Next Target: 150 PS for a bonus chapter!
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"..."
Tamayo looked at him for a moment.
Seeing that absolute calm, the urge to say anything died out, and she stayed where she was, pressed against his back, turning her eyes toward the fight in silence.
The only one who wasn't staying still was Nezuko, kicking her legs and flailing her little arms, desperate to run out to her brother.
But Marcus's Breathing Technique wrapped around her like a warm blanket, and no matter how much she squirmed, she couldn't break free from his arms.
…
Outside, Tanjiro was falling apart.
His left arm, where a ball had grazed him, was already swollen and purple, throbbing with every movement. His right hand wasn't any better: the skin between his thumb and index finger had split open from blocking so much, and blood ran down his fingers, soaking the hilt.
His breathing was slipping too. Total Concentration kept cutting out again and again, like a flame in the middle of a gale, and every time it went out, he ripped it back to life through sheer willpower.
His body was done, but his mind refused to stop.
Because in there, Marcus was trusting him.
And that promise weighed more than any blow.
When his blade got trapped between Susamaru's palms again, Tamayo's skin crawled. If she landed another barrage of hits like the last one, Tanjiro wasn't going to hold up.
And Susamaru was laughing.
"The same thing again? Don't you ever learn, brat?"
But something was different this time.
Tanjiro's eyes held no fear. They were shining. And just a second before the four remaining fists came crashing down on him, he let himself drop backward.
He didn't let go of the sword. Quite the opposite: he gripped the hilt tight, used Susamaru's palms as a fixed point, and let his body swing backward like a pendulum...
...to bounce forward with everything he had.
Tamayo covered her mouth with both hands.
"He's using his head!!"
And Marcus, unable to help it, let a smile slip.
There it was... HEADBUTT!
Boom
That rock-hard forehead slammed straight into the hands gripping his sword.
The impact traveled through her arms like an electric shock and killed all sensation on the spot. Her fingers stopped responding. Her wrists stopped responding. Everything stopped responding.
The smile vanished from Susamaru's face, and what was left was pure bewilderment.
Because the only thing she could do was watch, unable to move a single muscle, as her own numb hands fell toward her own face.
SLASH!
The black blade drove in without mercy.
A spray of blood splattered the air and the edge sank three centimeters into her skull.
And there, everything shut off. A split brain doesn't give orders. All six arms dropped limp like cut ropes and the sword was finally free.
Tanjiro didn't hesitate for a single instant. He wrenched the blade out, raised it over his head, and poured everything he had left into a single shout.
"WATER BREATHING, SECOND FORM: WATER WHEEL!!"
A sharp blue current, tinged with red, spun like a saw at full speed and split Susamaru in half from top to bottom.
The two halves hadn't even begun to separate when Tanjiro was already on the ground, landing with a roll, and without raising his head, without stopping to think, he launched a horizontal slash.
The fight was over.
Susamaru ended up divided into four pieces.
Tamayo covered her mouth, her eyes shining with emotion.
But not everyone shared her joy.
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
A few meters away, Yahaba stared at the ashes Susamaru was turning into, unable to believe it.
She had been winning… The entire time, she had been winning. She'd had the brat on the ropes.
And she just disappears like that…? Just like that? They were only toying with him! They hadn't even gotten serious!
H-HOW?!
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!
"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
Accompanying his roar, the eyes on his palms flooded with bloody veins.
Yushiro, who had been flying aimlessly through the sky, was suddenly frozen in place.
And the next second—
"A-AAARGH!"
Screaming in agony, countless invisible arrows pierced him from every direction at once, stabbing into his body until he looked like a pincushion. And they didn't stop there. They pulled, they tugged, each one in a different direction.
Three seconds, and with a burst, Yushiro exploded in a rain of blood that painted the sky red.
The pieces—six chunks, to be exact—fell to the ground scattered across the yard, leaving a trail of remains that made you want to vomit.
Smiling wryly, Marcus covered Nezuko's eyes.
'Rough way to go, Yushiro...'
After mourning for a few seconds, he turned his gaze toward Tanjiro's side.
…He'd acted too fast.
He would have preferred to keep Susamaru alive, since a few seconds ago the system had notified him that she could also give Third Level rewards.
If he could have kept her, he would've pulled a fourth Form out of thin air.
But no. Tanjiro turned her into confetti before he could even blink.
'Damn it, Tanjiro. You could've waited five goddamn seconds.'
But oh well, she was dead. Nothing to be done about it.
He shook his head, resigned.
'What's gone is gone.'
Besides, being honest with himself... muscular women didn't do it for him. So it wasn't that painful a loss either.
But one thing was certain. Susamaru was one thing.
Yahaba was a whole different matter.
If Tanjiro lopped that one's head off too, Marcus was going to tear his hair out.
Although…
The facts proved he'd worried for nothing.
Because Tanjiro, against a furious and unhinged Yahaba, couldn't do a single damn thing.
That rain-of-arrows attack that Yahaba had unleashed right before dying in the anime was now his basic move.
Every time he raised his hands, more came out—more, and more, and more.
Tanjiro was flying through the air with no control, dragged around like a puppet. The only thing he could do was use techniques to disperse the force and avoid slamming into the walls or the ground.
Survive, nothing more.
Counterattacking was completely out of the question.
"MARCUS!! The ten minutes are up, aren't they?! GET OVER HERE, QUICK. I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ONE!!"
Seeing the stream of vomit Tanjiro let loose mid-flight, Marcus scrunched up his face.
But inside... inside, he was bursting at the seams.
Because right at that instant, as if the universe had finally decided to stop screwing him over, the panel lit up before his eyes.
[Analysis progress: 99%... 100%!]
[Congratulations! Analysis of target Nezuko Kamado has reached 100%!]
[Fourth Level reward unlocked: Opportunity to devour Blood Demon Art (One Time)]
[Select target to devour.]
His heart flipped.
'Finally...'
He'd been waiting for this moment since he received the system, since he understood it. Every fight, every risk, every sleepless night, all of it… all of it had been for this.
'Finally… I finally have the chance to stop being just a human! IT HAD FINALLY COME!!'
He was trembling with excitement.
Carefully, he pulled his finger out of Nezuko's mouth. She released it with a little sound, blinking in confusion. Marcus stroked her hair, handed her to Tamayo, and stood up.
"Good job, Tanjiro. Now… now leave the rest to me."
'What a great line!'
Behind him, Tamayo pressed Nezuko against her chest and stared at his back, her eyes flashing briefly.
She'd been wondering for a while what he was capable of… And it seemed she was finally about to find out.
Outside, Tanjiro was still spinning through the air like a rag, but hearing those words, a sigh of relief finally escaped him.
And seeing the ground coming at him again, this time he didn't even bother bracing for the fall.
He just let himself drop.
Just like that. Because if Marcus was free, he didn't need to try anymore.
And he wasn't wrong.
A second before his face made intimate contact with the ground, a pair of hands caught him in midair and set him down on the ground with a softness and fluidity that didn't match the situation at all.
Tanjiro blinked—now on the ground, half dead—and by the time he tried to lift his head, Marcus was already gone.
"Breath of Desire, Third Form..."
Swish
His silhouette dissolved into a pink streak impossible to follow with the eyes, crossing the entire yard in a straight line, headed right for Yahaba.
"Floral Crossing!"
The blade tore through the air with a gorgeous whistle… but missed.
"Who the fuck do you think you're underestimating?!" Yahaba spat with the eyes on his palms bulging. "I'M ONE OF THE TWELVE KIZUKI!!"
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Wait... Yahaba claims he's a member of the Twelve Kizuki?! 😱
Did Muzan really buff him that much? How will Marcus deal with him now? Leave your thoughts in the comments and don't forget your Power Stones! ⚔️💎👀
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