"What on earth happened? Was it a bear? A bear that didn't hibernate? No, that can't be—there's no scent of wild animals. Wait, no... there's someone else, the smell of a stranger!"
Tanjirou's heart screamed in agony.
Everything had been fine just yesterday.
How could things have changed so drastically overnight?
Desperately, Tanjirou checked on each of his family members, but no matter how much he called out to them, he couldn't wake those who had fallen into eternal slumber.
He would never taste his mother's cooking again, never see Takeo's always-tsundere little face, never have Hanako pestering him for stories and never witness Rokuta growing up.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from Tanjirou's eyes.
Meanwhile, Tomioka Giyu frowned with sorrow at the horrific scene before him.
But suddenly, he noticed the figure lying in a pool of blood outside the cabin twitch slightly.
In an instant, Giyu was at Nezuko's side, pressing his fingers to her neck to check her pulse.
"Tanjirou, she's alive!"
Whoosh!
At those words, Tanjirou practically scrambled out of the cabin on all fours, tumbling to the ground beside Nezuko.
Ignoring his own disheveled state, he immediately pulled her into a tight embrace.
Sure enough, Nezuko's body was still warm and faint breaths escaped her nose.
For a brief moment, a glimmer of hope ignited in Tanjirou's heart.
"Nezuko! Thank goodness! She's still warm! A doctor—we need to take her to a doctor right away!" Tanjirou moved to lift Nezuko onto his back.
Giyu, meanwhile, retrieved an emergency medical kit from his body.
"Let's treat her first. And..." He glanced around.
This tragedy likely wasn't the work of a wild animal.
If the culprit wasn't a beast, then the most probable suspect was—a Demon!
"Thank you, Giyu-san!" Tanjirou hastily took the medical kit and laid Nezuko down.
But before he could examine her injuries, Giyu's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Watch out!"
With a sharp kick, Giyu sent Tanjirou flying before he could react.
The sheer force of the blow struck Tanjirou's back, the pain searing deep into his organs.
Thud!
He crashed heavily onto the ground.
Before Tanjirou could even ask what had happened, a deafening explosion rang in his ears.
BOOM!!
Snow erupted like a sudden explosion, scattering in all directions.
The ground beneath the snow was blasted into a massive crater.
"What was that?!" Tanjirou staggered to his feet, eyes wide.
Whoosh!
A brilliant blue Nichirin Blade flashed as it left its sheath.
Giyu's expression grew graver than ever, his steady gaze fixed intently on a point in the distance.
"Something's there?" Tanjirou followed Giyu's line of sight and soon spotted it.
Amids the pristine white snowscape, an out of place color abruptly appeared—no, more accurately, it was a figure.
The soft snow crunched under bare feet as the figure slowly approached.
A frigid wind, whether by coincidence or not, suddenly swept towards Giyu and Tanjirou, carrying the figure with it.
Gradually, Giyu and Tanjiro discerned the appearance of the figure emerging before them.
Pale gray skin covered a powerfully built upper body adorned with refined muscles.
A small pink haori was casually draped over the shoulders, while simple white shorts reaching just above the knees covered the lower body.
The figure stood barefoot in the snow, with two strings of prayer beads wrapped around the ankles.
What shocked Tanjiro most were the intricate tattoo patterns covering the exposed skin.
However, what astonished Giyu even more wasn't the stranger's appearance, but the distinct characters visible within the golden pupils beneath that pink hair.
"Upper Rank" in the right eye and "Three" in the left.
"Upper Rank Three?" Giyu murmured softly, his grip tightening around the Nichirin Blade.
He hadn't expected to encounter an Upper Rank demon in such random place.
Indeed, standing before Giyu and Tanjiro was one of the Twelve Kizuki—Muzan's most formidable subordinate, Upper Rank Three: Akaza!
The suddenly appearing Akaza halted his steps about twenty or thirty meters away from the two, his golden eyes locking onto them.
"The human wearing the Sun Wheel Earrings... So you're the boy Muzan-sama mentioned?" Akaza spoke first, his magnetic yet powerful voice directed at Tanjiro as he pointed at the earrings dangling from the boy's ears.
Tanjiro froze. "My earrings?"
Whoosh!
The golden pupils shifted again, this time focusing on Giyu—more precisely, on the Nichirin Blade in his hand.
"A Nichirin Blade... Demon Slayer Corps? With this level of strength, you must be a Hashira. How unexpected—to cross paths with a Hashira again after over a decade. And your fighting spirit... seems even stronger than those before you."
A smile crept onto Akaza's face, revealing his sharp fangs.
Clearly, Akaza was thrilled to encounter a Hashira.
What he'd assumed would be a simple task of eliminating a few pests for Muzan had turned into an unexpected delight.
Upon seeing Giyu, Akaza immediately abandoned his primary mission from Muzan (to kill the human wearing the Sun Wheel Earrings) and focused entirely on the Hashira before him.
BOOM!
An invisible surge of energy erupted from Giyu as he spoke without turning his head.
"Tanjiro, take your sister and run. Get as far away as possible—this place is about to become extremely dangerous."
"Hahaha! No need to run boy. Stay and witness an exhilarating battle. After I finish this Hashira, I'll make your end quick!" Akaza grinned widely, clearly exhilarated by the overwhelming fighting spirit radiating from Giyu.
"Giyu-san? Your sword... Is that thing... a Demon?" Tanjiro's sharp mind quickly connected the dots between Akaza's monstrous appearance and the stories Old Man Saburo had told the previous night.
Suddenly, as if struck by realization, Tanjiro shouted at Akaza in agitation.
"You! Was it you—no, was it the Demons who killed my family?!"
At this moment, Akaza, fully prepared for battle, had eyes only for the equally poised Giyu, while Tanjiro was completely ignored by him.
"Young Hashira, tell me your name! With such fighting spirit, you'd rank among the top three of the Hashira I've killed!" Akaza spread his arms and shouted excitedly.
Giyu's gaze remained steady as he gathered strength in his Nichirin Blade.
In an instant, he took the initiative, his agile figure darting towards Akaza like a sharp arrow.
"Water Hashira—Tomioka Giyu! Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
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