Opening: Polaris by BLUE ENCOUNT
Zenitsu managed to push himself onto his feet while wincing in pain. All he could do was focus on his breathing. Zenitsu was scrambling to figure out how to fight without his sight, it just wasn't possible! He initially felt bad about asking Tanjiro for help but hearing that the boy was holding back made him feel safer but also confused as to why the boy was holding back in the first place. Tanjiro cut off Zenitsu's train of thought as he asked, "How do you plan on fighting, Zenitsu? It's not too late for me to get you some help."
Zenitsu answered, "I'm not sure… All I know is that I have to try! I can't let this opportunity slip past me!"
"You're still disoriented, Zenitsu. Just rest for a minute, I can take these guys on."
Kaigaku interrupted the conversation, catching the attention of Tanjiro and Zenitsu as the former of the two watched the demon sheath his blade and lean against a rock with his arms crossed, "No need. I want to see you commit to your promise, Zenitsu. If you still plan on fighting me without your sight, go right ahead. I don't know how you plan on doing it but if you miraculously manage to figure something out, you can consider me impressed."
Tanjiro was baffled by the demon's proposal, quickly shifting his attention towards Zenitsu to see his response to Kaigaku. Zenitsu argued, "Quit playing around…! I'm trying to kill you!"
"Oh, I know. However, if you used your ears more and actually listened to what I was saying, I said I don't hold a grudge against people who have a resolve. I don't mindlessly kill, Zenitsu. Sure, I might make a few oopsie's here and there but I generally fight in self-defense or I kill anyone who dares tell me they aren't doing anything with their lives. So, out of pure interest to see if you can fulfill your promise, I'm going to humor you for the time being."
Zenitsu chuckled before threatening, "Heh, your funeral."
"That's the spirit. Keep on stackin' up the promises, Zenitsu, it'll just give me more reason to kill you in-case you give up." Kaigaku decided to sit down, resting his hands on his head while leaning against the rock.
Tanjiro was completely lost, he couldn't get a read on Kaigaku or his intentions, but he was assured by Zenitsu, "Go on ahead, Tanjiro. I'll be fine. Thank you for your help." Tanjiro had a sour taste in his mouth for leaving his friend behind but he trusted Zenitsu. He only hoped that Zenitsu manages to figure something out or else he'll get killed.
Tanjiro looked towards Akaza who seemed visibly bored by the interaction going on in front of him. The boy called out towards the demon, "Shall we continue?"
Akaza grew irritated as he angrily pointed out, "It's funny that you insulted me for viewing life as a game, yet here you are, purposefully holding back and still wishing to fight me. What can I possibly gain from an opponent that doesn't want to take the fight seriously?"
Tanjiro furrowed his brows as he coldly responded, "Do you want me to kill you? Because that can be easily arranged."
Akaza was taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude from Tanjiro and mocked, "Ooo! There's the attitude I'm looking for! Yes, Tanjiro, I do want to die! So by all means, go all out."
"You'll have to force me!" Tanjiro exclaimed as he leapt away from the area, baiting Akaza into following him.
"With pleasure!" The demon barked as he chased after Tanjiro, prepared to receive the satisfaction he craves.
Zenitsu couldn't see anything still. Everything was dark for him even when he opened his eyes (what's left of them). He hesitantly stepped forward, struggling to maintain his balance as he had no sense of where he was or how far he was from everything. He felt uneasy, he couldn't tell what was going on around him. If a stray projectile came towards him, he wouldn't be able to dodge because he couldn't see it! He was oblivious to everything happening around him. For all he knows, Kaigaku could be right behind Zenitsu, right now, ready to kill him at a moment's notice.
Kaigaku advised, "You're still trying to use your eyes even though you can't see. Stop that, you have other senses too, you know. Try focusing on those."
The yellow-haired boy raised his eyebrows in shock, he wasn't expecting advice from Kaigaku of all people. He closed his eyes as it helped him focus on his other senses. The problem was: how was he going to utilize everything else to make up for his lack of vision? As he channeled his breathing to figure something out, he asked his former classmate, "Why are you helping me?"
Kaigaku groaned out loud as he scolded Zenitsu, "Oh my fucking god, how many times do I have to repeat myself to you, Zenitsu?! USE YOUR EARS, Zenitsu! No wonder you didn't fucking learn anything from the old man, you barely listened!"
An imaginary lightbulb turned on in Zenitsu's head, he just got an idea! He's always had very good ears yet he never fully utilized them. Perhaps his hearing is the key to gaining a new type of vision. He doesn't need his other senses right now, he needs to focus everything he's got into his hearing. Zenitsu controlled his spiritual energy by utilizing his breathing and focused it into his ears. He hoped that this would work, it was now or never!
Bdump Bdump Bdump Bdump…
What was that sound? Was that… a heartbeat? The sounds of people getting killed, the screams of demons far away. He could hear all of it. His attention was caught by the subtle sound of air being inhaled from nearby. Zenitsu unknowingly looked directly at Kaigaku who was surprised to see the boy looking in the right direction. Zenitsu took a step towards Kaigaku which alerted the demon as he prepared to stand up. However, Zenitsu paused because he was processing all the information that was being fed to him. The sounds… they all had echoes that were bouncing off of each other. Wait, there's someone in front of him?
Zenitsu called out, "Wait… are you sitting…?" Kaigaku tilted his head out of shock as he quietly stood up. "Now you're getting up." Kaigaku was chuckling in amazement as he waved his right hand around randomly to test Zenitsu's new perceptive abilities. Zenitsu furrowed his brows as he attempted to focus, identifying, "Now you're just waving your left…? No, your.. Right hand randomly."
Kaigaku grinned as he praised, excitedly, "You sly dog, you actually managed to figure it out! How'd you do it?"
"I'm just as surprised as you are. It's like… I can hear through everything. Like, I'm in a totally different world…!"
Kaigaku caressed his chin as he complimented, "Wow, Zenitsu, I'm genuinely impressed! If you weren't so intent on killing me, I would be willing to let you off the hook and-" He was cut off by Zenitsu drawing his blade and pointing it towards his former classmate.
"Not gonna happen. I don't give a damn if I'm on your good side, now. You killed our master and countless innocents, so I won't rest until your head has been removed from your body!
Kaigaku formed a somber expression as he drew his own blade and said to Zenitsu, "Shame. Alright, then, Zenitsu, let's see what's stronger! You're vengeance or my will to purge?!" Both classmates lunged towards each other, striking their blades against one another before continuing their duel to the death.
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"Show me that power of yours, Tanjiro! I want to see it!" Akaza shouted while diving down towards Tanjiro. Tanjiro landed in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by countless Night Sentinels and various other demons that were locked in combat. Tanjiro leapt out of the way as Akaza pounded his fist into the ground, causing the ground to cave in and form a crater. Tanjiro kept trying to bait Akaza into following him as he leapt back further in the battlefield. He didn't want to drag in any Night Sentinels into their encounter. Akaza launched himself from the crater towards Tanjiro and began running as fast as he could. The demon bobbed out of the way of every projectile that was aimed towards him, he wasn't going to let anything stop him from reaching Tanjiro! As he ran, he began punching the air in front of him repeatedly with enough force to create air bullets that shot towards Tanjiro. The boy was able to evade each bullet with ease. Soon, they began approaching a rocky area of the wastelands they were in which prompted Tanjiro to fire the meathook of the Super Shotgun towards the top of one of the plateaus and reel himself up. Akaza growled from the annoyance of constantly chasing Tanjiro, jumping off of various rocks to ascend the plateau to catch up to Tanjiro.
Tanjiro flung himself over the plateau and began skidding along it's surface until he came to a stop. He whipped around to see Akaza zooming towards him as he stated the name of his attack, "Destructive Death: Leg Type, Explosive Flurry." The demon performed several straight kicks in rapid succession towards Tanjiro.
The boy countered with his own attack, "Sun Breathing: Beneficent Radiance." as he spiralled into the air with his blade extended. Akaza threw his body backwards until he was standing on his hands and performed a backwards handspring to gain some distance from Tanjiro. However, as he did this, his arms were slashed open by Tanjiro, much to his surprise. Once the boy landed quite a distance away, Akaza commented:
"That's odd, I was sure I dodged your attack."
Tanjiro swung his sword briefly to shake off the blood before answering, "I told you I was getting used to your little technique."
Akaza furrowed his brows before angrily pointing out, "You wouldn't have to go through all this trouble of figuring out how my power worked had you gone all out from the beginning. If the Hellwalker had his own blade when he fought me, I would've been killed in seconds. Now, here you are, with the same opportunity to kill me, yet you aren't taking it."
"It's because I don't want to kill you."
Akaza rolled his eyes before stepping forward and exclaiming, "Tell me, what the fuck do you think you're going to gain from lecturing me, huh?! You want me to tell you about my upbringing? Is that it? Okay. Fine. I'll tell you what the fuck happened to me. When I was young, my father was sick and nobody wanted to fucking treat him because we didnt' have any money so you want to know what the fuck I did?! I stole money, I became a criminal! I was branded a criminal for trying to do the right thing and get my father the treatment he needs! It reached a point where my dad decided to fucking kill himself because he didn't want to be a burden to me anymore! You think that's where it ends? Ohhhhh no! After I got my ass beat by a local dojo owner, he took me back to his dojo. It was there, where I met the love of my life who was a sickly girl just like my father was! But you know what? I took care of her and helped out my new master. I did what I had to do because I had nothing left. This was my second chance at life! Just when things were starting to go well for me, can you guess what happened?!" Tanjiro stood, devastated at the story he was listening to. He had no idea the person in front of him was carrying so much pain. He knew there was something that was hurting Akaza but he didn't realize that the demon had gone through this kind of Trauma. He was cut off by the Upper Moon who repeated himself, "I ASKED you: what do you think happened?!"
Tanjiro shook his head and mumbled, "I don't know…"
"They died. My master and my fiancee, they died because a bunch of fucking weaklings couldn't accept their defeat. My master and I beat a rival dojo that was trying to steal our students, and once they found out about my arranged marriage with my master's daughter, they poisoned the well that my family drank from, killing them both!" Akaza breathed heavily after venting his frustrations, simply staring at Tanjiro who was left in silence after hearing the demon's story. As he stared at Tanjiro, he remembered a detail from his past which made him chuckle, "You know, it's funny that you're standing before me. I stole a lot of stuff to make ends meet for my father and this one time, I stole a book. This book was how I came to learn of the Hellwalker's existence, or at least, the myth of him at the time. I was never much into books, but this one resonated with me unlike anything else in my life! It told a story about the Hellwalker and how he was vanquishing evil, doing what was just. He was without mercy, he was relentless, he was my idol. So, after I lost my second family, all I could think about was the Hellwalker and how he dealt with things. I went to the dojo, the dojo that took my family from me, and I killed them all! But I didn't stop there, I couldn't live with my humanity anymore because all it reminded me of was the scum who took both my families away from me. The more I explored, the more I began to see how evil the world truly is, the same type of evil that the Hellwalker vanquished in that book! So I killed and killed and killed and killed! Once I caught Master Muzan's attention and he offered to make me a demon, I accepted without a second thought. I threw my humanity away because I couldn't stand the thought of being human, I wanted to feel less like the trash I killed!"
Tanjiro was still silent, simply listening to Akaza's story as the man continued, "Do you understand now, Tanijro?! Do you understand why I hold such resentment towards humanity and value strength above all others?! Humanity is filled with nothing but greedy, good-for-nothing, snivelling cowards and I will stop at nothing until I make sure every single one of them is dead! So tell me, are you still going to tell me that there's good in humanity? Are you going to go on some spiel that I'm wrong and humans are right?! Come on, I know you want to fucking say some stupid shit like that so come on!"
Tanjiro took a deep breath, pausing for several seconds before answering, "Although you might hate humanity, there's still a shred of goodness that's in you. You grieve for those that you've lost, you still cling to that small part of your humanity despite denying it. If you truly weren't human, you would've cast aside those emotions ages ago but you're still fighting to honor the memory of your loved ones."
"So what are you trying to say? Are you trying to indirectly insult me or are you getting to the point?"
"I'm saying you're wrong about yourself. You're still very human. Regardless of that, I can't excuse the countless innocents you've killed in your quest for vengeance. This ends today."
Akaza started laughing before commenting, "OH?! You're finally dead-set on killing me?! So the last couple minutes have been a complete waste of time?"
"No, they have not. I intend to stop you, not kill you. Your killing spree ends today, Akaza."
"Over my dead body. If you want to stop me from destroying humanity, you're going to have to fucking kill me, Tanjiro!"
Tanjiro felt a boiling anger rise up within him but he repressed it for the time being, taking a deep and concentrated breath to cool himself down. He still didn't have enough pieces of the puzzle to figure out how to counter Akaza's technique. He pondered on the situation briefly before reflecting back on his training with Yoriichi at the swordsmith village. There was a technique he learned that he never used, a technique Tanjiro saw no application in using due to his overconfidence at the time. Even now, he didn't feel the need to use it due to his overwhelming strength and speed. Now, it seems it may come in handy. However, he isn't sure how effective it would be against an opponent such as Akaza. He began putting together an idea to figure out the true nature of Akaza's ability. The only question was if it was going to work. There was only one way to find out.
Akaza assumed his same, signature fighting stance as the mystical snowflake pattern encompassed the plateau they were standing on. Tanjiro, on the other hand, closed his eyes before focusing his spiritual energy into them. Once he opened his eyes, he revealed his bright blue pupils that were coursing with wraith-enhanced spiritual energy. Akaza smirked upon seeing Tanjiro's bright blue eyes and mocked, "So it looks like you're finally taking this seriously! Good. I wouldn't want it any other way. Enough about me, Tanjiro, let's enjoy this battle while it's still fun!"
The wall standing before one's eyes by Norihito Sumitomo
Akaza lunged towards Tanjiro with a sadistic smile on his face while bringing his fist back for a punch. Tanjiro remained stationary while keeping his eyes on Akaza. Right as Akaza began to throw his punch, Tanjiro moved in advance as he weaved out of the way of the attack with the demon zooming past him. The demon dug his feet into the ground to slow himself down before whipping around and lashing at Tanjiro once more. Akzaza went to perform a wide, sweeping kick against Tanjiro but the demon was surprised to see the boy already dodging as he performed a small hop over Akaza's kick. The Upper Moon cursed, "What the hell?!"
Once Tanjiro was on his feet again, he performed a straight kick towards Akaza who danced out of the way, twirling in the air before landing on his feet and turning towards Tanjiro who was standing still, looking directly at him. The gaze Tanjiro was giving him was unnerving, it was as if the boy was predicting his attacks just like he could predict Tanjiro's. No, it's impossible! Only he knows this technique, there's no way an amateur like Tanjiro was able to mimic it.
Akaza lunged forward once more, "Destructive Death: Eight-Layered Demon Core." before performing several, consecutive punches in an unorganized fashion to throw off Tanjiro. The boy's gaze did not shift from Akaza, he did not look anywhere else. It was as if he was seeing-through the demon, seemingly lost in a daze as he mindlessly avoided attacks. No no no, there's just no way that this kid managed to figure it out, did he?
Tanjiro mocked while evading Akaza's attacks, "Heh, your little ability is quite useful. No wonder you were able to evade death for so long." The demon's eyes widened in panic as he backed off and transitioned into his next attack:
"Destructive Death: Air Type." Akaza threw several punches in the air which created air bullets that sped towards Tanjiro. Tanjiro brought his fist back before snapping it forward. The force of his punch created an air bullet exactly like Akaza's which, upon impact with the demon's attack, completely overpowered the Upper Moon's air bullet and passed right through. Akaza exclaimed right before he was hit by the attack, "What the f-!" the air bullet smashed into the demon with enough force to send him flying backwards. Akaza's body slid on the ground before coming to a stop. He felt the area of the impact on his body, briefly, before cursing under his breath, "You son of a bitch, this shouldn't be possible! That's my attack!" Akaza sprung onto his feet before wildly charging towards Tanjiro and shouting the name of his attack, "Destructive Death: Annihilation Type!" Akaza lunged forward while throwing his fists forward for his attack.
Akaza gasped to see Tanjiro lunging towards him the same exact way while punching with both of his fists. In that moment, when their fists collided against one another, there was a brief pause before a shockwave exploded from in-between them. The shockwave blew in every direction as it separated Tanjiro and Akaza from each other, blowing them away several meters back as they slid to a stop.
Akaza growled at Tanjiro's capabilities, he couldn't believe what he was seeing from the boy. Those were his techniques being used against him! The demon's heartbeat sped up, was he getting worried? No! Not to an amateur like Tanjiro. He calmed himself down by taking a deep breath before sheepishly smirking and mocking Tanjiro,"You think you might have my ability but you're wrong. Tell me, what do you see?"
Tanjiro was still looking at Akaza, the ability that Yoriichi taught him allowed Tanjiro to see through the skin of his opponents. Tanjiro was able to see Akaza's muscle fibers and tendons. The trick to successfully predicting your opponent's attacks was to observe the subtle muscle movements leading up to it. Similar to when an opponent swings a sword. Do not pay attention to the sword, pay attention to the body swinging the sword. It's the same philosophy with this technique. Tanjiro answered, "I can see right through you, your attacks aren't too impressive."
Akaza began chuckling at the insult as he pointed out, "That proves it, you aren't in my world. I won't deny your little trick is impressive but it's nowhere near as honed as my technique. I wager that you need to be able to see me in order for it to work whereas mine acts as a sixth sense. You can't see my battle spirit, Tanjiro. I'll give you an 'A' for effort, you almost made me believe you copied my ability. I won't lie, I got a little worried there, but I won't let you pull a fast one like that on me, again."
Tanjiro's plan somewhat worked, he ended up making the demon paranoid enough to spill a clue for the nature of his ability. So it comes down to a battle spirit, huh? What makes up a battle spirit? How can Akaza see it? Further questions Tanjiro will have to sort out as he fights Akaza.
Akaza's attention was drawn towards the battlefield near them. He watched as the night sentinels, ARC, and the DSC fought against the demons, slaughtering each other in relentless combat. He paid attention to some of the demons that were covered in a blue aura and noticed how much faster and stronger they were compared to their brethren. He saw a possessed imp get destroyed and emerging from the carcass of the imps body was a transparent blue spirit that quickly shifted to a new host.
The Upper Moon squinted his eyes while in deep thought. Tanjiro eventually called out, realizing Akaza wasn't paying attention, "Are you daydreaming over there?"
Akaza shook his head with his eyes closed as he nonchalantly stated, "No, no, I wasn't daydreaming. Just getting an idea is all. Say, I thought you were going all out once you whipped out those blue eyes but your little scar isn't all glowy. That means you still aren't going all out, right?"
Tanjiro paused before answering, "I don't intend to kill you. I think there's a way for me to help, I just wish you'd stop trying to fight me."
"I don't need therapy right now, Tanjiro, I need a good fight and you aren't giving it to me. I think you just need a little push, something to make you go all-out and I think I know what."
"And what would that be?"
"I reckon killing your allies might do the trick, what do you think?"
"If this is just some attempt to piss me off, it's not going to work."
"You think I'm bluffing? Okay, Tanjiro, Okay…" Akaza started backing up towards the edge of the plateau with his arms raised to shoulder-level. Tanjiro cocked his head out of bewilderment, inching forward as the demon stepped back because he was unsure of the demon's plan. Once Akaza stopped at the edge, he took a look towards the bottom to see all of Tanjiro's allies fighting below before returning his gaze towards the boy and smiling, "Try to stop me."
Akaza dropped from the plateau towards the intense combat below. Tanjiro's eyes widened as he raced after Akaza, leaping off the plateau after the demon who was already at the bottom, killing Demon Slayers and Night Sentinels left and right. The Upper Moon zoomed towards a Night Sentinel, striking with enough force to make the armor shatter and kill the person inside with a single punch. His ability alerted him to an incoming opponent from behind who tried to swing their sword but it was just another naive Night Sentinel. Akaza whipped around, shoving his foot into the man's face with enough power to twist the man's head and end his life. Numerous members from the Demon Slayer Corps approached Akaza with their blades drawn. The demon stood still as he waited for each of them to attack him. As each one stepped towards him, he rammed his fist through each of their bodies and tossed them aside like trash, leaving them to bleed out as their entrails spilled onto the floor.
Akaza had gathered the attention of most of the allied forces now as they began redirecting their firepower towards Akaza. However, they were stuck because if they focused on Akaza, the other demons would get to them but if they focused on the other demons, Akaza would get to them. As a result, they began losing ground and were forced to retreat. Akaza lunged at a young boy from the demon slayer corps and effortlessly rammed his fist through the child and proceeded to use him as a human shield to eat up some of the blaster bolts fired at him from the Night Sentinels. The demon raised the boy's body up, laughing wildly as he watched the young boy's body get blown to smithereens by the sentinel energy. Akaza dropped the mutilated corpse and proceeded with his mindless killing spree.
Tanjiro ran after Akaza, pushing aside the demons that got in his way as he shouted, "ENOUGH! Sun Breathing: Flash Dance!" before zooming towards Akaza at incredible speeds. Akaza reacted quickly as he grabbed onto another member of the Demon Slayer Corps he was chasing after and raised the child in front of him, towards Tanjiro. This forced Tanjiro to stop his attack as he skidded to a grinding halt in front of Akaza. However, once he stopped, Akaza grabbed the child's head with both of his hands and twisted it like a pretzel, snapping the boy's neck and killing him instantly.
Tanjiro's bright pupils dilated to mere dots upon seeing the horror of one of his peers being mercilessly killed in front of him. Akaza mocked, "You still going to hold onto that no-killing promise? I think you need a bit more motivation." The demon dropped the corpse onto the ground before rushing towards the army of fleeing soldiers. Tanjiro prepared to chase after Akaza but he was immediately swarmed by the demons of Immora which quickly surrounded him. Tanjiro did his best to fight through the horde of demons but he was already too late as he had lost sight of Akaza. Damn it, he can't afford to take his eyes off of Akaza, he's going to kill too many people and it'll be Tanjiro's fault! He needs to find Akaza quickly before it's too late
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The Doom Slayer was now in front of the Immoran wall which cast a dark shadow over the entire area. If the Slayer didn't have a night-vision mode built into his suit, he would have a hard time seeing where he was. Surrounding him were the corpses of several hundred demons that had been waiting to ambush them but, unfortunately, charged towards their deaths. The Slayer's eyes traced up the wall, he wasn't even able to see the very top. Regardless, he needed to get through to stop the Dark Lord who was eagerly awaiting his arrival. The Slayer switched communications channels so he could be on the same frequency as Valen before speaking to him, "I'm at the wall. I'm going to break in."
Valen sounded as though he was preoccupied but still managed to say, "Give them hell, Slayer, I'll join you as soon as we've taken care of this demon carrying multiple swords."
The Slayer took a deep and concentrated breath as he focused his spiritual energy into a singular attack. The Slayer ignited the demonic crucible, bringing the blade back as he continued taking a deep breath before finally stating the name of his attack, "Blood Breathing: Sixth Form, Armageddon." The Slayer swung the Crucible horizontally. It was as if the warrior was cutting through space and time, tearing a hole into the dimension as the crucible left behind a burning trail of argent energy. Finally, the warrior completed his swing as he bent his knees and braced himself for the impact of his attack. The entire bottom portion of the wall blocking off the area he was in was obscured by a gigantic explosion that was generated from the attack. The smoke and debris cleared just as quickly as it presented itself, revealing a humongous, gaping slash-shaped hole in the wall that was at least a mile in-depth. He could see the city of Immora on the other side. He reported to Valen one more time before charging in, "I'm going in."
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Tanjiro had cleared an entire sector's worth of demons yet he was unable to find Akaza. The boy was panting from panic, he wasn't exhausted, but he was slowly losing his cool. The boy was filled with immeasurable frustration because he was held back by the other demons while Akaza was left to slaughter his allies. He had to get back to finding the demon, quickly! He had to or else Akaza would kill everyone! Before he left, the boy looked around one last time as he couldn't shake off the unnerving feeling that he was being watched. However, after looking around, he saw nothing. With nothing else to worry about, Tanjiro immediately took off in the direction where the allied forces had retreated to. It didn't take him long to see split-open corpses lifelessly resting on the floor with blood soaking the ground Tanjiro stood upon. The further back Tanjiro went back, the worse it became with the number of bodies multiplying. He was in a ravine-like section of the wastelands, the paths were curvy and obscured by chunks of rock. Tanjiro quickly looked behind him and saw nothing. For a moment, he thought something was following him. It must've been his imagination. Tanjiro then heard nearby screams which prompted him to investigate. There were no other demons around so this had to be Akaza! Tanjiro jumped over a large rock wall and into another open area. There, he found Akaza on the other side. Like every other area Tanjiro had passed through thus far, this one was filled with nothing but corpses and blood as well.
A vein jut out from Tanjiro's forehead, his anger was reaching a boiling point and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it back. He heard the frightened cries for help from another member of the Demon Slayer Corps who was bleeding out and crawling away from Akaza who was walking towards him. Tanjiro drew his blade and zoomed towards Akaza as fast as he could, he wasn't going to let the demon hurt anybody else, not on his watch! Tanjiro made sure he didn't miss this time and swung his blade at the appropriate moment as he watched his blade cut through with ease.
Except, Tanjiro didn't cut Akaza. The boy blinked before his eyes widened in despair upon seeing the same child who was crawling away from Akaza be cleaved in two by Tanjiro's attack. Akaza was a few feet back, arms crossed as he proudly watched Tanjiro cut down his own ally. The two halves of the child that Tanjiro cut down plopped onto the floor like a ragdoll. Tanjiro stared in wide-eyed disbelief as his sword began trembling immensely. Soon, Tanjiro dropped the blade onto the ground as he fell to his knees, his entire body shaking from his boiling rage. He cradled the upper half of the boy's body in his arms but his head and arms fell limp, his eyes rolling back lifelessly. The boy's blood was pouring out of his body and spilled all over Tanjiro's suit.
Akaza knelt down in front of Tanjiro and began taunting, "Now, are you taking me seriously? These are the lengths I'm willing to go to in order for me to get what I want. I will kill a thousand more people before I even think about dropping my vengeance. And if you want to stop me, you are going to have to go all out and kill me." The demon stood up while keeping his eyes on Tanjiro. He made a sour expression as he noted, "hmm, but as I am, now, it still looks like I can't push you. If only I had a bit more power, that would do the trick. I doubt Master Muzan would be willing to give any more blood right now."
That's when Akaza noticed something hiding behind the rock wall that Tanjiro jumped over. It was one of the spirits that Akaza saw earlier, the ones that assimilated the demons and made them stronger. Akaza called out to it, "Hey! Come over here, I demand more power!" The spirit cautiously revealed itself before slithering over towards Tanjiro and Akaza. It was a twin-horned spirit that looked vaguely familiar to the demon but none of that mattered right now. Akaza spread his arms out wide, puffing his chest as he opened himself up for assimilation by the spirit. The apparition looked towards Tanjiro briefly before fusing itself into Akaza and providing him with more power.
It has to be this way by Jamie Christopherson
"With this, you'll have no choice but to take me seriously!" Akaza exclaimed before his voice crescendoed into a shout. Strains covered his entire body as he was enveloped in a blue aura. The demon yelled as his body grew considerably, his muscle mass expanding as his eyes began to glow with the same color of the spirit. His hair began to spike upwards with his voice becoming increasingly deeper. It didn't take long until Akaza was a hulking giant that stood tall above Tanjiro. The demon began chuckling to himself upon seeing Tanjiro become such a tiny creature before him.
Tanjiro growled intensely as his eyes had dilated to mere dots. He slowly stood up while lifting his head to face Akaza. Their eyes were locked as their fierce gazes clashed with one another. Tanjiro could see the blue aura of the spirit enveloping Akaza. On the other hand, Akaza was able to see the rageful, burning battle spirit of Tanjiro grow by the second. Yes, it was just like the Hellwalkers!
Akaza let out a battle cry but he was immediately cut off by Tanjiro snapping his fist forward and striking Akaza with a speed he couldn't react to. The large demon was pushed back several meters. Tanjiro's fist left an imprint on the demon's body but the wound instantly healed, leaving Akaza feeling giddy at the prospect of finally getting the fight he wanted. As the demon looked back up, Tanjiro was already diving down from above with his fist drawn back. Tanjiro's fist rammed through the ground, where Akaza stood, at full force, creating a large crack that spread across the area as a crater formed around him. Akaza had side-stepped the attack and performed a kick towards Tanjiro. The boy bounced over the kick, landing on his hands and slamming his leg into Akaza's side, causing the demon's internal organs to convulse in pain, before rapidly spinning in the other direction to kick the other side.
Standing here, I realize you were just like me
Trying to make history
Akaza grunted in pain before fiercely grabbing the boy and charing forward as fast as he could. Akza rammed through an entire chunk of wall while using Tanjiro as the battering ram. Upon smashing through the wall of rock, they began to descend a steep drop over a group of Night Sentinels battling against the demonic forces of Hell with their vehicles and mechanized suits. Tanjiro pried himself free from Akaza's grip and tried slashing the demon several times with his nichirin blade. Akaza weaved out of the way of every attack, ducking and throwing his body to the side to avoid getting cut. Once Akaza saw an opening, he struck the boy to the ground with a mighty punch that shook the ground and attracted the attention of the nearby Night Sentinels who were focused on their opponents once Tanjiro crashed. The boy was obscured in uplifted dust and dirt when Akaza landed in front of him. The demon smirked once he saw Tanjiro picking himself up to continue the fight. Akaza was now faster and stronger than Tanjiro, he was sure of it! The only way he could be beat is if the boy started going all out!
But who's to judge the right from wrong?
When our guard is down, I think we'll both agree
That violence breeds violence
But in the end, it has to be this way
"Sun Breathing: Fake Rainbow." Tanjiro began zipping around Akaza, slashing at the demon furiously as he cut into the demon's skin with his nichirin blade. Despite Tanjiro's afterimages desperately chasing after him, Akaza was still able to keep up with the boy. The demon started subtly dodging once he noticed the cuts were deeper than he expected. Akaza jabbed his hand forward the moment he predicted Tanjiro would be within reach. However, the boy's perceptive abilities allowed him to evade the grab as he brushed past the attack and uppercutted the demon's gut with enough force to blast out one of Akaza's organs before following through with his punch and launching Akaza back into the wall of rock next to them. Without hesitation, Tanjiro quickly drew the Super Shotgun and fired it's meathook into Akaza.
Once the meat hook was lodged into the demon's skin, Tanjiro forcefully yanked the demon from out of the rock wall and slammed him into the floor where there were several demons bunched together by the Night Sentinels. Once the dust settled, Akaza erupted from the debris with a powerful shout. As soon as Akaza stood up, a large shadow was cast above him as a large Sentinel Troll mech, a mechanized suit that was as large as a tower, brought its foot down upon Akaza to squish him.
Akaza caught the gigantic mech's foot with his hands while being pressed into the floor, causing the foundation he stood upon to collapse underneath his feet. Regardless, Akaza stood steadfast as he began pushing back with enough power to make the mech lose balance and start falling back. The demon seized this opportunity to grip the foot of the vehicle tightly and start spinning in-place with the mech hanging out to the side. Akaza became a saw blade as he spun the Troll relentlessly, smashing it into other nearby sentinel vehicles, troops, and demons. Once Akaza gathered enough momentum, he tossed the gigantic Troll mech towards Tanjiro who braced himself by stowing away his two weapons and extending his hands outwards.
The mechanized vehicle slammed into Tanjiro as he caught it, pushing him back several dozen meters as he managed to resist being toppled over by the machine. Tanjiro's feet dug into the ground, leaving a trail through the ground that followed him as he was pushed back. However, Tanjiro's enhanced strength allowed him to miraculously stop the vehicle and save everyone inside. Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived as Akaza rammed through the vehicle like a spear to get to Tanjiro, impaling the mechanized suit and causing it to explode in a ball of flame and smoke that consumed both Tanjiro and Akaza within it.
I carved my own path, you followed your wrath
But maybe we're both the same
The world has turned, so many have burned
But nobody is to blame.
Tanjiro and Akaza were still fighting within the smoke as their special techniques combated against one another. Both fighters danced through the smoke, blade clashing against fist and creating a clanging sound with each impact. The force of their repeated strikes was powerful enough to blow away the smoke surrounding them but they didn't care, they continued clashing against one another. Akaza pushed forward, blocking Tanjiro's sword slashes and immediately reached for the boy's throat once he found his chance.
Tanjiro didn't hesitate, he immediately slashed his sword into Akaza's throat and lodged his blade inside the demon's neck. Akaza chuckled at Tanjiro's futile efforts to decapitate him but he was surprised once Tanjiro managed to twist the demon's arm enough for him to kick into his own blade to lodge the sword even further into the demon's neck. Akaza's eyes widened in shock as he quickly threw Tanjiro back before ripping the blade out of his hand and tossing it behind him.
It's tearing across this barren wasted land
I feel new life could be born
Beneath this blood-stained sand
Akaza had enough as he prepared his strongest technique to push Tanjiro, "Destructive Death: Final Form, Blue Silver Chaotic Afterglow!" Akaza began punching and kicking furiously and as fast as possible in every direction once he noticed Tanjiro leap towards him. Each punch and kick Akaza performed generated a powerful shock wave that shook the ground intensely. The shockwaves blasted into the other nearby Night Sentinels and demons that were still fighting, knocking some down while others were annihilated by the force of the shockwaves.
Akaza slowed down once he was sure he had annihilated everything around him. Once he stopped, he looked around to see if he could spot Tanjiro. He couldn't pick up on Tanjiro's battle spirit anywhere nearby. That's when he felt an intense and rageful spirit nearby, he looked in the direction of the spirit but it was gone by the time he turned around. Akaza blinked and the upper half of his body was removed from his legs with a single cut. Once he opened his eyes again in that instant, Tanjiro was grabbing ahold of his face, his scar now a burning bright blue like it should be, causing Akaza to smile before his head was crushed underneath Tanjiro's grip, splashing blood all over Tanjiro as he dropped the rest of Akaza's body on the floor, waiting for him to regenerate.
The spirit that had assimilated Akaza fled his body as it was left to hover over Akaza's soon-to-be-regenerated body. Tanjiro paid it no mind, simply dismissing it as he kept his attention on Akaza. The spirit slowly hovered away while keeping it's gaze fixed on Tanjiro from a distance. The demon instantaneously regenerated with his back against the floor. He looked towards Tanjiro to see the boy's intense stare fixated on him. Akaza chuckled upon seeing Tanjiro's full power. Yes, that was the bright blue color he wanted to see. Akaza partially sat up before mocking, "Come on, what are you waiting for? I'm right here, you can kill me in an instant and get this over with!" Tanjiro did not move, growling as his chest puffed from breathing so heavily from his rage. Akaza threatened, "If you don't kill me, then I'll just have to go after your friend and family. Who should I go after, first? You seemed to flip your shit over that girl from earlier. Maybe I should start with her?"
The scene of a disaster by Yasuharu Takanashi
Tanjiro clenched his fist tightly to the point his entire arm was shaking from the effort. Akaza's expression widened in awe as he saw Tanjiro's battle spirit grow exponentially. Akaza pointed out, "Yeahhh, there we go, that's the anger I want to see! But for all of your efforts, you'll never understand my pain! You haven't experienced the pain that I have! You don't know what loss or suffering is like! You're nothing but a pissant of a boy scout that's patting himself on the back for having a moral high-ground! I'm telling you, Tanjiro, if you don't kill me, I will go after your friends and family!"
Tanjiro sheathed his blade, picking Akaza up by the throat before shoving the demon backwards. Akaza made a bewildered expression at Tanjiro's actions, just what was this boy thinking? Tanjiro angrily stomped forward and rammed his fist into Akaza, holding back enough where he didn't punch through the demon but still had enough force to make the demon reel forward from the pain as all of the air in his lungs escaped him. Tanjiro didn't want to let Akaza off easy, he wanted him to suffer.
Tanjiro grabbed Akaza's heads with his hands, placing his thumbs over the demon's eyes. The boy used his thumbs to push Akaza's eyeballs deep into his skull, squishing them in the process as Akaza instinctively yelped in pain. The demon threw several punches towards Tanjiro but every time he struck Tanjiro, it was as if he was striking a brick wall. Akaza's knuckles were busted open from punching Tanjiro at maximum force and still not doing damage. Tanjiro forced his body weight over Akaza, pushing the demon down to the point the creature's knees bent forward and he lost his footing. The boy angrily told Akaza, "You think I haven't suffered like you have?" Tanjiro scooped his thumbs around Akaza's skull on the inside and got a proper grip to split the demon's head apart like a watermelon.
Tanjiro grabbed Akaza's leg as his body collapsed onto the floor, he waited until the demon had regenerated his head so he could listen before Tanjiro continued, "Muzan took my FAMILY from me, they're all gone!" Tanjiro spun around in the other direction and whipped Akaza into the floor with enough force to make the entire upper half of his body explode, shooting blood very far forward. The boy let go of the demon's leg, waiting until Akaza regenerated once more. As soon as the demon regenerated, he tried fleeing but Tanjiro vanished and reappeared behind him in an instant before continuing, "My own sister lost her humanity, she was forced to STARVE!" Tanjiro struck against Akaza's torso, sending a shockwave through his body that made the creature's torso burst open, revealing his internal organs and bone structure.
"They were MY responsibility, it was up to me to take care of them and I let them down!" Akaza whipped around in an attempt to strike Tanijro in the face, but the boy grabbed Akaza by the wrist with one hand and his fingers with the other. Tanjiro snapped off all of Akaza's fingers in an instant with a single motion. Akaza yelped in pain but fought through it as he smashed his fist against Tanjiro's forehead. The boy's head didn't budge as a result, remaining stationary.
Akaza blinked and he was suddenly swept off his feet by Tanjiro who proceeded to pummel the demon into the ground with a single punch. He held back enough for the demon to not be disintegrated by the impact but had enough power behind it for Akaza to feel every bone in his body shatter from the single hit. Tanjiro climbed on top of Akaza, pinning him down before relentlessly thrashing Akaza's face. "I let all of them down! Mother, Nezuko, Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta!" Tanjiro entered a blind rage as he repeatedly pummeled Akaza, causing blood to splatter in every direction as Akaza's face was hideously disfigured by Tanjiro's fists."I wanted to kill every demon! Every single one of you! I wanted to make you and Muzan pay for all the horrible things that you've done!" Tanjiro planted his hands on the blood-stained ground before leaning towards Akaza, their faces mere centimeters away from each other as the boy screamed at Akaza, "I HATE YOU!" before finally obliterating Akaza's head with a single strike.
Tanjiro sat up, still breathing heavily and unsheathing his blade as he raised it up high, pointing it towards Akaza as he waited to end the creature's life. The demon regenerated his head, he was wide-eyed in fear as he instinctively raised his arms in defense. Tanjiro's arms shook, he wanted to bring his blade down and end Akaza's life so badly, "However… killing you and Muzan… won't bring my family back… It won't change what happened…" Tanjiro dropped his arms, sheathing his blade as he fought against his urge to kill. Akaza's eyebrows curled upwards from how baffled he was, he desperately cried towards Tanjiro:
"WHY?! WHY WON'T YOU KILL ME?!"
Tanjiro quickly pinned Akaza's arms to the ground, leaning in as he answered, "I WANT TO! I WANT TO MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE! EVERY FIBER IN MY BODY WANTS TO END YOUR MISERABLE EXISTENCE BUT YOU DON'T GET TO CORRUPT ME AS YOUR ANGER HAS CORRUPTED YOU!"
"Then why? Why are you letting me live…?"
There was a pause as Tanjiro tried to catch his breath, "Because it's the right thing to do… I understand you. You think that, by killing everything, it'll make you feel better but it won't! No amount of killing will close that hole in your heart! You have to rise above the pain. It nearly corrupted me, the only difference between us is that I had the right people around me to bring me back whereas you were all alone. You have to move on and accept what happened. Our families will never come back to us, that's why we have to be strong and carry on without them! Your hunger for strength has made you lose sight of the most valuable things in life. That's the difficult part about being strong, we tend to forget about the things we cherished when we were weak. You treat being weak as a disease, but it's you who ultimately lost yourself in the pursuit of strength."
Tanjiro forced himself onto his feet, sniffling before taking several steps back and pointing towards Akaza, "I want you to live with that inside your head. I want you to know that there will always be someone ready to put you in your place. I have beaten you in every way possible and I will give you this one chance to change. One. Chance. If I catch you trying to hurt ANYONE ever again, I will not hesitate to kill you." Akaza's head fell back as he simply laid on the floor, motionless, and staring up into the cloudy Immoran sky. Tanjiro turned his back towards Akaza and began walking away from his opponent. Nothing else needed to be said, as much as the boy wanted to go back and finish the job, he couldn't allow himself to turn into Akaza. Although they were kindred spirits, Akaza represented to Tanjiro a possibility to turn into a rage-filled killing machine just like the Doom Slayer. However, the boy already made a promise to himself that he wouldn't ever let himself go down that dark path again.
With Tanjiro's threat neutralized, it was time for him to help everyone else.
