A moment earlier... Outside the Domain.
"...Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo"
It began with a single slash.
Then another.
And another.
Each strike flowed seamlessly into the next, forming an elegant dance of steel that cut through the surrounding darkness.
Kanae forced her battered body to move despite the pain coursing through every muscle.
She wouldn't give up.
She wouldn't fall.
From every direction, Tsukikage's clones surged toward her without end.
"...Sixth Form: Whirling Peach"
Her blade spun into motion once more.
Graceful.
Relentless.
The revolving arcs of her Nichirin Blade intercepted the incoming attacks while, in the same motion, severing several clones that rushed too close.
One dissolved.
Then another.
Then three more.
Yet for every clone she destroyed...
Two more emerged from the shadows.
That was Tsukikage's style of fighting.
He had never been a demon who relied on overwhelming strength or masterful swordsmanship. If he had, he would never have remained the Lower Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki for so long.
His greatest weapon had always been the human heart.
He preyed upon fear.
Upon guilt.
Upon doubt.
He shattered his opponents long before delivering the killing blow.
But when the mind refused to break...
He simply buried them beneath numbers.
That was how countless Demon Slayers had met their end.
Not because they were weaker.
But because they eventually reached their limit.
Tsukikage understood that limit better than anyone.
If ten clones weren't enough...
He would summon a hundred.
If a hundred failed...
He would summon a thousand.
The forest itself belonged to him.
Every shadow was another soldier.
Every patch of darkness another place from which death could emerge.
His crimson eyes settled upon Kanae as she desperately continued cutting down clone after clone.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"...Let's see how long you can keep fighting..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "...Human"
With a lazy wave of his hand, another tide of Shadow clones surged toward her.
Like a black ocean swallowing a single flower.
---
Kanae frowned as another wave of shadow clones rushed toward her.
She had already reached her limit.
If she pushed herself any further, the strain would leave permanent damage to her body.
Even so...
She gritted her teeth.
For the briefest moment, her eyes drifted toward the enormous black dome standing in the distance.
It remained unmoving.
Which meant Kagerou was still alive.
Which meant...
He was still fighting alone.
A faint smile touched Kanae's lips.
"...Then how could I possibly give up now?"
She turned her gaze back to the countless shadows surrounding her.
Her grip tightened around her Nichirin Blade.
Slowly, she steadied her breathing.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Her racing heart gradually calmed.
The pain throughout her body faded into the background.
The fear.
The exhaustion.
The hesitation.
She set them all aside.
'...I haven't perfected this technique yet. But if I don't use it now... There won't be another chance'
Kanae slowly closed her eyes.
She drew one slow, steady breath.
Then another.
When she opened her eyes again... They were clearer than ever before.
"...Final Form..."
Her voice was calm.
Unwavering.
"...Equinoctial Vermilion Eye"
The instant the words left her lips... The forest fell silent.
Not because the battle had ended.
But because Kanae herself had changed.
Her breathing slowed until it became almost imperceptible.
The countless shadow clones continued rushing toward her from every direction.
Above.
Below.
Behind.
Ahead.
Yet none of them seemed to matter anymore.
Her eyes remained fixed upon the battlefield.
For the first time since the battle began...
She saw everything.
Not merely with her eyes.
But with complete clarity.
Every movement.
Every shift of shadow.
Every ripple of killing intent.
The world itself seemed to slow.
A clone lunged toward her from behind.
She stepped forward.
Not away.
Toward it.
*Shhk*
Her blade drew a single graceful arc.
The clone dissolved before it even realized it had been cut.
Another rushed from her left.
Then three more from the right.
Kanae's feet never stopped moving.
Her sword danced.
Every swing resembled a flower petal drifting upon the wind.
No movement was wasted.
No strike was hurried.
One slash became another.
Then another.
Each flowing seamlessly into the next until it became impossible to tell where one ended and the next began.
*Shhk*
*Slash*
*Shhk*
The forest filled with blooming crescents of silver.
One by one, the shadow clones vanished.
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
A hundred.
They dissolved into black mist before they could even touch her.
Tsukikage's smile slowly disappeared.
"...Impossible"
His crimson eyes widened.
"No..."
He summoned another wave.
Hundreds of shadows surged from every patch of darkness.
They rushed toward Kanae like a black tide.
She didn't retreat.
She simply took one more step forward.
"...Beautiful things," she whispered softly, "...do not bloom because the world is kind"
Her blade rose.
"They bloom..." Moonlight reflected along the edge of her Nichirin. "...despite every storm"
Her sword moved once more.
*SHHHHK!*
For a single instant...
A massive crimson flower seemed to blossom in the heart of the forest.
Its petals spread in every direction.
Silent.
Elegant.
Merciless.
Every shadow caught within its bloom was cut apart simultaneously.
The black tide vanished.
The forest became still once more.
Only drifting petals of black ash remained, carried gently by the night wind.
Tsukikage stared blankly at the empty battlefield.
Then realized something horrifying.
She wasn't merely surviving anymore.
She was advancing toward him.
One slow step at a time.
Nichirin Blade in hand.
Eyes unwavering.
And for reasons he could not explain... He took a step back.
But then, before Kanae could take another step forward, the consequences of forcing her wounded body to perform a technique she had yet to fully master caught up to her.
"Cough...!"
A mouthful of blood burst from her lips.
Then another.
Thin streams of blood trickled from the corners of her eyes, staining her pale cheeks crimson.
Her vision blurred.
The strength left her legs.
*Thud*
Kanae collapsed onto one knee.
Only her Nichirin Sword, embedded firmly in the ground, kept her from falling face-first onto the forest floor.
Her breathing became ragged.
Every breath burned.
Every heartbeat sent agonizing pain throughout her body.
"...Hah..."
She had reached her limit.
Seeing this, the lone remaining clone of Tsukikage froze.
For a brief moment, it simply stared at her.
Then realization dawned.
A grin slowly spread across its face.
"Heh..."
The grin widened.
"Hehehe..."
Before erupting into a grotesque fit of laughter.
"Ahahahaha~!"
"...In the end," Tsukikage sneered as he took a step toward her, "...humans are still humans"
His smile twisted into something hideous.
"What an inferior species"
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
Each footstep echoed through the silent forest.
Like the ticking of a clock counting down the final moments of Kanae's life.
"I've never been humiliated like this before," Tsukikage said quietly.
Shadows gathered around his arms, twisting and hardening until both hands became monstrous black claws.
"I'll admit it..."
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"You and that man are the first"
"The first to push me this far"
"The first to make me remember..."
His expression suddenly twisted with disgust.
"...fear"
For just an instant... The image of his former self surfaced in his mind.
A trembling human.
A weak creature who feared every shadow.
His jaw clenched.
"...Disgusting"
He looked down at Kanae.
"But so what?"
Another step.
"If I kill both of you here..."
His smile returned.
"...then none of it matters"
"It will only prove one thing"
He stopped directly before her.
"...That I..."
"...am superior"
Slowly, Tsukikage raised one claw.
Its razor-sharp fingers gleamed beneath the moonlight.
"...Die"
The claw shot forward.
Straight toward Kanae's heart.
One inch away...
It stopped.
"...What?"
Tsukikage's eyes widened.
His arm refused to move.
No... It wasn't refusing.
It was disappearing.
Tiny fragments of shadow began crumbling from his fingertips like black ash carried away by the wind.
"...No..."
The disintegration spread rapidly.
His hand.
His arm.
His legs.
His entire body began collapsing into drifting shadows.
Disbelief filled his face.
"I..."
"If the original still lives..."
"...I shouldn't..."
His voice faltered.
Then, almost instinctively, he turned toward the place where the black dome had stood.
The Domain was gone.
And there...
He saw himself.
The original Tsukikage knelt upon the forest floor, a massive wound carved diagonally across his chest as black blood poured relentlessly from the gash.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
A lone figure emerged from the drifting remnants of shattered darkness.
*Step*
*Step*
Each footstep was unsteady.
Blood dripped from countless wounds, leaving a crimson trail across the forest floor.
His Nichirin Sword hung loosely at his side.
Yet his gaze never wavered.
It remained fixed upon Tsukikage alone.
Kagerou Rengoku.
Still walking forward.
No matter how battered his body had become... He had come to finish what had started.