While the group was still chattering and messing around, the conductor quietly slid open the door to their carriage.
He walked past the rows of sleeping passengers and stopped in front of them.
"Tickets, please."
The five of them looked at the conductor, then reached for their tickets.
Vincent Fox also turned to look at him.
Just now, the conductor's voice had sounded strangely drained of energy.
And somewhere in the back of Vincent's mind, he vaguely remembered that there was something off about this conductor.
"I have a bad feeling about this. Stay alert," Vincent murmured as he pulled out his ticket. When he passed behind the others, he leaned in and whispered the warning by each of their ears.
Tanjiro froze for a second, his expression growing more serious.
They handed their tickets over one by one.
The conductor took them, clipped a tiny notch in each, then turned and left.
"What a relief. False alarm…" Zenitsu slapped a hand over his chest and let out a deep breath, as if he had just escaped death itself.
Everyone put their tickets away carefully.
They would still need them when they got off the train.
Right then, the warm yellow lights in the carriage began to flicker.
All four boys tensed up at once.
Their hands went straight to the hilts of their swords.
Only the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, remained perfectly still, eyes still fixed straight ahead.
But at that moment, Rengoku slowly narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning razor sharp.
Tanjiro also caught the faint trace of something foul on the air, but he could not pinpoint its exact location.
"Careful."
It was the only warning Tanjiro could give as he quietly drew his Nichirin blade halfway out of its sheath.
"Mr. Conductor, it is dangerous here. Please step back."
Rengoku stood up, the flame shaped tsuba of his Nichirin blade now visible at his waist.
"Please overlook the fact that I am carrying a sword on board. It is absolutely necessary to deal with the danger that is about to appear."
He planted himself in front of everyone, voice ringing through the carriage.
The carriage lights flickered again.
Then they went out completely.
In the next instant, a horrifying scene unfolded.
From the ceiling of the carriage, fleshy masses began to gush down like living sludge, rapidly knitting together into the shape of a giant demon.
Passengers around them woke with screams, panicking and trying to flee the carriage.
"To hide such a massive body in a space this small… is that a Blood Demon Art?"
"The way it conceals its presence is impressive. It must have trained that specifically."
Rengoku spoke loudly, his blazing eyes locked onto the demon in front of him.
"However, if you intend to harm the passengers aboard this train, then I, Kyojuro Rengoku, will burn you to ashes with my Crimson Flame Blade."
The demon roared at them.
That roar alone sent a shockwave through the carriage, forcing many people to cover their eyes on reflex.
Rengoku did not move an inch.
His right hand slowly settled on the hilt of his sword.
"Flame Breathing, First Form… Unknowing Fire."
The sword at his waist burst into flames, heat waves distorting the air around him.
In the blink of an eye, his entire body turned into a streak of fire that launched straight at the charging demon.
Crack.
The Crimson Flame Blade sliced through the demon's neck as if it were soft tofu.
Flames surged out with a roar, swallowing what remained of its body.
Pop.
With a sharp detonation, the demon's body exploded from the inside out, flesh and blood alike disintegrating into ash.
The flames that filled the carriage slowly dimmed and faded, as though their task was done.
The main party of three stood shoulder to shoulder, still watching their surroundings in high alert.
"I have its location. It is in the carriage ahead," Tanjiro shouted.
The moment Rengoku burst out, Tanjiro reacted too.
The four of them rushed after him.
Rengoku kicked open the wooden door with a single stomp.
In the next carriage, there was another demon.
Its jagged white teeth were so long they almost pierced through its cheeks, and its grotesque tongue was coiled tightly around the neck of a young girl.
Any second now, she would be its food.
"Release that innocent passenger."
Rengoku stepped forward, voice booming through the carriage.
The long tongued demon snarled, its meal interrupted, eyes flaring with murderous light as it swung its gaze toward them.
Its tongue slowly loosened from the girl's throat. In its mind, this girl was nothing more than an ant it could crush whenever it wanted.
As long as it dealt with these intruders, it could feast on the entire train at its leisure.
At that moment, Vincent and the main trio caught up.
"Another demon…"
Tanjiro tightened his grip on his sword, staring straight ahead.
Inosuke did not hesitate for even a second.
"Beast Breathing. Coming through."
He let out a wild roar and charged in, twin blades raised.
Clang.
The serrated Nichirin blades smashed into the demon's body, ringing out like steel striking steel.
There was no doubt about how sharp a Nichirin sword was.
Yet with all of Inosuke's brute force behind the strike, the blades barely bit in at all.
The demon howled in pain and lashed out with a violent swing.
Inosuke was sent flying.
Rengoku stepped in with a single stride and caught him in his arms.
"Are you all right?"
"How could I not be all right? Watch me kill him."
With another roar, Inosuke struggled to his feet, ready to leap back in.
Whoosh.
Flames suddenly erupted through the carriage once more.
The demon that had been preparing to counterattack froze in place.
Rengoku narrowed his eyes and noticed several fine sword marks at the joints of the demon's limbs.
Dark, tar like blood spurted out.
With a final unwilling scream, the demon collapsed to the floor.
All four of its limbs had been severed by Vincent's Nichirin blade.
"Well done, young man."
Rengoku called out his praise, then moved in again.
The Crimson Flame Blade was wreathed in searing fire once more, and with a single stroke, he finished off the still burning demon, blowing its body apart.
As the demon's remains crumbled into ash, Tanjiro watched, blood surging hot in his veins.
"Mr. Rengoku, Mr. Fox, you are both incredible."
"Your swordsmanship is amazing."
A second later, the three boys rushed in close, circling around them like a little halo of excited kids.
"Please take me as your student."
"Teach us swordsmanship."
"We can even sweep floors for you, masters."
Watching the three of them orbit him like little angels, Vincent frowned.
A strange sense of unreality rose from the bottom of his heart.
This is…
"Could it be…"
He did not finish his sentence.
Instead, he drew his Nichirin sword and slashed it across his own left palm.
Blood immediately welled up, running freely.
Vincent's frown only deepened.
"This is bad. This is Lower Rank One's Blood Demon Art."
The moment he realized it, he did not hesitate.
He detonated his inner flames.
Blazing fire burst across his entire body in an instant.
Back in the real carriage, Vincent's eyes slowly opened.
He glanced at the four people around him, all still fast asleep, and his expression darkened.
"So it really was a Blood Demon Art. We got caught before we even realized what was happening."
He reached out and shook each of them in turn.
No reaction.
They were completely oblivious to Vincent trying to wake them, sunk deep into their own dream worlds.
Each one was trapped in a beautiful illusion crafted specifically for them by Enmu.
Seeing this, Vincent stood up.
In his memory, there was indeed a way to save them.
He reached over and unlatched the wooden box at Tanjiro's side.
"Hmm?"
A cute girl with a bamboo muzzle in her mouth poked her head out.
Nezuko's eyes were wide and innocent as she looked up at Vincent, clearly confused about what was going on.
"Nezuko, your brother is in trouble right now."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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