"Tanjiro! Get up, their bodies are almost completely melted, hurry!"
Relying on his speed, Zenitsu barely avoided the lotus shaped ice attacks created by Doma's clone and shouted toward Tanjiro.
Doma, Upper Rank Two, had appeared again. Zenitsu immediately recognized what that face meant.
Doma had not appeared in the village earlier, which most likely meant he had gone to find Raiden.
Judging from the current state of the ice clone, it seemed Raiden had won, but Tanjiro and the others were already at their limit.
Every strike they made had been a trade of injuries. They were simply trying to buy time.
Zenitsu watched Tanjiro struggle to push himself up from the ground, yet he clearly had no strength left to move.
Zenitsu's heart tightened.
They were going to die.
The ice clone would completely melt in less than half a minute. That amount of time was more than enough for it to kill Tanjiro.
Zenitsu tried to activate Godspeed again to relieve the pressure on Tanjiro. However, the moment his injured leg stepped forward, a sharp pain surged up from his calf.
"Clang!"
Just as despair began to creep into Zenitsu's mind, a crisp sound rang through the air.
The familiar sound of a Nichirin Blade being sheathed made Zenitsu's eyes light up.
Raiden was back.
As the blade slid fully into its sheath, the five ice clones suddenly froze in place.
They stood motionless like lifeless dolls, then instantly shattered, collapsing into fragments of ice that slowly melted across the ground.
"Raiden…"
Tanjiro looked at the man standing in front of him and murmured weakly.
Just moments ago, he had nearly died at the hands of that ice clone.
After battling Hantengu's emotion demons, both he and Nezuko were already exhausted. When Doma's clone appeared, the situation had spiraled completely out of control.
Fortunately, Raiden returned in time.
"Raiden, there's still a demon fighting Kanroji, please go help her!"
Tanjiro spoke hoarsely.
"Mm. I know. Take care of your injuries."
Raiden replied calmly.
Zenitsu suddenly rushed forward and clung tightly to him, crying uncontrollably.
Raiden pushed him back slightly and looked at the tear covered face in front of him. He gently patted Zenitsu's head.
This was the hardest Zenitsu had cried since leaving his master.
"You too. Your arm is broken and you are hugging this tightly. Do you want to lose the arm completely?"
Zenitsu sniffed as he spoke between sobs.
"I… Tanjiro… we almost… almost died…"
"It's alright. I'm here now. None of you will die."
Raiden attempted to wipe the tears from Zenitsu's face, but the more he wiped, the more smeared they became. After a moment he simply gave up.
"I'll deal with the Love Hashira's situation first."
Zenitsu nodded quickly.
"Okay."
Seeing Zenitsu calm down slightly, Raiden leapt toward Mitsuri Kanroji's battlefield.
Beside them, Genya still had not recovered from the shock.
The ice clones were gone.
Just like that.
Then what had all their desperate fighting been for?
They had entered the Demon Slayer Corps through the same Final Selection, yet the gap between him and Raiden felt impossibly large.
Raiden had not only become a new Hashira, his strength was completely unfathomable.
While Raiden dealt with the ice clones, Genya had not even seen him draw his Nichirin Blade.
He only heard the sound of it being sheathed.
Was this the level of a Hashira?
If that was true, then how strong was his older brother?
...
When Raiden arrived at Mitsuri Kanroji's battlefield, the fight was already at its peak.
Mitsuri relied on her abnormal muscle density as she wrapped her flexible Nichirin Blade around the body of a wooden dragon. With a powerful swing, she hurled it overhead and smashed it into the ground.
"Boom!"
The wooden dragon instantly reformed. It opened its massive mouth as a golden sound wave began gathering inside.
At that moment Mitsuri had just used up her previous burst of strength, and her next movement had not yet formed.
She could only watch helplessly as the dragon prepared its attack.
Just as she was about to rely on her extraordinary body to endure the attack head on, she suddenly noticed something strange.
The golden light inside the dragon's mouth disappeared.
Not only that, the dragon's raised head suddenly lost all support and collapsed to the ground.
"Are you alright?"
A hand gently supported Mitsuri's back, stopping her from falling.
"Raiden?! You're here!"
Mitsuri turned around in surprise, relief instantly washing over her face.
"I really thought I was going to die just now!"
Her voice carried a mixture of frustration and complaint, as if she had suffered a huge injustice.
Raiden's mouth twitched slightly.
He briefly glanced at the Demon Slayer Mark that had appeared near Mitsuri's collarbone.
In her marked state, Mitsuri was more than capable of fighting Zohakuten evenly. Yet she looked as if she had just been bullied terribly.
"You know, Raiden, that demon wouldn't let me get close at all. He just kept commanding those wooden dragons to attack me."
Mitsuri gestured animatedly while explaining.
At that moment, a deep voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Who are you? Another one who enjoys bullying the weak?"
Zohakuten narrowed his eyes. His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
From the brief moment earlier, he could already tell that the newly arrived young man was far from ordinary.
As soon as Zohakuten spoke, Mitsuri also stopped complaining. Defeating the demon was clearly the priority.
She glanced at Raiden.
Why was he not reacting?
Raiden smiled at her, then slowly looked toward Zohakuten.
Mitsuri's cheeks turned slightly red.
Raiden's smile was unexpectedly charming.
"How about we become friends?"
Raiden asked sincerely.
Although Hantengu's talent was lacking, his Blood Demon Art was still useful. If he could integrate it, even a small boost to strength would be worthwhile.
After all, Muzan could appear at any time.
"Hmph. Those who bully the weak are not worthy of being my friend."
Zohakuten replied coldly.
Raiden stared at him for a moment and shook his head.
Zohakuten certainly looked impressive, but his logic was completely ridiculous.
He was clearly the one bullying others, yet he shamelessly used that title against them.
"In that case, there is nothing more to discuss."
Raiden had only tested him. He never truly expected Zohakuten to agree.
To deal with Hantengu completely, he would eventually have to find the main body.
"Hmph."
Zohakuten raised the strange drumstick in his hand, preparing to command the wooden dragons again.
However, when he swung it down, the expected drumbeat never came.
Confusion appeared in Zohakuten's eyes.
What happened?
"Looking for this?"
Before he could turn around, a hand suddenly appeared in front of him.
Raiden opened his palm.
Inside it was a severed hand.
Clutched within that severed hand was Zohakuten's drumstick.
A flash of confusion passed through Zohakuten's eyes.
The hand looked very familiar.
So did the drumstick.
That was his own hand.
Realization struck instantly, and Zohakuten's pupils shrank.
When did that man get so close?
Just moments ago he had still been standing near the fallen dragon's head.
How did he cross such a distance so quickly?
And why had Zohakuten sensed absolutely nothing?
---