Shinobu descended the stairs to the dungeon swiftly, her face cold and eyes serious. She had taken longer than expected to evacuate everyone despite using every ounce of her speed, determined not to become a useless burden for Tanjiro.
'Even though I know he's insanely strong, why am I still so worried… My heart's pounding no matter how controlled my breathing is.' She noticed.
After some thought, her purple eyes softened dramatically. 'I'm hopeless… I've fallen for him completely.'
Shinobu recognized the truth and sighed mentally. Not because she hated this new, girlish version of herself giving in to emotion, but because she was shocked beyond belief at how much of her detached self had eroded the longer she spent with Tanjiro. Unknowingly, little by little, her long-buried feminine side was awakening.
A few seconds later, just as she reached the bottom of the stairway, a crushing pressure slammed onto her shoulders. Her senses went wild. Her entire body shook with pure terror.
"This presence… much stronger than the Upper Rank Four he dealt with last night…" she mumbled aloud, quickening her pace despite the dread.
Once she emerged, her gaze immediately locked onto a rainbow-eyed demon rushing toward her at alarming speed. Emotionless face, war fans in hand, blood-red stain on his head… The description matched perfectly.
It was him.
The bastard who killed her Nee-san.
Upper Rank Two.
Enraged, Shinobu's composed mask shattered into pure fury and hatred in an instant. Killing intent burned openly in her revengeful eyes.
But she quickly reined in her impulses within a second and searched for Tanjiro. This opponent wasn't someone she could face alone.
She couldn't locate him anywhere, and she noticed the demon had stopped moving too, silently observing her.
'W-Where…'
Until…
A soft, gentle voice entered her ears from behind. "Where are you looking, Shi-no-bu? I don't see anyone over there."
"!!?"
Startled, Shinobu's soul nearly left her body.
Her hand flew to her sword hilt, ready to unsheathe, but she found herself unable to move. Someone else's hand was already gripping the handle ahead of hers.
Obviously, that person was Tanjiro.
Realizing it was him, her tensed body loosened. The nervousness melted away with him by her side.
"You can take it out now." He released his grip and stepped beside her, looking calm and relaxed, almost bored.
Shinobu's lips pressed together as she drew her black-purple sword in a smooth motion. The blade glowed bright red now, stunningly beautiful even in the poorly lit dungeon.
'It's really beautiful… no matter how many times I see it…'
She swung the modified stinger-like sword a few times, feeling the demon's gaze fall on her, especially on the weapon, and waited quietly for Tanjiro's instructions.
"How do we proceed?" she asked, ready to strike.
Tanjiro sensed her eagerness to tear the bastard apart and replied in his usual kind tone. "Let me weaken him first."
Taking a step forward, he added, "You know what? Just tag along. Otherwise I might kill him accidentally…"
A strange smile bloomed on her face. "I don't mind. My goal is to end him either way…"
Shaking his head, Tanjiro chuckled softly. "Follow me."
A few seconds earlier~
Douma had been about to flee the dungeon after throwing everything he had to stall that monster, the best plan he could think of to save his life, when another Demon Slayer arrived from the entrance. A female one. Though she was weak, way weaker than that other monster. To his eyes, she was nothing, just another lowly female human, slightly stronger than most girls.
'Ah, she seems nutritious… What a waste I can't consume her right now.' He thought, showing a fake pout.
'Can't be greedy. First I need to save my life. There are plenty of delicious meals out there, mm…'
Decided, he readied his war fans to slice her up. From a glance he could tell one move would be enough to kill her.
Yet…
When he was about to swing and unleash ice, a terrifying aura passed him by. He only felt a chill in his cells and couldn't see a thing. That was how he realized it, otherwise he would have been clueless.
A second passed. Douma stopped.
He located a person behind the girl he didn't want nearby.
Turning his head, he saw nothing.
All his replicas were gone. Water Lily Bodhisattva was missing. No sword marks either.
His pupils shrank to needles instinctively.
'He was holding back…' He figured out.
Of course, a person who could beat the shit out of the Demon King himself. How could he possibly escape such a monster's grasp?
Once again his cells trembled. 'What now…'
He saw the girl unsheathe her unusual sword. His demon cells instantly shrieked.
'Bright red sword…'
Douma clutched his head as unknown yet familiar memories flooded in.
A similar man wielding the same sword had brought his Lord to his knees in the past. A human more monstrous than the Demon King himself.
And now… there was another one.
Feeling Muzan's fear, Douma simply smiled in ecstasy.
'Mm, what a great feeling!~' He made up his mind. If he was going to die today anyway, he might as well take the girl with him. How wonderful would that be? He could tell by a glance that she had genuine feelings for the boy. Love, they say. He never felt it, or at least came close to realizing it over a decade ago, but failed. If he killed the girl in front of the boy, Douma could die with a smile.
The earlier threat to explode himself was just a silly lie. If demons had such an ability, his Lord would have exploded ordinary demons to massacre Demon Slayers without failure, which was clearly more efficient and enjoyable.
Seeing the two planning something, Douma didn't waste a second and acted.
The instant the boy ahead vanished, Douma activated his Blood Demon Art at full power.
[Blood Demon Art: Barren Hanging Garden]
A defensive technique, fourteen successive fan attacks generating outwards-expanding ice shards to slice the enemy into pieces.
He attacked once again.
[Blood Demon Art: Freezing Clouds (Ten times)]
Unleashing a massive wave of cold winds, he tried to freeze everything in the vicinity.
Defensive plus supportive.
'He can counter it with his sword… But what about the female? My Blood Demon Art is lethal to lungs, you know…'
Waving his fans, he summoned hundreds of icicles in the air, each a meter long, and sent them flying toward the girl.
"Bringing a weakling along isn't very smart of you." He said, smiling, not afraid of death whatsoever.
'Wait… Something's off. The girl is there but…'
A sharp, chilling voice suddenly came from above.
"She may be lacking in strength, but oh boy she can dodge…"
Using Lightning Step, he destroyed almost all the icicles in a single move and appeared next to Douma's head as if flying. The freezing clouds and ice shards were blasted away by his sheer speed.
[Lunar Breathing Seventh Form: Revolving Moon]
[Sun Breathing Second Form: Clear Blue Sky]
Two attacks from different Breathing Styles used at once.
The Heavenly Demon Sword vibrated, heated up, and cut through Douma's brain and all four limbs in a circular motion. Once detached from the main body, all the flesh and blood got absorbed into the excited sword, which seemed to devour even more from the main body by using some attracting force, sucking him dry.
"W-What?" Douma's voice cracked out of surprise, not fear.
A feeling of powerlessness descended on his body for the first time in over a century.
'That sword is strange. No wonder Muzan-sama weakened so much…'
Douma, left with only his torso and no limbs, plopped heavily to the ground.
"Whoa, you got me~" Douma's giggling echoed in the dungeon. "Wah, I can't regenerate either…"
Tanjiro swung the Heavenly Demon Sword around. It absorbed the remaining clouds and mist permeating the dungeon, revealing a frowning Shinobu some distance away, holding her breath as instructed. She was perfectly fine.
"Hey, where did you get that sword~? And how did you know I was here?~ Mind telling me, please~?"
Ignoring him, Tanjiro deduced no immediate danger from the pathetic torso and let Shinobu do what she wanted with the bastard. She needed to release all her suppressed emotions, after all.
Looking at the girl who wore an emotionless expression while glaring at Douma, Tanjiro felt the urge to kiss her immediately. 'Even though she's angry, she's still so attractive…'
'…Damn bastard, calm down.' Shaking off the thought, he made way for her and stayed on guard for any mishaps.
Coming close, Shinobu gripped her bright red sword and unleashed multiple stabs at the torso. She didn't say a word, she just continued stabbing while tears streamed down her face.
Douma's torso constantly healed, unlike his limbs.
A destructive heat from the boy's sword rendered his regenerative powers useless at the point of contact. He couldn't see because his eyes were gone. With no brain either, his powerful senses did the job of perceiving the other two.
"Ahh, I know this resemblance~ You… Are you perhaps related to that cute girl I killed three years ago? Your presence is similar to hers. Mm, I'm sure~! You must be her sister… Ah, it was a shame dawn arrived that day, otherwise I'd have—"
"SHUT UP!!!" Shinobu shouted, cutting and tearing his flesh apart with even more intensity.
She tore his mouth open and made a mess of his inner organs.
Shortly after, her sword returned to its original color.
She didn't stop. Using her prepared poison, she resumed venting her anger.
A few seconds later… Douma coughed out solid lumps of blood, clearly affected by the poison. Though it wasn't enough to kill him.
"Haha, it's useless~ It'd have worked on a Lower Moon, but—"
His mouth was destroyed once again.
Not caring whether the poison was working or not, Shinobu continued slashing him, releasing all her stored frustration and suppressed emotions.
Beside her, Tanjiro sighed mentally. 'This might take some time…'
With sharp air-cutting and flesh-tearing noises echoing through the dungeon, half an hour passed gradually.
[Mission completed!]
[You may claim your reward now] [Claim]