Chapter 202: A Single Sentence to "Warm" Him All Night Long
However, the back-and-forth relaying of information ultimately wasted precious time.
By the time Muzan finished berating Nakime and shifted his focus to contact Hantengu, it was already too late. The very moment the mental link established itself, the image transmitted directly into his consciousness caused the Demon Lord to violently upend the heavy wooden desk in front of him, scattering documents and ink across the tatami mats of the Infinity Castle.
Meanwhile, in the Swordsmith Village.
Having confirmed that Akaza's body had completely crumbled to ash, Akira turned on his heel. He dashed in the direction the villagers had evacuated, his boots kicking up dust from the ruined earth.
Hantengu had been terrified by the devastating shockwaves of the battle between Akaza and Akira, choosing to take a wide detour through the forest. That cowardly decision had inadvertently allowed the demon to slip past the outer edges of Akira's Transparent World perception. But Akira wasn't about to gamble on the assumption that Muzan had only deployed Akaza tonight.
With Upper Rank Three dead, there was no telling if a humiliated, enraged Muzan might hurl Douma or even Kokushibo into the fray. The absolute priority was escorting the villagers to safety.
As he sprinted toward the village entrance, a grotesque, disembodied eyeball belonging to Nakime materialized within his sensory range, hovering silently between the branches.
Pop!
With a casual flick of his wrist, Akira sent a jagged pebble hurtling through the air. It struck the eyeball with pinpoint accuracy, bursting it into a spray of foul fluid before it could even focus its pupil.
In that exact moment, Akira's expanded senses locked onto Hantengu's true, diminutive main body cowering nearby. He also sensed the four distinct auras of its emotional clones—Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure—barreling down the mountain path, hot on the heels of the fleeing villagers and on a direct collision course with Kanae.
Aside from them, the surrounding forest remained clear of any other demonic presence.
'He hasn't even fused them into Zohakuten yet... Isn't he underestimating Kanae just a little bit?' Akira mused inwardly, a dry smirk tugging at his lips.
While the coordinated assaults of those four clones were certainly a headache to deal with, they were just that—a headache. They lacked the raw, overwhelming power necessary to pose a lethal threat to a Hashira of Kanae's caliber.
Confident that Kanae could hold her own, Akira shifted his absolute focus to Hantengu's concealed main body. To prevent Muzan from throwing another Upper Rank through a dimensional door, he needed to inflict a psychological strike. Something that would paralyze the Demon Lord with sheer, unadulterated rage. A single, carefully chosen sentence to "warm" his blood for the rest of the night.
Akira almost chuckled aloud just picturing the aneurysm Muzan was about to suffer.
It had to be said, Hantengu's survival instincts were unmatched. The Upper Rank's true body had shrunk down to the size of a frightened field mouse. It currently huddled deep inside the hollowed-out trunk of a massive, ancient cedar tree. Judging by the fresh wood shavings carefully packed over the entrance hole, the demon had burrowed inside, sealed itself in, and suppressed its demonic aura until it was practically non-existent.
Even in broad daylight, a seasoned demon slayer could walk right past the bark without a second glance.
If not for the omniscient clarity of the Transparent World, even Akira might have struggled to pinpoint the rat-sized coward. Unfortunately for Hantengu, there were no "ifs" in this forest.
When facing Akira's Transparent World, Akaza had at least possessed the martial prowess and raw strength to struggle. Hantengu, isolated and frail, could do nothing but wait for the executioner's blade.
Inside the dark, cramped hollow, Hantengu shivered. The deafening explosions from Akaza's battlefield had abruptly ceased. The silence was agonizing. Who had won? If it was Akaza, shouldn't he crawl out and greet his fellow Upper Rank?
But... what if it wasn't?
The mere thought of that impossible outcome caused Hantengu to wrap its tiny, clawed hands over its head. It curled into an even tighter ball, its entire body trembling violently as suppressed, pathetic whimpers leaked from its throat.
Suddenly, a cool draft brushed against the back of its neck.
Hantengu blinked. It was sealed inside a solid tree trunk. How could there be wind?
Confused, the tiny demon uncurled slightly and tilted its head upward. A sliver of cold, metallic light caught its eye.
'Oh... it's a Nichirin Blade. I thought it was the moonlight... Oh, heavens—!'
The upper half of the massive cedar had been sheared off with a perfectly smooth, horizontal cut, right above Hantengu's head. Akira stood casually on the severed stump, looking down at the trembling creature with eyes as calm as a stagnant pond.
The instant it made eye contact with the swordsman, Hantengu knew. Akaza was dead. Against a monster that could butcher Upper Rank Three, fighting was suicide. Without a fraction of hesitation, the tiny demon's curled body erupted with a desperate surge of energy, launching itself out of the stump like a fired cannonball.
Simultaneously, miles away, the four clones preparing to ambush Kanae abruptly halted. They spun on their heels and sprinted madly back toward the main body. As they ran, their flesh melted and fused together, undergoing Body Integration to manifest their ultimate form: Zohakuten.
Kanae, who had her Nichirin Blade drawn and her breathing focused, blinked in surprise. Her high alert shifted to realization. Akira must have cornered the main body, forcing the clones into a desperate retreat.
Refusing to let the monstrous Zohakuten interfere with her lover's hunt, Kanae darted forward, her butterfly haori fluttering in the night wind. She might not be able to match the catastrophic scale of Akira's battles, but she could certainly buy him the seconds he needed.
"Mister Demon, I'm afraid this path is closed," she called out, her voice a melodic yet dangerous chime.
Zohakuten didn't even spare her a glance, blindly hurling wooden dragons and shockwaves over his shoulder as he ran, desperate to shake the Flower Hashira off his trail.
Back at the stump, Akira watched Hantengu's panicked, scrambling retreat. He lowered his stance, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade, and let a cold, stern question echo through the quiet forest.
"What do you take life to be?!"
The moment the words left his lips, the air cracked.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
A blinding, reddish streak of lightning tore through the darkness. Hantengu's vision suddenly spun wildly into the air. The tiny demon caught a fleeting glimpse of its own headless body, still sprinting forward on stubby legs, before it began to crumble into ash.
Akira knew exactly how Muzan's blood curse worked. The Demon Lord would undoubtedly review the final memories of his fallen Upper Ranks. That stern, condemning question wasn't meant for Hantengu. It was a direct, calculated taunt aimed squarely at Kibutsuji Muzan.
With Akaza dead, Muzan had likely been trying to connect to Hantengu's consciousness to issue an immediate retreat order. That was why Nakime's eyeball had been frantically scanning the forest earlier—searching for the main body to pull it back into the Infinity Castle.
Leaving Hantengu here was a guaranteed death sentence. Yet, the demon's exceptionally flawless hiding ability had ironically sealed its doom. Nakime couldn't find it in time, her scouting eye was destroyed, and Hantengu's panicked flight was far too slow.
But the true killing blow was psychological.
As Hantengu heard that stern question, a primal, suffocating terror awakened from the very depths of Muzan's cells within its blood. Akira's figure, bathed in lightning with his blade raised, perfectly overlapped with the blurry, god-like silhouette of a man wearing hanafuda earrings from centuries past. That inexplicable, paralyzing dread caused Hantengu to freeze mid-stride, watching helplessly as the crimson blade severed its neck.
Miles away, the towering wooden dragons of Zohakuten suddenly halted their assault on Kanae. The youthful demon's face twisted in shock before his body dissolved into thick smoke, scattering into the night wind.
Seeing the Upper Rank Four kanji fade from the crumbling eyes, Kanae lowered her blade. She remembered Akira explaining the unique mechanics of this specific demon. The main body had been slain. Knowing her man was safe, she smiled softly, turned around, and hurried back to guide the villagers.
And deep within the Infinity Castle, Muzan, whose consciousness was perfectly linked to Hantengu's fading mind, witnessed the crimson blade, the lightning, and that hauntingly familiar question.
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