Tanjiro gritted his teeth. The image of the Infinite Train flashed through his mind.
He didn't want to watch helplessly anymore. He didn't want anyone to get hurt for his sake.
This time—he would protect them.
'Use all your strength to chop! From the top of your head to your toes, use it all!'
'Forget all the pain and bite him tightly! Even if you use all your strength, it won't be enough. You need to squeeze out a hundred… No a thousand times more!'
With his heart burning and breath wild, Tanjiro gripped his sword with both hands. From somewhere deep inside, strength surged up like a wave.
His hair flew wildly, his eyes turned white, and the scar on his forehead morphed into a glowing flame-like pattern.
That's right—the first mark-bearer of this generation had finally awakened.
"GAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Tanjiro roared, and in the next instant, Gyutaro's head fell cleanly to the ground.
Uzui Tengen collapsed to one knee, catching himself with his hands, chest heaving.
Tanjiro knelt beside him, gasping with bloodshot eyes. His body was overheated, numb. He couldn't hear a thing.
But Tomioka Giyu didn't stop. He scooped Tanjiro up and turned to Tengen.
"Quick! Tengen! Get Zenitsu out of here! That demon's circular slash isn't over yet!"
Tengen's eyes shot toward Gyutaro's twitching body—and widened in horror.
Blood blades were erupting from every inch of Gyutaro's corpse.
Even with their speed, Giyu and Tengen had only made it about seven meters before it happened:
The spinning blood slash detonated.
A terrifying circular vortex of blood scythes burst outward, ripping through everything—the houses, the ground, even already shattered ruins—nothing was spared.
Giyu snapped into action.
"Tengen, stay behind me!"
He planted his feet. Waves surged around him as he drew in a deep, calm breath.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm."
The very air fell silent.
The blood slashes reached them—but Giyu didn't blink. His blade moved faster and faster, becoming a blur. He blocked every flying edge of blood with serene, deadly precision.
He wasn't holding back anymore. He stopped suppressing the poison in his body. Every last ounce of strength left in him was for this moment.
Tengen barely managed to deflect the blood blades flying at him. The poison in his body was more advanced than Giyu's.
Finally, the whirlwind of blood came to an end.
As the dust settled, Giyu knelt on one knee. His sword was driven into the earth, both hands resting on its hilt. His vision blurred.
Large patches of purple now stained his arms and neck.
The poison had taken hold.
He needed Nezuko's help—fast.
"Noooooo!! Don't die, please don't die, Master Tengen!!"
"We worked so hard to survive! To defeat them! It's not fair!!"
Suma's wailing broke through the silence. Her sobs were ragged and wild. But Tengen only sighed and murmured,
"My life so far…"
Before he could continue, Suma burst into louder tears, interrupting him again.
"If Master Tengen dies, I'll never pray again!! I'll never forgive this!!"
Makio snapped.
"Shut up! He's talking!!"
When Suma still didn't stop, Makio lost it. She grabbed her hair and picked up stones.
"You stupid woman! I'm gonna shove a rock in your mouth!!"
"Waaaaaah! You're bullying me!!" Suma sobbed harder.
Tengen chuckled weakly at their chaos.
Hinatsuru tried to intervene—"You all should be quiet, Master Tengen…"—but stopped as Nezuko suddenly appeared.
She placed her hand gently on Tengen's arm.
In a flash, his body lit with holy flames—Nezuko's Blood Demon Art.
Everyone froze.
"WAAAAAAH!! What are you doing? Who are you?!"
"It's too early for cremation! I'm going spank you!!"
But Tengen sat up suddenly, stunned.
"Wait… the poison—it's gone?!"
In a beat, all three wives tackled him, tears falling freely.
"MASTER TENGEN!!"
Nezuko quietly zipped over to Giyu next, placing her hand on him. Flames blossomed. Giyu's vision cleared.
"Thank you… Nezuko," he said softly.
"Hmm! (^~^)" she nodded proudly.
Just then, Inosuke reappeared, carrying Zenitsu on his back. Zenitsu was weeping hysterically.
"Heeeey! You guys still alive?" Inosuke called.
"Zenitsu! Inosuke!" Tanjiro's face lit up, but his body was too weak to stand.
Zenitsu was in shambles.
"Tanjiro～～(╥_╥)! My whole body hurts! My legs are broken! Who did this to me?! It hurts so much I don't even wanna look!!"
Tanjiro smiled through his pain. "I'm just glad you're safe, Zenitsu."
"Who's safe?! I'm dying!!" Zenitsu wailed harder.
Giyu, now stable, turned to Inosuke.
"Where's Daki's head? Did she turn to ash?"
"Huh?" Inosuke scratched his pig mask's snout. "I tossed it when I ran back."
That reminded Tanjiro—he needed the demon blood sample.
He asked Nezuko to carry him, and the two disappeared down the ruined street.
Giyu watched them go and found a high point in the ruins to sit, surveying the destruction.
"The whole district… ruined."
He sighed.
"My tavern… even if it wasn't entirely mine, at least half of it was."
Still, he allowed a faint smile.
"Good thing I told the boss lady to evacuate with the important stuff. Otherwise…"
He shook his head and turned his gaze toward Tengen.
'The final battle… can't happen without your rhythm.'
***
On the other side, Tanjiro came to the scene of the quarrel between the brother and sister and covered Gyutaro's mouth with his hand to stop him from saying those hurtful words.
"You're lying, you're not sincere, it's all a lie. Let's make peace."
"You are siblings who depend on each other!"
"No one will forgive what you have done. Those who have been killed by you will hate you and curse you."
"So at least don't say bad things to each other."
As soon as Tanjiro finished speaking, Daki's emotions exploded.
"Uwaaaaaaaa! Stop nagging!!"
"Don't preach to us, you little brat!"
"Get out of the way, go away!!"
"I'm so unwilling to accept this! You better think of a solution, Onii-chan!!"
"I don't want to die, brother!! Brother..."
Before Daki could finish her words, she turned into ashes and disappeared.
At that final moment, the voice of her brother trembled.
Finally, the Demon remembered—his sister was never called "Daki" at all, but…
"Ume!!!"
At the same time, on the other side, the Serpent Hashira, Iguro Obanai, wearing a black and white striped haori and with mismatched eyes, was commenting on Uzui Tengen and Tomioka Giyuu.
"Hmph, so that's how it is. Hmph, Upper Rank Six, the weakest of them, and it still took both Uzui and Tomioka to win."
"But still, we finally defeated an Upper Rank. That's worth celebrating, even if it's only the sixth."
"I'll give you two some praise."
Tomioka Giyuu pretended not to hear and continued as if nothing was said. He was well aware of how Iguro Obanai could talk like a snake coiled to strike.
Uzui Tengen looked exhausted. "Who cares about your praise..."
"You're so slow~" Maki jabbed sarcastically.
"That's it!!" Suma pointed dramatically at Obanai.
"You—you—you're so late! You're really too late!"
Hiss—!!
"Ahhhhh!" Suma shrieked and recoiled at the sight of the white snake coiled around Iguro Obanai's neck.
"Huh, do you think I have time to waste?"
Not long after, a faint light appeared in the sky—dawn was coming.
Tomioka Giyuu leaned tiredly against the rubble and sighed with relief, "Phew~ I don't need to be rescued this time."
At about the same time, in the Ubuyashiki mansion—
The crow flew in and reported the good news to Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
"Really? You defeated an Upper Rank? Well done—Tengen, Giyuu, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke!"
Cough cough cough———
Ubuyashiki Kagaya, whose body was already ravaged by the curse, coughed up a mouthful of blood from the excitement.
"Master Kagaya!" Amane hurried forward to support him.
But he waved her off and kept speaking, eyes blazing with hope.
"It's been a hundred years!! The situation unchanged for a century has finally shifted!"
"Amane!" he grabbed her wrist, voice trembling with passion.
"You know what this is? This is a sign! A sign that fate is beginning to turn!"
"Ahem! This ripple—it will spread! And it will shake everything around us!"
"It's finally reaching him—Muzan Kibutsuji!!"
"We will end him in our generation. We will erase the stain he has left on humanity!"
Cough, cough, cough!
His violent coughing resumed, and Amane cried out,
"Quick! Boil some water! Bring the medicine and a handkerchief!"
***
At noon, in the Butterfly House, Kocho Shinobu was gently bandaging Giyuu Tomioka's wound.
Giyuu grinned. "How is it? I'm not seriously injured this time!"
"You had Uzui with you. If you were seriously injured even then, I'd suggest you retire."
"Oh!" Giyuu sighed in mock pain. "I really miss that night, the butterfly Shinobu on the roof…"
"Where did she go? Could you ask her to come out?"
"Hiss, it hurts!" He instinctively tried to cover his left arm.
Shinobu smiled and quickly stopped.
She then said flatly, "I'm hungry. Come eat with me."
"Okay, I'll treat you!" Giyuu chuckled, standing up as they walked out of the Butterfly House.
Just then, Butterfly Kanae returned from a mission, and behind her was Sanemi Shinazugawa, face sour with irritation.
The four of them froze at the unexpected meeting.
Shinobu blinked and asked, "…Why is Sanemi here?"
"Him? I ran into him. He was poisoned during his mission and was on the way to the Butterfly House."
"What are you two doing, Shinobu?" Kanae asked curiously.
Shinobu turned her face away. "Ah, I'm a little hungry. And Giyuu's hungry too. We're going to get something to eat."
Giyuu saw Shinobu's sidelong glance and stifled a smile. He teased:
"Really? But clearly, you were the one—"
Hiss—!!
Pain shot through Giyuu's waist. He quickly jumped away, clutching his side.
"What was that for!?"
Shinobu smiled sweetly. "There was a bug. I was helping you kill it."
"Okay, okay, Shinobu, don't be so violent~" Kanae giggled. "I'll see you later, I need to prepare the antidote for Sanemi-kun. Bye~"
As they went their separate ways, Giyuu didn't say a word to Sanemi, though he'd wanted to greet him. Sanemi didn't even glance at him.
At the restaurant, Giyuu looked calm as always, while Shinobu ordered pickled ginger and a bowl of noodles.
"I'm hungry, come eat with me!" Giyu mocked her lightly.
Shinobu rolled her eyes and stomped hard on his foot.
"Hmph, if you don't want to eat with me, then leave!"
"Okay, okay, let's eat. I was just kidding. I'd never leave."
"And could you maybe not stomp so hard? That actually hurts!"
"Too bad, I'll stomp you to death next time! You're so irritating!!"
Her fiery expression made Giyuu burst into laughter.
"You're still laughing!" Shinobu pouted, stomping her foot again. "I'll really step on you this time!"
"Haha, I'm laughing because you're cute, idiot."
Giyuu didn't dodge. He simply looked at her and smiled.
Only three seconds passed before Shinobu turned beet red. She quickly grabbed her chopsticks and mumbled as she ate:
"…I'm not stupid…"