The demon that appeared from the twisting mass of roots had the form of a young boy.
He looked younger than the previous clones, but the pressure radiating from him was in a completely different league.
Two drumsticks manifested in his hands.
Behind his back floated a circular fra bearing five drums, each carved with the character for Hatred.
Upper Moon Four's strongest manifestation.
Zohakuten.
Without hesitation, he raised one drumstick and struck one of the drums behind him.
Dong!
The sound rolled through the forest like thunder.
The ground behind him split open, and five enormous wooden dragons surged upward, each one more than ten ters tall. Their bodies coiled and twisted like living trees, their jaws creaking open as they locked onto Tanjiro.
Zohakuten stood beneath them, his face twisted with righteous fury.
"Beasts who bully the weak…" His voice was low, but every word carried murderous force. "How vile. How utterly vile."
His gaze sharpened.
"You damned villains!"
Tanjiro did not answer right away.
His nose twitched.
The scents of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure were gone.
No…
Not gone.
rged.
"A sixth demon?" Tanjiro murmured. "No, that isn't right. The other four scents disappeared. Did they combine into him?"
He raised Asuramaru with both hands, his expression more solemn than ever.
This demon was different.
The previous clones had already been powerful, but this one was far beyond them. His presence pressed down on the forest like a storm cloud about to burst.
Even so, Tanjiro did not retreat.
His fingers tightened around the sword hilt.
"You call yourself weak?" Tanjiro's voice carried through the trees. "How many people have you eaten until now? That stench on you… I will never accept it."
His eyes burned with quiet rage.
"Today, I'll avenge everyone you killed."
"Boring."
Zohakuten struck another drum.
Dong!
The five wooden dragons lunged.
Tanjiro kicked off the ground.
The dragons ca crashing down where he had stood a heartbeat earlier, jaws snapping shut and tearing the earth apart. At the sa ti, Zohakuten struck several more drums in rapid succession.
Dong, dong, dong!
Lightning crackled from one dragon's mouth.
Another released a crushing sonic blast.
A third swung its massive body like a whip, flattening trees in its path.
The powers of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure had all been gathered into one body.
Tanjiro moved through the chaos with everything he had.
Hinokami Kagura flared around his sword. Flas arced through the forest, cutting through branches, roots, and dragon heads. He dodged lightning by a hair's breadth, slid beneath a wooden jaw, and twisted away from a sonic wave that ripped through the air behind him.
Every step demanded precision.
Every mistake ant death.
In the Infinity Castle, Muzan Kibutsuji watched through Hantengu's eyes.
The mont he saw Tanjiro again, his excitent nearly broke through his composure.
He had searched for this boy for so long.
So long.
Now, finally, he had found him.
But Muzan was not blinded by rage. The previous encounters had taught him sothing.
Perhaps the strange one was not rely the Demon Slayer.
Perhaps the true danger…
…was the sword in his hand.
His gaze fixed on Asuramaru.
That sword.
If it could be taken from Tanjiro, everything might change.
Hantengu received that thought through Muzan's blood.
Zohakuten's attacks shifted at once.
The wooden dragons no longer aid only for Tanjiro's body. Their jaws snapped toward his wrists. Their tails whipped toward his arms. Again and again, they struck at Asuramaru, trying to knock the sword from his hand.
Tanjiro noticed imdiately.
They're aiming for Asuramaru!
He clenched his teeth.
He could not let this drag on any longer.
"Asuramaru," Tanjiro called in his heart, "I'm entering Demonization."
Inside the sword, Asuramaru's eyes narrowed.
"You want to finish this quickly?" His lips curved. "Then do it."
Demon Power surged out all at once.
It flooded Tanjiro's limbs and bones, coursing through his body like black fire.
Pale purple markings spread across his face. His eyes took on a violet hue, and his aura changed completely.
The gentleness in him did not vanish.
But now, it was wrapped in sothing far sharper.
Tanjiro raised his head.
His lips, faintly stained purple by the Demon Power, curled slightly.
"Now it's my turn."
He swung.
Several crescent-shaped slashes of black Demon Power tore across the battlefield.
Zohakuten struck his drums. The wooden dragons opened their mouths, releasing lightning and sonic waves to intercept them.
This ti, it was not enough.
The black crescents ripped through the attacks and carved into the dragons, sending splinters and broken wood flying in all directions.
Zohakuten's expression twisted.
"Damn it… Why did he beco so much stronger all of a sudden?"
He struck another drum.
One of the wooden dragons curled around the wooden cage holding Hantengu's hidden body and began retreating from the battlefield.
Tanjiro saw it.
He lunged forward.
"You're not getting away!"
He sprang into the air, Asuramaru blazing in his grip.
"Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky!"
Flas swept upward in a perfect arc.
The slash tore through the wooden cage atop the dragon, splitting it open in a burst of burning fragnts.
But hidden within that cage, Zohakuten had already recovered.
His mouth opened.
A sonic wave had been waiting there.
At that distance, there was no ti to dodge.
The blast struck Tanjiro head-on.
The world went white.
His body stiffened midair, then dropped straight down.
He hit the ground hard.
His eyes rolled back. Every muscle in his body locked in place, his breathing faint and shallow.
For an instant, Tanjiro fell into a deathlike state.
A revolving lantern flickered at the edge of his consciousness.
Asuramaru flew from his hand and landed several steps away, the sword stabbing into the earth.
Zohakuten stared.
"He didn't shatter after taking that attack directly?" His eyes narrowed. "Is his body that dense?"
Then hunger crept into his voice.
"If I eat him, I'll beco even stronger."
His gaze shifted to the sword embedded in the ground.
"But before that… I must kill you first."
In the Infinity Castle, Muzan could no longer hide his joy.
For the first ti, he praised one of his subordinates without restraint.
"Well done, Hantengu!"
His smile widened, sharp and cruel.
"Kill him. Kill that brat now! Bring the sword!"
Within Asuramaru, silence settled for half a breath.
Then he gave a faint sigh.
If Tanjiro had been just a little more cautious, he could have won.
But being caught off guard happened in battle. No matter how much talent soone had, no one could perfectly read every move the first ti.
And now Tanjiro's body was stiff. Asuramaru could not use him to fight.
Worse, the sword had left his hand.
This was the first ti they had truly fallen into a desperate situation.
Zohakuten lifted his drumstick.
Dong!
A wooden dragon shot forward, jaws open wide, aiming to swallow Tanjiro whole.
Inside the sword, Asuramaru's smile returned.
"How troubleso."
The wooden dragon descended.
"Next…"
Its fangs were about to close around Tanjiro.
"…tag in."
A streak of black smoke cut through the air.
The sword moved on its own.
It flew with a piercing sonic boom, trailing black mist behind it, and carved through the wooden dragon in a single slash.
The massive dragon shattered into pieces.
Zohakuten's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Why could the sword move by itself?
And why was it so powerful?
Was it truly, as Lord Muzan suspected, a vengeful spirit clinging to life?
Even Muzan froze at the sight.
Under their gazes, the sword beca wrapped in dense black smoke.
The smoke gathered, twisted, and condensed into a breathtakingly beautiful figure standing in the forest.
Asuramaru appeared.
He flexed his fingers slightly, feeling the weight and strength of this temporary body.
External Avatar.
It consud a great deal of Demon Power, but the strength it provided was worth the cost.
This body was stronger than Tanjiro's current state by at least one level.
More importantly, Asuramaru could control it perfectly.
Sun Breathing.
Water Breathing.
Both were now his to wield.
He turned and landed beside Tanjiro, glancing down at the unconscious boy.
Then he reached out, drew the nichirin sword from Tanjiro's waist, and held it in his right hand.
Zohakuten stared at him, his face dark.
"What exactly are you?"
Asuramaru looked up.
His crimson eyes glead beneath the moonlight.
"What am I?" His lips curved slightly. "A demon, of course."
"Impossible!" Zohakuten roared. "That's impossible!"
But even as he denied it, another thought rose in his mind.
A ghost?
A spirit?
Sothing older and stranger than a demon?
In the Infinity Castle, Muzan thought the sa thing.
Before either of them could question further, Asuramaru's patience ran out.
"I don't have much ti."
He raised both swords.
Asuramaru's true body in his left hand ignited with brilliant flas.
The nichirin sword in his right hand surged with flowing water.
His voice was calm.
"You can die now."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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