Kagami, Tanjiro, and Nezuko raced towards the other side of the train car and threw open the door leading to the outside world that skimmed by them hundreds of kilometers an hour. As soon as they took one step onto the platform, both Kagami and Tanjiro recoiled in disgust. Shoving his fist into his nose, Tanjiro winced and groaned out shakily, nearly gasping, "It's the demon. His scent is overwhelming, even in such a strong wind. How did I manage to sleep through it?"

The aura that had surrounded her in her dreams was nothing compared to what she was standing in. She only got a taste of what was to come in those nightmares. Right then, placing a hand to her chest to steady her breath and her erratically beating heart, she nearly fainted at its mere presence. The air was thick, powerful, and nearly forced bile out of her throat. The aura surrounding the train car was venomous, vile, and left a bitter taste in her mouth. Even with the wind surging all around them that should've masked the demon's presence, she then realized it wasn't an ordinary demon that was left standing in the train. She initially believed it was as powerful as Kyogai's, former Lower 6, but she would be a fool to underestimate it.

Kagami stuck her head out into the dark, foggy night, holding herself steady gripping the railings on either side of the small platform tightly. The large forest that breezed by her waved in greeting and good-bye but it gave her an awful ominous feeling. As if something from within was watching them.

She felt the tiny shift of air flowing through her hair that didn't belong to the natural wind violently blowing by them. It tugged at her black locks hanging from its ponytail towards the front of the train. "The demon. I think it's in the first car," She quickly informed Tanjiro.

Tanjiro nodded in agreement. "Let's go!"

One after the other, they gripped the arched edge of the train car's ceiling. With one powerful smooth motion, they kicked their legs out and used the momentum to push their bodies up and over onto the roof in a backwards flip. "It's dangerous, Nezuko, so don't follow us past here!" Tanjiro quickly spoke to Nezuko, looking over the edge carefully, who waited patiently on the platform below them. "Go wake everyone up!"

Then, the two of them took off down the lobster-plated roofs of the train cars towards the demon that must be standing nearby. Except the two of them wouldn't have to run far. Not at all. They had taken less than a dozen steps, jumping from their car to the next, when their eyes suddenly landed on a figure. They stood tall and straight with their back turned to them. The front and back tails of their black dress coat flapped in the wind behind them and their black hair with red-pink tinted ends followed shortly behind. At the sound of their rapid then abrupt stop of their footsteps, their head turned to reveal a small but smug smirk.

Their blue ringed eyes met theirs and sparkled in delight. "What's this? You're awake now? Good morning," He mockingly spoke turning to face them with a small wave of his hand. "What a shame. You could've stayed dreaming forever," He added with a small coo revealing a large mouth with pearly white teeth on the back of his hand.

"Tanjiro," Kagami softly but sternly muttered under her breath as her eyes scoured the demon.

Tanjiro kept his hand firmly on the hilt of his sword and muttered back, "I see it. He's the one."

LOWER RANK ONE

Among the green-yellow colorful squares that adorned the demon's extremely pale cheekbones going down towards his jaw-line was the kanji for "Lower One" etched in his left eye. He didn't seem displeased or confused on how Kagami and Tanjiro escaped their dreams inflicted on by him. He seemed intrigued and interested. "Why are you awake? Did I not show you a dream tailored to your every desire? If I had so wished it, it could have been a dream where your family was being slaughtered. Where a young mother protecting her husband and child was dying a horrible, painful death. Would you have liked those better?" He chuckled lightly and dreamily. "Of course not. Much too distressing."

A young mother protecting her husband and child was dying a horrible, painful death...? My mom... Did he... kill her?!

Both Kagami and Tanjiro growled at the sick and twisted games the demon wanted to play with them.

He seemed to be enjoying their reactions. Placing a soft fist against his mouth and lightly giggling into it, he said, "Or here's an idea. A dream where your dear parents come back to life."

"You keep our parents fate out of your mouth!" Kagami growled angrily.

She quickly unsheathed her sword, the fiery-red blade singing and dancing in the darkness, and the flickers of flame spiraled along her arms. The flames of her fury and anguish lit up the dark sky that was threatening to swallow them up. Tanjiro's grip on his hilt tightened and he let his energy rev up his core sending shock-waves of power through the air. The veins in his head protruded out of his skin and the look of hate was etched across his face. His own internal fire was dancing along his red irises and he pushed himself in an offensive stance, Kagami following and doing the same. They weren't going to let the passengers on the train share the same fate as its last unfortunate victims.

The demon's pleasing smile nearly faltered but it widened when he sighed out loudly, "How can this be, when the human desire to wrap themselves in a cheerful world of their own imagination... is of such a giant magnitude?"

"Intruding on one's soul is something I won't allow!" Tanjiro suddenly screamed whipping his sword out from its sheath. "This trespassing of yours... shall not stand!"

Kagami and Tanjiro stood side by side with determination, concentration, and fury coursing through their veins. She doesn't know how tough this demon, this Lower One of the Twelve Kizuki, was going to be. She would've died against the Father Spider Demon if it hadn't been for the Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, and Tanjiro had barely survived his encounter with Lower Five but also needed the assistance of Tomioka to decapitate him. They have a Hashira of their own, Mr. Rengoku, but he was fast asleep trapped in a dream the demon forced him to be in. Nezuko should be in the process of waking him up but they would need to hold out until she does. Through sheer will but, above all, teamwork.

Suddenly, the demon's smile widened and his mouth opened in pure delight revealing his sharp, pointed fangs. "Those earrings... and that fire along with that delicious smell...! Ah!" He gasped throwing out his arms as if embracing the wind. "What good fortune! Like moths to a flame, they came right to me! Could this be a dream?! Now I can receive an even greater share of Master Muzan's blood! Once I've done so and become even more powerful, I can challenge an Upper Rank demon in a duel and usurp their place!"

Muzan Kibutsuji is still sending demons after us to do his dirty work... He won't escape alive!

"Water Breathing. Tenth Form..."

"Dragon Breathing. Tenth Form..."

They held their swords in two hands, left and right, and pushed the point behind them, their right fist in a reverse grip. Water spewed out along the edge of Tanjiro's blade and the fire cackling along her own roared to life. He elegantly glided the blade through the air letting the water follow and swirl along his body like a small but powerful river. Little spits of fire and residue kicked off her blade and jumped on the roof of the train car beneath her but the flame rose higher and higher. It moved from her arms to her legs and to her hair lighting everything ablaze but causing no burns.

"Constant Flux!"

"Flight of the Sun!"

The water that swirled all around them roared in anger. The head of a water dragon appeared from the other end and growled at the demon smiling delightfully at them.

"Blood Demon Art! Whispers of Ordained Unconscious Mesmerism!"

Kagami and Tanjiro pushed off the ground and surged for the demon! The water that poured out of Tanjiro's blade swirled faster and stronger. The flame that poured out of her blade and off her body lead a small trail of fire behind her. Their eyes were focused completely on the demon when he suddenly brandished his hand. The mouth embedded on the back of it smirk and grounded its teeth together. "Go to sleep, dear child," She heard it whisper delicately but cutting sharply through the rough wind.

Something hit her body and she felt as if she was slammed face first into a wall. When her eyes opened, she found the forest surrounding her family home all around her. The demon put her back to sleep with only a few words spoken from its horrifying hand! She could only imagine her and Tanjiro's bodies falling over the side of the train car and plummeting to the ground!

Without hesitation, she brought her blade up to her throat and slid it along her skin, seeing and feeling her blood rushing out and hearing the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

With a growl, her eyes flicked opened and replace themselves back on the demon gazing down at her with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. The fire that had doused itself when she was forced to sleep reignited in an instant. The water that had abruptly stopped and vanished into thin air resurfaced and swirled all around them once again. Kagami and Tanjiro made two quick horizontal slashes at the demon's neck forcing him to retreat to the other end of the car. His body flipped through the air and he deftly landed on one hand brandishing the mouth-embedded one.

"Sleep now!" It commanded.

The moment unfamiliar trees and a strange sun set pierced her eyes her blade was already slicing deep into her neck. Kagami and Tanjiro whirled around, pushing herself away from the edge of the train car and nearly having her body shredded by the train tracks underneath, and continued racing for the demon.

"Sleep now!"

SLASH!

Her body had been stumbling forward on its numb feet but the moment she awoke she continued running! She never stopped or hesitated! Not even for a second!

"Sleep now!"

SLASH!

"Sleep now!"

SLASH!

It slightly unnerved her that she had grown desensitized to the thought of slicing her own throat open to wake up but she won't dwell on it! The demon was growing desperate and restless! She could see on his face he couldn't understand how they kept waking up after every spell placed on them. The sight of her blood staining the patchy grass beneath her feet, the sudden abruption of her heart in her chest, and the air that wouldn't fill her lungs didn't bother her after so many tries. Even if the demon kept forcing them to sleep both she and Tanjiro knew how to wake up.

Kagami and Tanjiro surged forward with their flame and water tracing after them. They both harshly slashed upwards to decapitate the demon but he once again dodged their attack. Flipping backwards, he moved to land on his hand-but Kagami had predicted the move. She flew forward and slashed downwards where he would've landed. If he hadn't seen her move faster than the speed of sound his hands would've been sliced off and his Blood Demon Art rendered useless until he healed. He somehow managed to push himself back up into the air without touching the train and levitated for a moment in the sky.

Kagami's eyes flew upwards and once again saw his brandished mouth-hand. A powerful blast harsher than the others slammed right into her. She didn't even let herself set her eyes on the horizon or on the trees that brushed by her cheek. The moment her vision went black was the same moment that steel met the skin. Then, the darkness awakened her to the same demon but with a brand-new frighten expression on his face.

The demon couldn't even seem to grasp the situation. His Blood Demon Art was affecting her, the both of them, and putting them fast asleep in a deep dream. What he couldn't understand was they remained self-aware through the entirety. No longer did they believe in the softness and sweetness of those false lies he calls dreams. They were going to continue to take their own life in order to be reawaken. They would continue to commit suicide in the middle of the dream, to take their own life with their own hands, to defeat it. She doesn't care if it was abnormal or inhumane. Kagami would rather die fighting a false prophet than be ignorant and live in a dream that would be cut short by his hands.

Together, Kagami and Tanjiro both performed different slashes and strikes towards the demon. They weren't going to give him a chance to continue putting them asleep. She would slash and he would follow with his own. The demon was forced to move and jump backwards to avoid the deadly shine of their blades but either one of them would meet him where he would land. Without remorse or hesitation, they kept slashing and slicing, neither one of them giving up. What drove them even more, forcing power and energy to course through their veins, was the sight of black and red strands of hair blowing through the violent turbulent of the wind. They may've been out of their own minds but sanity was not what was required to defeat him! It was willpower and determination!

Water and flame mixed together and the familiar bright burning color of purple filled her eyes and the forest around them. The bright blue water and the burning red flame collided just like they always did when they performed the dance only the two of them could comprehend. Their hearts and minds collided and they both shared the same voice in their heads when their eyes settled on the frazzled demon. The bright violet purple flame moved gracefully and glided through the air like water and burned like fire. Pushing off against the floor, the two of them moved like one and slashed-!

Her entire world... was suddenly coated in the deep color of blood. It was as if the blood moon was casting its deadly shadow onto the world symbolizing the end of days. Her breath was caught at the back of her throat when she saw something moving from within an unfamiliar home that laid silently in the bloody snow around them. The crying of a small distressed child pierced her ears from inside the building. Someone stood outside the door.

Kagami took a few steps forward but immediately stopped herself. A hand flew to her mouth and horror and terror flew through her core. The child was covered in blood and deep marks that should've left him dead. Tears ran down his face and stained the bloody haori that was wrapped around him. He knelt in a pool of the rotten, iron smelling substance and casted his milky white eyes up to the person standing before him. "Why didn't you save us?! We needed you, Brother! Waa! Waa!" The boy cried and continued to cry in his hands.

Brother?

A boy older than the small one came out of hiding and shoved the person into the light of crimson red hue. Splotches of blood stained his clothing and a trail of it slid down from the corner of his lips. "While we were being murdered, where the hell were you?" The boy growled angrily and weakly stepping in front of another small boy who had looked just as grisly as the rest of them.

Kagami's eyes widened seeing a young girl with long trails of blood running down from the scalp of her head. She watched her hand feebly grab the person's haori. A look of disdain and disgust flew across her face and her grip suddenly tightened. "Why were you... the sole survivor?" She growled.

Brother? Sole survivor?... Tanjiro?

Her heart skipped a beat and forced a painful gasp out of her. She knelt in the darkness of the doorway of the same home that was streaked with blood and smelled of rotten flesh. Inside the room knelt Tanjiro and a man she had never seen before. He was frail and sickly but looked so similar to Tanjiro with the long red hair and red eyes. He had been in his futon drinking his tea before he roughly threw the wooden cup at his son.

"You couldn't even save your own family!" The man seethed at him with such anger and hatred it made her sick. "You're so useless!"

Another skipped beat of her heart.

Her feet was drenched in blood and she was surrounded by the bodies of the children she saw earlier. One was missing. She slowly turned her head and saw a woman holding the dead body of the child who wouldn't stop crying in her broken arms. Tanjiro beside her gasped softly. His eyes widened tremendously and were filled with immense pain that tugged at the strings of her heart. She must be... his mother.

"You're the one who should have died that day," The woman spat at him. "But instead you've gone and just left us all behind."

Her heart skipped another beat.

"Kagami..."

Her father's voice pierced her head and she whimpered at the poison that dripped from his tone. She was standing in front of the garden that she buried him in and took multiple steps back. All of the flowers they had grown together had wilted beyond comprehension but that wasn't what scared her. The dirt that coated his body shifted violently, as if someone was punching their way out, before a hand revealed itself from the hell beneath.

It was all bone with bits of skin hanging off. The other worldly sounds of moaning and groaning filled the air as other hand forced its way out of the dirt coffin. It then collapsed on itself when a full figure stumbled out and stood before her. It was her father. He was missing most of his flesh but what was left was rotten, brown, orange, and green, mold and insects made his body their home, and he looked at her with disgust. His green eyes were nothing more than black voids and the past of a man she once knew.

"You're... a disappointment. It should've been you rotting in a grave instead of your mother," His hoarse and thick voice filled the air. "I... hate you."

Father...?

Tears filled the brims of her eyes... but she furiously wiped them away.

No, not father! An illusion!

With an angry roar that burned her throat, Kagami's blade violently met her neck and her wild eyes landed on the demon once again. He had a smug smirk on his lips but it faltered immediately.

"Don't put words in the mouths of our family! They would never say that!" Kagami and Tanjiro shrieked at the top of their lungs and charged forward. The purple fire reignited and they moved closer, closer, and closer to the demon, fueled by the fury, rage, and disgust that swelled up in their core by the horrifying dream the demon forced them in. "Your visions... They insult their memory!"

Kagami and Tanjiro jumped high in the air and rotated their bodies several times. As he turned clockwise and she counter-clockwise, the momentum of their fiery purple blaze rose higher and higher, the strength thrumming and vibrating in their hands with each passing rotation, and the power that emitted could blow her away. The memory of her father, stern yet protective, kind yet strict, entered her head. She would defend his honor till her dying breath! Keeping a tight grip on her sword, they both screamed and drove their blades through either side of the demon's neck. The violet dragon roared loudly and sliced completely through letting the demon's bodiless head thump to the ground carelessly.

It was... It was over.

The violet flames divided themselves back to water and flame before distinguishing itself. Kagami and Tanjiro stared down at the demon's body but... a sense of dread still bubbled in her stomach. It felt... too easy. It wasn't what she expected... of a Twelve Kizuki. She couldn't tell if she was still stuck in a dream, or if the demon was just weaker than the Father Spider Demon.

"I understand now."

They both gasped and turned to the demon's head, the grip on their swords tightening immediately.

"I understand why the Master ordered me to have you disposed of. Disposed with the Hashira!" He cheerfully exclaimed in the air. Then, to their horror, his head turned into a mountain of pulsating red flesh that clung to the train car towering right over them! It moved and wiggled like a large worm as it soared higher and higher into the air! "It's the nature of your very existence. You're like a gaping, blistering sore on one's heel," He giggled as the fleshed revealed the demon's bleeding but very-much alive head on its end.

How... How is he not dead?!

"What a lovely expression on your face, one that I've been longing to see," He laughed seeing the terrified looks on their faces. "You're wondering why I am still alive, even after you've decapitated me. Well, I'll tell you, since I'm feeling so ecstatic. I'll try to use small words so even you can understand it." He laughed again and smirked widely. "It's because that wasn't actually my true self. The same can be said about what's before you. It may look like my head, but that is not the case. While you were sleeping like a helpless little baby, I fused my being with this entire train! Every inch of it has become my blood, my flesh, right down to my bones!"

Kagami shakily dropped her eyes to the metal beast that roared and moved beneath her feet.

"The look in your eyes. You're starting to understand," The demon giggled. "For, you see, the more than 200 passengers on this train-or should I say hostages-will soon become part of my body. Do you think you can protect them? Can you two alone prevent me from feasting on all the tasty human flesh that's been packed from stem to stem? Or will my appetite be satiated in full?"

"As if!" Kagami growled and the two surged forward.

Before they even had a chance to swipe their blades, the flesh that oozed out of his body disappeared within the train car without trace. The demon was already on the move to eat all of the passengers!

"There's no way we can protect all of the cars, Tanjiro! Only two at best!" Kagami whimpered.

Tanjiro wiped the sweat from his brow and exclaimed, "Rengoku! Zenitsu! Inosuke! We really need your help! Please wake up! I'm begging you!" They took down toward the second car and he added screaming into the air, "Nezuko! I'm trusting you to look after the other passengers!"

They ran as fast as they could, their breathing becoming hard and shallow, when something suddenly bashed into the ceiling of the train car in front of them. Then another one, and another one! Three large circular dents formed in the ceiling before caving away to a voice screaming, "Comin' through!"

Kagami and Tanjiro stopped running and smiled widely, and in relief, at the boar-headed freak that burst through the train car like it was nothing! His swords were already brandished in a reverse-grip, the shine of jagged-edge duel-wielding blades shimmering in the moonlight, as he commanded, "All right, my minions! Follow me! Keep those eyes open... and keep them forward! 'Cause Lord Inosuke is comin' through!"

Kagami and Tanjiro were extremely relieved, feeling the heavy hearts in their chest lift, seeing Inosuke finally awake, brandishing his duel-wielding swords at them, after their failure of beheading Lower Rank 1. Now that the demon had fused with the train, and learned of its true purpose as a vessel, they needed all the help they can get.

"Inosuke, the whole train has turned into a demon!" Tanjiro immediately exclaimed. "There's nowhere on it that's safe! So we have to protect the passengers! I repeat! This entire train is a demon!"

Inosuke straightened and Kagami could almost see the smug smile that was spreading across his face underneath his mask. "Huh? What do you know?" He began to chuckle at their quick explanation. "I was right all along! Talk about having absolute killer instincts as a leader, huh?!" He turned away from them, aimed his sword at the hole he created in the ceiling of the train car, and jumped high into the air. He dove straight back inside with his arms crossed over his chest and his swords glistening in the moonlight. "Beast Breathing. Fifth Fang, Crazy Cutting!" He screamed out in the air as his body twisted and turned in multiple directions, slicing all around him in mid-air.

The entire inside of the train had been transformed. It resembled the insides of an animal with pulsing, slimy flesh, lines of intestines and organs, and blood covering the floors spilled all over the seats, ceiling, and walls. What looked like the ends of intestines slithered all over and towards the civilians laying asleep completely ignorant of what was occurring around them. The spell they were under was much too powerful for them to fight even with death looming all around them. When Inosuke initiated his breathing technique and movement everything in his vicinity was sliced into multiple, gooey bits. Kagami watched in awe seeing him continue to rotate in the air promising to save every last person... if they were to bend the knee to him when it was all over.

"Inosuke is handling those handful of cars. We need to save the others," Kagami breathlessly spoke watching Inosuke effortlessly slice every new regenerated intestinal worm spiraling towards him. "We should go on ahead."

CLANG!

The most awful noise of what sounded like glass clanging against metal pierced their ears. Gasps left both Kagami and Tanjiro's mouths seeing the pulsating purple-red flesh that had been trailing the inside suddenly spilled outside! It oozed out of the sides and forced itself between even the tiniest of cracks. The train car became extremely uneven and trembled under the new sudden weight it found itself holding.

CLANG!

Another awful sound!

This time, the flesh reacted much faster and more violent. Every single piece of metal that made up the train cars was completely covered, save for a few slimy spots that were slightly exposed to the thick air. The entire train line definitely took the appearance of a large worm slithering at tens of kilometers an hour. At the curve in the tracks, the train tipped slightly to its side, the metal wheels squeaking in protest. Suddenly, two worms of flesh morphed out of the train that was as thick as the metal beast itself and towered over them. Without hesitating, both Kagami and Tanjiro slipped over the side and kicked through glass windows.

They landed rather harshly on the slimy flesh with tiny glass shards spilling around them but their eyes widened at the sight of the car. Now the insides were trailing the ceiling and dripping up and down the walls! "It's gotten this far already?" Tanjiro choked out.

At the back of the car, two more worms appeared and dove straight for them.

Tanjiro immediately readied his sword, placed his feet strategically, and exclaimed, "Water Breathing. First Form, Water Surface Slash!" With one concentrated slice, he instantly slashed off the heads of the worms forcing their bodies to dissipate before blood could spill.

Before Kagami could even think, two more worms popped up from behind them. Her blade lit aflame at the enemies that wished them harm. "Dragon Breathing. First Form, Breath of Fire!" She screamed jumping and twirling in the air. She slashed at the worms and watched as a burst of fire spit from the edge of her blade. The flame immediately engulfed the entirety of the worms and sent them wheeling in pain before dying, their bodies dissipating into nothing.

Tanjiro and Kagami were forced to go back to back. All around them, half a dozen worms reappeared from the pulsating flesh that devoured the train car and threatening wiggled in their faces.

"No good. This is never going to end," Tanjiro muttered under his breath. "How do we fend it off?!"

Suddenly, the loud boom of thunder and crackle of lightning bounced off the walls and echoed all the way to their ears. The flash of bright white and blue light pierced her eyes from the entrance of the car leading to rest of the train line. The world had jolted slightly underneath her feet and she felt the slight crackle of static flitting between her fingers. It must've been Zenitsu! Is he awake now? But if he's awake, what about Mr. Rengoku? And how was Nezuko doing?

Kagami didn't hesitate to slice the bodies of flesh slithering towards the civilians from one end of the car, neither did Tanjiro at the other end. Two of them in one car was too much already. There were so many cars she didn't know if the other civilians in the back were doing alright.

When she tried to move towards the other car in hopes of finding survivors, multiple bodies of fleshy worms poured out of the walls and moved for both her and the civilians. It took everything she had to dodge the attacks, destroy the worms attacking the civilians and then her own. She had to make sure her sword didn't accidentally hit the innocent people asleep. The area was small and restricting, it was starting to become harder to swing her sword! At every turn of her head and twist of her body, there was someone there to remind her she needed to be careful!

A yelp fell from her mouth when the train jumped high in the air!

A loud explosion accompanied the surprising and terrifying jump of the train. Her feet left the ground, swinging wildly in the air, as the train bounced back on the ground, still running as if nothing happened. She shrieked when her body tilted forward and collided against the fleshy ground, rolling and sliding toward one end and slamming at the back of the car. Feet hanging over her head and the view of her world upside down all she could feel was a bit of fear.

"What was that? Did a demon attack?" She gasped out in the air.

"I-I don't know!" Tanjiro gasped out picking himself up from the table he had landed on beside her.

A flash of red and yellow fire entered her vision. Standing over them, looming with that victorious smile she had come to familiarize herself with and bright fiery golden orbs that shined in the light, was Mr. Rengoku! "Young Kamado! Young Yamato! I was quite thorough with my strikes on the way here, so it should take the demon a while to recuperate, but there's still no time to waste," He immediately explained kneeling to their eye-level. With one strong hand and fluid motion, Mr. Rengoku grasped Kagami's arm and tilted her body back in an upright position.

Her vision spun slightly but she nonetheless exclaimed, "Right!" in agreement. She was just relieved to see him awake and fighting beside them once again!

"This train has eight cars. I will protect the rear five. The other three will be handled by Kamado's sister and that boy in yellow. During all this, you two will go with the boar-headed lad and search for the demon's head," Mr. Rengoku said his plan that he must've conjured up on the way to them. How was that possible?!

Kagami and Tanjiro gazed at him wearily already seeing what had happened the first time they decapitated the demon. "But, sir, how can we-?" Tanjiro choked out leaning forward but immediately veered back.

Mr. Rengoku pushed his face forward until it was barely a few inches from his. "Kill something without a head?" He finished for him with a smile. "It's still a demon. It has one. I will search for it as well. I hope you're fired up!" He spoke encouragingly with a strong tone of sternness, protectiveness, and pride. He wanted them to feel no fear and to see their mission through even if it seems impossible.

He turned and, with one powerful push of his foot, zipped down the train car and away from them leaving a large gust of wind in his wake. It was so fast and so strong-It had to have been what made the train shake earlier! Not to mention his tactical mind is just as quick. He was able to conjure up a plan the moment he awaken, and it wasn't too long after Inosuke did. He is impressive and mighty as well to handle five cars all by himself. He deserves that rank of Hashira!

She can't get distracted! She and Tanjiro need to get a move on!

The head must be near the locomotive towards the front of the train line. The closer Kagami and Tanjiro moved, the thicker and suffocating the aura became. It was getting stronger and stronger with each step.

"Inosuke, where are you?!" Tanjiro desperately called as they ran from car to car.

"Shut up, or I'll end you!" They heard him scream from... above them! They could hear his feet pounding on the squishy metal above their heads. "I already got my marching orders from Mr. Bug Eyes! Psh! Even with him bossing me around, though... he-he was really cool! And for some reason, that pisses me off!"

Kagami grunted forcing the train car door to pull open. The closer they went to the demon, the darker and chunkier the flesh became. She and Tanjiro continued running as she gasped out, "Inosuke, keep an eye on the three cars in the front!"

"You don't have to tell me!" He immediately snapped back. "Besides, using my awesome Seventh Form, I've already found what it is we're looking for, the Master's weak spot!"

"So it is up front then!" Tanjiro choked out.

"Sure is! And that area creeps me out even more!"

Kagami stood still for a moment and tried to sense the aura of the demon. The once rampaging thick aura that forced its way down her throat in an attempt to overwhelm her had suddenly dissipated slightly. It must've been carried away by the strong winds that surged all around them, but Kagami trusted Inosuke's senses. They've never been wrong, even with his initial thought of the train being a large beast to be destroyed! Granted they had no idea what it was but maybe he sensed something they didn't.

"Is it around where the coal is loaded?" Tanjiro shouted into the air taking a deep whiff.

"That's right!"

"Got it! Inosuke, ready?" Tanjiro shouted then turned his head to her. "Ready, Kagami?"

Kagami had fear rolling in the pit of her stomach ever since awakening from her dream but she forced its coiling to stop. She gazed into his deep red eyes and nodded her head determinedly. She won't let fear stop her from decapitating the demon. Just like before, grasping the edge of the ceiling and flipping backwards on the roof of the train car, they continued to run down the squishy and pulsating train line that was being devoured more by the second. Up in front, they saw Inosuke slice the roof of the locomotive into large pieces and break them apart like bars of candy! The pieces of metal clinked and clanged as they moved with the wind forcing Kagami and Tanjiro to drop low in order to avoid being decapitated themselves.

The roof of the locomotive was exposed... but where was Inosuke?!

"Inosuke!" Kagami called for him frantically stumbling onto her feet.

She ran as fast as she could, avoiding pieces of flesh and meat spiraling toward and past her in the wind, hearing the slice and ringing steel of metal in the air. Many more worms must've appeared when Inosuke tried to hit the demon's weak spot in defense and retaliation. When she jumped on the next car behind the locomotive, a fearful gasped choked out of her seeing at least a dozen hands grab and restrain Inosuke forcefully! His arms and legs had been pulled apart, and they started to crush his skull! No, she won't let them!

Dragon Breathing. Tenth Form, Flight of the Sun!

Her entire body lit ablaze matching the strength and heat of her sword when she surged forward. A trail of fire followed her with every step drawing out her momentum each time. She jumped high in the air and brought her sword down as she spun her body in the air, deftly and carefully slicing off the worms latching onto Inosuke. They were instantly cut in half and devoured by the flame that rampaged inside and all over her.

"Inosuke, are you all right?" Kagami quickly turned to him as Tanjiro joined he, she, and a man who seemed to be controlling the train.

Little stars twinkled all around his head and tiny bubbles spewed out from the nostrils of his mask but he screamed back at her, seemingly frustrated, "It's not like you came to my rescue, okay!"

"A little gratitude goes a long way! Why don't you show some, you boar-headed freak? Next time I might not be so keen on rescuing you and leaving you to defend yourself!" Kagami growled at him already feeling her fear for his life and safety disappearing.

"What the hell you just call me?!" Inosuke screamed lifting up a heavy fist. "I am Lord Inosuke, King of the Mountains, and I will not be talked to like that! I'll have you know I am your master and you are my underling! You want me to show gratitude? The little gratitude I will show will be not pummeling you till you can't breathe! How about that, Uami?!"

"My name is Kagami!"

"Everyone, please!" Tanjiro huffed in annoyance lifting his hands to still the arguing and tension between Inosuke and Kagami. They both huffed and turned away with their chins tilted up in defiance from each other. Tanjiro let out a small sigh, gave a slight shake of his head, and bent down to place a hand against the metal floor. "It's here. Right below. I can smell it. There's no doubt in my mind," He quickly and softly explained.

He was right. From the dissipating aura to one that was just as thick and overwhelming had produced from inside.

"Inosuke, the demon's head is under here!" Tanjiro said.

Inosuke still looked frustrated and even annoyed screaming back, "Don't order me around! I'm the leader, remember?"

"Then what's next?" Kagami groaned out not wanting to start another fight.

"Just you watch!" He cackled jumping from the train car then high above them in the air. His duel-wielding blades shined in the bright moonlight as he dipped them behind his back. "This is Beast Breathing, Second Fang! Slice!" His body dove so fast toward the ground she almost didn't see him! He had unleashed a double slash in an X-shaped cut right into the metal.

They all covered their faces at the sudden explosion of dirt, dust, and metal pieces clanging behind them and diving with the wind. Then, their eyes widened seeing what was exposed underneath. Large vertebrae lined the entire locomotive and connected to enormous walls of bright, red muscle, tendrils of nerves, blood vessels, and veins. It had... to be part of the spine connecting his neck to his body. Severing his spine even if it's not the head should instantly kill the demon as well! It has to work!

"Water Breathing. Eight Form, Waterfall Basin!" Tanjiro exclaimed jumping in the air and slashing his sword down to create a waterfall pooling on the spine. Strangely, tendrils of bodies were spilling out from the result of his attack. When the water disappeared, in the spine's place was a mass of flesh protecting it!

Without hesitation, dozens upon dozens of worm bodies shot out in many directions. Tanjiro quickly rescued the train operator, putting down on a car full of coal where the flesh had been less than effective of devouring, and returned to the battle. Kagami and Inosuke had jumped out of the car and landed on the front part of the locomotive. Suddenly, the wall of flesh began to contort and fill in the exposed area that had been shredded away by their attacks. It formed a large protective dome over its spine. The exposed bone had already been healed in just a few short seconds! It was healing faster than they could slice, and they'd been giving it their all in order to do so!

"We need to synchronize our attacks!" Kagami shouted over the wind.

Tanjiro nodded his head in agreement. "Inosuke will slash at the flesh, and Kagami and I will slash at the bone!"

"Right!" Kagami exclaimed nodding her head and brandishing her sword.

"You know what? That's not half-bad!" Inosuke commented with a short scoff. "Good thinkin'!"

"Thank you!" Tanjiro commented back before going into a stance. "Let's do it!" And took off.

Kagami and Inosuke followed suit... but weren't prepared for the colossal size red-and-purple flesh that popped out. It towered over them and was adorned with bright blue eyes, the kanji LOWER RANK ONE inscribed. Her wavering eyes stared into the blue eyes that were going to force her to fall asleep over and over again. She was afraid to go back into the deep slumber. Even though she knew how to wake herself up, she couldn't go back to the nightmare of her father calling her disappointment. She couldn't turn her eyes away or close them in time. Her mind was pierced with a voice that would force her to relive her night terrors over and over again.

"SLEEP!"