Splintered wood chips drifted through the night air.
Staring at the gaping hole in the wall, Karaku froze for a brief moment before his lips curled into an exaggerated grin, and he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! How amusing! That hot-headed Sekido actually got punched away! This is truly delightful!"
Laughing until tears nearly formed, Karaku raised the massive maple-leaf fan in his hand.
Though he laughed, the killing intent in his eyes surged to its peak in an instant.
"To repay you for this delight—die!"
Whoosh!
He swung the fan down with full force, and a hurricane several times stronger than before erupted from the ground.
The wind pressure, like countless invisible blades, shredded tatami, wooden pillars, and even the foundation in its path, forming a raging tornado that tore through everything as it charged straight toward Rin and the others behind him.
"Rin-san, be careful! That wind can tear you apart!" Tanjiro shouted, enduring the pain in his neck.
Rin stood directly in front of the storm, not even shifting his stance.
His right hand gripped the hilt of the Kusanagi sword as chakra surged through his meridians and into the blade.
A deep, violent current of purple-black lightning coursed along its edge.
"Break."
Rin spoke softly, flicked his wrist, and slashed upward in a single, effortless motion.
Crackle!
A crescent of Lightning Release shot forward, colliding head-on with the roaring wall of wind.
The massive tornado, capable of tearing the entire house apart, was cleanly split in two by that single strike.
The raging winds howled past on either side of Rin, blowing apart the courtyard walls behind him, yet not even the hem of his clothing stirred.
Karaku's laughter stopped abruptly, his eyes nearly bulging out.
"He split the wind with a sword? What kind of monster is this?!"
Before he could make sense of it, Rin had already appeared in front of him—without him even noticing when.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Rin said calmly, a faint smile curling at his lips. "Since you like the excitement so much, why not call out the rest of your family?"
Swish!
The black blade left a fleeting afterimage as Rin, relying purely on physical speed, sliced cleanly across Karaku's neck.
The head shot into the air.
At the same moment, a furious roar erupted from the nearby ruins.
Sekido, who had just been blasted into the rock wall, charged out, covered in blood.
His face was twisted with rage as he raised his khakkhara staff and brought it crashing down toward Rin's back.
"I'll kill you! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Rin didn't even turn around. He simply swung his blade behind him.
Sekido, along with the staff in his hand, was cleanly split in two at the waist.
Both demons were instantly decapitated and bisected.
If they had been ordinary demons, they would have already turned to ash.
But Tanjiro, standing behind, clearly sensed that the demonic presence in the air not only hadn't faded—it had surged, doubling in intensity.
"Rin-san! They've split!"
Sure enough, with a grotesque writhing of flesh, large amounts of blood and tissue spilled out from the severed bodies of Karaku and Sekido.
In just a few seconds, the original two demons became four.
Alongside Sekido with his staff and Karaku with his fan, two new figures emerged.
One held a cross-shaped spear, his face filled with sorrow, the character "Sorrow" etched in his eyes.
The other had wings on his back, his claws sharp as a hawk's, a playful grin on his lips, with the character "Joy" carved into his gaze.
The four clones of Upper Rank Four—Sekido, Karaku, Aizetsu, and Urogi—had all appeared.
"Oh my, how exciting! It's been ages since prey forced all four of us out at once!" Urogi flapped his wings and hovered in the air, letting out a sharp, piercing laugh.
Aizetsu held his spear and sighed. "How sorrowful… we have to engage in such tedious slaughter again."
Sekido tightened his grip on his staff, lightning crackling around him. "Enough talk! Attack together and crush this human to pieces!"
Four distinct yet equally terrifying auras intertwined, making the air in the courtyard feel heavy and suffocating.
Zenitsu, who had just managed to stand, saw the scene and immediately went limp, collapsing as he clutched Tanjiro's leg and wailed, "Four of them?! Why do they keep multiplying?! What kind of demon ability is this?! We're doomed!"
Just then, a loud boom sounded from outside the gate as Inosuke, wearing his boar mask, smashed through the remaining courtyard wall and charged in.
"I heard fighting! Pig Assault! Where's the prey?!"
He struck a pose—only to meet the cold, icy stares of the four Upper Rank demons. The second half of his sentence died in his throat, and the steam puffing from his boar mask stopped instantly.
"Tanjiro-kun, keep an eye on those two idiots. Fall back fifty meters."
Rin lowered the Kusanagi sword to his side, his gaze sweeping over the four demons surrounding him.
He showed no sign of tension. If anything, a hint of boredom appeared in his eyes.
"Joy, Wrath, Sorrow, and Pleasure? That's enough for a game of mahjong. Fine, I'll entertain you—consider this a warm-up."
"Arrogant human! Die!"
Urogi, hovering in the air, was the first to move. He opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply.
"Blood Demon Art: Screeching Pressure Wave!"
A visible, circular shockwave—capable of shattering organs and pulverizing stone—descended in a cone, enveloping Rin.
At the same time, Aizetsu thrust his spear forward.
"Blood Demon Art: Piercing Tears!"
Five deadly spear thrusts shot out like vipers, sealing off every possible escape.
With sonic waves from above, spear strikes from the front, and Sekido and Karaku poised to unleash lightning and wind at any moment, it formed a near-perfect kill zone.
Tanjiro's breathing stalled from the tension.
Yet at the center of it all, Rin simply raised his left hand and formed a seal.
A massive surge of Fire Release chakra gathered instantly in his throat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Boom!
A gigantic fireball, over seven meters wide, burst from Rin's mouth and collided head-on with the descending shockwave.
Sonic force could shatter matter, but against pure energy, Urogi's attack crumpled like paper against a wall of flames, instantly distorted and overwhelmed by the heat.
The fireball continued forward without losing momentum, slamming directly into Urogi.
"Ahhh! It's hot!" Urogi screamed, his wings scorched nearly in half as he plummeted from the sky like a roasted bird.
At the same moment, Aizetsu's spear reached Rin's chest.
"Got you… how sorrowful," Aizetsu muttered, a cold glint in his eyes.
Clang!
The spear tip stopped less than three inches from Rin's heart.
Aizetsu's eyes widened in shock.
Rin didn't raise his sword to block. Instead, he extended two fingers and clamped down on the tip of the cross-shaped spear.
No matter how much force Aizetsu poured into it, the weapon might as well have been rooted in place—it couldn't advance another inch.
"Your spear technique is garbage. What, did you skip dinner? How sorrowful, indeed~" Rin sneered.
With a flick of his fingers, he yanked the spear toward himself.
Aizetsu lost his balance and stumbled forward.
Rin took the opening, driving his knee upward in a clean, swift strike that slammed directly into Aizetsu's face.
Crack!
His nasal bone shattered instantly, and Aizetsu was sent flying, tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Seeing this, Sekido and Karaku closed in from both sides.
The khakkhara staff crackled with violent golden lightning, while the fan unleashed slicing gusts of wind—both attacks converging on Rin at the same time.
Rumble!
Dust and debris exploded outward, gravel scattering in all directions.
"Haah.. Did we get him?" Karaku panted, his fan still trembling.
"Idiot! Look up!" Sekido suddenly roared.
Karaku snapped his head upward.
The Rin who had been standing there had turned into a charred wooden stump.
The real Rin had already appeared above them, descending silently.
"Looking for me?"
____
12 Advance chapters:Patreon/slept01