The entire room Kagami, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Miss Tamayo, and Yushiro were trapped in was almost completely destroyed. Wooden pieces of furniture, of the roof, and walls were broken, cracked, and laid in splinters all around their feet and in their hair. In only a matter of seconds, they had been completely overwhelmed by colorful balls that bounced around the room chaotically and in angles that shouldn't have been possible to move in.
Kagami was more than sure that balls shouldn't have the strength to destroy an entire room in less than a second. That was when she saw who was standing outside of Miss Tamayo's home, grinning and smirking devilishly at them.
There stood two demons who looked at them with pure joy filled with malice. Holding a temari ball in each hand was the demon girl. She was pale and had orange eyes with vertical cat-like slits and white horizontal slits. Her black hair had orange-colored ends with a pair of matching long silver earrings and a matching orange kimono, a black haori over it. She smiled and bared her wicked fangs at them, menacingly bouncing her balls off the ground.
Kagami couldn't see the eyes of the demon behind the Temari Demon. He kept his eyes closed but acted as if he could see what was happening. He had pale grey-tinted skin and very short black hair. He wore an olive-green kimono with a dark gray haori over and an akoya necklace with large blue pearls.
The Temari Demon cackled as the tiny paper Kagami had saw earlier pinned to the top of the house float down and land harmlessly, and possibly uselessly, against the ground.
"You were right, Yahaba!" the Temari Demon cackled again staring at all five of them. "This building just materialized out of nowhere," she drawled on.
The male demon chuckled lightly, and spoke, "The handiwork of someone using a Blood Demon Art to hide objects well."
Kagami gasped lightly when the male demon lifted his hand up to his head and could see an eye on its palm! The sclera was dark green with an orange pupil marked with a red arrow as the iris! She has never seen anything like that before!
A smirk was on his face but it quickly scrunched up into confusion and disbelief. "What is this? We're tracking down Demon Slayers, and they're with demons."
The Temari Demon paid no attention to the fact Demon Slayers were fraternizing with demons. Instead, she just exclaimed, "Ooh, do you smell that, Yahaba? I smell a rareblood! One of our Demon Slayers is holding the power of 100 humans inside of her right now. Imagine how much stronger we'll become with just one lick of it! What fun this is!"
Kagami growled at the prospect of being killed and devoured because of her so-called rare blood.
The Arrow Demon looked at his partner with his hand, a look of annoyance and frustration appearing on his face, huffing, "I have to say, Susamaru, your way of doing things is just so immature! So careless. It's messy! My kimono is covered with dust!"
"Stop your whining," the Temari Demon scoffed with the roll of her eyes. "We found them right away thanks to my temari, so who cares? Now, it's time to play!"
Kagami quickly ducked her head when she watched the demon launch her two temaris' at them again. Two more holes appeared in what was left the wall of the house. With no support, the rest of the wall crumbled away revealing Kagami, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Miss Tamayo, and Yushiro. The Temari Demon smirked at them all in devilish delight.
How did they know a couple of Demon Slayers were in Asakusa? Was it Muzan Kibutsuji? Did he send them after their encounter back in the city?!
What the hell?!
When the Temari Demon threw her two temari balls again, cackling and giggling like a witch, the balls immediately veered off into different directions and crashed into the room. More splinters, wooden pieces of debris, dirt, and dust fell down all around them. All Kagami could hear were the small ringing of the balls bouncing and smacking into the wooden floorboards, surrounding walls, and roof with so much strength it was tearing the whole place down around them!
Tanjiro kept his arms around Kagami and Nezuko protectively, watching the balls bounce, bounce, and bounce away.
Suddenly, one of the balls bounced towards Miss Tamayo!
"Lady Tamayo!" Yushiro exclaimed getting in front of her protectively, ready to deflect the ball away, when it suddenly veered downwards.
Without giving Yushiro a second to process what had happened, the ball veered upwards once again towards him and smashed itself straight into his head! Kagami screamed out in terror watching a waterfall of blood pour out of where his head used to be. There was nothing left of it. Only small pieces of meat fell to the blood-soaked floor as the rest of his unharmed body fell backwards into Miss Tamayo's arms.
"Yushiro! Dammit!" Tanjiro had screamed removing Kagami and Nezuko from his grasp. Then, he turned his head towards his sister, screaming, "Take the lady sleeping in the back somewhere safe outside!"
When Nezuko nodded her head in understanding, Miss Tamayo quickly screamed, above the loud destruction around, "It's too dangerous! We have a basement, so take her there!"
"Good idea! Nezuko!" he then commanded her.
Nezuko nodded her head and quickly left to the other room.
Kagami and Tanjiro quickly faced the direction of the demons, their Nichirin Swords unsheathed and balanced in their tight grips. When she heard the Temari Demon cackle outside, she almost lost her nerve. She doesn't know how to fight a demon that's preventing them from enacting close-quartered combat. They're being forced to stay on defense! She tried to use the wind to her advantage, to give her some sort of indication on how to fight this demon, but it gave her none.
The wind around her moved in all directions sporadically. The Temari Demon's aura was so thick and strong it nearly suffocated Kagami! It was unlike any aura she's felt from demons she's fought before. It wasn't even close to as strong as Muzan Kibutsuji's but it was definitely stronger than the Swamp Demons' aura. What did that mean?!
The temari balls bounced back into the hands of their mistress, the chaos abruptly dying down for the moment.
The Temari Demon's smirk never wavered, it only widened seeing Kagami and Tanjiro's unsheathed swords.
"Hm," she purred, "Now, now, let's see here. We were told about a Demon Slayer with hanafuda earrings accompanying a Dragon Breather. That would be you two, right?"
Both Kagami and Tanjiro stiffened at what sounded like a hunt for them.
They're… hunting us?
Tanjiro immediately turned to Miss Tamayo and exclaimed, "Miss Tamayo, please find a place to hide! These demons are after us!"
Miss Tamayo's resilience and resolve didn't waver when she spoke, "No. Tanjiro, I want you and Kagami to fight without worrying about us. We'll be just fine without your protection. After all," she met their eyes and her voice hardened into determination, "We're demons too."
"It's all over for you now!" the Temari Demon screamed before throwing her balls at them again.
Kagami watched it as the colorful red, yellow, white, and blue ball spun towards her at lightning speed. She could dodge it before it could even get close to her, but she saw what happened to Yushiro. He tried to deflect it but the ball moved out of the way then sharply turned back on him, severing his head from his body before they could blink!
She needs to feel the wind, the push, and the momentum of the ball to keep herself from dying.
Then, Tanjiro, beside her, lifted his sword up diagonally and thrusted it out, screaming, "Water Breathing! Seventh Form, Drop Ripple Thrust-Curve!"
He jabbed his sword out just as the ball got closer. The tip of his sword touched the side of the ball, a dozen water ripples rippling across the air in front of them, with the sword stabbing and passing through the ball. It was stopped in its movement, Kagami and Tanjiro almost taking a small breath of air, when the ball suddenly smacked itself against Tanjiro's head, escaping his sword!
Tanjiro groaned and nearly fell to the ground in pain, clutching his head.
"Tanjiro!" Kagami gasped grabbing his arm.
He didn't look hurt. He was only in pain from the ball striking his head. He placed a hand on his head, trying to stifle his groans of pain, but he was failing. Her friend was hurt from trying to protect both her and his sister. She won't see him, or either of them, experience any more pain than they should.
"I'll try to buy us some time. We will need to rely on our senses for the meantime," Kagami informed him before standing behind the broken wall.
Taking in a deep breath, Kagami swirled her sword all around her body, never faltering or stopping once, screaming, "Dragon Breathing! Second Form, Surrounding Darkness!"
Ending the spin with her sword jabbing outwards towards the demons, she violently blew outwards. A large cloud of steaming hot black smoke billowed out from her lips. For every second she blew, another large cloud of smoke that one couldn't possibly see through wafted through the room and spilled into the outside world. She blew, blew, and blew until there was no more air in her lungs. By the time she gasped for air, everything was covered in black smoke. None of them should be visible to those demons lurking outside.
It was so thick Kagami thought she was going to choke on it, but found that neither of them did.
"Nice work, Kagami," Tanjiro spoke rubbing his head.
She nodded her head in thanks then heard Miss Tamayo call for Yushiro.
Kagami thought he was dead. That his head being removed clean off from his body would've surely sent him to his grave. Instead, she watched, in both disgust and horror, as little bits of blood vessels stuck out from the shredded skin of his throat. They wiggled and moved all around before hundreds, then thousands, more appeared before her eyes.
First it was his blood vessels, then his bone, muscle, then skin began to reconstruct his head. It was only able to form his neck and the lower half of his head before beginning to slow down.
"Lady Tamayo!" he gasped out. "Didn't I tell you? That we shouldn't get involved with those Demon Slayers! From the start! My concealment spell isn't perfect! I know you're well aware of that yourself! I may be able to conceal the presence of buildings and people, their scent, but I cannot mask their very existence! The greater our numbers, the more traces we'll leave, and the greater the odds that Kibutsuji will find us!"
That's probably what caused the attack to happen so close and so fast in the first place. Yushiro's Blood Demon Art of concealment must've concealed their scent from Tanjiro and their auras from Kagami.
Yushiro's head was almost finished healing. The reconstruction of the top half of his head revealed pure anger in his eyes, the growl dripping from his mouth, and his tousled green-black hair. His veins stuck out of his head, his fangs bared, and his once-human looking eyes were those of an angry demon.
"Anyone who ruins the time I spend together with you… I despise them!" Yushiro admitted to Miss Tamayo, who didn't look surprised like Kagami or Tanjiro. "I despise them with passion! It's unforgivable!"
Kagami's smoke dissipated at the cackle of the Temari Demon.
It revealed the demon removing her haori and pushing down the sleeves of her kimono to reveal a small black sarashi that covered her chest and upper abdomen. The muscles that were hiding under her kimono bulged in the moonlight and a smirk wider than ever stretched across her face.
"Who's having fun?! I know I am!" she cackled loudly. "To be killed by me, one of the Twelve Kizuki, you should be honored!"
"Huh?" Kagami cocked her head in confusion as Tanjiro mumbled, in disbelief, "Twelve Kizuki?"
"They serve directly under Kibutsuji!" Miss Tamayo quickly explained.
The Temari Demon grew arrogant at their ignorance of the Twelve Kizuki. She laughed harder and louder as she lifted her arms up. The sides of her abdomen began to bubble viciously before sprouting out four more arms! Those four arms then materialized balls of their own! Tanjiro and Kagami have to take great care of not getting hit by not just 2 but 6 balls!
"Now then, let's keep playing! Until morning comes… until you're all dead!" she laughed horrendously before throwing all balls at once!
Kagami and Tanjiro immediately jumped out of the way as all hell broke loose.
Moving over, under, and dodging around each other, Kagami and Tanjiro tried to deflect the balls and keep themselves from hitting hit. She used the butt of her sword to hit a ball away but it immediately curved at a U-turn back to her. Those balls kept changing directions even when they weren't hitting anything. The angles they moved were impossible to do without hitting some sort of barrier.
Whenever Tanjiro sliced a ball in half, they would stop in mid-air before slamming themselves in their bodies. Even though the balls lost force and much momentum, their impact was still painful, causing moans of pain to slip out of Kagami and Tanjiro's mouths.
She had to concentrate. Why were those balls acting strange?
There! She felt it!
Two different auras were emitting off the balls. That means two different demons would've been handling the balls. That's impossible! She knows the Temari Demon would be the only one touching the balls.
Except… the Arrow Demon was nowhere to be found!
It has to be him!
"Miss Tamayo! Yushiro! No!" Tanjiro suddenly screamed.
Kagami turned and her eyes widened at the sight of those two. They had missing pieces of flesh from their bodies in a spherical shape!
When Tanjiro tried to race towards where they were crouched, trying to keep their heads low, the balls immediately threw themselves at him, keeping him at bay. They kept deflecting more balls but it was no use. They couldn't protect them, not with those balls of imminent destruction a looming threat to their mortal beings.
"We'll heal soon enough! Don't worry about us!" Miss Tamayo screamed bleeding from the ground.
"Hey! Idiot Demon Slayers! If you look at the arrows, you can tell which direction they're going! Dodge the arrows!" Yushiro screamed at them.
Kagami ducked again, narrowly missing a temari ball, and screamed back, confused, "What arrows?!"
Yushiro immediately frowned and huffed in annoyance, "Seriously, you can't even see them?" He reached inside his crimson red-stained kimono and pulled out a piece of paper. His eyes and the small piece of paper glowed an aqua blue, and he quickly spoke, "I'm lending you my sense of sight! Then, you should at least be able to cut off that temari woman's head!"
He flicked both pieces of paper in their direction and she watched they moved themselves onto her and Tanjiro's forehead.
When she blinked, she nearly screamed at the bright red arrows bouncing all across the room with the balls strictly attached to them bouncing right towards them! She… She can see them! There are actually arrows moving across the sky! These balls were simply following them as they sporadically bounced everywhere and curved in mid-air towards them!
It explained the trajectory of the temari balls!
Kagami and Tanjiro had an easier time dodging the balls and watching where they would turn next!
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro screamed seeing her appear from the shattered doorway. "Let's go outside! Take care of the demon in the tree! Kagami and I will handle the Temari Demon!"
Nezuko nodded her head and the three of them quickly fled the house. The balls immediately flung back into the hands of their mistress when the Temari Demon saw them leave. Nezuko simply jumped over her and pushed herself into the trees as Kagami and Tanjiro readied themselves to fight the demon smirking widely in front of them.
"You came here for us? Now, you're going to fight us!" Kagami growled lighting her sword aflame.
"The Demon Slayer with hanafuda earrings and the rareblood Dragon Breather, no doubt about it!" the Temari Demon cackled. "I'm going to bring those heads of yours to him. What fun this is!"
Kagami and Tanjiro readied themselves for the onslaught of temari balls that was to come.
They ran in separate directions as fast as they could when the Temari demon threw all 6 balls at once towards them.
The giant red arrows filled her vision and chased her from different angles around her. Kagami raced by trees, ducked low under branches, and sharply turned at Miss Tamayo's house. The balls smacked into the trees and into the house, should've been forced to stop in their tracks, but they instead bounced off their barriers. It seemed no matter what she did, the balls would only keep going!
Please, Nezuko! Hurry!
Kagami and Tanjiro went back-to-back in the center of the lawn, watching as all 6 red arrows aimed straight for them. Then, suddenly, the arrows disappeared! Taking advantage of the no-longer curving balls, Kagami's sword lit brighter as Tanjiro's began to drip water.
They pushed off each other's backs and readjusted the grip of their swords.
"Water Breathing! Third Form, Flowing Dance!"
"Dragon Breathing! Tenth Form, Flight of the Sun!"
Colors of red and blue filled her vision as their bodies flowed and moved gracelessly across the ground, their swords cutting the temari balls in half, before moving towards the Temari Demon. Without hesitating, the hissing flame and angelic waters mixed together to form a fiery purple that glowed brighter and swayed like liquid. Moving, and breathing, together, Kagami and Tanjiro dashed for the demon and sliced all of her arms off in one fluid, V-motion.
Sliding against the ground to a stop, Tanjiro screamed, "Miss Tamayo!"
Standing, still injured, in the hole of the wall was Miss Tamayo and Yushiro.
"Are these two demons closely related to Kibutsuji?" he asked her nearly out of breath.
"Possibly!"
Kagami nodded her head and burned her sword brighter. She aimed it at the Temari Demon and growled, "Looks like we found our first blood samples, then."
She thought it was going to be easy, extracting their blood, but the six arms they had cut off dissipated immediately.
The Temari Demon cackled under her breath. A devilish smile stretched across her face when she laughed, "You think you're going to extract blood from us? I don't know what you're scheming, but I won't allow you to do anything to displease him!"
She placed one foot back to face the unsettled Kagami and Tanjiro.
"If you think you can extract blood from us Twelve Kizuki, then have it!" she challenged them with a sinister smirk.
"Watch your back!" Yushiro screamed from inside the mansion. "Don't let your guard down! If those two really are Twelve Kizuki, then they're undeniably more formidable than any other demon you've faced before!"
Is that why their aura is more powerful than all the others? Because they're just as strong as Kibutsuji himself?
"Thanks, Yushiro! We'll keep our guard up!" Tanjiro exclaimed.
Fear began to course through Kagami's veins, her hands beginning to shake, when the Temari Demon's arms grew back within a second. That demon could regenerate so fast, so fast even if they were to chop her arms off over and over again it would simply regrow just as fast! Even the demons' regeneration during Final Selection were slow. Was that the power of the Twelve Kizuki?
The Temari Demon prepped her arms, pulling them back, ready to throw her volley of temari balls. "I can almost taste the rareblood! He'll be so happy having your heads as trophies!" she cackled.
Before Kagami and Tanjiro could even move, a large shadow fell upon them from up above. When they looked up, they gasped when it crashed into their bodies toppling them all to the ground. Sprawled across her legs was an unconscious Nezuko! The demon she was battling, the Arrow, jumped down from the trees with a smirk on his face, both hands with eyes on the palms trained on them.
"Good! You three can die together!" the Temari Demon cackled throwing a ball.
Tanjiro and Kagami each grabbed Nezuko's arms and rolled over 3 feet away. The temari crashed into the ground where they previously laid, creating a giant crater sending cracks along the ground.
"Are you ok, Nezuko?" Tanjiro asked her when she picked her head up slightly.
She nodded it, glaring and growling at the Arrow Demon.
"Hey, Demon Slayers!" Yushiro called them from the hole. "You get rid of that arrow man first! We'll take on the temari woman with Tanjiro's sister!"
"Understood!" Tanjiro confirmed.
When Nezuko craned her head back, looking at her older brother, Tanjiro spoke, "Nezuko, don't push yourself too hard. Alright?"
When Miss Tamayo approached from the hole, still holding her wounded head, Nezuko suddenly gasped, staring wide eye at both her and Yushiro. Then, with anger and determination glinting in her eyes, she assumed her demon form and stood on her feet.
Kagami and Tanjiro followed suit, standing back-to-back with her, as they faced the Arrow Demon, and her facing the Temari Demon.
Then, they all took off towards their enemies in the speed of light.
We will survive, we will win, no matter what! We will get those blood samples to turn Nezuko back into a human! No matter how many demons need to die, no matter how many we have to fight, we will survive and win!
Kagami's sword lit aflame and Tanjiro's dripped water as soon as they got close to the Arrow Demon.
The demon's eyes were closed and his face was scrunched with concentration, possibly trying to think of what he should do, but it was too late. They were already within striking distance and one swoop motion should cut off his head and end it all!
"Ugh! What grimy little urchins you are," the Arrow Demon scoffed in disgust before lifting a hand. "Don't come anywhere near me!" he screamed as the eye on his palm blinked.
Kagami and Tanjiro brought their swords down… only to miss!
Her footing suddenly slipped underneath her, sending her toppling to the ground! Before she could even hit the ground, she screamed when her body was suddenly flung backwards and towards the other side of the lawn! Her body slammed into the brick wall surrounding the mansion, pain quickly skyrocketing through her back with the breath being knocked out of her, before she was suddenly smashed into a tree!
Before she could recuperate, or even take a small breath of air, she was pushed into the sky, then down towards the ground, left, right, diagonal up, smashed into the ground, left, right, up, into the ground again, up, and into the ground again! Over and over again she was being smashed into the hard, dirt ground!
It was happening without a second thought, without wasting any momentum and all in one fluid motion, and she couldn't handle it!
She tried to dodge a red arrow rapidly approaching her but she only stepped into another arrow's path.
Screaming, Kagami's body flew high into the air and was circled around the mansion, before crashing into something else. It was hard, bony, and it sent even greater pain throughout her body. What the hell did she even hit up in the sky?!
"Tanjiro!"
"Kagami!"
They grabbed each other's hands, trying to keep each other close, but two large red arrows pierced their bodies, pointing towards different directions. They screamed when their bodies were forced apart, their hands slipping out of one another's grasps, before Kagami's red arrow suddenly disappeared.
She braced herself for another hit but realized quickly there wasn't going to be another one!
Kagami watched fearfully as her body began to plummet towards the ground! If she doesn't do something, she will become a stain to be forgotten! She needs to somehow unleash a move that will soften the fall! But what?!
A small gasp left her mouth. She could try it, but she doesn't even know if it'll do any good. She needs to try!
"Dragon Breathing! Third Form, Beating Wing!" she quickly screamed.
Kagami slashed downwards diagonally and almost yelped when a large gust of wind, stronger and more powerful than anything she's ever felt before, produced. The gust of wind smashed into the ground underneath her then upwards towards her. She shielded her face, groaning under her breath as the cold wind smacked into her, but found her fall tremendously slowing down enough to the point where she landed on her feet with a heavy, loud thud.
She faced the Arrow Demon once more, trying to still her erratic heavy breathing, when her attention was taken away from him.
Nezuko, on the other side of the lawn, was dodging all of the temaris' the Temari Demon was throwing at her, when Yushiro suddenly began to race towards the demon. He instantly vanished into thin air, catching the Temari Demon off guard, when she was suddenly being hit out of nowhere! She tried to dodge and deflect the attacks when she was suddenly hit in the face!
The Temari Demon fell on her knees, Yushiro reappearing out of thin air in front of her with a look of pure anger and disgust written across his face.
He jabbed a finger down at her, spitting, "Lady Tamayo is in pain because of you! I'll never forgive you for that!"
The Arrow Demon in front of Kagami smirked. "Tamayo?" he mumbled under his breath. Then, he said louder, "Susamaru, can you believe our luck? We found Tamayo the Fugitive. What a great souvenir she'll make!"
The Temari Demon suddenly stood up, as if brushing off her brief fight with Yushiro as if it was nothing, with a ball in each hand once again. "Yes, she will," she cackled before launching her volley at them!
Before Miss Tamayo and Yushiro could warn her, Nezuko raced up to a temari with her right foot back, ready to kick it back to the demon, when her leg was suddenly dismembered by it! Blood gushed out of her open wound and she fell to the ground in shock. She was then kicked violently back into the house, slamming into the wall and falling to her knees.
"Nezuko!" Kagami screamed in horror.
The Temari Demon paid no attention to her and kept her eyes only on Nezuko. "What fun this is! I like kemari, too!" she cackled, bouncing her temari on the ground. "Yahaba? Will five heads be enough to take home?"
The Arrow Demon chuckled and smirked, simply speaking, "Too many. We only need three. The Demon Slayers and the Fugitive. We have no use for the others."
"You bastards," Kagami growled angrily.
The Arrow Demon smirked and lifted both hands in the air, ready to fight once again. Without warning, the eyes on his palms blinked and a dozen arrows flew outwards from him all at once!
Kagami flipped over, rolled under, skidded around, and moved around so fast and all at once, but she was immediately getting tired! The arrows were so fast all she could do was move! She couldn't afford to waste precious time to think about what to do next! She did notice the arrows will never disappear until they hit her, but she doesn't want them to do that! She bet her sword won't even be able to slice them either.
She watched Tanjiro on the other side try to slice them apart but the arrows only bounced off into a different direction taking him with it!
Tanjiro's body smacked into the brick wall so hard it smashed under the impact! He groaned loudly in pain, his sword falling out of his grasp. When another arrow tried to send him into the sky, he immediately disrobed his green and black checkered haori. The arrow pierced the haori and sent it into the sky, leaving Tanjiro unharmed for the moment.
Suddenly, a red arrow twisted around Tanjiro's arm and began to pull!
"Everything goes in the direction I want!" the Arrow Demon chuckled. "Your arm is going to get twisted off!"
Kagami gasped in terror. She needs to do something or he'll be armless!
She dashed towards his sword that laid on the ground, avoiding all the arrows being sent her way, but she watched as Tanjiro race towards a tree. He ran along its length, then jumped off, spinning in the air rapidly! The arrow on his arm loosened up and he managed to slip it out! He landed roughly on the ground and Kagami immediately passed him his sword.
When the both of them faced the Arrow Demon, he smirked at Tanjiro. "So, you eluded it by spinning in the same direction as the Koketsu Arrow? Damn monkey!"
Even though they were both holding their own, Kagami was feeling faint and exhausted, she could even see it on Tanjiro's face. They need to attack the demon already! But how? They would need to change the arrows' directions without touching them! Once again, how would they be able to do that?
Growling, the Arrow Demon screamed, "Time for you to die!"
Tanjiro and Kagami kicked off in different directions going on either side of the Arrow Demon. She had a plan, but she didn't know how good it'll be!
First, she'll blow the arrows away in different directions with her third form, then she'll charge straight for the demon with the powerful move of her tenth form! It should be able to cut off the demon's head!
Kagami hardened her resolve and ran faster.
She slashed her sword down and watched as the same large gust of wind blow the arrows straight out of her face and right over her head. The wind was strong, but she fought past it and dived straight forward! Lighting her sword on fire, hotter and brighter than ever, the dragon roaring and glowing bright yellow in encouragement, she screamed as she slammed her right foot down and used it to launch herself at the demon. A trail of bursting fire followed her, engulfing her entire body, when she closed in on the demon.
Tanjiro immediately joined her side, his water wheel carrying a heavy load of arrows, and joined her power.
The same powerful, purple, fiery flame that was hot as the sun and as fluid as water exploded into the air. Kagami and Tanjiro screamed, hard, before slashing together at the paralyzed Arrow Demon. The purple fiery flame quickly separated his head clean off from his body, sending both of it toppling to the ground.
Kagami yelped when her body crash landed and rolled to a stop.
"Curse you! Curse you! Curse you!" the Arrow Demon's head cursed them from a couple feet away. "All I had to do was bring back your heads, and I would've won his approval! I'll never forgive you! I'll never forgive you! Shoving my face into this vile dirt! You're going down with me! I swear it!"
A gasp left her mouth when the demon's body raised his hands, letting its eyes blink!
A dozen red arrows suddenly appeared on Kagami's body, attaching themselves to her and moving outwards in different directions! With strength she didn't think the demon had possessed, and hadn't shown throughout their entire fight, hurtled her across the lawn and towards the brick wall! She was going to get crushed if she doesn't do something… again!
"Beating Wing!" she screamed slashing downwards.
The gust of wind slammed itself into the brick wall and pushed back towards her, stopping her force and momentum.
She fell to the ground harshly, her lungs feeling as if they were going to go up her throat, but her body was sent sliding across the ground violently. There was so much weight, pressure, and agony on her body she could hardly move! But she needed to try! She needs to survive!
"First Form, Breath of Fire!" she screamed, pushing all of her strength into a slice, watching a ball of fire blow outwards from her sword.
Kagami winced, feeling the flames tickle and nick her skin, but her momentum was forced to a stop. For the moment.
Up, down, left, right, diagonal angles, and more, she was forced over, over, and over again to perform consecutive moves. Never had she done that before and her arms felt like they were going to fall off! Her breathing was heavy, it was painful to even suck in a gasp, her arms were in pure agony, her legs felt numb, and she could hardly feel her face. All she could feel is the violent tug of her body moving in directions it didn't agree with! Her muscles wanted to give up on her!
Kagami muscled the energy to turn her head and watched as Tanjiro, move after move, stopped the force and trajectory of the arrows. He looked exhausted, in pain, and frustrated. He was flown into the sky and was twisted all around. His face said he didn't know how much longer he could hold on!
She will save her friend!
"You… will… leave us… alone! Just… die… already!" Kagami screamed in pure hatred.
Energy, energy she hadn't felt in a long time, suddenly coursed through her veins and throughout her entire body. The area around her suddenly lit up like the daytime sky, warmth and heat spreading throughout her arms and legs, and she, all of a sudden, felt she could fight for hours on end. Her vision turned bright red, the outline of her body burned red, as the wind surged all around her creating a large vortex, swirling all around her.
She hadn't felt that powerful in 2 years. It felt strange, but she welcomed it with open arms.
The dragon on her blade glowed brightly, the flame higher and hotter than ever, as she surged forward!
The Arrow Demon looked actually frightened, watching as the glowing Demon Slayer charged for him with murderous intent in her eyes. The eyes on the palms of his hands blinked multiple times, the arrows surging towards her, but she slashed her sword down on them! Miraculously, the flame of her blade burnt the arrows to a crisp and hadn't attached themselves to her at all! That took both Kagami and the demon aback.
With a grin, Kagami continued dashing forward, slicing every single arrow in her way before sliding on her feet towards the demon.
"Dragon Breathing! First Form, Breath of Fire!"
She twirled on her feet and slashed downward at the demon's head and body. A large ball of heat and fire spat out from her sword engulfing everything in her sight. The demon screamed and screamed for what felt like hours as his body burned endlessly. The arrows he had sent out trying to stop her immediately disappeared. He was gone and his Blood Demon Art was destroyed.
Then, his body exploded.
Kagami screamed as she flung backwards, heat engulfing her body, and landed roughly on her stomach.
The most sickening crack she's ever heard pierced her ears and the most painful scream she's ever produced spilled out of her lips. Her entire body was in pure agony, she didn't know what broke, and she couldn't even move.
She bit down on her tongue to keep more screams and cries of agony from choking out of her, but she failed.
A harsh cry coughed out from her throat as she forced herself to roll over on her back.
Her right arm hung strangely on her stomach and she almost vomited at the sight. It wasn't the only thing that felt broken; it had hurt to breathe, her ribs must've been broken, and she couldn't feel her legs, they must've been cracked. That demon took so much out of her and her power, the power that awakened inside of her, drained all energy she had.
"Nezuko… Miss Tamayo… Yushiro," Tanjiro gasped out crawling across the ground.
When he reached for his sword, his hand couldn't even grip it! He was so exhausted he could hardly move, but he forced himself to. He used his mouth to grab the sword and crawled slowly, painfully, to where Nezuko was still fighting the Temari Demon. He wanted to see this through, to the very last demon, but how could he still have the strength to even move a single muscle? All Kagami could do was lay there, stopping the tears from running down her cheeks, and just try to breathe. Even breathing was difficult but Tanjiro could move even with a broken body.
She needed to do the same. She had to move. Nezuko is her friend. She needs to help her.
Rolling herself over, screaming, Kagami began to slowly crawl towards the other side of the house. Her muscles were on fire, her legs were screaming at her to stop moving, her only unbroken arm begged her to rest, and her lungs were nearly collapsing on her. She couldn't stop. Not then. She must see this through to the end!
Kagami rounded the corner in time to see Nezuko kick the temari away from Yushiro's head!
Her leg! It's grown back! And it wasn't severed this time either!
The impact of the ball was still too much for Nezuko. She stumbled in the air and landed roughly on her feet.
"Don't do that!" Yushiro began to chastise her. "Don't be so rash just because you're immortal!"
Nezuko didn't seem like she was paying attention to his lecture. Instead, she stared at him, wide and doe-y eyed, before lifting her hand and petting his head affectionately. Yushiro turned bright red and screamed in surprise, completely embarrassed by Nezuko's newfound adoration.
"What are you doing?! Here it comes!" he quickly screamed pushing her hand away.
The Temari Demon cackled as she threw a ball towards them. Nezuko tried kicking it away but the force pushed her back!
The demon threw more and more balls in her sinister delight but failed to notice that with every kick Nezuko produced, she began to stumble less and less. She grew more powerful, stronger, and more determined with every ball that was thrown at her. After the fourth ball, Nezuko had gained her footing and would kick hard with one fluid motion!
The temari was kicked back into the demon's hand, still spinning and moving as if it was never disturbed!
The Temari Demon looked uncomfortably surprised and looked at her ball in discomfort. Her eyes landed back on Nezuko, who was taunting her patiently for the next onslaught.
Instead, in her anger and frustration, the Temari Demon dropped one of her balls and kicked it towards Nezuko.
A game of kemari commenced.
Nezuko easily kicked the ball back at the demon who did the same. Kick after kick, the ball gained more speed, more momentum, and more force. So much force it could create a crater in the earth if kicked into the ground!
So much dust and dirt lifted into the air creating an ominous fog. Inside that fog was the never-ending game of kemari.
When the temari ball was kicked back to Nezuko, she was able to keep the ball against her foot, letting it spin faster, faster, and faster! The ball was spinning so fast it was sending Kagami's head reeling, her vision blurring. Nezuko watched it with hard concentration, with such determination, and that when she finally kicked it back, the Temari Demon had to shift her head to the side, letting the temari slam into the brick wall behind her.
A crater formed where the ball hit and finally stopped moving.
The demon looked fearful and angry at Nezuko who had bested her at a game of kemari.
It was incredible! Watching Nezuko perform such a devastating blow to the Temari Demon's ego and pride was a sight worth seeing, but the demon hadn't given up yet.
She simply cackled and smirked at Nezuko. Her temaris' reappeared in her hands as she cackled, "You're an interesting little girl! This time, I'm going all-out against you! I wonder how long you can hold out!"
Nezuko growled and readied herself for an attack when Miss Tamayo stepped up in front of her. "You there, girl of the Twelve Kizuki. I have a question," she spoke with unwavering confidence.
"Get out of the way! Move it, you damn fugitive!"
"One question, that's all I'm asking," Miss Tamayo spoke again not faltering in her voice. "Do you know the truth about Kibutsuji? Do you have any idea who he really is?"
The Temari Demon looked angry at that. "What the hell are you saying?!"
Miss Tamayo stood up straight, lifted her chin, and spat, "That man is nothing but a coward. He lives in constant fear of something. Do you know why it is that demons can't group up? The reason why they cannibalize each other? It's to prevent demons from teaming up and attacking him. That's how he manipulates you. Demons like you."
"Shut up! Shut up! No way is he that petty!" the Temari Demon screamed out almost incoherently. She was moving, shifting violently, almost as if her mind was being taken over by some unnatural force. A nasty growl dripped from her mouth when she screamed, "The power he wields is mind-blowing! There's no one stronger than him! Not Lord Kibutsuji!"
Instantly, in the blink of an eye, the Temari Demon snapped out of her state and slapped her hands over her mouth.
Paralyzing fear, and the thought of what she could had possibly said, was imminent in her eyes, face, and body.
Miss Tamayo lifted her bloody arm and Kagami saw waves of what looked like flowing water of red, white, pink, purple, and blue lift into the air and the surrounding land. Almost mercilessly, she spoke, "You've uttered his name out loud, haven't you? That will trigger the curse. I do feel sorry for you, but… farewell."
The Temari Demon ran away screaming and sobbing into the sky uncontrollably, "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I'm begging you! I didn't mean to! Please forgive me!"
Kagami stopped crawling in her tracks and watched, wide eyed and in complete terror, as the demon's eyes changed to a bloody red color. Her pale skin turned a dark-gray and she hunched over in complete agony. The tears she created had turned into pools of blood and she kept screaming out for forgiveness.
An inaudible scream fell from Kagami's mouth when the demon violently straightened herself, the veins of her body turning red as 3 long arms ripped open her body from the inside and pushed themselves out. Two arms had pushed themselves out from her chest and the last from the inside of her mouth.
Then, without hesitating, without remorse, the arm from her mouth grabbed her head and squeezed.
Miss Tamayo had looked away and bowed her head in respect, Nezuko falling asleep in her standing position, but Kagami, Tanjiro, and Yushiro watched in absolute horror as the demon's head exploded into bloody, meaty bits, with the other arms following suit to the rest of her body. When it was finally over, only an eyeball and a twitching arm remained as the demon's haori covered the rest of that… sickening sight.
All they could do was sit there and watch. Painfully watch as a demon, who used to be a person, get ripped apart from the inside out.