I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds Chapter 87 87: Swordsmith Village Arc

The surviving swordsman slamd his forehead against the ground again and again.

Blood seeped from the torn skin above his brow, staining the stones beneath him, but he did not dare stop.

"Please spare ! I'll do anything! I'll serve you for the rest of my life! I'll be your slave, your dog, your tool, anything you want!"

The black-haired swordsman begged with his entire body trembling.

Kokushibo had already ant to end him and return to the Infinity Castle, but after hearing those words, his sword paused.

A mont later, he sheathed it.

The six eyes on his face lowered, gazing at the man without warmth.

He could feel it.

A desperate hunger to live.

A shaless, ugly, stubborn desire so intense that it almost reminded Kokushibo of himself from long ago.

This swordsman was no Hashira. He lacked that level of refinent. But among ordinary Demon Slayers, his strength was undoubtedly near the top. With the Upper Ranks suffering losses one after another, even soone like this could still be of use.

A faint trace of interest stirred in Kokushibo's heart.

"What is your na?"

The swordsman stiffened, then looked up as if he had been granted salvation.

"My lord, this lowly one is called Kaigaku!"

Kokushibo showed no reaction to the na.

"Very well. I can share my blood with you and allow you to beco a demon."

Kaigaku's face lit up with naked joy.

Kokushibo saw it clearly.

His voice remained slow and indifferent. "Do not be pleased too early. The stronger a swordsman is, the longer demonification may take. If the person uses a Breathing Style, they require Lord Muzan's approval."

Kaigaku froze.

"There are also a very small number of people who cannot beco demons due to their constitution."

Kokushibo raised his left hand.

"Hold out your hands."

Kaigaku obeyed at once, cupping his palms together.

Kokushibo drew his sword again and cut open his own hand. Dark blood flowed from the wound, gathering in Kaigaku's palms drop by drop.

"The blood in your hands is priceless," Kokushibo said. "Drink every drop. If you spill even a single one, I will kill you."

Kaigaku did not dare hesitate.

He bent his head and swallowed all of it.

The next instant, his body convulsed.

Pain tore through him from the inside out. His cells began to multiply violently, reshaping flesh and bone. Black markings crawled over his face like cracks spreading through porcelain. His eyes darkened. Fangs pushed through his gums.

Kokushibo watched without emotion.

Trash remained trash.

Even if trash beca a demon, it was still fragile. Still insignificant.

If not for the current lack of usable pieces, he would have cut Kaigaku down without a second thought.

Still, the transformation seed successful.

Kokushibo reached down, grabbed Kaigaku by the neck, and disappeared into the night with him.

...

At the sa ti, in Tokyo's Yoshiwara Entertainnt District, the Ogimoto House was still in chaos.

Tanjirou and the others had only cleared less than half of the underground passage when the Kakushi arrived.

With them ca the Fla Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku.

After confirming that everyone was safe and that Upper Moon Six had truly been slain, Rengoku's eyes burned even brighter than usual.

"To think another Upper Rank has fallen!" he said, his voice booming with admiration. "You have grown even stronger, young man!"

"I'll keep working hard!"

Tanjirou answered just as loudly, his posture straight and sincere.

The work of rescuing the trapped courtesans was handed over to the Kakushi. They were trained for aftermath operations like this, and with enough hands, the digging progressed far faster.

Rengoku turned to Tanjirou.

"What will you do now? Continue hunting demons, or return to headquarters with us?"

Tanjirou did not answer imdiately.

Instead, he lowered his gaze to Asuramaru at his waist.

"Asuramaru, should we go back?"

Inside the sword, Asuramaru fell silent for a mont.

According to the original course of events, the attack on the Swordsmith Village should co next. But by now, the story had already been twisted badly out of shape.

Upper Moon Four was dead.

Upper Moon Six was dead.

Akaza had been severely wounded and forced to flee.

There was no guarantee Muzan would still make the sa move.

But if there was even a chance that the Swordsmith Village would be targeted, ignoring it would be foolish.

After a brief pause, Asuramaru replied through telepathy.

"Return to headquarters first."

"I understand."

Tanjirou nodded, then turned back to Rengoku.

"We'll return to headquarters."

The rest of the night passed without further incident.

The Kakushi worked until dawn before finally bringing the trapped courtesans out from the underground passages. So were unconscious, so wept the mont they saw the sky again, and so were too weak to stand without support.

By the ti the sun rose, Tanjirou and his group had already begun their return to Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

...

At headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki had not slept the entire night.

When the report arrived, his hands trembled slightly.

"Only a few days have passed, and another Upper Rank has been slain..."

His voice was gentle as always, yet beneath that gentleness was joy so deep it almost hurt.

"As I thought. Muzan Kibutsuji, you will be brought to an end in my generation."

But victory did not co alone.

Other reports had arrived as well.

Demon Slayers in various regions had encountered powerful demons and fallen in battle. So died without leaving bodies behind. So bought ti for civilians to escape. So managed to send one final ssage through their Kasugai Crows before being silenced forever.

Kagaya recorded each na.

Every deed.

Every death.

Then he ordered their families and friends to be inford.

The Demon Slayer Corps had won a great victory, but the war had not stopped taking lives.

...

By the ti Tanjirou and the others returned to the Butterfly Mansion, Zenitsu had mostly recovered from his earlier despair.

After a long period of spiritual collapse, he had finally reached a conclusion.

Since Asuramaru was hopeless, there was still Nezuko.

Nezuko definitely could not be male too.

That thought alone revived him considerably.

Even Tanjirou did not stop him too harshly, though he did keep a quiet eye on him.

Unfortunately, Zenitsu's fragile happiness did not last long.

A Kasugai Crow descended onto his shoulder and opened its beak.

"Kaigaku is dead! Kaigaku is dead! No body was found! Suspected to have been devoured by a demon!"

Zenitsu froze.

For a mont, he did not even blink.

Kaigaku.

His senior brother.

The one who had always hated him.

Dead?

Zenitsu did not know what he felt.

It was not sorrow, not exactly. The relationship between them had never been warm. Kaigaku had despised him, mocked him, and looked down on him from the beginning.

But the mont Zenitsu heard the news, the first thing that ca to mind was not Kaigaku's face.

It was Gramps.

If Gramps heard that Kaigaku had died...

Zenitsu clenched his fists.

A restless fear pushed into his chest.

He could not let Gramps hear news of his death too.

That day, Zenitsu trained harder than anyone expected.

He swung his sword again and again. His breathing grew ragged. Sweat soaked his uniform. Even when his arms trembled, he refused to stop.

Inside the room, Tanjirou watched in disbelief.

"Zenitsu..."

Beside him, Inosuke tilted his boar head.

"Is this guy asleep? Why am I seeing him train seriously?"

Even Inosuke doubted his own eyes.

Inside the sword, Asuramaru noticed sothing was wrong.

Kaigaku had disappeared without a body.

In this world, that was rarely a small detail.

Could that fellow have beco a demon?

If so, would the old man who trained Zenitsu commit seppuku to atone for his disciple's betrayal?

But Zenitsu did not look devastated enough for that. That ant the news of Kaigaku becoming a demon had not spread yet.

Or perhaps he really had been killed.

Tanjirou walked over and asked Zenitsu what had happened. After hearing the explanation, Asuramaru's suspicion only grew stronger.

No body found.

Suspected devoured by a demon.

That wording was too convenient.

Compared to being killed, the chance that Kaigaku had beco a demon was much higher.

And if Kaigaku had followed the original course, then the attack on the Swordsmith Village was also likely to happen.

Asuramaru made his decision.

"Tanjirou," he said suddenly. "Go find Kagaya Ubuyashiki right now. Tell him to mobilize as many people as possible to the Swordsmith Village."

Tanjirou stiffened.

"Has sothing happened?"

Asuramaru did not hesitate.

"My power has recovered a little more. I can now foresee certain things that may happen in the future."

That was, of course, a lie.

But it was a useful one.

"This ti, I saw the Swordsmith Village being attacked by demons."

Tanjirou's expression changed instantly.

He did not ask a second question.

The next mont, he turned and rushed straight toward the mansion where the Master resided.

...

At the sa ti, inside the Infinity Castle, the remaining Upper Ranks had gathered.

Kaigaku stood among them.

His body still carried traces of his recent transformation, but the characters in his eyes were already clear.

Upper Moon Six.

An extraordinary promotion.

A replacent born from desperation rather than rit.

Muzan Kibutsuji looked at him with open disgust. To Muzan, Kaigaku was nothing more than a hastily patched hole in a broken vessel.

But even a poor tool could still be used.

Muzan's gaze swept across the gathered demons.

The air in the Infinity Castle grew heavy.

"Tonight," he said, his voice cold enough to freeze blood, "annihilate the Swordsmith Village."

His eyes sharpened.

"Completely."

…..

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