Locomotive Head
The gale howled like blades, cutting into the faces of the two boys until it hurt.
Tanjiro and Inosuke, one after the other, stepped over the constantly writhing, nauseating mass of flesh and finally reached the very front of the train.
"It's here!"
Tanjiro stopped, his Nichirin Blade pointing at the thick layer of rotten meat beneath his feet.
"This is where the stench is strongest! That demon's neck bone is right under here!"
"Ugh—"
Inosuke covered his mouth and nose, staring at the pile that looked like decayed internal organs, rolling his eyes in pure disgust.
"This demon's a total idiot. Hiding his weakness in a pile of rotten meat—what, is he trying to stink us to death?"
"Hehehe…"
The flesh beneath their feet suddenly split open, countless mouths opening at once, emitting Enmu's soft, sinister voice.
"What rude children. Since you're so eager to see my neck~"
"Then look at it in your dreams!!!"
Blood Demon Art · Forced Slumber · Hundred Eyes Rage Open!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Without warning, countless bloodshot eyeballs snapped open along the fleshy walls.
Each eye carried an intense hypnotic wave, locking tightly onto the two of them.
"Danger! Inosuke! Don't look!"
Tanjiro shouted, already preparing to close his eyes—or even cut himself to stay awake.
But Inosuke was faster.
Or rather, far more unreasonable.
"Look at my ass, you big-headed ghost!"
Inosuke neither closed his eyes nor dodged.
He snapped open the cyan iron fan in his hand, like a magician, tracing a perfect arc through the air.
Total Concentration · Breath of Ice · Fourth Form · Repeating Shattered Ice Fangs · Mirror Refraction!
Hoo—!
Countless ice crystals with reflective surfaces instantly floated in front of Inosuke and Tanjiro.
Enmu's hypnotic gaze struck the ice mirrors and was immediately reflected straight back!
"What?!"
All the eyes embedded in the flesh froze for a split second when they saw their own reflections.
Though Enmu wouldn't fall asleep from his own Blood Demon Art, that instant of visual interference was enough.
"Now! Gonpachiro!"
Inosuke kicked the ice mirror apart, drew his twin blades, and, carrying a piercing chill, stabbed them viciously into the flesh wall.
"Freeze this pile of rotten meat solid!"
Breath of Ice · Total Concentration · Absolute Freeze!
Crack—crack—crack—crack!
An overwhelming cold surged wildly along the blades. The once-soft flesh wall, renowned for its regenerative power, instantly turned gray-white and frozen solid, forcibly suppressing Enmu's regeneration.
"Aaaah! It hurts! So cold!"
Enmu screamed miserably, as if his flesh had been frozen into ice and then smashed apart.
"Perfect chance!"
Tanjiro's eyes lit up as he stared at the frozen flesh.
He took a deep breath, his lungs burning hot.
Total Concentration · Hinokami Kagura · Clear Blue Sky!
Boom!
The Nichirin Blade, wreathed in raging flames, crashed down onto the rock-hard frozen flesh. Brittle from extreme cold, it shattered like glass when struck by the ultimate heat.
This was exactly the effect Inosuke had anticipated—forcing Tanjiro to use Sun Breathing early, alternating between extreme cold and extreme heat.
Maybe someday, once he resolved the conflict between Ice Breathing and Sun Breathing himself, Tanjiro wouldn't even need to take the risk.
Crackle, pop!
With sounds like exploding popcorn, the thick defensive flesh wall collapsed instantly under the torment of ice and fire, shattering into debris.
Beneath it was revealed a ghastly white cervical spine thicker than a man's thigh.
"We found it!"
Tanjiro exclaimed in delight.
"Don't celebrate yet."
Inosuke pulled out his blades, shaking off the ice fragments.
"That bone looks thicker than my old man's face. That strike didn't cut it."
Sure enough, though the flesh wall was destroyed, the cervical spine itself was completely unharmed.
Enmu's voice grew hysterical.
"Useless! Useless!
Even if you see it, you can't cut it! I've fused with the train! This bone has the hardness of hundreds of tons of steel!"
"And—
Die!"
Rumble—!
The train shook violently. The air suddenly grew heavy as countless black tentacles surged in from all directions, trying to drown the two of them.
"Tch. What a pain."
Inosuke frowned and glanced at Tanjiro.
"Hey, Gonpachiro.
Work with me—just once."
"Huh?"
Tanjiro froze.
"How do we do that?"
Inosuke raised his twin blades. In those emerald-green eyes flashed a glint of unfathomable, instinctive wisdom.
"Like before. I'll freeze this bone until it's brittle."
He pointed at Tanjiro's sword.
"You… use that dancing fire of yours and saw it apart for me."
"But…"
Tanjiro hesitated.
"Our Breathing styles are opposites. Cutting flesh is fine, but against something this hard… won't the elements cancel each other out if it takes too long?"
"Cancel my ass!"
Inosuke smacked Tanjiro on the head.
"This is called alternating hot and cold! Like forging steel! Get it? Trust my instincts, damn it!"
"Alright!"
Looking into Inosuke's striking eyes, Tanjiro's hesitation vanished.
"I trust you, Inosuke!"
"Let's go!"
They moved at the same time.
Inosuke leapt high into the air, his hair whipping wildly in the gale, like a god descending.
He gathered every ounce of cold within him onto the serrated edges of his blades.
Total Concentration · Breath of Ice!
Tanjiro lowered his stance. His blood burned as unprecedented flames surged from his Nichirin Blade.
Total Concentration · Hinokami Kagura · Blazing Crimson Mirror!
"Break already!!!"
Clang!
Screee—!!!
Inosuke's blade struck the cervical spine first, extreme cold instantly rendering it rigid and brittle.
An instant later, Tanjiro's blade slammed down on the exact same spot!
Extreme cold and extreme heat collided violently—not canceling each other out as Tanjiro feared, but producing a terrifying tearing force.
Crack!
A crisp sound like an eggshell breaking rang out.
Enmu's scream cut off abruptly.
The cervical spine he prided himself on—boasting it was harder than steel—split open with a visible crack.
Crk. Crk.
The fissure rapidly spread.
"How…
is this possible?!"
Enmu was in disbelief.
"How can humans possess this kind of power…?"
"That boy… that boy who uses ice… he's not human at all!"
Squish!
With a final dull sound, the massive cervical spine was completely severed. As it snapped, the enormous locomotive lost its support, metal twisting with a deafening shriek.
"RUMBLE—!!!"
The train derailed.
Driven by immense inertia, the entire train flipped like a dying giant serpent, plowing a deep trench across the wilderness.
"Waaaah! We're flying!" Tanjiro and Inosuke were flung into the air.
"Protect the passengers!"
Tanjiro shouted midair, desperately adjusting his posture to brace for impact.
Inosuke, meanwhile, twisted through the air like a cat, flipped twice, and landed firmly on the rolling carriage wall.
"My scrap metal! My money!"
Watching the train fall apart, Inosuke let out a heartbroken wail.
Boom!
Dust filled the air.
The Mugen Train finally came to a stop.
As the smoke cleared, Tanjiro struggled up from the ground beside the overturned train.
"Cough, cough… Inosuke? Everyone? Are you all okay?"
"Not dead yet."
Inosuke's voice came from atop a pile of scrap metal. He was sitting on a broken steel plate, painfully inspecting his serrated blades.
"The blade chipped, Gonpachiro. Remember to pay me back."
"Thank goodness…"
Tanjiro sighed in relief and slumped to the ground.
Just then, a chilling presence—far more terrifying than Enmu—suddenly descended.
Boom!!!
The ground trembled.
Inosuke snapped his head up. His emerald eyes shrank to needle points as his instincts screamed.
He's here.
That guy is here.
In the distance, within the dust cloud, two golden lights flickered on.
Then a powerfully built man with pink short hair and deep blue tattoos etched across his body slowly stepped out.
In his eyes were engraved the words:
Upper Rank Three
Akaza
He glanced at the overturned train, then at the two boys on the ground.
Finally, his gaze settled on Inosuke—more precisely, on the cyan iron fan at Inosuke's chest.
"That is…"
Akaza's eyes grew complicated, even carrying a hint of… scrutiny.
"Hey, brat."
He pointed at Inosuke. There was no strong killing intent in his tone—only irritation.
"You wouldn't happen to be that bastard Doma's kid, would you?"
Akaza's impression of him was still stuck on a small child from more than a decade ago.
"…Third Uncle, hello."
Tanjiro: "…?!"
Inosuke took a deep breath, stood up, and dusted off his pants.
He said to Tanjiro beside him:
"Gonpachiro, take a good look. This is… a big job worth ten billion gold marks.
But this time, I won't let him take a single person away."
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