Xia Feng and Rengoku Kyojuro acted at the same time, intercepting the flying train cars in midair and lowering them safely to the ground.
Then the two of them landed together.
Rengoku wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Under such urgent circumstances, performing such precise actions repeatedly had put quite a bit of pressure on him.
Xia Feng looked toward one of the train cars behind them.
That was the car where Tanjiro and Nezuko had been.
Just as he looked over—
Flames burst out from the window.
Bang!
The window shattered, and two figures flew out.
It was Tanjiro and Nezuko!
Through the broken window, Xia Feng could see inside the carriage.
Inside lay the corpse of a demon that had been cut cleanly into two halves.
Besides the two Twelve Kizuki, there had been other demons hiding on the train!
"Mr. Xia Feng! Mr. Rengoku!"
Seeing that Xia Feng and Rengoku were unharmed, Tanjiro let out a sigh of relief.
Rengoku nodded at him.
"Well done! Kamado boy!"
Akaza landed beside them.
He looked around with interest.
"A mere Lower Rank One caused quite a commotion."
While he spoke, passengers began crawling out from the scattered train cars.
However, many of them were suddenly grabbed by tentacles, which wrapped around their legs and dragged them back.
The Lower Rank One fused with the train was trying to devour all the passengers.
Rengoku couldn't help frowning.
So many passengers.
So many tentacles.
How could they possibly handle all of them?
Akaza glanced at Xia Feng.
"A single Lower Rank demon already has you running around in panic."
"That's the trouble with humans. If you were a demon—"
Before he could finish—
Xia Feng suddenly swung his blade at him.
With the swing of the sword, a terrifying wave of wind surged forward like multiple crashing tides, rushing straight toward Akaza.
Wind Scar!
Akaza didn't dare underestimate it and immediately leapt high into the air to dodge.
After avoiding the attack, he grinned and was about to mock Xia Feng—
Then he suddenly noticed something strange.
Following the trajectory of the Wind Scar, he looked ahead.
The golden shockwave had sliced open the front section of the train!
After the metal and wooden panels were torn away, a massive spinal bone was revealed.
It belonged to Lower Rank One, fused with the train!
Akaza's expression changed in surprise.
Xia Feng's slash hadn't been aimed at him at all—
It had been aimed at Lower Rank One.
Having done that, Xia Feng smiled slightly.
Up until now, the changes he wanted to make in this battle had already been made.
He looked at Tanjiro.
"Tanjiro, Lower Rank One is yours."
Tanjiro immediately nodded and rushed toward the exposed spinal bone with his sword.
With Lower Rank One in that state, Tanjiro had more than enough strength to handle it.
Xia Feng then looked at Rengoku.
"I'll leave this to you."
Rengoku didn't hesitate and charged toward Akaza.
Akaza showed an annoyed expression.
Earlier, when Xia Feng suggested that Rengoku fight him, he thought it was a joke.
After all, he was Upper Rank Three.
Fighting two or three Hashira at once would normally be easy.
Yet Xia Feng actually dared to step away and let the Flame Hashira fight him alone.
Watching Rengoku rush toward him, Akaza gritted his teeth.
Since Xia Feng was being so arrogant—
He would kill this flame swordsman and teach Xia Feng a lesson!
While Rengoku and Akaza fought fiercely, Xia Feng glanced at the situation with the passengers.
Because Tanjiro had gone to attack Lower Rank One's main body, it no longer had the spare attention to target the passengers.
Most of them were now safe.
After confirming this, Xia Feng casually found a tree and sat down comfortably.
Watching the battle between Rengoku and Akaza like a movie wasn't half bad.
As the fight continued, Akaza gradually felt surprised.
This Flame Hashira… was much stronger than he expected.
A perfectly trained body.
Swordsmanship tempered through countless battles.
Among the Hashira, this man was definitely one of the very strongest.
Akaza's eyes lit up more and more.
"Very good… you're strong!"
"What's your name?"
Rengoku swung his flaming blade.
"I am the Flame Hashira—Rengoku Kyojuro!!"
"Kyojuro, huh?"
Akaza nodded.
"Kyojuro, would you like to become a demon?"
"For someone as strong as you, wouldn't it be tragic to watch your power fade away with time?"
Rengoku smiled.
"Do you really think any swordsman would accept such an invitation?"
Akaza grinned.
"Of course some would."
"Didn't Xia Feng tell you? Upper Rank One used to be a swordsman."
Rengoku's expression remained calm.
"The moment someone accepts a demon's temptation, they cease to be a swordsman."
"Stubborn nonsense."
Akaza shook his head with a chuckle.
"Very well."
"Since you refuse, I won't waste any more time."
"I'll send you to the afterlife with this move!"
He clenched his fists.
Destructive Death — Annihilation Style!!
Rengoku tightened his grip on his Nichirin Blade.
"Flame Breathing… Secret Technique!"
"Ninth Form — Rengoku!!"
In an instant, blazing flames and violent fist winds exploded between the two of them, erupting in a massive flash of light.
Tanjiro stared in shock from afar.
He had never imagined that a battle between two individuals could create such terrifying destruction.
When the light faded, their figures appeared again.
Half of Akaza's upper body had been completely blown away.
Meanwhile, Rengoku had lost a large chunk of flesh from his right shoulder.
Akaza jumped backward, putting distance between them.
With just a few hops, his body had already fully regenerated.
He looked at Rengoku from afar.
"…Kyojuro."
"Your strength truly exceeded my expectations."
"But unfortunately, you still can't change anything."
"Injuries that would easily kill humans are merely minor inconveniences for me."
"And you?"
"You've lost part of your shoulder."
"As a swordsman, that means you've lost half your combat power."
"Even if you survive today, you have no future."
Rengoku's face had turned slightly pale.
The intense pain nearly made him faint.
But…
He felt no regret at all.
Being human was his pride.
Just then—
A figure appeared behind him.
Xia Feng looked at Akaza with an amused smile.
"Did you forget…"
"What my actual job is?"
"From the beginning to the end, I've never been the one in charge of fighting."
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
Claim early access on Patreon: patreon.com/c/LuneWriter
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:
💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter
🔷 200 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.