Afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the wisteria trellis.
In that instant, Shinobu Kocho's vision underwent a world-shattering change.
The surface "shell" of things seemed to be stripped away by an invisible force, and the world revealed its most essential truth.
"So this is… the Transparent World?"
Shinobu murmured in disbelief.
What it brought wasn't merely clarity, but an overwhelming torrent of information—so vast it made her head swim.
She could see the slow, writhing motion of roots drinking moisture beneath the soil; she could see the faint tremble of leaves as the breeze brushed past; she could even see, dozens of meters away, the contraction of muscles and the flow of bodily fluids in tiny insects beating their wings—everything suddenly, sharply visible.
So this was what the world looked like… through his eyes?
No secrets. No concealment. Completely exposed—every weakness laid bare at a glance.
Carried by that godlike perspective, Shinobu's curiosity stirred. Almost unconsciously, she turned her head and looked back at the boy who had guided her into this state.
She found herself wondering—what would someone with such a divine vantage point look like inside the Transparent World?
But the moment her gaze touched him, her amethyst eyes—still trembling with excitement—froze solid.
If that sparrow had been a precision instrument…
Then the boy before her was a furnace in full blaze.
His heart beat slowly, like any human's—yet each thump carried the weight of thunder. His blood roared like molten lava, scalding-hot. There was not an ounce of excess fat, not a single useless muscle. Even the expansion of his alveoli as he breathed adhered to a flawless golden ratio.
This was not a body a human being should possess.
It was as though the heavens had hammered and tempered him, time and again, for the sole purpose of slaying demons—the most perfect creation imaginable.
"Miss Shinobu…?"
Sensing her stunned stare, Yoriichi slowly withdrew the hand he'd rested against her back.
The moment their contact broke, that strange resonance vanished.
Bzz—
Like surfacing abruptly from the deep sea, the world snapped back into its colorful—yet unbearably blurry—state.
"Hah… hah…"
Shinobu's legs went weak. She staggered forward, nearly pitching into a fall, and gulped air in great breaths. Cold sweat instantly soaked through the uniform at her back.
She had maintained it for only a handful of breaths, yet it felt as if she'd just fought through a battle on the edge of death. Her brain throbbed faintly, aching from processing too much at once.
"It looks like it's still too heavy a burden for you right now."
Yoriichi sounded thoughtful. "But it's fine. With more training, it will become one of your greatest weapons."
Bracing one hand on her knee, Shinobu finally steadied her frantic heartbeat.
When she lifted her head again, she had regained her usual composure.
Only the look she gave him now carried a deeper, more searching meaning.
"So… this is what living things look like from your perspective."
Everything became transparent. Every flaw. Every weakness. Even any enemy who approached him—slowed, as though time itself were being stretched thin.
And if she hadn't been mistaken, in that brief moment she entered the Transparent World… the boy's body was practically indistinguishable from the sun.
In the Transparent World, everything was "see-through"—
And yet he was the exception.
She had seen his vessels and muscles, half-translucent like everything else.
But precisely because she'd seen too clearly, she realized she understood him even less than before.
A human body—yet in that world, it looked like something crafted by a god.
Why did someone like this exist?
"Miss Shinobu…?"
Noticing her unblinking stare, Yoriichi called softly.
Shinobu gathered her thoughts, slowly straightening. A rare, languid charm—tinged with mischief—flickered in her gemstone eyes.
"Tanjiro-kun… to be honest, I'm very interested in your body right now."
"…?"
He blinked, then a gentle, encouraging smile rose on his face.
"Then do your best. Once you can completely master this ability, you should be able to do it."
"…"
Shinobu's smile stiffened.
After a long beat, staring at the boy's utterly earnest expression, her face filled with helpless disbelief, and she muttered under her breath, "How can someone be this straightforward…?"
It was as if all her teasing—and even her sharp tongue—simply didn't work on him.
Like punching cotton. Or… like throwing a bucket of water at the sun, only for it to evaporate in an instant.
Perhaps sensing her shift in mood—though clearly not understanding why—he hesitated, then lowered his voice.
"Sorry."
"Pfft…"
At last Shinobu couldn't hold it in; she laughed, shaking her head as her gaze softened.
"That isn't something you need to apologize for. If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
Her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her Nichirin Blade.
That dream that had once been impossibly far away—killing Upper Rank Two with her own hands and avenging her sister—until today, it had been something she could only achieve through a suicidal poison.
But now… if she could truly master this ability—see the flow within that demon's body—and combine it with her poison…
Perhaps she really could do it.
Perhaps she really could take his head herself.
When she looked up again, a smile she had never worn before appeared on her face.
Not the old mask of a pleasant smile that never reached her eyes.
Not the forced gentleness she used to bury her rage.
Sunlight fell in mottled patterns through the wisteria trellis, dappling her pale face. That smile was like ice melting in early spring—light, bright, and relieved, carrying a young woman's sweetness.
It was breathtaking.
"Thank you… Tanjiro~"
Her voice was so soft it felt like the wind might steal it away. In the sun, her smile looked like a painting—warm, radiant, beautiful.
Crack—
The next second, a crisp, jarring sound shattered the moment.
Shinobu's stunning smile froze in place—her lips still curved upward, but her eyes went blank.
"…?"
Both of them lowered their gaze at the same time.
Yoriichi looked down at the sword at his waist.
To demonstrate the Transparent World and guide Shinobu's breathing, he had been forced to draw out a thread of the source aura of Sun Breathing.
And that single, leaking strand of power seemed to become the last straw.
A savage fissure split open across the black scabbard at his hip without warning.
Then, inside, the blade looked as if it had been carbonized in an instant by searing heat.
Clatter—!
It hadn't snapped.
It had crumbled.
Countless tiny shards of metal spilled from the裂 in the scabbard, scattering across the ground and glinting coldly under the sun.
In the end, only a bare hilt remained at Yoriichi's waist.
Dead silence.
Shinobu blinked, hesitating.
"Uh… did the sword just… break?"
"It seems the load from the previous battles was too great."
Yoriichi stared at the hilt, letting out a quiet sigh. A trace of apology surfaced in his eyes.
"Mr. Haganezuka forged it with great care, but the material of this blade ultimately can't withstand the heat of a Crimson Blade for long."
In the last few fights, he had drawn his Nichirin Blade again and again.
And that terrifying temperature—hot enough to scorch a demon's cells—was, for an ordinary Nichirin Blade, an act of destruction in itself.
He had already sensed it before: every time he drew the blade, its internal structure fractured a little more.
And now, it had finally exhausted the last of its lifespan—completely collapsing into fragments.
Yoriichi crouched, his fingers brushing the shards on the ground.
"It looks like I'll need to find a sword that suits me."
A sword that could truly endure the burning of a "sun."
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it