Shinichi walked with a grim expression, watching helplessly as Muzan disappeared right before his eyes while he could do nothing.
This failure cast a dark shadow over his heart.
"DAMNIT!"
Suddenly, Shinichi, who had been lost in regret, stopped in his tracks and looked up in confusion towards the snow-covered mountain forest.
"What's that? A Kasugai Crow? Are there other Demon Slayer Corps members here? Wait, this crow looks familiar."
Hearing the sound, Shinichi spotted a Kasugai Crow flapping its wings unsteadily.
"Caw! The Forest Hashira!" The aged voice of the crow caught Shinichi's attention.
The old and disoriented Kasugai Crow, Kanzaburo, who had been circling aimlessly for a while, immediately seemed to see a savior and flew straight towards Shinichi, shouting loudly as it approached.
"Giyu Tomioka is facing Upper Moon Three on the mountain! The Forest Hashira must hurry to assist him!"
It was Giyu Tomioka's Kasugai Crow, Kanzaburo.
This old crow held great respect among its kind, but due to its advanced age, Kanzaburo sometimes mixed up orders or briefly lost its way, which occasionally caused minor troubles for Giyu.
Kanzaburo's words made Shinichi's expression change drastically.
Upper Moon Three!?
Why would Upper Moon Three appear in such a desolate mountain wilderness?
Wait! And Muzan too—both appearing here at the same time couldn't be a coincidence!
"Kanzaburo! Take me there, quickly!" Without a moment's hesitation, Shinichi prepared for battle.
The strength of an Upper Moon was not to be underestimated in the slightest.
Giyu Tomioka alone would stand little chance against Upper Moon Three.
Led by Kanzaburo, Shinichi rushed toward Giyu's location at full speed.
However, as he drew closer, Shinichi grew increasingly bewildered.
The direction and path felt familiar.
"This way... leads to Tanjiro's house? How?" A sense of foreboding flashed through Shinichi's mind.
Crash!
Breaking through a dense stretch of forest, Shinichi's vision suddenly opened up to reveal the familiar wooden house of the Kamado family.
At the same time, an intensely shocking scene immediately came into view.
Outside the Kamado family's home, the ground was littered with the scars of battle—pits and craters everywhere, shattered trees and rocks scattered about.
The thick scent of blood lingered heavily in the air.
Clearly, an extremely brutal fight had taken place here not long ago.
Beside the house, Giyu Tomioka, his body battered and bruised, his right arm hanging limply, clenched half of a broken Nichirin Blade between his teeth while his left hand pinned down a figure.
Behind Giyu stood another figure Shinichi recognized instantly—Tanjiro.
Strangely, Tanjiro seemed to be gripping Giyu's left arm tightly, as if desperately trying to stop him from doing something to the figure pinned beneath him.
As for that pinned figure—Shinichi sensed it immediately.
It was a demon!
But what shocked Shinichi even more was that, despite the demon's twisted and ferocious appearance, he recognized her at once.
It was Tanjiro's younger sister, the kind and gentle Nezuko Kamado!
What the hell had happened here!?
*****
Ten minutes earlier.
"Blood Art: Blade Style—Soul Blade!"
"Destruction Death: Disorder!"
BOOM!!
CRACK!!
The battle between the two demons grew even more earth-shattering, their frenzied attacks becoming increasingly wild.
Both were demons, both were martial arts fanatics possessing extraordinarily powerful techniques.
The clash between Akaza and Maito was like fire meeting gunpowder.
Whether it was Akaza or Maito, their entire focus was consumed by their opponent.
Within their golden pupils, only the other's figure remained reflected—along with their pursuit of martial perfection and pure revelry in combat.
"Who are you really? A demon of your strength—how have I never encountered you before?! Hahaha, perfect! You're far more worthy of being an Upper Rank than that scum Douma!" Akaza shouted with manic excitement, simultaneously shattering Maito's blood blade with a single punch.
His devastating fist caved in Maito's chest.
Maito retaliated in kind, piercing Akaza's chest with a razor-sharp crimson sword and following through with a horizontal slash.
"You're not bad either! Your martial path is pure! I admire that!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two demons praised each other even as their strikes grew increasingly vicious—fists and blades aimed to kill.
Yet, whether intentionally or not, Maito gradually drew their battle away from the severely injured Giyu and Tanjiro.
Tanjiro watched as the two monsters fought farther into the distance.
Neither he nor Giyu could comprehend why another demon had suddenly appeared—one who had indirectly saved them.
"Giyu-san! Giyu-san, are you alright? Your arm, your body—?" Seizing the moment, Tanjiro rushed to Giyu's side, his eyes filled with worry as he assessed the injuries.
Giyu weakly shook his head. "I'm... fine. Go... check on your sister..."
This was true.
Though critically wounded, Nezuko—being human—needed Tanjiro's help far more urgently.
"But—"
"GO! Don't you care about your own sister?! Leave me be!" Giyu suddenly roared, his eyes inexplicably reddening as if haunted by some terrible memory.
Stunned by the outburst, Tanjiro hesitated but ultimately sprinted towards Nezuko.
"It's okay, Nezuko. Big brother will take you and Giyu-san to a doctor. You'll both be fine—trust me!" Tanjiro lifted Nezuko onto his back, then fashioned a makeshift stretcher from a straw mat he found in the house, tying it with rope to drag behind him.
He planned to have Giyu sit on the mat so he could pull him down the mountain.
But just as Tanjiro—carrying Nezuko and dragging the stretcher—returned to Giyu, something unexpected happened.
"Giyu-san! Please get on the stretcher. I'll pull you down!" Tanjiro hurriedly laid the mat beside Giyu.
At that very moment, he felt Nezuko stir on his back.
"Nezuko?!" Overjoyed, Tanjiro thought his sister had regained consciousness.
But before he could turn to look, an immense force slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the ground.
"Guh—Aaargh!!"
A hoarse roar, a face covered in bulging veins, sharp fangs and claws—Nezuko broke free from Tanjiro's back, standing there looking both familiar and strange.
Tanjiro sat on the ground, staring blankly at his sister before him.
"Grr! Grraah!!"
Suddenly!
Nezuko, her eyes crimson, bared her fangs and let out a furious howl before charging straight at Tanjiro.
"Nezuko!"
Thud!
At that moment, the severely injured Giyu suddenly sprang into action.
He gripped his Nichirin Blade between his teeth and dashed in front of Tanjiro, subduing the demonized Nezuko just as she was about to reach him.
-----------------------------
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