"Lower Rank demon?"
Makomo's beautiful eyes sharpened. She drew her Nichirin Blade and activated her Breathing Technique.
"Frost Breathing, First Form: Frost Blade Slash!"
Her blade turned instantly icy, and a crescent of freezing energy shot forward.
Hantengu was agile. With a swift sidestep, she narrowly avoided the icy slash.
"Nezuko! Nezuko!"
At that moment, Tanjiro came running through the chaos. The horrific, blood-soaked scene he had witnessed along the way left him terrified for his sister.
Only when he saw Nezuko unharmed did he finally breathe again.
But the sight before him left him frozen in place.
Makomo and the horned demon clashed with killing intent—this was no misunderstanding, no game.
"What… what is going on?!"
Sweat streamed down Tanjiro's face, panic thick in his hoarse voice.
"Tanjiro, take Nezuko and run! It's a man-eating demon!" Makomo shouted urgently.
One Lower Rank demon alone was manageable.
But protecting Tanjiro and Nezuko while fighting?
That was another matter entirely.
"A man-eating demon…?"
Tanjiro swallowed hard. His father's ghost stories flashed through his mind—stories of demons that devoured people in the night.
He had thought they were just tales.
The bloody reality before him proved otherwise.
Run.
We have to run!
Overcome by fear, Tanjiro grabbed Nezuko and bolted.
Halfway through, his racing thoughts caught up with him.
Makomo was still behind.
Locked in battle.
In danger.
Just as Tanjiro turned to go back—
A blaze of fire tore through the night sky.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
A streak of blazing flame surged forward, sealing off Hantengu's chest.
Caught mid-exchange with Makomo, Hantengu reacted a fraction too slow.
A deep slash carved across her chest.
Crimson blood sprayed, and scorching flames lashed her flesh.
"It burns! It burns! It hurts!"
Tears streamed down Hantengu's face as she retreated frantically, widening the distance between herself and the newcomer.
The flames hurt far more than ordinary wounds.
At that moment, Lower Rank Three arrived.
"Sister Hantengu!"
He stared at the smoking wound on her chest, where flames continued to sear flesh into blackened ruin.
Even looking at it made him wince.
"Be careful! He's not simple!"
After only one exchange, Hantengu understood.
Even if he wasn't a Hashira, he was frighteningly close.
And those flames—
They truly burned.
"Relax. Two Lower Ranks are more than enough to kill him."
Lower Rank Three sneered.
The crimson mulberries beneath his feet had already transformed into crawling insects, flooding the ground and rushing toward their target.
"Frost Breathing, Fourth Form: Winter Frozen Earth!"
Makomo touched her blade tip to the ground.
A sheet of ice spread instantly across the battlefield, freezing the earth over a wide radius.
The red insects slowed drastically upon the slick surface.
Rengoku Kyojuro turned briefly, offering Makomo an approving smile despite not knowing her.
Then he raised his blade.
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"
Though originally defensive, in Rengoku's hands the technique surged outward in a sweeping arc.
A sea of fire erupted, engulfing the crawling insects.
Sensing destruction, the insects began detonating mid-charge.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood mist filled the air.
Through the haze, Rengoku's fiery eyes gleamed.
With precise, controlled swings, he launched three blazing arcs into the fog, their brilliance intensifying the already suffocating heat.
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Vines!"
A sharp cry rang out.
Three thorned, crimson vines shot from the mist, slamming down toward Rengoku with crushing force.
Boom!
Rengoku shifted calmly, the vines smashing into the frozen ground instead.
Ice shattered in violent bursts.
One vine that had missed circled back, joining the other two in a coordinated pincer assault from above and below.
Rengoku's blade ignited again as he slashed and blocked—but the insects continued advancing in endless waves across the ice.
Dense.
Relentless.
"Frost Breathing, Second Form: Four Frost Strikes!"
Four icy slashes flew out in a square formation.
A freezing gust swept from behind.
For a brief instant, Rengoku was startled—
Then the vines entangling him were severed into countless pieces.
Frost clung to the cut sections, slowing their movements to a crawl.
"Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe!"
Flames roared to life.
Fire surged along the frozen vines like lit fuses, racing through them and burning everything into ash.
With the vine threat neutralized, Rengoku stepped back three paces, creating distance from the crawling insects.
The ice beneath his feet was slick, unfamiliar.
He lowered his stance, stabilizing himself.
The flames on his Nichirin Blade intensified, condensing into the shape of a roaring tiger.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
With a thunderous roar, the flaming beast lunged forward, devouring the endless tide of insects in a blazing inferno.
...
Author's Note:
The full completed version of Demon Slayer: Son of Muzan (Completed) is now on Patreon!
🔥 I also have additional 18+ fanfics available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories. 😉
1. Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
6. Versatile Mage: Awakening the Succubus System
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