Chapter 86: Why Is It Like This Again?
"Drip... drip..."
Sticky, warm blood was dripping from a cold blade, drop by drop, into the ground that had long since been stained a dark red.
That was a green nichirin sword.
This blade, which should have been used to slay demons, was currently piercing through Masashi's right chest, pinning him tightly against the rough tree trunk.
Masashi's body was convulsing violently; it was a physiological reaction to the cold brought on by excessive blood loss mixed with the sensation of suffocation from his pierced lungs.
However, compared to the physical torture, what truly pained Masashi was the scene unfolding before his eyes.
"Creak... creak..."
The sound was like some rusty gear forcibly crushing hard bone.
Less than ten steps away from Masashi, a hunched demon was squatting on the ground, gorging itself.
In the demon's eyes, the characters for 'Lower Rank' and 'Three' were clearly engraved—it was the Twelve Kizuki, Lower Rank Three, Wakuraba.
And beneath Wakuraba lay two corpses that had already been gnawed beyond recognition.
They were Masashi's companions, Tomoyuki and Yohei.
Just half an hour ago, Tomoyuki was still smiling and patting Masashi on the shoulder, saying that after this mission was over, he would take him to town to eat the most delicious udon.
Although Yohei was a man of few words, when facing demons, he was always the first to rush to the front, using his not-so-broad back to protect the armless Masashi.
But now, Tomoyuki's head had been crushed by Wakuraba like a tomato, and Yohei's chest cavity had been brutally torn open.
That heart, which once beat fervently with the conviction to slay demons, was currently being held in Wakuraba's hand, chewed on in large bites, while blood flowed down the demon's pale chin, dripping onto Yohei's eyes, which were still fixed in death.
"Eat me first! You bastard! Monster! Eat me first!!!"
Masashi's eye sockets cracked, and he used every remaining ounce of strength in his lungs to roar at the feeding Wakuraba.
You must eat me first! Hurry up and eat me!
He did not fear death; from the day his brother was devoured by a demon, from the day he lost his arms, the human named 'Masashi' had already died in a certain sense.
"Eat me first... please... eat me first..."
Masashi's roar gradually turned into a desperate murmur, tears mixing with blood as they slid down his cheeks.
He was anxious, he was frantic, he wished he could grow extra legs to rush to Wakuraba's mouth immediately.
As long as Wakuraba bit off a piece of his flesh, the wisteria poison in his body would instantly erupt.
Hearing Masashi's wails, which sounded like a cuckoo crying blood, Wakuraba, who was chewing on Yohei's internal organs, stopped his movements.
He slowly turned his head.
"No rush..."
Wakuraba stuck out his tongue and licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, still unsatisfied.
"You are the last one.
Delicious snacks should always be saved for last to savor slowly.
Watching the desperate expressions of your companions as they are eaten will make your meat firmer and even more delicious... Hehehe..."
Masashi stared blankly as Wakuraba turned his head back to continue tearing at Yohei's remains.
Listening to the crisp sound of bones breaking and watching his companions' broken limbs sway under the demon's tearing, Masashi's vision began to blur.
"Why... why is it like this again..."
Masashi's head hung down powerlessly; he no longer struggled, nor did he roar.
A scene flashed through his mind: the moment his brother was killed by a demon while protecting him.
Every time, he was the one being protected.
Every time, he could only watch helplessly as his companions died before him, while he was powerless to do anything.
Oh heavens, if you truly exist, why must you be so cruel to me?
I have already given up everything; I have already turned myself into poison, so why won't you even give me a chance to die with them?
Time seemed to be infinitely stretched.
Finally, accompanied by the last crisp sound of bone shattering, Wakuraba finished eating the two corpses on the ground.
He let out a satisfied belch, spitting out a breath of turbid air carrying a strong bloody stench.
Afterward, Wakuraba stood up, stepped through the blood covering the ground, and walked to Masashi, who was pinned to the tree.
He reached out a pale palm stained with his companions' blood and grabbed Masashi's chin, forcing him to lift his head and meet his gaze.
"Why the dead look? Are you broken already?"
Wakuraba mocked him unscrupulously.
"Didn't you just clamor for me to eat you first?
How come you don't even have the strength to yell now?"
Masashi looked coldly at Wakuraba, who was within arm's reach; those eyes, which had originally been burning with rage, were now utterly desolate.
He did not speak, nor did he struggle.
He thought to himself:
"This body was originally reserved for that demon named Tatsu...
However... being able to poison a Lower Rank to avenge Tomoyuki and Yohei is not bad either."
Masashi closed his eyes; he was waiting, waiting for the moment Wakuraba's fangs would pierce the carotid artery in his neck.
As long as he bites down, just one bite, the wisteria poison in my body will completely corrode this disgusting Lower Rank into a puddle of mush.
Come on! Eat!
Wakuraba seemed to have lost interest in taunting a 'dead man' any further.
He opened his gaping maw, revealing two rows of fangs, and lunged straight for Masashi's throat.
Just 0.01 seconds before Wakuraba's fangs were about to touch Masashi's skin!
A calm, indifferent voice clearly entered the ears of both Wakuraba and Masashi.
"Sun Breathing, First Form, Dance."
Time, at this moment, seemed to have been pressed to pause.
Wakuraba's jaw, about to snap shut, suddenly stiffened.
As a member of the Twelve Kizuki, his honed combat instincts issued an unprecedented alarm at this moment.
A cold sensation known as 'death' surged through his entire body like an electric current.
He couldn't care about the prey right in front of his mouth; he spun around violently, attempting to defend himself.
However, it was too late.
The moment Wakuraba had only turned half his body, he saw a light.
What kind of light was that!
In this pitch-black forest, a crimson-gold blade light, like a blade opening the heavens and splitting chaos, suddenly burst forth!
Wakuraba didn't even feel pain.
He only saw that crimson-gold blade light magnifying infinitely in his vision, cutting through his neck like dry wood.
Then, Wakuraba's vision began to rotate.
The world was inverted in his eyes.
He saw the blood gushing from the neck of his headless torso instantly vaporized by high heat.
He saw Masashi pinned to the tree.
Finally, he saw the figure who had swung this earth-shattering strike.
It was a young man with messy black hair and a handsome face, yet possessing an eerie, evil charm.
"Who... is that..."
This was the last thought that flashed through Wakuraba's mind.
Immediately after, the domineering, unparalleled solar energy of Sun Breathing exploded completely within his cells.
Wakuraba's head, which had rolled to the ground, along with his headless corpse still spurting blood, instantly ignited with raging flames, rapidly disintegrating and dissipating, finally turning into a pile of ash drifting away with the wind.
One strike, killing Lower Rank Three instantly!
The entire process was fast to the extreme; from the sound ringing out, to the blade light blooming, and then to Wakuraba turning to ash, it was nothing more than the blink of an eye.
Masashi stared blankly at all of this, his brain falling into a brief state of shutdown.
He watched helplessly as that arrogant Lower Rank Three, who had treated his companions as snacks, didn't even have time to let out a scream before turning into fly ash under that crimson-gold blade light.
Was he saved? Who was it?
Was it one of the Hashira who arrived?
Masashi struggled to move his eyeballs, following the direction where the blade light had faded.
When he saw the figure standing under the moonlight, slowly sheathing his sword, his face, which had been pale from excessive blood loss, instantly twisted in shock.
"Tatsu..."
Masashi squeezed this name, which he had chewed on day and night and wished he could tear to shreds, through his teeth.
Yes, standing before him was not a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, nor was it any human swordsman.
It was that demon who had abducted the Flower Hashira Kanae Kocho, betrayed humanity, and sat at the top of the kill list for all Demon Slayer Corps members—Tatsu!
Tatsu ignored Masashi's shocked gaze.
He slowly exhaled a cloud of white mist carrying a scorching heat, and returned his nichirin sword to its sheath.
Afterward, Tatsu raised his head.
Transparent World, activated.
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