As Enmu disintegrated, the entire Mugen Train lurched violently, like a beast thrown into chaos after losing its head.
The carriages swayed from side to side, metal screeching against metal. Each compartment felt like a small boat caught in a raging sea, ready to capsize at any moment.
Raiden stood firm atop the wreckage, white hair whipping in the wind, his expression steady.
Killing Enmu meant losing control of the train. That much had been unavoidable.
Fortunately, Enmu had not fully completed his fusion. Only the front portion of the train derailed, tearing into the earth in a violent slide.
Chunks of purple black flesh continued peeling off the first few carriages, scattering into the night air. They broke apart into fine particles before dissolving completely, as if the demon's existence were being erased from the world.
Raiden surveyed the scene.
Enmu was gone.
The danger was not.
The train had rolled and partially derailed. Fires flickered in the darkness. Smoke drifted into the sky.
He moved.
With the explosive speed of Thunder Breathing, Raiden crossed the damaged carriages in flashes of gold. He pulled injured passengers from unstable compartments and relocated those in danger away from collapsing debris.
Under his full acceleration, he cleared multiple critical points in mere moments.
After one final tremor, the train settled.
Silence followed.
Only the wind remained, accompanied by the faint crackling of distant embers.
Raiden exhaled slowly.
Fighting Enmu had been straightforward. Managing the aftermath was far more tedious.
He was not a saint, but neither would he stand idle while civilians died.
Behind him, confusion erupted.
"What's going on? Why am I outside?"
One of the children Enmu had manipulated suddenly woke, eyes wide with disorientation. The other three stirred as well, equally confused.
They had been searching for spiritual cores inside dreams.
Why were they awake?
Tanjiro and the others regained consciousness as well. Rengoku released his grip on the girl he had nearly strangled under hypnosis, his eyes instantly sharpening.
A demon capable of placing even him into a dream without resistance was no ordinary threat.
At minimum, a Lower Rank of significant strength.
Yet the illusion had vanished abruptly.
Why?
Tanjiro looked around, dazed. He already understood that suicide inside the dream was the escape method.
He had just placed his blade at his own neck, ready to cut.
Before he could act, reality returned.
He had not broken free.
So who had?
"He's dead… thankfully."
The boy whose rope had been tied to Tanjiro spoke weakly, color slowly returning to his pale face.
"Dead?" the others echoed, stunned.
The soft spoken man with gentle manners had left a strange impression on them. Even knowing he had controlled them, they did not feel relief.
They were simply exhausted.
They only wanted to sleep.
"Who died?" Rengoku asked calmly.
"The one who told us to tie the dream ropes to you," the child replied blankly.
"A person?" Rengoku's gaze sharpened. "Did his eyes look unusual?"
The child blinked. "There were words in them. Lower Rank One."
The air shifted instantly.
Tanjiro stiffened. Zenitsu swallowed. Inosuke's posture changed.
Lower Rank One.
The strongest among the Lower Moons of the Twelve Kizuki.
No wonder they had been trapped so easily.
Rengoku's eyes grew solemn. "And he is dead?"
The child nodded faintly.
Zenitsu looked around anxiously. "Where's Raiden? When did he disappear?"
"Looking for me?"
The carriage door slid open.
Raiden stepped inside casually, dust settling around his boots.
All eyes turned to him.
For the first time, something clearly recognizable flickered in Rengoku's blazing gaze.
Surprise.
"Where is the demon?" Rengoku asked.
"Killed him," Raiden replied.
His tone was flat, as if he had brushed dirt from his sleeve rather than defeated Lower Rank One.
"Killed him?" Tanjiro's eyes widened. "Raiden, you killed Lower Rank One?"
They had once faced Lower Rank Five on Mount Natagumo. That single demon had slaughtered dozens of Demon Slayers.
Even Raiden had needed effort back then.
And now the strongest of the Lower Moons had fallen?
Tanjiro inhaled subtly.
There was no scent of blood on Raiden.
No exhaustion.
No injury.
He had done it cleanly.
"Incredible!" Rengoku declared, nodding firmly.
He could read Raiden's condition just as clearly. Raiden stood composed, breathing steady, posture relaxed. He did not look like someone who had just concluded a life and death battle.
He looked ready for another.
Raiden simply shook his head and glanced toward the horizon.
The first hint of sunrise painted the sky in faint color.
"It's not over," he said quietly. "The real problem is coming."
Enmu had only been an introduction.
The true threat would arrive soon.
Akaza.
An Upper Rank.
Comparing Enmu to Akaza would be an insult.
During the battle at the Infinity Castle, Akaza had fought both Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro simultaneously. Had he not regained his human memories at the end, the outcome might have been very different.
Raiden's objective was simple.
Protect Rengoku.
And test himself against an Upper Rank.
If he displayed enough strength, gaining Akaza's acknowledgment would not be impossible.
As for dragging Akaza into the sunlight alongside Rengoku, that had never been realistic.
Rengoku had only managed to restrain one of Akaza's arms in the original confrontation. An Upper Rank could sever his own limb in an instant and regenerate it just as quickly.
Akaza would not fall so easily.
"Not over?" Rengoku repeated, scanning the quiet surroundings.
Lower Rank One was dead.
The train had stopped.
What else could be coming?
A faint breeze passed through the wreckage.
Raiden's eyes remained fixed on the brightening horizon.
He was waiting.
___
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