The night wind sweeping across the wilderness gradually dispersed the dust that filled the sky.
With a single thought from Rin, the giant purplish-red skeletal hand that had been mercilessly crushing Akaza at the bottom of the crater dissolved into specks of light and vanished into the air.
At the bottom of the deep pit, the condition of Upper Rank Three was horrifying to behold.
The martial body he had always been so proud of had completely collapsed at the chest. His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, and jagged white bone fragments pierced through the tattoo-covered skin of his arms and torso.
Even as one of the Twelve Kizuki, possessing regenerative abilities far beyond common sense, the recovery of his body had slowed under the absolute pressure of that overwhelming power.
"Cough… cough…"
Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs continued to spill from Akaza's mouth. His eyes—engraved with the golden characters of Upper Rank Three—stared fixedly at Rin standing at the edge of the crater.
There was no anger left in them.
Only the hollow emptiness that followed the complete collapse of his beliefs.
What exactly was that layer of purplish-red ribs? How could a human wield such completely unreasonable power?
Even his ultimate technique, Destructive Death: Annihilation, had failed to leave so much as a scratch on it.
"Why are you staring blankly? Your severed hand has already grown back."
Rin's voice came from above, completely devoid of emotion.
He slowly walked down the slope into the crater, the heels of his black boots making crisp sounds as they stepped across the gravel.
Hearing that voice, the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku—who had been standing dozens of meters away—finally snapped out of his daze.
He immediately gripped his Nichirin blade and prepared to rush forward.
"Rin-dono! Please allow me to assist you! While he cannot move, let us take this Upper Rank's head in a single strike!" Rengoku's voice rang out as loudly as ever, though his tone now carried an added layer of respect, clearly treating Rin as the center of their group.
"Stay where you are."
Rin didn't even turn around. He simply raised his left hand casually and made a stopping gesture.
"Watch those three brats and make sure the civilians from the train don't come any closer. I still have use for this one's life."
Kyojuro Rengoku stopped immediately. Although he was filled with questions, he had witnessed Rin's strength and knew this man wasn't the type to let a tiger return to the mountains out of arrogance.
Without hesitation, he sheathed his sword and turned to guard Tanjiro and the others behind him.
At the bottom of the crater..
Rin walked up to Akaza, crouched down, grabbed the demon's short pink hair, and forcibly lifted his pale face.
"If you want… to kill me, then kill me." Akaza gritted his teeth. His remaining left hand tried to clench into a fist, but it hung limply due to torn muscles.
"Kill you? That would be easy enough."
Rin let out a cold chuckle, and his dark pupils instantly turned blood red.
Three tomoe spun rapidly within his eyes before linking together into an eerie, complex hexagram pattern.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
The moment those eyes met Akaza's, Rin had already calculated the entire larger game ahead.
The leader of the Twelve Kizuki—Kibutsuji Muzan—who had lived for a thousand years, was a notoriously cautious coward.
Once Muzan learned that a monster had appeared in this world—someone capable of using Susanoo and beating Upper Rank Three like a dog without even drawing a Nichirin blade—he would undoubtedly recall all the Upper Ranks to the Infinity Castle and hide himself away for decades or even a century.
If that happened, finding targets to farm dimension points would become exponentially harder.
Killing Akaza alone would yield only a few thousand points.
But if Akaza could be used as bait to lure out Upper Rank One, Upper Rank Two, and even Muzan himself…
The reward would be an incalculable fortune.
"So, I'll have to trouble you to act as my messenger."
Rin murmured quietly.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan."
Buzz!
Akaza's body suddenly stiffened. The light in his eyes faded instantly, and his golden pupils lost all focus.
Under the powerful interference of the Sharingan, Rin's consciousness invaded the deepest layers of Akaza's mind.
What he needed to do now was carefully alter Akaza's memories of tonight—like editing scenes in a film.
Within the false memories Rin constructed...
The entire course of the battle was rewritten.
The purple Susanoo was completely erased from the memory.
In its place, the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, was shown desperately activating his Demon Slayer Mark and unleashing the ultimate form of Flame Breathing beyond his limits.
As for Rin himself, he became a mysterious swordsman who had mastered a variant of Thunder Breathing.
In the fabricated memory, Rin wielded a black blade and fought alongside Kyojuro Rengoku on one side, coordinating with Tanjiro's Hinokami Kagura as the three launched a fierce assault against Akaza.
Within the illusion, Akaza displayed overwhelming power. His Destructive Death techniques battered the Flame Hashira until he was covered in blood, while Tanjiro was knocked violently to the ground.
Although Rin managed to evade using the speed of Lightning Release techniques, he also suffered internal injuries and could only barely hold on.
Just as Akaza was about to crush the meddlesome Demon Slayers with a final punch..
A pale white glow appeared on the eastern horizon.
Dawn had arrived.
To avoid the deadly sunlight, Akaza—despite holding the absolute advantage—could only roar in frustration, abandon the chance to kill everyone, and retreat into the mountains.
Buzz!
"Perfect."
Rin reviewed the flawless "recording" within his mental space and nodded in satisfaction.
As long as Muzan read these memories, he would reach a clear conclusion: the Demon Slayer Corps had indeed gained a troublesome new swordsman, and the Flame Hashira had fought desperately. But even working together, they had only barely managed to withstand the attacks of Upper Rank Three.
Next time, if Muzan sent a higher-ranked Upper Rank—or two Upper Ranks together—he could easily wipe out these elite Demon Slayers.
As long as Muzan still believed victory was possible, he would keep sending heads straight to Rin's doorstep.
Back in the real world, Rin released Akaza's hair and slowly stood up.
A faint glow of dawn had already begun to appear on the horizon.
There were less than twenty minutes left until sunrise.
"Wake up."
Rin snapped his fingers, and the Mangekyō Sharingan faded from his eyes.
Akaza, lying at the bottom of the crater, shuddered violently as the focus returned to his golden pupils.
He looked around blankly at his torn clothes, his newly regenerated arm, and Rin and Kyojuro Rengoku standing nearby—both seemingly covered in bloodstains.. in reality, a visual illusion created by Rin's genjutsu.
The altered memories flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.
Akaza's expression twisted instantly as he looked up at the brightening eastern sky, feeling the temperature of the air slowly rising.
"Damn it! Damn the sun!!"
Akaza let out an unwilling roar.
Under the influence of the implanted memories, he believed he had already pushed these Demon Slayers to the brink of death—just one punch away from killing them all—yet dawn had arrived at the worst possible moment.
If he didn't flee now, the rising sunlight would burn him to ashes.
"Don't think you've won!"
Akaza glared viciously at Rin and Kyojuro Rengoku, gritting his teeth.
"Kyojuro—and you, the brat who uses lightning! I'll spare your lives for now. The next time we meet, I'll crush you completely with my Destructive Death!"
Before his words had even finished echoing, Akaza slammed his foot into the ground, shattering the rock beneath him. Like a fleeing stray dog, he dashed toward the depths of the nearby forest and disappeared after a few rapid leaps.
"This…"
Kyojuro Rengoku stood above the crater, completely stunned.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke also stared in wide-eyed disbelief in the direction Akaza had fled.
What just happened?
Just moments ago, that Upper Rank demon had clearly been beaten by Mr. Rin until his bones were shattered, lying helplessly at the bottom of the crater like a dead dog.
Mr. Rin only needed to draw that black sword and casually swing it once to take his head.
So why had he not acted?
Why had he allowed the demon to escape after letting him shout a few threats?
And… the way that Upper Rank fled didn't look like someone who had been completely defeated. It looked more like he had been forced to retreat because dawn was approaching.
"Rin-dono, this… why?"
Kyojuro Rengoku walked quickly to the edge of the crater and looked at Rin, who had just leapt out, confusion written across his face.
"Although you may have your reasons, that was Upper Rank Three. If he escapes, more innocent people will surely lose their lives in the future."
"Don't worry. He won't live for long."
Rin casually brushed the dust off his black haori, his tone relaxed.
Looking at the puzzled group, Rin continued,
"The Demon Slayer Corps and the Twelve Kizuki have been locked in conflict for over a thousand years. Have you ever wondered why Kibutsuji Muzan always hides in the shadows and never shows himself?"
Tanjiro paused for a moment before answering carefully,
"Because… he's afraid of sunlight?"
"Not just sunlight. It's also because he's a complete coward."
Rin let out a cold laugh. "Muzan can read the memories of his subordinates through their blood. If I had cut off Upper Rank Three's head with a single strike just now, Muzan would immediately learn that the Demon Slayer Corps has gained a fighter capable of crushing an Upper Rank alone. What do you think he would do then?"
Kyojuro Rengoku thought for a moment, and his expression suddenly grew serious.
"He would retreat into hiding, never allow Upper Ranks to act alone again, and conceal his whereabouts so thoroughly that we would never be able to find him for decades, then we'll become old and would easily be crushed when he reappears."
"Exactly."
Rin snapped his fingers.
"So I used a small trick to alter his memories of tonight."
"Alter his memories?!" Everyone gasped. Such an ability sounded completely unbelievable.
"In his mind, tonight's battle was one where all of us fought with everything we had, used up all our trump cards, and only barely survived because the sun rose. His escape just now was also because he believed he held the advantage and had only retreated due to the approaching sunlight."
Rin looked toward the distant forest, his gaze deep.
"Once he brings those memories back to the Infinity Castle, Muzan will believe that although we have some strength, we're still insects that can be crushed at any time. Before long, he'll send an even stronger lineup—perhaps even the top two Upper Ranks—to deal with us."
Making me harvest more points and become more stronger in the process~
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12 Advance chapters:Patreon/slept01