"The sacrifice has begun."
"The sacrifice has begun."
"Sacrifice…"
Hearing the muttering of the middle-aged man and woman, Tomioka Giyu froze, just about to speak—
When the two suddenly began to struggle violently, tearing at their clothing and wrenching themselves free from Giyu's grasp.
Seeing this, Giyu didn't immediately act to stop them. He watched carefully, wanting to observe what these two were going to do next.
The middle-aged man, frenzied and impatient, lifted the lid of the pot.
Then, without hesitation, both plunged their hands into the still-steaming pot at the same time!
Tomioka Giyu's eyes widened in shock. "What the…? Corpses?!"
Even more disturbing was their total lack of reaction—no screams, no pain, just empty expressions as each carried a child's corpse out of the house.
And still, not a single change in their expressions.
Giyu didn't stop them. Instead, he silently followed, something gnawing at his instincts. He could feel it—something worse was waiting.
When Tomioka Giyu reached the village square, his pupils contracted sharply.
He didn't know when it had happened, but the village center was now packed with people. Villagers. Each held the body of a child in their arms and knelt in a wide circle.
At the center of this human ring stood a boy—no older than his early teens—his expression flat as he stared silently up at the sky.
Giyu rubbed his eyes. "Red…? No, why are they all red? Wait… this place…"
A terrible realization struck him. He looked up.
The sky was clear, moon fully visible… and it was crimson.
"It's not the people or buildings that are red. It's the moon?! How is that possible?!"
Horrified, Tomioka looked back at the villagers—
And froze.
All of them had turned to look at him. Their lifeless eyes bore into him, and the corpses they'd held had vanished.
Worse still—the boy at the center of the circle had disappeared.
Then, a voice without emotion echoed behind him:
"Are you looking for me?"
Without hesitation, Tomioka spun around and slashed in one smooth motion.
A flash of blue light tore through the air—but he'd missed.
The boy was standing just two meters away, calm and unmoving.
"Another outsider. Stronger than the ones before, but the result will be the same."
Giyu didn't speak. There was no need for words. If he could behead the demon, the problem would end.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form—Striking Tide!"
Suddenly, his vision blurred.
The world turned an even deeper red.
Then—nothing. No outlines. No shapes. Only red remained.
He staggered slightly, steadying himself.
It hit him: it wasn't the moon that had turned red. It was his eyes.
He had been affected by some kind of technique. But when?
"When did this happen…?" he murmured, puzzled. "It couldn't have been the boy—I never touched him…"
Then it hit him.
The girl.
Only the girl had touched him—back at the village entrance.
Tomioka inhaled sharply. "Using an innocent-looking child to lower a swordsman's guard… That's clever."
"That must've been how the previous corps members were taken," he muttered.
The little boy let out a cackling laugh. "Hahaha! You're smarter than the others, I'll give you that!"
"But it makes no difference. Stay here, and become my slave."
Giyu didn't rush to act. Even blinded, he'd trained for this scenario. He'd even sought the Stone Hashira—Gyomei Himejima's—guidance.
Still, real combat was another matter.
Even so, he had questions.
"You're quite bold," Giyu said calmly. "As far as I know, Kibutsuji Muzan doesn't allow demons to form their own factions. You're not afraid of being executed?"
The boy tilted his head slightly. "Who is Muzan? What's that got to do with me?"
Giyu's brows furrowed.
He didn't respond, but internally, he was shaken. Another demon outside of Muzan's control? A stray anomaly?
The butterfly effect… a byproduct of the world's divergence?
"Tch," Giyu clicked his tongue. "No use thinking about it."
He launched forward.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
A solid hit.
Slash—
Blood sprayed in a wide arc as the boy was shredded into several pieces.
But even dismembered, he showed no fear.
"Amazing… even blind, you're fast. So fast I can't even follow you with my eyes."
"But…"
Before he could finish, Giyu's blade was already descending again—this time aimed directly at the boy's speaking head.
It missed.
The boy's body had dissolved into a pool of blood and rapidly reformed nearby.
"You're so rude. Listen when someone's talking, will you?" he pouted.
"Each time I die, a villager dies in my place."
"I'm sure you heard that bang earlier?"
"Haha, that was one of them bursting."
"And your precious comrades who came before you? They're no exception."
"If you kill me, you're killing—"
Slash—
Giyu's blade flashed again, cutting the boy's head clean off a second time.
Splurt!
The sound echoed in the distance. Giyu's stomach sank.
He didn't need confirmation. The boy's claim… it was true.
"You're decisive," the demon mocked, reappearing again unharmed.
"But do you really not care about their lives?"
"I heard the others came here to save these villagers."
"How cruel. You'd rather kill them all yourself than save a single soul."
***
The little boy stared at Tomioka Giyu. He knew very well he could never match this man in a direct confrontation.
So, it could only resort to attacking his heart—to stall for time. As long as his Blood Demon Art took effect, everything would be settled.
Unfortunately for him, things didn't go as smoothly as he hoped.
His head was severed once again by Tomioka Giyu!
His words had little effect on the Water Hashira.
"You… even if you don't care about the lives of those villagers, what about the others—those wearing the same uniform as you?!"
"If you stop now, I can consider letting you go…"
A flash of blue light.
The boy's head hit the ground—cleanly sliced and split in two.
But as Giyu continued to swing his sword, the boy's body turned to blood once again and reassembled.
This time, the boy wasn't calm. Instead, he shouted in fury, "You've done it now!!"
"It's been a long time since I've been this angry! In ten minutes, you'll be my slave! I'll make you regret being born into this world!!"
He stepped back, yelling into the distance:
"You like killing, right? Let's see how you handle killing over fifty people in ten minutes!"
"Everyone—scatter!!"
As soon as he spoke, the villagers who had surrounded them broke away and fled in all directions, disappearing into nearby homes.
Seeing Giyu stop pursuing him, the little boy sneered.
"Given up? Hahaha! That's right—just surrender and be mine!"
He watched Giyu with growing confidence. After all, he had a hidden trump card: one villager was hiding in a house far away—someone he could use for replacement.
It was a new ability he'd acquired. And if he could keep devouring children, his powers would only continue to evolve.
While fantasizing about his future dominion—
Giyu smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Raising his blade before his chest, he muttered coldly:
"I'm sorry… but I can't stop here."
"Water Breathing, Twelfth Form."
Suddenly, towering columns of water shot into the sky—then came crashing down like a tsunami.
Houses shattered in an instant. The villagers who had hidden inside didn't stand a chance.
The demon was no exception. Though it quickly regenerated, its expression twisted in disbelief.
"How… how is this possible?! My… my servants…"
Its wide eyes scanned the area. Aside from the one distant villager, it couldn't sense a single soul.
Hiss—
A sharp inhalation.
Then, Giyu's figure flickered—appearing right before the demon!
Just as the blade neared its neck, desperation overtook instinct.
"Replace!!"
Thud—
A head fell… but it wasn't the boy's.
It was an old man's.
Giyu immediately sensed the difference. And hearing the word "Replace," he quickly understood what had happened.
He closed his eyes, focused his breath, and murmured:
"Found you. You can't escape."
"Water Breathing, Ninth Form (Modified): Flowing Dead Water!"
In the distance, the boy ran for his life, desperate to escape the village. If he could hold out for just a little longer—just a little…
He turned to glance back—
And nearly stumbled in fear.
Tomioka Giyu was less than two meters behind him.
"W-Wait!! Let's talk—I can give you—"
He didn't finish.
His neck was already cut open.
The head dropped and began disintegrating before it could even speak a curse.
As the demon vanished, Tomioka Giyu's gaze softened.
"Haaahh…"
He dropped to one knee, leaning on his Nichirin Blade. The battle had taken a heavy toll.
If his body temperature hadn't peaked at the right moment, he might've perished here.
"There should still be time… Hold on, Kyojuro…"
Giyu laid flat, maintained rhythmic breathing, and focused on recovery.
***
Meanwhile, Lower Rank One, already fused with the Mugen Train, was protecting his neck—the front of the engine—with everything he had.
Kamado Tanjiro and Hashibira Inosuke were deep inside four giant meat pillars.
"Damn it! Come on—stay close!" Inosuke shouted.
As he descended, Inosuke first sliced the demon's eyes from the meat pillars—to prevent Tanjiro from falling asleep again.
Then, upon reaching the engine, he roared:
"Beast Breathing, Fourth Fang: Slice 'n' Dice!"
The demon's cervical vertebrae were exposed at last!
Tanjiro didn't hesitate. Gripping his blade with both hands:
"Please guide me, Father… Let this strike cut through it all!"
"Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky!!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
The demon's agonized, defiant cry echoed into the night.
But with it—the battle ended.
The Mugen Train came to a screeching halt, and Tanjiro collapsed.
"You okay, Santaro?!" Inosuke ran to him.
"Come on, stay with me! I was fine 'cause I landed in soft demon meat!"
"Wait—huh? I was saved by that?!"
Seeing Tanjiro barely moving, Inosuke grabbed him and shook him.
"Hey! Your stomach okay?! You got stabbed there!"
Tanjiro managed a weak reply:
"I… I'm fine. What about you, Inosuke…?"
"I'm great! Didn't even catch a cold!" Inosuke declared.
"I can't move right now. Please, Inosuke—go help the others."
"What about that train conductor who stabbed you? Near the engine?"
Hearing this, Inosuke's mood soured.
"Tch… That guy?! Just let him die!!"
"He's stuck. Crushed. Can't move!"
Tanjiro closed his eyes and whispered:
"Then he's suffered enough… Please, save him."
Inosuke scowled, but finally flexed and said:
"Fiiine. I'll do it. 'Cause I'm the boss!"
"I'm the one ordering you around!"