Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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"Meow."
Chachamaru crouched in the corner, terrified. She leaped joyfully toward Tanjuro as soon as she saw him.
However, she had not anticipated the presence of such a formidable demon in this area.
Her backpack was also damaged.
She looked down at the pink fluid dripping from her back. It appeared as if she had made a mistake.
Her furious vertical pupils were loaded with confusion. Uncomfortably, Chachamaru lowered her head, silently hoping Yushiro wouldn't hold it against her.
From the broken rucksack behind her, an envelope gently slid out and dropped on the ground. The inscription on it became visible in the dim moonlight.
[Kamado-san
This agent has been isolated and refined from your blood through experimentation.
It contains psychedelic compounds. The main content of the visions varies from person to person.
It can only be used once for any individual or demon.
The writer appeared to pause here, leaving a stain on the paper.
The vial with the label has a very high concentration out of the two. As of yet, no one has offered to test it. Please use with caution.]
Chachamaru stared at the broken vial on the street. There was a small label on it.
The night sky abruptly churned like thick ink as oppressive storm clouds quickly collected, and thunder flashed across it.
Giyu stopped. A humid aura virtually razed at his face as he stared forward. The moment he witnessed the flash of golden thunder.
'Urokodaki-sensei.'
'I wasn't wrong.' He remained still.
Giyu's strange behavior caught the attention of a certain red figure in mid-charge nearby. He twisted his ankle and stomped down forcefully.
He abruptly changed the direction of his charge.
Bam!
Giyu's back receives a strong impact from the hand of the red-headed figure.
Caught off guard, Giyu tilted his head back, stumbled forward a couple of steps, and turned his head in surprise to look behind him.
"Giyu!"
"Is it alright to call you that?"
Kyojuro peered out from beside him, his eyes shining. With a concerned look, he patted Giyu's shoulder.
"You suddenly stopped. Are you alright?"
As he spoke, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he wouldn't give Giyu a chance to speak at all. A bright smile spread across his face.
"Well, I couldn't catch up either. That demon sure runs fast!"
"The intelligence was right; it really is an upper rank!"
Still smiling, his gaze shifted to Giyu as he straightened up slightly. "Let's do our best together!"
Giyu stared at him speechlessly for a moment.
Then he turned his head back.
"...Mm."
...
Tanjuro raised Kusabimaru, leaping high from the rooftop behind Akaza.
)—Way of Tomoe!—(
)—Ikazuchi!—(
RUMBLE!!
"Thunder?!"
Tanjuro's figure jumping through the air was reflected in Akaza's narrow golden pupils, lit by the lightning's glare. He felt the tingling numbness on his skin and jerked around.
It's actual lightning!
He looked at Tanjuro with a serious expression.
"A human can actually achieve this level..." The lightning flashed in his eyes. Incredible."
There was no hint of a Blood Demon Art.
This level of lightning summoning had clearly reached, or even exceeded, the Blood Demon Arts of upper-rank demons, albeit it remained unknown how it was accomplished.
At the same time, he didn't understand why Tanjuro didn't want to become a demon. Such skills will undoubtedly grow stronger after becoming one.
It was squandered on the meager few decades of a human's life. How unfortunate.
Furthermore, the advantage of the Supreme Realm's lack of fighting spirit would undoubtedly vanish in the event of such a stunning onslaught.
It was like publicly stating that the real attack was coming from here. His opponent had no intention of sneaking an attack or winning by underhanded means!
"Hahaha!"
And this meant Akaza's eyes glowed with intense delight as he glanced up at the thunder that was falling from the sky, laughing loudly.
"This is it."
The golden lightning lit up his face as he squeezed his hand. The snowflake pattern of the compass needle beneath his feet became brighter as he faced the lightning.
"Fight me with all of your strength!" His voice was passionate.
Akaza had long since forgotten about Muzan's prior warning.
When confronted with the demon slayer who could have murdered Upper Rank One, he saw no reason not to fight. He stomped forcefully against the ground, using all of his strength.
Boom!!
Dust exploded all around him. Akaza smirked viciously and transformed into an afterimage charging at Tanjuro.
Although there was no intense fighting spirit, Akaza sensed it.
This demon slayer... was more powerful than he himself.
That was even better!
To desire power, one cannot always combat the weak.
Even at Upper Rank Three, he ventured to challenge Kokushibo to a position-determining blood battle. He would not be afraid!
Only by focusing completely and fighting with everything can one grow stronger!
Whoosh—swish!
"Haha!" Akaza appeared before Tanjuro, who was still leaping in mid-air. His face was scorched by the lightning but wore an exaggerated grin of excitement.
His fist, already cocked, punched through the air, swinging out rapidly.
Tanjuro looked down, watching Akaza close in.
He raised Kusabimaru high, the blade wrapped in lightning, and swung it horizontally with force.
Golden thunder accompanied the crimson wedge, a blade trail of burning light instantly streaking across the night sky!
)—Sun Breathing First Form!—(
)—Enbu!—(
Akaza's pupils trembled as they followed the movement.
Just as he thought!
The compass needle had no reaction!
But his gaze was dead fixed on Tanjuro's blade.
Seeing the sword swing horizontally, he grinned, sharply sucked in his stomach, lowered his head, and said in a fervent tone.
"I knew it...!"
Swish!
Lowering his head, he narrowly dodged the thunderous slash. He withdrew his gaze from the blade and looked directly at Tanjuro.
"You should still become a demon! This is too unfair to fight!"
"Leaping in mid-air—as just a human, you simply can't execute more sword techniques and mo—"
As he spoke, Akaza's eyes met Tanjuro's.
Akaza clearly saw his own reflection in the other's dark red, mirrorlike eyes.
There was no emotion in those calm eyes.
Neither killing intent nor fighting spirit existed.
So that's it.
Even as he spoke, Akaza gradually became distracted; he was momentarily stunned.
'So this is what they call the State of Selflessness.'
'So this is what it's like.'
Click.
Akaza, still diving low, glanced up at Tanjuro.
A dark, black muzzle came unexpectedly in the center of his view.
He was perplexed.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots interrupted his words and thoughts, prompting him to exclaim, "Gwah!" Akaza sprayed blood from his left eye. His pupils darkened in horror.
He focused his remaining eye on Tanjuro's other hand.
The dark muzzle was still smoldering. Tanjuro spun the revolver's cylinder in one hand.
The cartridges of burning brass flew out and rolled onto the roof. The man and the demon landed on the roof at the same time.
"What?!" Akaza's eyes widened. He covered his newly injured left eye, his eyes locked on the gun in Tanjuro's grasp.
His regenerating eyeball pushed out two bullets, which landed on the rooftop with a clatter.
Akaza had a moment of confusion.
He removed his hand from his left eye.
His vision was still slightly blurry.
There was no burning wound or paralysis; it was as if he had been hit by something ordinary.
When Tanjuro landed, a paper doll appeared from his robe.
Dark mist pervades, and the unleashed lightning still twists around him.
He rapidly swung his left arm, tossing aside the now-empty handgun, while also switching the prosthetic ninja arm.
The handgun was supplied by Kakushi member Goto, along with a note emphasizing how dangerous the weapon is and how it should be locked away after the mission in the Yoshiwara pleasure district.
The bullets were normal, with no special effects on demons. It was only intended to temporarily stiffen the extremely agile Akaza.
Tanjuro swung his prosthetic ninja arm to the left while throwing the handgun.
A Nichirin spear extended immediately.
The pointed spear tip, which was likewise encased in lightning, slashed through the air as he landed. It surged forward, piercing Akaza's abdomen.
Puchi!
"Cough! Gwaah!"
Akaza stared down, both hands grasping the spear shaft at his abdomen. The lightning caused paralysis, making it difficult to apply force. He clenched his fists, trembling.
He crushed down forcefully, delivering a powerful blow to the spear's joint. The shaft snapped immediately.
Tanjuro was taken aback when he saw the spear shaft crack while still gripping the base.
Akaza took advantage of the breathing room he had obtained. He leaped back twice as lightning curled around his ankles, landing on an adjacent rooftop. He looked up, took the broken spearhead out of his abdomen, and threw it away.
Then he resumed the Destructive Death stance, his expression somber as he peered at Tanjuro.
The man had anticipated his thoughts and moves, so he briefly adjusted his combat approach. Easily breaking through his attack and successfully repelling him.
Akaza would have to become even more powerful to defeat him.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
This was unlike any other demon slayer he'd encountered.
Tanjuro's recent set of actions gave Akaza the impression that his opponent also had the compass needle.
"Compass needle?"
Akaza calmed his mind, as if he were remembering something. The impulse to battle subsequently evolved into a desire to gain strength.
Akaza concentrated, observing every detail of Tanjuro's body.
"It's broken..." Tanjuro held up the broken spear shaft, examined the point of breakage, and then slowly retracted it.
At the opposite end of the street, a muscular person wearing a monk's robe emerged while the two were at odds. In his hand, he whirled a flail with clanging chains.
Akaza had been pursuing the supreme realm for centuries and had finally reached its threshold.
The "Compass Needle," which enabled his body to evade strikes autonomously—similar to a formless martial art—was already on its way to the Transparent World.
Now, his eyes were fixed on Tanjuro.
Whoosh—!
A powerful rush of wind came from next to his ear.
His body flinched involuntarily, and a tingling feeling appeared on his skin.
The compass needle beneath his feet indicated that there was no one alongside him or in the adjacent streets.
But his instinct informed him.
'Run.'
Akaza's eye sockets trembled. He abruptly turned his head to see what was beside him. His feet moved fast, dodging to one side.
BOOM!!
The gigantic flail, attached by an iron chain, slammed directly down from above onto the same location Akaza had just occupied.
Dust rose, roof tiles shattered and fell to the street.
Clang!
The sound of steel clinking echoed through the street as the chain quickly retracted.
"Amitabha..." Gyomei uttered, a Buddhist prayer. He tugged on the chain, grabbed the flail in his hand, and started swinging it again.
Crack.
Akaza stepped on a broken vial, landing lightly on the balls of his feet.
"What's going on today...?" He scowled heavily, looking surprised at Gyomei. He had not anticipated this one's arrival.
He turned to face Tanjuro and said, "No fighting spirit..."
His gaze shifted between the two. "Neither of them has any."
Another Supreme Realm.
Another human.
One individual doing it might be considered a special case, but what about two?
Akaza gradually straightened up. For the first time, he felt uncomfortable with the concept of "human."
Could decades of labor truly outperform his centuries of relentless pursuit...?
'My martial way!'
He bowed his head slightly, forehead furrowed and hands clenched. For the first time, he began to question the martial path he had followed for ages.
Has he deviated from the path?
Clenching his fist, he looked around and realized he was trapped in the midst of it.
Gyomei and Tanjuro exchanged glances.
They approached Akaza from both sides, weapons drawn, and converged on him in the middle of the street.
The crisis known as death seemed to loom over Akaza.
"It's not over yet!"
He clenched his teeth and breathed quickly. He couldn't look left and right at the two men while using the compass needle.
The compass needle design spread beneath his feet, despite the fact that it was useless.
'Break through! It has to happen now!'
'Akaza! Get stronger!' Veins bulged on his forehead. His gaze quickly focused on Tanjuro, seeking to discern the distinctions between his opponent and himself.
Under the concentrated gaze of an upper-rank demon, Akaza saw that time seemed to slow down around him.
Faint traces of evaporating pink gas, joined by phantom cherry blossom petals, floated upward from beneath his feet.
They rushed into Akaza's nasal cavity as his breathing became increasingly rapid.
Akaza stared at Tanjuro as his vision gradually changed.
He appeared to see everything in an instant. Tanjuro's left arm briefly seemed transparent.
His eyes popped wide open.
'This is it!'
In his eagerness, he was about to seize this revelation and ultimately achieve that state.
An arm came out from behind him and gently grabbed his own arm.
Akaza tried to move but was unable to. Puzzled, he turned to look behind him.
A few cherry blossom petals appeared in his eyes, hiding the person's face behind him.
They became more intense as the wind urged them on.
Until his vision was filled with nothing but pink.
"...What is this?!" Akaza twisted his head in amazement as he shouted. He waved his other arm, hurriedly scanning the surroundings.
His vision cleared again.
There was nothing but whiteness all around him.
And something massive appeared to be coiled not far away.