The pitch-black crescent tore across the wilderness.
It was several ters long, wide enough to split the earth beneath it as it flew. Soil, stone, and broken grass were carved apart in a straight line, leaving a smoking wound across the field.
Akaza felt death at his back.
His eyes snapped wide. He twisted mid-stride, every instinct screaming as the black slash closed in.
"Destructive Death: Disorder!"
His fists blurred.
Countless shockwaves burst from his punches, overlapping in the air like invisible walls. Any ordinary attack would have been crushed to pieces before it reached him.
But the black crescent did not slow.
The shockwaves struck it, trembled, and shattered.
Akaza's expression changed.
In the next instant, the slash reached him.
He threw himself sideways with everything he had, flipping his body through the air at the last possible mont. The attack missed his centerline by a hair, but the edge still caught him.
Black light tore from his left shoulder down to his abdon.
Flesh vanished.
Bone cracked.
Half his torso was nearly carved away.
Akaza hit the ground hard. For a mont, even he could not move.
The wound was horrific. It was not rely cut open. The flesh along the path of the slash had been annihilated, eaten away by sothing that refused to let his body heal. His left side hung by a narrow strip of muscle and bone, and his regeneration crawled painfully slowly.
One strike had pushed him to death's door.
If the distance had been shorter, if he had reacted even a fraction later, that slash would have split him in two.
Akaza clenched his teeth.
He did not look back.
Dragging that ruined body, he vanished into the dark forest at full speed.
Tanjirou ran after him.
His feet tore across the open field, breath burning in his lungs, Asuramaru gripped tightly in his hand. A demon horn had already begun to push from his forehead, and the power raging through his body had reached its limit.
Asuramaru's voice rang in his mind.
"Ti's up."
The Demonization ended.
All at once, the strength left Tanjirou's body.
His legs buckled mid-run. The Slayer Mark on his forehead faded, and the world spun beneath him. He stumbled forward, crashed onto the ground, and clawed at the dirt as if he could still force himself to chase.
"Don't run!"
His voice ripped through the night.
"You coward!"
But the forest had already swallowed Akaza.
"Stop shouting," Asuramaru snapped from within the sword. "He's already outside my range of perception."
Tanjirou's fingers dug into the soil.
He knew it was useless.
Still, the frustration burned so fiercely that he could hardly breathe.
They had been so close.
So close.
Inside the sword, Asuramaru clicked his tongue in regret.
Letting Akaza escape was a pity, but there was no helping it. Muzan had almost certainly seen the entire battle through Akaza's senses. After tonight, that cowardly king of demons would understand exactly how dangerous Tanjirou had beco.
Next ti, it probably would not be only two Upper Moons.
But that thought did not frighten Asuramaru.
With Tanjirou's current strength and the trump cards he still had hidden, any Upper Moon that ca alone would die. Aside from Muzan Kibutsuji himself, there was no longer much reason to be cautious.
In that case, perhaps it was better to take the initiative.
Strike first.
Catch Muzan off guard before he could prepare another trap.
Just as that thought settled, the system's voice sounded in Asuramaru's mind.
[Ding! Detected intense negative emotions from Akaza. Obtained 1,000 emotion points.]
[Ding! Detected intense negative emotions from Muzan Kibutsuji. Obtained 10,000 emotion points.]
Asuramaru's lips curled faintly inside the sword.
"Thanks for the emotion points, Boss Muzan."
Akaza's burst of negative emotion had actually broken a thousand points.
That made him the first existence in this world, other than Muzan, to reach that level in a single emotional surge.
What was this?
Was Boss Number Two coming online?
Asuramaru pulled up his personal panel and looked over the total.
Forty thousand emotion points.
For a mont, he fell into thought.
Most of the abilities from the Asuramaru template had already been unlocked. The remaining points would be better saved for unlocking the golden horn later.
Still, his gaze soon landed on one ability.
[Size Manipulation: 10,000 emotion points.]
He unlocked it without hesitation.
The next thing to do was simple.
Start saving.
But before that, there was one thing he had been curious about for a while.
"Let's see what a Diamond-Grade Draw gives ."
[Ding! Consud 10,000 emotion points to perform a Diamond-Grade Draw.]
[Congratulations. Obtained sword skill: Ittō Shura.]
[Effect: Forces the body beyond its normal limit. This state will damage the body.]
[Additional ability obtained: One-Sword Rakshasa.]
[Effect: Releases all power in a single instant to surpass the limit.]
Asuramaru went still.
"Surpass the limit?"
A mont later, he smiled.
"I'll have to test that another day."
Outside, footsteps approached quickly.
Kyojuro Rengoku and Sanemi Shinazugawa arrived at Tanjirou's side. Both Hashira were covered in wounds, their uniforms torn and bloodstained, but they were alive.
Sanemi glared down at him with his usual fierce expression.
"How do you feel?"
It was concern, though delivered with all the gentleness of a drawn sword.
Tanjirou pushed himself up slightly, sha rising in his chest.
"I'm sorry," he said, voice low. "It's my fault. I failed to kill that demon and let him escape."
Rengoku knelt beside him.
One of his eyes was still bleeding, but his remaining gaze burned bright and steady.
"That is not your fault," he said firmly. "It is regrettable, yes, but you protected the passengers. You slew Upper Moon Four with your own hands. That is an achievent no one can deny."
His voice grew warr, filled with absolute conviction.
"I believe that when we return, you will beco a Hashira recognized by everyone!"
Sanemi folded his arms, his expression dark.
"Hmph. That bastard ran, so we'll kill him next ti."
Neither Hashira hid their frustration over Akaza's escape.
But beneath that regret was sothing stronger.
Excitent.
Hope.
In only a month, Tanjirou had grown to this level. Given more ti, killing Muzan Kibutsuji no longer felt like an impossible dream.
Tanjirou lowered his eyes.
The praise did not reach him.
Akaza had escaped. That ant more people might die. More families might be destroyed. More innocent lives might be lost because he had not been strong enough to finish the battle.
He had killed an Upper Moon tonight.
Yet there was no joy in him.
Only self-reproach.
Before that silence could sink too deeply, Zenitsu and Inosuke ca running over.
Both looked battered. Zenitsu was limping and clutching his side, while Inosuke staggered with all the stubborn pride of soone pretending pain did not exist.
"Tanjirou!" Zenitsu called out, forcing himself forward despite the agony. "Did you kill that Upper Moon?"
Tanjirou hesitated.
"One escaped," he said quietly.
Zenitsu froze for a mont.
Then, to Tanjirou's surprise, his eyes brightened.
"That's still amazing! You killed one of them, right? That ans you're going to beco a Hashira when we get back, aren't you?"
Inosuke marched up beside him, boar mask tilted slightly.
"Are you okay, Tanjirou?" His rough voice lowered a little. "Do you want to eat?"
Tanjirou blinked.
Then he smiled weakly.
"No. Thank you."
He struggled to stand.
Seeing that Tanjirou was mostly unhard, Sanemi finally looked away. His gaze passed over Zenitsu, and for once, there was less irritation in it.
The yellow-haired brat was noisy. Annoyingly noisy. The kind of noisy that made a man want to throw him into a river just to hear silence for a while.
But when it mattered, he had stood his ground.
That counted for sothing.
Sanemi turned toward the train. The passengers were beginning to gather outside the carriages, trembling, crying, and staring at them as if they were creatures from legend.
"The mission is complete," Sanemi said. "We're returning to headquarters."
Rengoku nodded at once.
"An excellent decision!"
No one objected.
The group left beneath the cover of night.
Behind them, the surviving passengers began to call out.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Samurai-sama!"
"We do not even know your nas!"
"I'm a writer! Please, let record what happened tonight!"
"Please take as your apprentice!"
"Samurai-sama!"
The voices chased them across the dark wilderness, filled with gratitude, disbelief, and awe.
Tanjirou did not turn back.
Neither did the others.
Before long, their figures vanished into the night.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
At last, they returned to Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.
The familiar courtyard ca into view again. This ti, not all the Hashira were present. Only a few stood waiting, their expressions solemn yet unable to hide the anticipation in their eyes.
On the veranda, Kagaya Ubuyashiki sat quietly.
The mont he sensed their return, his lips curved upward.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not suppress the excitent in his heart.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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