Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Rumble…!!
The ground shook violently.
"Hey, hey, hey…!"
Tengen widened his eyes as he stood on the damp tiled roof, carrying Tanjuro, whose eyes were tightly shut.
He looked up and glanced around, the five ice Buddha statues rising from the ground reflected in his eyes.
Stunned into silence, he almost froze, muttering. "This isn't good…"
"Cough!"
Tanjuro suddenly twitched on Tengen's back, and his chest thrust out as an unnatural intake of air escaped his throat.
Thin wisps of crimson aura spread and drifted from his body.
"You awake?!" Tengen quickly turned his head and carefully set Tanjuro down on the roof.
"What just happened back there? Why would even you…"
He moves Tanjuro carefully, intending to administer basic first aid.
His heavy palm rested on Tanjuro's chest.
When his ear twitched slightly.
Tengen froze. He stared down at Tanjuro lying before him in disbelief, his hand, just placed on the man's chest, trembling faintly.
His brow furrowed, his voice filled with incredulity. "…No way."
…
Meanwhile.
Atop one of the ice Buddha statues.
"Aka… no, Hakuji-kun."
Doma smiled as he watched Hakuji, who kept trying to attack. "Don't you get it yet? There's actually a world of difference in our strength."
He shifted his fan slightly.
Swish.
The Bodhisattva swung its massive arm, the limb arcing across the moonlit sky, wreathed in frigid air.
Bam!
Hakuji was taken off guard and swatted through the air like an insignificant fly.
Fortunately, his physique was robust. Hakuji forcefully twisted his body, planting his feet on the incoming arm and kicking off it with a mighty push!
He soared beneath the moon, muscles taut, a fierce look in his eyes as he snapped his head around.
"The hell you are!!"
[]—Hakai Satsu—Ranshiki!—[]
The muscles in his arms bulged as azure energy gathered at his fists. He aimed at the arm swinging toward him again.
He threw a fierce punch!
Bam!!
The entire arm of the ice Buddha shattered into pieces.
Behind him.
Within the encirclement of the five ice Buddha statues.
At the temple's center, atop a large rock jutting from the water.
Scrape.
The razor-sharp blade dragged across the ground, spraying sparks as it cut across the damp surface.
Fleeting sparks flickered, illuminating the pitch-black surroundings.
Michikatsu, trailing his long blade, looked up and glanced at Hakuji, who was locked in combat with Doma.
He withdrew his gaze, surveyed his surroundings, and muttered to himself. "Where's Tanjuro…"
He understood that a fight between demons was meaningless.
Even if their necks were severed, they could regenerate.
Especially someone like Hakuji, who disdained using poison and only wanted to settle things with his fists, the maniac had charged straight in.
Perhaps he was just venting his rage at this point.
The only ones who could truly end this battle were the Demon Slayer Corps members.
But.
Even though Michikatsu had thoroughly scanned the area using the Transparent World, he couldn't sense even a trace of Tanjuro's presence nearby.
He tilted his head slightly, noticing the unconscious Tokito brothers not far behind him.
In his expectation, Yuichiro and Muichiro should have been with Tanjuro.
And since the Demon Slayer Corps knew Doma's location, they wouldn't have kept Tanjuro from coming.
"What's going on…"
Michikatsu muttered darkly, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Then, a high-pitched voice rang out from atop the ice Buddha.
"I see. So his name is Tanjuro?"
"Kokushibo-dono!"
Doma shook his fan excitedly, casually flicking his wrist to send the approaching Hakuji flying to the side.
Instantly, the five ice Buddha statues began simultaneously pummeling Hakuji in midair.
Bam! Bam! Bam!!
Massive ice fists collided with the diminutive Hakuji.
Hakuji leaped and punched with exhilaration in the air, reveling in the brawl.
His immense strength tore through the ice Buddha, its entire arm twisting and shattering into cube-shaped chunks of ice.
Doma paid no mind to Hakuji, his gaze fixed on Michikatsu below.
"I know which human you're looking for!"
"It's the one Muzan-sama specifically mentioned, the anomaly, isn't it?!"
Doma shouted, the corners of his mouth lifted. Having kept an eye on Tanjuro, he immediately pointed with his fan toward a certain direction.
"Look."
His fan aimed at the ground below him. "That man is right there!"
Michikatsu turned his head to follow where Doma pointed.
In his vision, the dark moonlight filtered through the ice Buddha statues surrounding the area, transforming into refracted, soft blue light.
It danced across the eaves along with the rippling water.
On the roof, surrounded by the pool of water.
Tengen sat kneeling in silence, his head lowered.
Seeming to notice the gazes of Doma and Michikatsu, he quickly looked up, alertness returning to his eyes.
He gripped the crimson-gold blade on his back, staring solemnly in their direction.
Tanjuro lay still and quiet before him, but not a single sign of life emanating from him.
Seeing Michikatsu's reaction, Doma feigned a sorrowful expression, dabbing at tears in the corners of his eyes.
"What a shame… you're too late."
Then he dropped the mournful act, a proud smirk on his face as he swayed back and forth, taking care to add.
"Looks like that human has already died."
He covered the lower half of his face with his fan, his eyes narrowing. "Everyone seems to care about him so much…"
Doma said proudly.
"Michikatsu-dono, the other demon slayers, even Muzan himself…"
"But…" He lowered his voice.
Then spread his arms wide, the corners of his mouth curving maliciously. He used his Blood Demon Art to amplify his voice throughout the temple grounds.
"Tanjuro is already dead—!"
Doma's voice echoed out, wave after wave.
In unison, the Demon Slayer Corps members scattered around the temple lifted their heads in disbelief.
They stared in shock by Doma's declaration.
"You bastard." Tengen clicked his tongue. Glaring resentfully at Doma, he gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands.
Spreading this news now had only one purpose for Doma.
To throw the Demon Slayer Corps into disarray.
"…What the hell?" Obanai frowned as he poked his head out from beneath his hiding place.
As if to deny Doma's claim,
Whoosh—!
A wisp of sakura-pink light suddenly drifted from Tanjuro's form.
A warm, gentle breeze carrying shimmering cherry blossom petals swept through, blooming in the dark, frigid night.
The translucent petals drifted slowly downward.
Two translucent, reddish-pink characters materialized in the air directly above Tanjuro's body.
—"Resurrection." 回生
Tanjuro's eyelids fluttered. He opened his eyes in a daze and slowly sat up.
The disbelieving gazes of Doma, Michikatsu, Hakuji, and Tengen were all fixed on Tanjuro.
The silence was so profound that the echo of water droplets was heard by everyone watching.