Blackened claws rising high in the air glinted in the startling moonlight. Kagami's wings widened from her back, stretching along the length of her arms, and drove her forward. Tanjiro was illuminated by the brilliant red, hot-pink blaze running along the length of his sword, moving faster and faster, unwavering, angry determination contorting his features. Both swordsmen, human and demon, screamed, roared, as their sword and claws forcefully made contact with the sixth demon's neck!
A horrifying screech of metal sliding roughly against steel penetrated the air. Kagami grimaced at the ear-splitting sound vibrating her bones and sending chilly goosebumps down her spine. Her claws, Tanjiro's sword, they seemed to have stopped just at the surface of the demon's neck. No matter how hard they pressed, no matter how much strength and energy they put into the force, their weapons weren't even making a dent. Far worse, as their flames lick and burned the demon's flesh, its screams prolonged and grew harsher by the second. She felt she was going mad!
Though, no matter how much she was suffering, she wouldn't relent! It took too many lives, too many deaths, and too many sacrifices to get to where they were then. They weren't going to give up because a demon's screech compelled their souls to release their relentless attacks! No, they will keep going!
Progress! Progress! Kagami gasped seeing their weapons already halfway in its neck. Just a little more! Just a bit further-!
Every single breath was instantly snatched from her. All strength left her, hands trembling violently, vision blurring. The most coldest chill she's ever felt ran through every cell of her body. An unseen ominous aura suffocated her in a mere second. She flashed hot with terror and panic. She had never felt such fear before, only once when they confronted Muzan Kibutsuji for the first time back in Asakusa. That feeling wasn't the same, not entirely, but death was upon her. It was behind her. It was right behind them. It was right behind them!
She couldn't understand. The auras, their winds, it didn't match Joy, Sorrow, Anger, Pleasure, or Disgust's. She had no idea what was behind her! What was tailing them! She had no idea! Genya? No, he wouldn't emit such dangerous air! What is she supposed to do?
Kagami couldn't swallow the lump in her throat, but she refocused her efforts back on the demon in front of her. Beheading that demon could kill the one behind them! But Tanjiro's flames died out! The power from Nezuko's blood had run out! Not to mention, the neck was too hard! It can't be severed! Not without his power!
"Tanjiro! Kagami! Get down!" Genya called from behind, the sound of his shotgun reloading snapping her back to reality.
Kagami was an idiot... She shouldn't have continued decapitating the demon! Now, Genya couldn't fire his gun without fear of hitting both her and Tanjiro. If a stray bullet were to go inside her head, sever her neck, she'd be dead for good! If she were to use her Blood Demon Art, there's no telling if it'd consume Genya or not! She couldn't take that risk! What the hell is she supposed to do now?!
DUM!
An attack! Shit!
"Tanjiro!" Kagami screamed reaching forward and grasping his wrist.
As soon as her arms were around him, wings furling protectively over them both, the entire world erupted into a ruin of crumpled earth, frayed trees and splinters, and a thick blanket of smoke. It shook ferociously, a neverending shattering earthquake, as something rose from the depths of the darkness. Heads of a wooden hydra slithered high into the night sky, roaring fiercely. At least half a dozen heads surfaced from the shadows and spiral into the air. Riding along the length of a neck were Kagami and Tanjiro.
Kagami dug her claws harshly into its back, hanging on for dear life. She had Tanjiro pinned underneath her, his own hands digging deep into any crevice the jagged wooden skin could give him. The wind whipped through their hair, the moon and stars disappearing beneath the mayhem ensuing around them, with their bodies thrashing side to side along with its head.
There was no time to think, just act. Kagami's talons dug deep into Tanjiro's clothing and sprang them off their ride just as a head smashed where they had previously been. Instantaneously, a head pounced from behind. She immediately dropped them several feet, the head sailing by just a mere inch from the top of her head, and was forced to roll to the side a moment later as another came up from beneath. A painful scream left her mouth, eyes wavering at the stub where her arm used to be.
"Kagami!" Tanjiro screamed but it wasn't for her well-being. It was for the ground rapidly approaching them!
She swallowed the rest of her wails and spread her wings as quick as she could. Their ever-increasing momentum, their stomachs rising into the pit of their throats and hearts skipping their beat, ceased at her leathery parachute gliding them through the air. Her arm snapped back in place, regenerated, as they crash landed into the dirt.
Kagami's back slammed into a tree's trunk. She stifled her grunts and groans, arms and legs shaking as she forced herself on her knees.
Hands grasped her body and tugged her to her feet. "Kagami! Are you all right?" Genya worriedly asked slinging her arm over his shoulder.
"I-I'm fine. Please don't worry. My arm is already completely regenerated. That thing... just came out of nowhere," She choked, finding balance on the tips of her toes. She grinned at him. "Thank you, Genya."
"Don't thank me yet," He growled glaring across the smoky clearing where Tanjiro and Nezuko had fallen.
She knew what he already meant before he even spoke it. The feeling was right there just as it was a few minutes before. It was more prominent, more potent, and it took everything she had to keep her breathing steady. She glowered at the hydra staring pointedly at them all, and its master standing beneath its monstrosity.
"You brutal fiends who torment the weak..." Its growl, guttural and furious, slithered through the darkness, two bone-like double-bladed daggers wielded in its grip, "Atrocious... Offensive... to the extreme!"
Kagami froze in terror at the sight of the demon. It took the form of a short and muscular young boy with short black hair spiked up at various angles around its head, narrow golden eyes with the daiji of "Upper Rank" and "Four" engraved into them. The kanji for "hatred" etched into its tongue. It wore an angry scowl similar to Sekido's. A plate of golden armor covered its chest, along with its mismatched clothing that looked just the same as Sekido's, Urogi's, Aizetsu's, Karaku's, and Ken'o's. What confused her more were the series of drums connecting to each other inexplicably floating behind his back, each drum engraved with the kanji of "hatred" displayed.
Its scowl deepened. "Damn you, awful villains..."
Her shaky hands clenched into tight fists. Another demon. Just when she thought their situation couldn't spiral further off the deep end. She would've been more horrified at the thought of fighting seven demons at once, but she wasn't. The other five emotions, they were gone. Their auras had disappeared just prior to the manifestation of this new demon, but where the hell did they go? What the hell is happening?
Genya audibly swallowed. "What the hell is going on? How many tricks do they have up their sleeve?" He growled shakily beneath his breath.
"What do you mean?" Kagami muttered never taking her eyes off it.
Genya grimaced. "That one was the Anger Demon just a second ago! The moment your claws and Tanjiro's sword nearly slashed that tiny demon's neck, the Anger Demon raised both hands. And in the blink of an eye, he drew in the Joy Demon and the Pleasure Demon! As if their bodies were being crushed down, he absorbed both demons! Then, in another instant, the Anger Demon moved toward Aizetsu and Ken'o! Aizetsu opened his mouth as if to protest, but they were absorbed before he could get a word out! The Anger Demon's body transformed and turned into that!"
Panic rose from the depths of her chest. "You're saying... it is the manifestation of all five demons?!" Her breathing became frail.
Genya released her arm to load another bullet in his shotgun. Even that took considerable courage. "This wasn't a split, but he got even younger! He's a kid, but he's surpassed the probable main body, the old geezer, and fused!"
There, right beside it, sitting on a trunk of wood was the sixth demon she and Tanjiro had been chasing.
DUM!
One thrum to the drum on its right behind its head commenced the trunk to wrapped firmly, protectively, over the crying demon, a thick shield covering what could've been a fragile baby.
"Hold it!" Tanjiro immediately demanded seeing it curl over and over again.
The demon snapped to Tanjiro, a furious stare in its unforgiving blood-red eyes.
A choked gasp escaped Tanjiro, body frozen yet trembling in extreme fright. Even with its stare not directed at them, Kagami and Genya felt their hearts wither in their chests. It was so painful to breathe. She thought she would collapse on the floor in dread alone. No ounce of mercy or forgiveness was in its eyes. It was furious, wrathful even. The incarnation of the deadly sin itself.
"What is it? You wretch... Do you have a problem with that I'm doing?" It hissed.
They couldn't speak. They couldn't move. All they could do was grasp painfully at their hearts, eyes and mouths wide open.
It hefted its dagger higher. "Well... do you... awful villains?"
The air grew heavier, thicker. It was too hard to even swallow. Kagami didn't believe she'd ever encounter a demon that could sap all the energy from her body with just its voice. It took everything to just stay upright. One wrong move and she will fall to her knees.
Even amist the deafening silence, Tanjiro still had the courage to tighten his grip on his blade. "Tell me..." He hissed, "What makes... What makes us awful villains, and not you?!"
"It's because you torment the weak. Right?" The demon scoffed. "Just now, you tried to slash a small, weak being who could fit in the palm of your hand. Utterly atrocious! Only a pure fiend would do that!"
Something snapped in Kagami.
Teeth grinding to the point it hurt, she took a step forward, seething, nearly foaming at the mouth, "How dare you say that thing is small and weak! You're a demon. No matter the size and weight, a normal human's strength will never be compared to a demon! How can you say that when you've devoured more than 200 humans! Seeking and pillaging and devouring anyone you can get a hold on! Marechi's like myself are seen as fun competition with only a means to grow stronger faster because you're too incompetent to hunt actual humans who can fight for their lives! So don't give us that crap!"
"You're disgusting! Calling it small and weak! Those people you've killed... What did they do to ever deserve that fate?! Tell me what they did! Did they all do something they had to pay for with their lives?! Don't you dare play the victim card after killing and eating scores of people! You're twisted through and through! You won't get away with this!" Tanjiro screamed brandishing his sword, a snarl twisting his lips. "You're the awful villain, and I'll be the one to behead you!"
At their rage-induced speeches, the demon didn't falter. Its face never even wavered for a second, nor its deadly glare. Instead, it scoffed. "Is that all you have to say?"
Tanjiro's snarl grew uglier. "I'm going to cut your head off! No matter what!"
"Were any of the humans I devoured members of your family?" It sounded more bored by the minute.
Kagami growled harsher. "Are you seriously asking that? Do we need to know someone who died by your hands in order to be affected by your terrible actions?" She retorted.
The demon regarded her nastily. "Your question dodging merely proves my point. It has nothing to do with you then."
"You haven't slaughtered anyone dear to me, but that doesn't matter! You've killed people who were dear to someone else! People like that... people who will suffer the same way after this... I'm not letting any more go through that!" Tanjiro rebutted.
"Surely, you have nothing to do with those people, either," It growled.
"What kind of reason does one person need to help another?! If you can't understand something like that, then you're the fiend!" Tanjiro declared once and for all.
At his words, at the accusations thrown back in its face, it finally snarled and smashed its dagger into a drum.
Instantaneously, the hydra swerved in to attack. All together, Tanjiro's sword and Kagami's claws were brought down in a flash of sparks, blinding them all.
"Stay back! I won't let you inside!"
A human and a demon squaring off at the entrance of the shack. It wasn't just any ordinary demon attacking the building, but an Upper Rank Kizuki. The only weapon the human brandished against it was a meat cleaver. What a pitiful sight to behold, but a welcoming one nonetheless. Commending Mr. Kanamori for his bravery was a given, one that needed to be voiced, but his foolishness was something that needed to be chastised for.
The demon looked highly amused at the futile attempt to stop it. "Hyo, hyo! Why do you even bother? Could it be that you actually think you can fend me off somehow? Hyo, hyo, hyo!" It cackled jokingly. A vase was summoned in its grip. "Well, that's... comical!" Water suddenly spouted from within slashing outward violently.
A rough breath of air escaped a pair of lips. Standing from the darkness, a bow hefted in one hand, a quiver of arrows slung behind their back, they quickly took aim, commanding, "Mr. Kanamori, get down!"
The arrow was released from the threshold of their fingers and sailed quick toward the demon. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the water attacking Mr. Kanamori, dealing a dozen deep wounds across his body. He flung to the ground, a puddle of blood forming beneath it, but he still had the strength to shakily sit up, moans of agony that couldn't be suppressed slipping through.
"Hyo, hyo, hyo! I saw that measly little arrow fly from the corner of the room! Did you think such a primitive weapon could stop me, let alone get close to me? It's not even a Nichirin sword! It wouldn't have been able to hurt me anyway! Hyo, hyo, hyo!" The demon laughed mockingly in the direction the arrow soared from.
Another arrow was nocked. Stepping forward from the darkness, unafraid, unwavering, was Watanabe.
"Mrs. Watanabe! What are you doing? You need to stay back!" Mr. Kanamori begged from the floor, blood spilling from beneath his hyottoko mask.
Watanabe didn't falter. Instead, her grip tightened and her stance hardened. She scoffed. "Why must I be the one to stay back when it's this demon who is infiltrating our work shed? I thank you for your bravery, Mr. Kanamori, but I don't need to be protected. I am doing just fine on my own, more so than this demon thinks. I am a swordsmith after all, so I am competent enough to not use a weapon that wasn't made from scarlet steel to attack a demon. That is why my arrows are made from exactly that!" At her declaration, she released an unrelenting onslaught of arrows one after the other in quick succession.
The water spout spewing from the vase captured and destroyed them all. She would have persisted, would have had no problem continuing her merciless attack, if it hadn't been for the water spout surging forward. It caught her arm, leg, and chest. She fell to the ground biting her tongue, not wishing to give it the satisfaction of hearing her in pain.
The demon towered over them. It laughed haughtily staring down its nose. "What good will it do you to frantically defend this sorry shack? The village chief wouldn't be here, right?"
It was blasphemy of Watanabe to think that way, but whatever was happening in the shack, whatever she and Mr. Kanamori were fiercely protecting, was far more important than the chief himself. They had hoped to hold it back at least a while longer, at least until it was finished or reinforcements arrived, but it was far too late. The demon noticed what was hunched over behind them, the sound of screeching now audible above their panted breaths.
The demon shifted its focus behind them. They settled on Haganezuka polishing the blade of Mr. Kamado, the 300-year-old weapon the boy unearthed.
"Extraordinary steel! What an extraordinary sword! Such brilliant craftsmanship! This blade is stunning!" Haganezuka marveled unaware or uncaring of the demon at the door.
The demon smirked. "Hey, you human there!" It called.
"Who is the creator? By what kind of person was this sword forged? Why did he carve this single character rather than his own name? No! I understand! I understand why!" Haganezuka continued to gasp, ignoring the demon's calls for his attention.
The demon's smirk quickly contorted into a horrifying scowl. Annoyance and even jealously flashed across its disgusting features. Growling hatefully, it unleashed multiple streams towards the man! They lashed and whipped across his body mercilessly at a speed she couldn't comprehend. His clothing was ripped in many places, drawn blood spilling to the floor, but he did not falter. Hell, he didn't even flinch!
"Stop it!" Mr. Kanamori begged whipping out a hand to the demon.
Watanabe drew herself to her feet and readied her bow once again. She and her weapon looked pathetic, nearly broken from a single attack, but she wasn't going to fall into despair. Not before that disgusting demon. She had people counting on her. On him. On them both. Dozens and dozens of lives riding on their very shoulders for him to finish that blade. For them to deliver their weapons to those who desperately needed them. Like hell she'd let some demon dictate the end of their existence!
Mr. Kanamori gasped beneath her, "Mrs. Watanabe, stopped! The children spoke you were exhausted! You need to escape while you still can-!"
"Exhausted? I don't think so," She scoffed. "I am standing right now facing off this demon for Haganezuka, not because he is my husband but because I am a damn good swordsmith. I finished that Hashira's sword and Yamato's claws. All we need left is Kamado's sword, and I will not allow his concentration to be disturbed! Those Demon Slayers are counting on us to deliver their weapons. I will not let them down. The lives in the village, and those all around Japan, depend on Kamado and Yamato beheading these disgusting creatures!"
Even as Watanabe released another onslaught of arrows, the streams of water assaulted them once more. She fell to the ground, agonizing pain wracking throughout her entire body, and lifted a bloody, wounded hand to her face. Her hyottoko mask was missing. She felt flesh beneath her finger tips. She didn't care it was gone, she didn't care if Mr. Kanamori could see what she really looked like. It seemed like Haganezuka didn't care either. Even without his own hyottoko mask, his black hair falling in waves past his shoulders, Haganezuka didn't lose any single bit of concentration. He stayed completely focused, eyes boring straight and hard into the blade in his hands.
"The reason why he didn't carve his name into such an incredible sword... This single character! This sword was forged with nothing but single-minded determination! This sword... was forged for this sole purpose and nothing else!" Haganezuka howled in pure fascination, ignorant of his wounds and the ever-increasingly furious demon.
The demon clenched its fists, grounded its teeth, and declared, seething, "It would be child's play to kill him, but I want to somehow make this man abandon that sword! I want to shatter his concentration!"
Ridiculous. Watanabe coughed blood from her throat but didn't let it stem the resolve in her heart. She didn't allow herself to gaze upon Haganezuka's handsome face for more than a second. It had been the first time she had ever seen him without a mask, but right then she couldn't care about that fact. Instead, she lifted a broken arrow among the shattered remains of her bow and wobbled to her feet.
Arching it above her head, eyes glaring deep into the demon, she growled, metal on the tip of her tongue, "Like hell I'll let you take that sword from him."
No more tears.
No more crying!
No more being a baby!
Mr. Tokito was trapped in a vase of water, Mr. Haganezuka and Mrs. Watanabe were by themselves in the shed, and there was no one else around. Kagami and Tanjiro were nowhere to be seen, they had to be fighting off other demons rampaging through the village. It was time to stand up and fight! Time to do something instead of crying and relying on other people to save her! To save herself, Saena!
Saena, having escaped Mr. Kanamori's grip, hid behind a tree looking on the clearing where Mr. Tokito was trapped. The demon redirected his attention back on the shack where Mr. Kanamori was guarding Mr. Haganezuka and Mrs. Watanabe. Mr. Tokito needed to be saved, and she will do whatever she can!
She stabbed her knife constantly, repeatedly, in the vase of strange flexible, rubbery water. No matter how hard and how fast she plunged the blade within, it only conformed and molded to its shape. Yet she wouldn't give up! She refused to give up!
"Don't worry, Mr. Tokito! I'll find a way to get you out of there! Just hang on! I'll save you!" She pleaded desperately seeing the bubbles floating from his lips become smaller and less frequent, eyes slowly shutting more and more. She can't panic! Not then! No matter what, she'll pry it open! With her own teeth and fingers if she has to!
"Saena! Saena, run!" Kotetsu suddenly screamed running up from behind.
Saena turned and screamed at the sight of a lobster demon aiming its pincers beside her. Even more so at the slash and cuts it made drawing across her skin and close to her bones. She whimpered at the sight of blood staining her tiny hands.
"Saena!"
A grunt fell from her lips at Kotetsu shoving himself in front of her just as pincer stabbed into his chest. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, seeing his body fall to the ground at her feet, but she couldn't waver. She couldn't turn into the sad, terrified mess she was then. She promised herself she'd be Mr. Tokito's rescuer. If she can't be, then Kotetsu's efforts would be in vain!
As hard as she could, she kicked the lobster demon away from them, not before it drove its pincer into her shin. She couldn't stop the wails from escaping her lips, the agony and throbbing shooting up her leg, but she stumbled forward. Dragged and limped toward the bubble containing Mr. Tokito. For the first time she had seen him, he looked terrified. He slammed his hands against the wall, seeming to want to scream something himself, staring horrified at the bloody mess she and Kotetsu became, but she ignored him. Instead, she took in a deep breath, no matter how much it hurt, and placed her lips to the vase, breathing out.
She smiled at the stream of bubbles, of air, gliding into his mouth, watching him inhale and take a deep breath. She collapsed to the ground and closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted. Not before she watched, in awe, at the simultaneous slashes of his blade swirling all around the vase exploding the thing like a geyser.
Mr. Tokito is finally free!