Raiden stood firm, his white hair fluttering in the faint breeze, his gaze fixed on Gyuutarou. With Doma defeated, all attention turned to the Upper Rank Six demon. The remaining Transparent World time was a gift—one they had to use well.
"Whoosh."
Gyuutarou had just blocked Tanjiro's strike and was preparing to counter when a blur of movement appeared before him.
Gyuutarou froze, disbelief rippling through him. Raiden? How can he be here? If Raiden was present, then where was Doma…?
No. There was no way Doma could have been defeated by him. It was impossible.
Raiden appeared before Gyuutarou in an instant, his blade cutting cleanly through one of the demon's arms.
Real pain jolted Gyuutarou's scattered senses back into focus. A fragile spark of fear ignited in his eyes. He couldn't be sure if Doma was alive or dead, but the memory of Raiden overpowering him was vivid and undeniable.
Raiden was no weakling.
Gyuutarou's thoughts swirled, panic rising like poison in his veins—he couldn't die here, and Daki couldn't die either.
Steadying himself, his severed arm began to regenerate. With a twisted grin, he called the Blood Scythe back to him. The weapon sliced through the air, its black‑red afterimage streaking straight toward Raiden's back.
"Bang!"
Raiden didn't even turn his head. The Blood Scythe flew faster now than it had before.
At his current peak state, Raiden's presence alone was enough to unnerve even powerful demons. Not even Doma had dared to challenge him directly, let alone Gyuutarou.
Gyuutarou's pupils narrowed, startled. This Raiden was unlike the one he'd fought before—not just in aura, but in sheer strength.
He never expected to repel Raiden so effortlessly, yet Raiden did just that. Without turning, Raiden timed the Blood Scythe's path and met it point‑for‑point with his blade.
Clang.
Metal struck metal, sending sparks dancing in the air like distant stars. But the stalemate didn't last long.
Gyuutarou gritted his teeth, veins bulging as he tried to force his Scythe against Raiden's blade. But Raiden's strength surged over him like a tidal wave, crushing all resistance.
In that moment, terror flared in Gyuutarou's eyes. The Blood Scythe in his hand trembled violently, as though it might shatter at any second.
Crack.
It all ended swiftly. Raiden's blade came down with a sharp, humming edge, and the Blood Scythe snapped under the pressure. Pieces of it clattered to the ground.
Gyuutarou's eyes widened in shock. Worse than the broken weapon was Raiden's next movement—the blade didn't stop. It continued its arc and struck Gyuutarou's remaining arm with devastating force.
Snap.
Bone and sinew gave way. Blood sprayed like a fountain, splattering the ground.
Gyuutarou staggered back, clutching his ruined limb in agony, his face ashen and eyes wide with disbelief. At Raiden's speed, the strike could easily have severed his neck, yet Raiden had chosen the one part of his body that still resisted.
It was a bold, arrogant choice—an assertion of dominance rather than strategy.
Uzui Tengen watched the scene with stunned admiration. Gyuutarou, Upper Rank Six, had gone from stalemate to dismembered in two strikes. No matter how polished a Pillar tried to appear, even Tengen couldn't hide his awe.
This Raiden was nothing like the version they had seen at the Hashira Meeting. Back then, his strength only rivaled that of a Pillar—formidable, but manageable. Now, he was on an entirely different level. If Raiden could defeat someone equal to him in two strikes, he could defeat almost anyone.
A demon's limbs might regenerate rapidly, but without arms, Gyuutarou was virtually useless.
Tengen realized how fortunate they were that Raiden had joined this mission. Without him, they might not have survived Upper Rank Six, let alone the horrors that followed.
"Zenitsu, it's almost over."
Raiden spoke calmly as he advanced toward Gyuutarou. Fear coiled in the demon's chest like a venomous serpent.
"Zing!"
Raiden's crimson‑gold nichirin blade vanished and reappeared so fast no one could trace the motion. All that remained in the air was Gyuutarou's head, rolling across the ground.
On a rooftop above, Zenitsu landed with a gentle thud, a misty breath escaping his lips.
"Thunder Breathing First Form, Godspeed!"
Golden electricity flickered around him as he darted through the night with unmatched speed. He closed in on Daki, his blade gleaming coldly as he struck at her neck with thunderous precision.
"Whoosh!"
Zenitsu's attack met the resistance of Daki's pink sash. Nearby, Inosuke snarled, unwilling to stand by.
"Beast Breathing!" he shouted, charging forward with his twin serrated blades.
Their blades clashed, a final resistance melting away as the sash snapped.
Whether by fate or unseen force, both Daki and Gyuutarou's heads tumbled together.
For a moment, they stared at each other in confusion.
Then Daki understood what had happened and began to scream.
Raiden shook his head. Daki and Gyuutarou had been tragic souls—much like Tanjiro and Nezuko once were—yet in the end, their paths led to opposite destinies.