The air was thick with ash and blood.
But through the haze, something began to shine.
Not the sun. Not flame.
Resolve.
Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Tengen, and Nezuko stood battered—but unyielding.
Atop the far rooftop, Tharion watched quietly, his sword now sheathed. He had stepped back, knowing the battle's end belonged to them.
Below, Gyutaro staggered, half his face cleaved, blood dripping in ropes.
Daki, reborn again from the sashes, screamed in rage as her body began to knit itself together one final time.
"They… they're just humans! Weak! How are they still standing!?"
Tharion's gaze was cold.
"Because even weak humans… can shine brighter than the stars when they refuse to fall."
Tengen raised his injured arm, twin blades crossed.
"Brats—on my mark. We finish them. Heads. Simultaneously."
Zenitsu's eyes sparked yellow lightning.Inosuke rotated his blades with a feral grin.Tanjiro nodded, breath steady.Nezuko crouched beside him, claws glowing.
"NOW!"
Zenitsu vanished.
"Thunder Breathing – First Form: Thunderclap and Flash… Godspeed!"
In a blink, he tore through the air, slicing through Daki's sashes and driving his blade toward her neck in a golden arc.
Daki barely saw him—before she was flung backward, shrieking.
Inosuke twisted mid-air.
"Beast Breathing – Eighth Fang: Explosive Rush!"
He crashed through debris, carving his dual serrated blades toward Gyutaro's exposed back. Venom dripped, wounds festered, but he grinned.
"Try poisoning me again, ugly! My organs move on command!"
Tanjiro closed his eyes.
"Breathe… steady…"
"Sun Breathing – Eighth Form: Solar Flame Haze!"
His body blurred like rising heat, blade tracing elegant arcs around Daki's sashes. He was dancing now—between the past and future. His blade remembered what his soul never learned.
And Nezuko followed.
Flames burst around Daki's body, burning her regeneration. Her head started to crack.
"NO—NOOOOO—!!"
Zenitsu reappeared beside her, his blade already swinging.
Tengen clashed with Gyutaro again, blood flying.
"You're one persistent damn mosquito!"
He twirled midair, his blades bursting with sound and flash.
"Sound Breathing – Fifth Form: String Performance!"
Blades spiraled outward, slicing through Gyutaro's limbs as he tried to pull back.
But from behind—
"Surprise, meatbag!" Inosuke roared.
His twin blades crashed into Gyutaro's neck.
"Tanjiro, now!!"
Tanjiro, his breath faltering, hurled himself forward.
"This… this is it—!"
He gritted his teeth, pouring the last of his strength into the blade.
Daki's head was nearly off. Nezuko's flames weakened her hold.
Zenitsu slashed—
"Now!"
Both demon siblings screamed.
Two blades came down.
Two heads flew—
—together.
Time stopped.
Their bodies twitched… then went limp.
Everything fell silent.
The poison in Tengen's veins ebbed. Zenitsu collapsed, panting. Inosuke fell to one knee, his chest heaving. Nezuko caught Tanjiro as he swayed.
"They… did it," Tharion murmured.
From above, he slowly descended to the ground.
Tengen looked up at him with a tired grin.
"Took your sweet time."
"You didn't need me," Tharion replied calmly. "This victory… belongs to you all."
The bodies of Daki and Gyutaro began to disintegrate.
But Tanjiro saw it. In those final moments—they weren't monsters.
They were broken siblings, born from pain, twisted by cruelty.
He looked away, heart heavy.
Tharion placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Your compassion is what separates you. Never lose it."
As the first light of morning crept over the bloodied district, the team gathered what remained of their strength. Villagers would speak of the night the heavens lit with thunder and flame.
The Entertainment District was saved.
But the war…
…was only beginning.