almost thought it was over.

Head and body fell separately toward the ground.

Then Asuramaru's voice cut sharply through his mind.

"He isn't dead. Don't drop your guard!"

Tanjiro snapped his head toward the corpse.

The severed head and headless body hit the ground, but neither turned to ash.

Instead, both began to regenerate.

Slowly.

The head sprouted a body.

The body grew a new head.

Tanjiro's expression tightened.

"It's healing even after being cut by Asuramaru?"

This was the first demon he had seen regenerate after taking a direct strike from the Demonic Sword.

As expected of an Upper Rank.

Inside the sword, Asuramaru was not surprised.

Blood Weeping suppressed a demon's regeneration. It made healing painful, slow, and difficult. But it did not erase the ability entirely.

Against ordinary demons, that distinction did not matter. They died before they could recover.

But Hantengu was different.

In the original course of events, his split bodies regenerated almost imdiately. Now, after being cut by Asuramaru, that regeneration had been slowed drastically.

That was good.

But not enough.

Tanjiro watched the two regenerating demons, uncertain for only a mont. If decapitation did not work, then perhaps he needed to cut both necks at the sa ti.

Or perhaps there was another body hidden sowhere.

Asuramaru's perception swept through the surrounding woods, the train, the open field, and every flicker of demon aura nearby.

Nothing.

He could not find Hantengu's true body yet.

Then he made a guess.

Perhaps the main body would only reveal itself once the splitting was complete.

One of the demons finished regenerating first.

It was no longer an old man.

A young demon in a long robe stood in his place, his expression twisted with violent irritation. His crimson eyes glared at the sword in Tanjiro's hands.

The characters engraved within those eyes were now clear.

Upper Rank Four.

"The regeneration is this slow?" the demon muttered, voice low and furious. "Is it because of that sword? Or…"

His gaze fixed on Tanjiro's fox mask.

"Are you the real one?"

He raised his right hand.

A khakkhara staff grew from his palm.

Then he drove it into the ground.

Lightning burst outward.

A violent web of electricity raced across the earth, scorching the grass and ripping toward Tanjiro in jagged lines.

Tanjiro kicked off the ground and escaped the range, landing near the open ground by the tracks.

A staff that releases lightning.

And the other body has almost finished regenerating.

Why did he not die after his neck was cut?

Do I need to cut both of their necks at once?

His thoughts raced, but there was no ti to dwell on them.

The demon with the staff stared at him in open disgust.

"You have a presence that makes very angry."

As he spoke, the character on his tongue beca visible.

Anger.

Tanjiro exhaled slowly.

"Asuramaru," he said in his heart. "Lend your strength."

Demon Power surged into his body.

His muscles tightened. His senses sharpened. The world seed to grow clearer, every breath of wind and every flicker of hostility standing out in the darkness.

Then the second demon completed its regeneration.

He also appeared young, with the sa face and build, but his clothing differed. His eyes were a rare shade of green, and from the mont he stood, he could not stop laughing.

"Sekido! It's been so long since we split apart." His grin widened, carefree and delighted. "How joyful!"

The character on his tongue flashed as he spoke.

Joy.

Sekido's face darkened further.

"I feel no joy at all," he snapped. "Only anger."

His grip tightened around the khakkhara.

"Anger at being mixed together with soone like you, Karaku!"

.....

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