Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
"What was that sound?!"
"The temple collapsed! Look!"
The followers, carrying their belongings and fleeing in panic, also heard the noise coming from the temple behind them.
Several of them turned back, their faces filled with worry, and looked toward the destroyed temple.
Rumble!!
The violent shaking of the ground gradually subsided. The massive cloud of ice dust that had risen began to settle and dissipate, revealing a clear view of the scenery in the distance.
A glint of refracted ice-blue light poured down through the moonlight, casting over the group of followers.
As they took in the sight before them.
One by one, they froze, murmuring to themselves.
"What is that…"
They choked on their words in shock.
"Ice… is that ice?"
Whoosh—
A colossal ice sculpture of the Bodhisattva loomed amidst the temple, having shattered the massive roof. Its eyes were half-closed.
Faint ice crystals floated in the air, and rays of light, like misty sand, drifted among them.
Its raised hands refracted the moonlight with crystalline clarity, appearing utterly divine.
"…Ah, th-this is!"
A devoted follower, who had regained consciousness, struggled to lift his head. His eyes shone with fervor as he gazed at the ice Buddha.
"The Great Founder Bodhisattva!"
Though his voice was weak, it trembled with excitement as he shouted.
"It is our Lord and Savior!"
His pale face was drenched in cold sweat, but that did nothing to diminish the pilgrimage happening within his heart.
"Get off!" Shaking off the assistance of those supporting him, the devotee stumbled two steps back and then dropped heavily to his knees.
"Do you see it now… this is the true divine miracle!"
He threw his upper body forward with all his strength, spreading his arms wide as if to present his entire being with devotion, and shouted with ecstatic fervor.
He turned his head triumphantly to look at the others who had been trying to flee.
See! How shameful your thoughts of running away are!
Ignorant!
Before a miracle like this, all doubt is reduced to nothing!
He stretched his arms wide, as if trying to embrace the distant ice Buddha. His complexion was flushing, and even his body seemed to be recovering from his sickness and injury.
There was absolutely no way the Founder could be successfully killed by mere assassins!
"Quick! We must go back!" The devotee tried to stand, turning to persuade those who had been about to flee.
"If we return now, the Founder will surely not blame any of us!"
That was a lie.
His gaze toward the crowd was filled with contempt.
Those who chose to retreat when the Founder was in danger were unworthy of being called followers.
Once these people helped him back, he would offer all those who fled as blood sacrifices for the Founder.
"Go back?"
Nevertheless, the devotee's words made some among the crowd hesitate.
They exchanged glances.
After all, a comfortable life was not easy to come by anywhere, even if that life came at a price.
But.
The moment the devotee finished speaking.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Whoosh—
A dazzling blue light suddenly shot forth from the ground far away.
Its glow fell upon the devotee's face as he looked back. He frowned slightly and instinctively turned his head.
His eyes gradually widened at the spectacle he was going to see.
The blue light drove itself straight into the body of the colossal ice Buddha like a powerful drill.
Crash—!!
The towering ice Buddha actually tilted slightly forward, sending up a massive cloud of dust!
Creak—
Stark cracks appeared rapidly spreading across the ice bodhisattva, extending to its entire body in the blink of an eye.
Groan!
As the ground shook, the crowd watched.
The enormous ice Buddha, unable to withstand the force, suddenly snapped in half at its waist. Massive blocks of ice split apart, as if the earth itself were slowly swallowing it from the bottom.
It collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The raised Buddha hand seemed to make a slow, struggling motion, but it was futile.
A wave of white ice dust, carrying a powerful gust, swept through the layers of trees, rapidly spreading outward.
Whoooosh—!!
The gale from the collapsing giant Buddha swept in, shaking the surrounding trees. The crowd stood its ground, barely resisting the strong wind.
"…Founder?" The devotee's raised arms gradually stiffened. His face turned ashen, and his arms fell limply to his sides.
The fierce icy wind blew through his hair, forming ice crystals.
A look of despair surfaced on his face as he stared blankly in the direction of the collapsed ice Buddha, unable to comprehend what had happened.
The others averted their eyes. They exchanged glances and looked at the kneeling man, who remained dazed.
One by one, they chose to abandon him and continued on their way.
…
"Destructive... Death?"
Hearing the voice approaching from afar, Doma tilted his head in confusion, reclining on the crystalline lotus flower.
The chill emanating from the twenty-meter-tall ice sculpture froze everything around it, making even clothes stiffen upon contact.
The voice that reached his ears was achingly familiar. For a moment, a distinct look of surprise flickered across his face.
'Akaza-kun?!'
'But… didn't Muzan-sama say he was dead?'
He turned his head toward the direction of the voice.
There he was, near the area flooded by water.
Hakuji, wearing a peach-colored short kimono, stood on a treetop.
"Hahahaha!!"
The tattoos on his face significantly faded as he spread his hands, both enveloped in blue "energy," and laughed with unrestrained glee.
He pushed off hard with his feet!
Bang!—Whoosh!
Like a cannonball, Hakuji shot high into the air in an instant, closing in on Doma's position.
"It really is you, Akaza-kun!"
Doma's eyes widened slightly. Unable to truly feel emotions, he showed no surprise, merely staring with a blank smile.
His tone was melodic and pleasant, and he even lightly wiped the corner of his eye with his finger, brushing away a teardrop that had frozen into an ice crystal.
"How wonderful, you're alive… As your close friend, I sincerely rejoice at this."
"It seems my perception was correct. Akaza-kun, you truly have entered that real—"
He couldn't finish his sentence.
"You're disgusting. Shut up!"
"Die!!" Hakuji's tone was harsh, but his face beamed with childlike joy. He clenched his fists.
Bang!!
He poured all his strength into a single blow, slamming it into the Bodhisattva on which Doma stood.
A massive gaping hole appeared in the ice Buddha, and cracks instantly burst outward!
"Akaza-kun…?"
Doma swiftly leaped away, dodging the attack, and glanced at Akaza in surprise.
He could tell that attack wasn't just playing around like before when they were in service together.
It was a genuine attempt to kill him.
"Why would you attack my Blood Demon Art creation…?" He stood up on the now-unstable crystalline lotus beneath him.
Doma unfolded both fans, smiling serenely, but the motion of preparing a counterattack in his hands was far from subtle.
"Muzan-sama surely wouldn't allow us to fight among ourselves."
But Hakuji's next words made Doma feel uneasy for the first time.
"Muzan?"
Hakuji braced his foot against the gap in the ice Buddha, his muscles taut. Standing high in the air, his short kimono flapped noisily in the wind.
The corner of his mouth curled up. Just thinking about what he was about to do filled him with excitement, and he shouted with fervor.
"What kind of a fool does he think he is?!"
Bang!
[]—Hakai Satsu – Kyakushiki: Kamuro Saki Wari!—[]
He raised his leg in a high kick, and crystalline ice fragments scattered wildly. Behind them, Hakuji's unrestrained expression radiated pure satisfaction.
"He's nothing but a cowardly bully who preys on the weak!!"
Hakuji felt an unparalleled clarity within his heart at this moment.
On the way here, Michikatsu had told him about the existence of Tsugikuni Yoriichi and explained what kind of figure Tanjuro was now.
Having heard Muzan constantly mention Tanjuro, Hakuji instantly understood Muzan's true nature.
The Upper Moons' mission had always been to search for the Blue Spider Lily, which was only so that Muzan himself could live under the sun!
And now, simply because Tanjuro resembled someone from hundreds of years ago.
Muzan was so terrified that he only dared to let the Upper Ranks act outside!
What a coward!
"Akaza-kun…" Doma's lips parted slightly. He blinked, a look of shock on his face as he stared at Hakuji.
"How could you say such a thing…"
He even forgot to continue fanning himself.
Though his words suggested shock.
Deep down, Doma was only concerned with the quality of his "shocked" performance.
After a moment's contemplation, Doma composed himself. His voice grew somber as he looked at Hakuji, who stood on the other shoulder of the crumbling ice Buddha.
"Akaza-kun…"
"Have you betrayed us?"
The clouds that had been obscuring the moon shifted, and moonlight fell upon Hakuji's blue eyes.
Only then could Doma see that there was no trace of the characters for "Upper Moon" in his friend's eyes.
Bang!
"Akaza this, Akaza that. You're so damn noisy."
Hakuji stomped hard on the ice bodhisattva's shoulder. Beneath his feet, the snowflake-shaped array pattern of his Blood Demon Art rapidly spread out.
"Shut your mouth and listen up."
He raised his hands before his chest, widened his stance into a stable, unwavering position, and his eyes gradually grew calm.
"My name is Hakuji."
"The 'Haku' from 'Komainu.'"
Hakuji's voice deepened, excitement hidden within his azure eyes. He had wanted to do this for a long time.
"And I'm here to kill you today, you bastard!"
Bang!!
He smashed down on the ice Buddha beneath him, the cracks multiplying.
Doma let out a soft laugh.
He didn't believe that Akaza alone could kill him.
Doma quietly listened to his friend rambling when suddenly, a tingling sensation shot through the side of his head.
The threat of death seemed to brush past his ear.
Startled, Doma instinctively glanced to the side.
Whoosh!
A purple figure flashed past his peripheral vision.
All he could catch was a glimpse of a purple snake-patterned haori.
'That haori!'
Forgetting Hakuji for a moment, he quickly turned his head toward the direction the figure had disappeared.
If Akaza-kun, whom Muzan-sama had declared dead, had appeared unharmed and showed signs of betrayal.
Then.
Kokushibo-dono, whom Muzan-sama had also declared dead...
Was it possible he hadn't died either?
No.
Perhaps, perhaps all the Upper Moons hadn't actually died?
Doma's eyes trembled slightly as an unpleasantly conclusive thought surfaced in his mind.
…
The temple was in ruins beneath the shattered ice Buddha.
The overflowing water had submerged the first floor of the wooden structure.
During the sudden appearance when the ice Buddha had risen, the Demon Slayer Corps members had been scattered.
Several of them had been thrown to unknown locations.
The water seemed to be diluted with Doma's icy Blood Demon Art, its temperature extremely low.
If a human accidentally swallowed even a few mouthfuls, their life would be in danger.
Swish! Swish!
"Akaza?"
Tanjuro casually sliced apart two ice sculptures blocking his path with his blade, then glanced up at the two figures on the crumbling ice Buddha.
Now that someone else had drawn its attention, he had an opening to deal with the main problem.
He averted his gaze, leaping across rooftops that jutted out of the water, scanning his surroundings for any Corps members who might have been too slow to move away.
At the same time, he pondered in his mind for a solution to his immediate problem.
Overcoming his crimson-hot Kusabimaru being ineffective.
The remaining dose of the medicine Akaza had accidentally taken before was swaying gently inside his chest pocket.
Tanjuro had always made it a habit to keep such medicine on him, in case of emergencies.
Creak—
A layer of frost had formed on the surface of the glass test tube, with faint cracks spreading across it. The sudden drop of temperature caused by Doma Demon art was really affecting everything in its surroundings.
Shhh…
A sakura-pink vapor rose through the cracks in the test tube, seeping up along the collar of Tanjuro's uniform.
As Tanjuro hurried along, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. The rhythm of his breathing changed, and he frowned slightly.
Sniff, sniff.
He took a deep breath, puzzled.
Tanjuro's expression changed.
His sprinting steps came to an abrupt halt.
As if his system had suddenly crashed.
His body lurched forward, carried by the momentum of his movement, and he pitched straight ahead.
Splash!
His entire body smacked onto the rooftop, sliding for a distance across the wet surface.
Tanjuro's eyes closed. He lost his footing and fell into the water, drifting with the current.
…
Michikatsu's snake-patterned figure landed in a corridor where a large hole had been blasted open by the surging water.
Six golden eyes opened in the pitch-black surroundings, scanning the area.
They quickly locked onto a corner.
"Muichiro, wake up! Open your eyes!"
Yuichiro had Muichiro on his back. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to climb from the submerged first floor to the second. His clothes clung to his body, soaked through.
Muichiro felt his head heavy and clouded and occasionally coughed up mouthfuls of reddish water.
It was clear that his lungs had been frostbitten by Doma's Blood Demon Art.
Michikatsu emerged from the darkness beside them. He leaned down and gently touched the brothers' ice-cold bodies.
They were still alive.
Through Transparent World, their breathing rhythms were somewhat erratic.
His six golden eyes carefully examined the two for a moment.
"Uncle Michi..." Yuichiro turned his head, looking at Michikatsu behind him.
His joy and relief were short-lived as he reached out and grabbed Michikatsu's arm, his expression serious as he warned.
"Quick…"
"…run."
After murmuring these two words, drained of all his strength, Yuichiro's eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
Michikatsu's gaze didn't give anything away, his posture unmoving as he contemplated.
"Doma…" He called out.
Click!
He carefully drew his blade from its scabbard. A glinting light reflected back by the sword along with an orderly pattern of golden eyes etched along the sword.
It looks like a normal sword with an exotic design.
Michikatsu held his blade by his side as he turned around and fixed his piercing gaze at the standing Doma on his shattered ice Buddha.
"You…"
Whoosh!
He swung the blade with force. The jagged edge began to extend, the sword growing in an instant to several times its normal length.
Michikatsu's calm fury locked onto Doma.
"You are certainly not a man of potential."