Chapter 30: Upper Demon Moon Four
Notes: No, I have not forgotten about this, don't worry. I got distracted. By my idiot children. *I say looking at a collection of favorite characters that live rent-free in my brain demanding constant attention*
Also; Apologies for Genya's potty mouth.
"So, that's what happened three days ago. And he said it'll take three days and three nights to finish polishing it. That's why the sword should be ready tonight. He also said that the sharpening methods used are so severe that people have died using them. I'm kinda worried. And he told me not to check on him. Ever. But should I?" Tanjirou asked, munching on some rice balls, turning to look at Genya.
"I DON'T CARE!" Genya exploded, "GET OUT, DAMMIT! DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE I'M YOUR FRIEND!"
"Huh? But we're friends, right?"
"No we're not, dumbass!" Genya raged, "You broke my goddamn arm! Don't tell me you forgot!"
"Hey, you hit a girl. I had to, Genya. You were completely at fault."
"Don't call me by my first name!"
"These rice crackers are really good. Wanna try?" Tanjirou, happily, offered him one.
Genya knocked it away.
"Shitface! I don't need that crap! Get out!" he shouted.
"Huh…? Your tooth." Tanjirou noticed, "Didn't you pull your front tooth out…at the hot spring?"
That stopped the other boy.
"You must've been seeing things." he said calmly.
"No I wasn't. I have your tooth here."
"Why did you take it, you weirdo?! EWWW. You're fucking gross!" that set him off once more.
"But, I mean, you dropped it and I wanted to give it back."
"You're insane! Throw it out!" Genya had enough, picking Tanjirou up and taking him to his room's door, "And fuck off!" he called, kicking him out.
Tanjirou blinked and looked back worried.
'Why is he always so mad? It doesn't smell like Shinobu's, either. There's more regret in it.'
He spend some time with Kotetsu-kun, helping him with Yoriichi Type Zero as much as he could, before returning to his room.
"Ah, Kotetsu-kun, could I ask you for a favor?" Tanjirou asked at the door.
"What is it, Tanjirou-san?"
Tanjirou handed him a piece of cloth. Inside it was a flame-shaped hilt.
"I want this to be the hilt of my new sword, if it's no trouble." he smiled.
"I'll give it to Haganezuka-san when he's done polishing the sword." the young boy said.
"Thank you." Tanjirou smiled, patting the boy's head, and left.
He fell asleep, worrying over going to look for Haganezuka-san or not.
Someone pinched his nose.
He smacked the offending hand away gently.
"I'm up, I'm up." he yawned, "What can I do for you, Tokitou-kun?"
"Do you know the swordsmith Kanamori?"
"Kanamori-san? Well, I know him… But why? I think he's with Haganezuka-san."
"He is my new swordsmith." Tokitou-kun said, "Where's Haganezuka?"
Tanjirou got up.
"Wanna go look for them with me?" he smiled.
"…Why are you so concerned? Don't you have something else you should be doing?"
"Helping other people also ends up being beneficial for you at the end of the day. And besides, I wanted to go check on them, so this is perfect. Nice timing." he smiled kindly at the young Pillar.
"What?" something about what Tanjirou told him, seemed to shock Tokitou-kun, "What? What did you say just now? Now, now…"
"Eh? Nice timing?" Tanjirou blinked, confused, "Anyway, let's go look for Haganezuka-san together."
Suddenly they both looked at the door.
"Oh? Is someone here?" Tanjirou wondered.
"Looks like it."
The door slid open and a demon crawled in.
Both slayers were shocked by the skill to hide its presence, understanding it was an Upper Moon and springing to their feet immediately, they assumed battle stances, swords ready.
Tokitou-kun struck first but it evaded, barely getting slashed in its face.
"Eeeek! Stop it! Don't bully me! Eeeeeek!" the demon said, hanging from the ceiling.
'Don't act slow! This demon killed a lot of people! Otherwise he wouldn't be able to dodge the Pillar's attack.' he thought, drawing his sword, 'Sun Breathing; Seventh From: Sunflower Lance.'
"Eeeeep!" the demon fell to the floor.
'Did I get him? Why isn't he retaliating?' Tanjirou thought.
Tokitou-kun struck the moment the demon touched the floor, cutting his head off.
"Eeeeeek! I got cut up!" the demon cried.
'He…He did it! His head! Wow, that was fast…! But…'
Tanjirou noticed immediately that he wasn't disintegrating. He remembered Gyuutarou and Ume.
"Tokitou-kun! Don't lose focus!" he called out, just as the head sprang a body and limbs and the body created a head, 'He split up! The head grew a body, and the body grew a head!' he thought, shocked, "I'll take the one behind!" he called coming to Tokitou-kun's aid.
The one holding the fan, the one Tokitou-kun was facing, waved its hand and blew a great wind.
Tanjirou barely managed to stab his sword down and hold on tight, as Tokitou-kun was blown away, not having the time to react, being the one who got the full blast of it.
"Tokitou-kun!"
The one with the fan laughed.
"This is fun! They really went flying, didn't they? Right, Sekido?"
"There's nothing fun about this. I just feel pissed off at everything. Same goes for being stuck with you…Karaku."
"Oh-kay. Then good thing we're apart now." Karaku said, poking his tongue out.
'Do we have to take their heads at the same time again?!' Tanjirou wondered, only for Sekido to hit his staff on the floor and lightning struck him, 'What…? What the…?! What is this?! The staff…! Crap. I'm…losing consciousness…' he looked upward, 'Someone…on the roof… Genya.'
Genya shot and cut the head off of one and almost the head of the second.
'What's with that weapon…? A gun? It smells like a nichirin blade.' Tanjirou thought confused.
"Ohhh duuude. This is fun! Awesome!" Karaku said, "I've never felt that one before."
Genya ran and closed in on him.
Tanjirou realised, horrified, that this was a mistake, just as Genya cut off the head of the second one.
"Genya, no! No matter how strong your weapons are, you can't beat them like that!" Tanjirou shouted just as the head was cut off, "If you slice them, they'll just split up. They rejuvenate and then get stronger! They let you cut them up on purpose!" he shouted.
'These demons won't care if you cut their heads off. So their weak point isn't their heads! Split into four separate bodies… That's some fast regeneration! Is it even? Who regenerated fastest?!' he thought, looking about frantic, 'There must be a weak point somewhere! Look for it! Look closely! Find out where it is!' suddenly he felt weightless, 'What…'
"How delightful. Someone figured us out for the first time in forever!" a winged demon laughed.
'This one can fly. So they all have different abilities.' Tanjirou thought, 'Sekido has the lightning staff. Karaku the wind fan.'
"Genya! Be careful!" he called out, turning to look at Genya, only to see him pierced by one with the spear, "GENYAAA!"
"Do you think you really have the time to worry about others?" the one carrying him asked.
He opened his mouth and Tanjirou read the word 'Urogi' on his tongue, before he used some sort of high-pitched sonic attack.
'Sun Breathing…'
He just barely manages to cut the leg holding him, just as the attack hits him and he whites out for a second.
'Grab onto a branch! Branch… Just grab onto something!' he thought.
He grabs onto a branch, but it snaps. He grabs onto another with his leg, swings and falls down hard.
'Get up now! Hurry! Get up! Villagers are in danger. Have to protect… Crap. My body is numb and I can't hear a thing.'
He felt something move behind him and saw the leg had grew a head.
He cut it down again, reacting on instinct.
'Crap! I cut him! What now?! He'll just end up regenerating again…'
It created two one-legged…things, the one on his right had two eyes and a mouth, while the other on his left only a mouth, but their attack power had dropped.
'Ahhh. I see now. I get it! His attack power has dropped.' he grinned, almost maniacally, 'It seems they don't get more powerful the more they split up. I only got a glance before, but I saw the four primordial emotions on their tongues. That means they're at their strongest when split in four. So if we split them some more, they'll become weaker.' he thought, driving his sword through the two and destroying them.
He sensed someone behind him and turned just in time to defend from the winged one's sonic attack.
'Behind!'
He dodged Urogi's sonic attack, took position quickly, and charged as the demon charged him.
'I just have to beat one of them quickly. Then I gotta hurry to reach Genya. The mouth I just stabbed is gone…'
The demon's talons cut at him, pulling him out of his thoughts, but so did Tanjirou's sword.
"How do you like my claws? So fast and sharp. They're so powerful they can even cut diamonds. Now shiver in fear! I'll carve you in a bloody ball of joy." the demon screamed joyfully, unaware.
Tanjirou looked back, smug.
"Right back at you." he said.
And then, as the demon realised his head was cut in half, Tanjirou almost cut his head off, getting the tongue. They were locked, exchanging blows in the forest, nearby the sleeping quarters he was.
Urogi flew off and charged again, catching Tanjirou in the face.
"Ungh!"
'He's gotten faster. And I need to get back to Genya now too…! He must be having a hard time, with those three. The building he's in is just right there…! What now? Think! I know! If I can't beat him here and now, then… No, but I might make things even worse.' Tanjirou thought, 'Dunno, I don't know! Think, think! Don't panic! This is all I can do now. So I have to do it.' he thought, tucking his head low, to protect it and his chest, sword ready and waiting for his chance to strike, 'Genya, don't die! Hang on! I'll be right over there as soon as I can!'
Tanjirou drew in a deep breath and calmed down.
'Genya is in that building there. It's just a short distance away. Don't misread the direction. Use your opponent's ability to fly and momentum! If I don't hurry, I won't be able to help Genya.'
Urogi dived low and then rose up in the sky, 'playing with his food' like a bird of prey.
Tanjirou jumped off the ground and towards him while his back was turned to him.
His sword cut through the foot he had raised to protect himself and all the way to his head, getting Urogi's tongue, as he dived his hand's claws in Tanjirou's back.
'I knew it! He's light! I can't imagine he would be able to fly with those wings if he wasn't, otherwise. I can do this!' he thought, using the momentum to crash on the building's wall and then push through it, to the room he previously was in.
"Genya!" he called out, smelling his unwilling new friend was in a tight spot and going towards him, only for Sekido to charge him.
"Dammit. First Karaku and now Ukogi. The hell are they even doing?" Sekido said, "So infuriating! Every single thing is pissing me off!"
Tanjirou used Urogi's foot to stop the staff.
Holding the staff off, Tanjirou aimed for the demon.
'I can't cut off the head with one hand. The tongue! Aim for the tongue.' he thought, 'If I can cut their tongues, their recovery will slow down just a bit.' he went straight towards the scent, only to realise Sekido had recovered, 'Crap. Behind me…!' he barely managed to dodge the attack, getting scratched as he dodged.
Which was the point at which Karaku decided Sekido was having too much fun and decided to join.
"Hot damn, that looks fun! Lemme join you guys!"
He waved his fan and immense pressure fell on Tanjirou, who was flattened on the floor, which in turn gave in and he crashed on the floor below.
'Too much pressure! My body's getting squashed!'
He lost consciousness for a second or two.
'…What the? What the heck's happening? What? This smell… What is…that smell…?'
His nose alerted him to lightning reaching him, so he snapped opened his eyes and dodged.
He dodged again and again the attacks, the demons getting frustrated by the second with each missed attack.
"Stop running the fuck away!" one of them screamed, it must have been Urogi.
'Oh, yeah. The fan demon attacked me and knocked me out cold…! Lucky I regained consciousness when I did.'
Urogi swept in trying to catch him, and Tanjirou dove through a door at his side.
"Dammit! You're too slow, Karaku! Just blow the damn building away!" Sekido called.
"That's the plan! Don't need to tell me twice!" Karaku laughed.
Tanjirou caught his breath and dived out of the building through a window just in time, as Karaku used his fan to tear the building apart.
'Think! Think! Think of an effective way to take down the enemy. A way without letting them recover.' Tanjirou thought, as the blast pushed him further away, shifting his grip on his sword.
He flipped and landed on his feet, crouched down low, breathing hard, sword held tighter than usual in his two-handed grip, ready to attack or defend.
"The view just got a lot better. Now there's no place for him to hide." Karaku laughed.
He noticed then, shocked, as the sword started changing colors.
'The sword's color's changing! The black sword…is turning red!' he thought in awe, 'How?' he looked at his hands, 'My grip…? I've never held on to my sword this tightly. Did that raise its temperature and changed its color? I'll have to ask Oyakata-sama afterwards. And test it in a less dangerous situation. Right now I have to find Genya and kill that demon!'
"It sure is turning red." Sumiyoshi's voice ringed in his ears, suddenly.
"That samurai's sword only turns red when he fights. Why is that? It's so weird. Usually it's just an obsidian deep black. It's so pretty." a cheerful female voice replied, as the image of young woman flashed in his mind.
'Who's that?' Tanjirou thought shocked, 'Oh, right. It's…an inherited memory. So the samurai guy must be that earing-wearing swordsman. Was his sword charred black? It must be the same sword I have. It was a black sword like mine. And my sword also turned red just now. The color changed. Did he too gripped the sword tightly like me? Did he do it a different way? But we ended up with the same blade. My sword changed like his!' he wondered before focusing on the battle, 'I thought I became strong, but the demons became stronger as well. My body is scarred and it feels like it's falling apart. But each time this happens, someone helped me and saved my life, and our lives became intertwined. I have to meet their expectations! I have to pay that back. They are lending me their swords, their strength. Our hopes and our feelings are one. We must defeat the demons and protect the innocent people. This is what I must do, too! I have to live up to that. They are waiting for me to take my place as their Sun Pillar.'
Tanjirou took a stance, standing before the three of the four clones. Then he drew a deep breath, raising his own temperature.
"Planning something, huh? You can't beat us." Urogi called out, "Once we cut you up, you won't feel pain or itches anymore." the demon said, coming at him, "Your cheap tricks can't beat me!"
Tanjirou rushed him as well.
'Sun Breathing; Combined Eleventh Form: Solar Halo Dragon Dance – Flux!'
Tanjirou moved about them in circles, slashing them multiple times, avoiding any possible attack, in a way that resembled a dragon.
'It's like back then with Gyuutarou. I was wondering about that one attack this whole time. How that one blow managed to sever his head. The sensation from that moment, the breath, the way I exerted my power. My body felt like it was on fire. My forehead too. Okay. I understand. I can do this now. I have to cut down all four heads at once. So, one more demon. Where's the last one? Aizetsu is the last one's–'
He turned to look around only to see Genya holding the fourth head, the body pinned on a tree trunk.
'Genya! He's okay!' he thought relieved, 'And the fourth one is down now! Yes! Yes! All at the same time?! If we can get them all at the once…'
"Gen–" he started calling out, only to get a scowl in return.
'Whoa. Is that Genya…? He looks just like…'
The four emotions started shouting.
"What the fuck was that slash!? I can't regenerate! It's like I'm burning alive!" Karaku shouted.
"Calm down! You're so annoying! We are regenerating, but it's slow as hell." Sekido replied.
'The attack is working. I don't know how Genya's doing, but I know we got them all at once. I just can't shake the feeling that this isn't the way to do it. We can't beat them the same way as with Gyuutarou. So this attack doesn't really work against the Primal Emotion demons.' Tanjirou thought, going about the battlefield quickly, looking for a clue, 'But, something has been bothering me for a while. If their heads isn't their weak spot, then what is? I think I've gotten something wrong… I smelled something weird for a slight moment. Yeah, it was…the smell of a fifth body. So there're five of them! We have to find it… I'm sure the fifth guy is the…'
Suddenly Genya was on him, grabbing him by the neck.
"Wah!"
"Don't…push your luck…" he wheezed, "I…will beat the Upper Moon!"
"Genya!" Tanjirou exclaimed.
"You weren't the one who beat Upper Moon Six, so youhaven't become a Pillar!"
"Oh! Yeah, that's right."
"I'll take the first kill before you…"
"Genya! You're drooling! What happened?! You're strangling me."
"I'm the one who's gonna become the Pillar!" he shouted.
"Oh, I see! There are currently three empty seats, actually." Tanjirou said calmly, "Those of the Sun Pillar, the Flame Pillar and the Sound Pillar. I will help and support you as much as I can. Let's do our best together! There should be a fifth demon somewhere around here. I'll look for it, so go buy me some time!"
"Cut the chatter! You're just trying to put me off my–"
Tanjirou was just looked, smiling kindly at Genya.
The other boy blinked and let him go.
"Watch out!" Tanjirou shouted, pushing Genya away.
Lightning struck.
"I'll let you know right away when I find the fifth guy!" he called taking off.
'Sekido is already back up now! Hurry!' he thought, as he ran, 'Find him! Focus! Where is he? Thanks to Karaku's wind, the smell of sulfur from the hot spring is all over the place. Focus, Tanjirou! Your sense of smell is your only way of tracking him. Urokodaki-san said I one day could tell how many people a demon has eaten. So you can pick apart the demon's scent from all the sulfur, for sure!'
"It'll be fine. They won't find me. I'll be fine. The emotions will beat all the bad guys." a trembling voice was heard.
'Yes! Yes! Yes! I found him…!'
"Genya! Northeast! Head straight northeast! The fifth body is hiding somewhere close to the ground!" he shouted to the top of his lungs, running towards him, "Head there! I'll cover you!"
Karaku used his fan and Tanjirou plunged his sword in the earth, while he held onto a tree trunk.
'Don't get blown away! Don't get blown away from this spot! Stay right here!' he thought, 'Crap, there's a lightning attack is coming too.' he noticed Sekido getting ready.
The second the wind died down, he drew in a deep breath using Sun's Eleventh Form, to attack all the demons before him.
He just barely avoids getting impaled by Aizetsu's spear. He passed him, cutting him again, then cut Urogi's wings and tongue.
Just as Karaku waved hisfan and air pressed Tanjirou down, he sliced the hand with the fan in the middle, giving him time to recover and get back to his feet.
"Fucking brat!" Karaku kicked him as he was making to get up.
"Genya! Right side! He moved to the south! Get him!" Tanjirou called, taking off to support his friend, "West! Right side! He's close, but below! On the ground! Genya!"
He saw Genya stop and stare and then shot his gun.
Genya took off after the demon and Tanjirou came behind him, covering his back.
He saw Genya swing his blade, he heard the demon scream and then the sword snap.
He heard more gunshots and then Sekido was suddenly past him and behind Genya.
Tanjirou leaped and sliced his hand and mouth, the demon's staff missing Genya's neck by very little, using a tree as a springboard to land behind Genya.
"Genya! Don't give up! Try again! Just go for it one more time! Go for his neck one more time! Don't ever give up! You can get him this time! I'll cover you! Just focus on cutting his head off! Aren't you going to be a Pillar, Shinazugawa Genya!?" he encouraged the other boy.
He could feel Aizetsu coming from behind him.
Tanjirou knew he didn't have enough time to swing his sword.
'Crap! From behind me…!' he glanced behind him, seeing the attack coming, trees being torn apart around him. 'Crap! Got hit! Now I…' For a second he thinks he was hit, 'Wha…?' only to realise quickly he wasn't.
"Go."
"Genya!" he turned to see the other boy shielding him, his body riddled with holes.
"I can't cut his head. You do it. I'm giving you the honors just this once."
Tanjirou didn't waste time. He took off, running after the tiny version of the demon, avoiding lightning attacks as Genya provided him with cover fire, and swung his still red sword.
'There! He's tiny …!'
He reached the demon's neck and started cutting him.
'Yes! It's gonna work!'
The demon screamed.
'What a voice! My ears…! But I can do this. I can cut his…' he froze, sensing something behind him, 'What the?! Behind me! Something is behind me. But it smells differently from the Primary Emotions. What's there?! What do I do?!' he almost panicked, 'Just cut off his head! I have to do that! If I do that, then… Tough! I can't go any further! My grip! The sword's turning black again.'
"Tanjirou! Move it!" Genya called out, raising his gun.
'Shit. I miscalculated. Genya can't shoot because I'll get caught in the crossfire!'
The demon behind him hit a drum.
'Crap! It's attacking!'
A huge five-headed wooden dragon formed behind Tanjirou, who managed to avoid getting mauled in the nick of time, his left leg getting a deep-looking scratch before landing a little ways away.
"Savages, brutes who torment the meek."
"Hah…" he panted.
"Spite, unpleasantness… Enmity, unhappiness… Extremity… Nothing but hatred for those who bathe in pure evil." the young-looking demon was saying, "You awful villains."
'A sixth…! We have a sixth now?! You have got to be freaking kidding me!' Tanjirou thought, shocked, 'No…! That's not the sixth. I can't sense the other four demons anymore!'
The demon struck a drum and a wooden cocoon formed around the tiny main body.
'Crap! The body's getting surrounded!' Tanjirou thought moving forward.
"Hold it!" he called.
The demon stared at Tanjirou and he froze in fear.
"What? Scum. You don't like what I'm doing here? Hey! You evil shitheads."
"Wh…Why are…Why are we…the evil ones?" Tanjirou asked, voice shaking from anger, hand gripping his sword tightly.
"You're tormenting the 'weak'. Right? You things were just trying to cut the 'small weakling' tiny enough to fit on my palm. That is pure injustice. A positively diabolic, fiendish deed. Only a savage would do that."
"Small weakling? Who…exactly is this?" Tanjirou asked, his shaking getting worse, "Don't say that. Your scent…smells of blood! You've eaten one, two hundred people! Maybe even more! And what did those people do to you? All of them. Did you just arbitrarily take their lives as payment?! Stop playing the victim after eating and killing all those people! You have a sick mind. Your whole being is twisted. And that's absolutely unforgivable! Evil demon…! I will cut your head off right here!" he shouted.
He attacked, evading head after head, running around it and as far away to learn its range.
He jumped over and away from one head, his uniform getting ripped off at his back.
'This tree dragon has five heads! They can stretch up to roughly sixty-six shaku! Okay! I know that at least.'
The head that nearly bit him opened its mouth to launch a sonic attack.
'Sun Breathing; Second Form: Azure –'
The attack came before he could complete his attack.
Tanjirou fell backwards onto a tree branch and then on the ground.
'Ugh… There go my eardrums… Eyes spinning. Dizzy. Can't stand. Shit! Come on! Get up! Now!'
The bird-like dragon head screeched.
'It's attacking!' Tanjirou thought, barely dodging the fan attack, his left leg getting injured nonetheless.
He screamed in pain.
'It can use the same attacks as the Primal Emotions, but it's stronger than they were!' he thought, as the demon struck a drum and lightning fell, 'No time for breaths! I can't recover! Even though I know the attacks are coming, I can't do anything about them! I can't chain my breaths…! Much less combine them! If I move beyond the twenty meters, then maybe I can… Okay, this is fine.'
The demon struck his drum again and the third head extended by making a head appear through its mouth, repeating that three more times, until it reached and grabbed on Tanjirou's left arm, pulling him quickly in towards the main head.
'Its stretch… Use a technique! Cut…' He is seconds from being eaten, 'Crap, I'm gonna get crushed…! Everyone…!'
Suddenly, the head is struck in a very peculiar way and he is yanked backwards.
"That is one big monster! What is that?!" a female voice shouted, surprised, "You okay?" she smiled at him over her shoulder, "Sorry for being late! Good thing I made it in time." she smiled.
"Ka-Kanroji-san?!" Tanjirou blinked, finding himself on the Love Pillar's back.
"You just rest here. Nice work there! You were amazing!" she landed away from the demon and set him down.
'I can't really hear her. My ears are still buzzing. Good thing I can read lips…'
Kanroji-san took her stance before the demon.
"Kanroji-san! Wait! He's an Upper Moon! Upper Moon Four!" he shouted from behind her.
He drew a deep breath, focusing on recovering himself as much as possible, knowing he will be needed to support Kanroji-san soon.
"Hey, you! Your pranks went too far there! I'm gonna take Genya-kun back now!" he heard Kanroji-san say and he turned to look.
"Shut you mouth, you harlot. I only take orders from one person in this world." the demon replied coldly.
Tanjirou stared shocked and angry. He could tell Kanroji-san was feeling the same, if her shaking and scent was anything to go by.
He watched as the demon attacked, two of the dragon heads releasing lightning and sonic waves at the same time.
"Kanroji-san!" he shouted worried.
Only for Kanroji-san to cut through the attacks.
"Now I'm mad! You may look like a kid, but that's still unforgivable."
He stared shocked.
He watched, transfixed, as Kanroji-san attacked and dodged the demon, defending from its attacks and keeping up with its speed. Even when the demon used a technique that widened the range of the wood dragon with multiple heads appearing almost all over its body, she did it gracefully.
'She's fast.' he thought, as she wrapped her sword around the demon's neck, ready to cut it. 'But it won't work…' Tanjirou thought, as he saw the demon open his mouth, while he called out to the Pillar, "Ka-Kanroji-san! That's not his real body! He won't die even if you cut his head off!" he called out.
He watched as Kanroji-san took the full brunt of the demon's sonic attack, falling back, on her knees, in a sort of paralysed, knocked out state, her sword releasing the demon's neck, but injuring it in the process.
"Kanroji-san!" he shouted.
Tanjirou saw the demon about to strike Kanroji-san, so he pushed his body forward.
He was faintly aware that Genya was doing the same.
They crashed onto her just in time to protect her from getting killed, away from the demon's punch.
"Stand, stand, stand! The next one is coming!" Tanjirou shouted.
"I know, goddammit!" Genya shouted back, both of them picking her up, Tanjirou on her left side, Genya himself on her right.
"We have to protect Kanroji-san! She's our best shot at beating him! She's our ray of hope! As long as she lives, we can win, for sure! Let's all win together! None of us are gonna die, so…" Tanjirou was shouting, as he and Genya carried Kanroji-san away.
The demon struck a drum.
'Shit, shit, shit!' Tanjirou saw the lightning and readied himself to parry as much as he could, putting himself between it and Kanroji-san and Genya, only for Kanroji-san's sword to shot out from behind him and someone push him down and back.
"Thank you everyooooneee!" Kanroji-san cried, "I'm sorry for messing up, even though I am a Pillar."
'She cut through it all.' Tanjirou thought once the dust settled and he could see again, 'So cool!'
"I will never let any of my friends die! The demon hunters are my precious home! Upper moon or whatever you are, I don't care! I won't lose to evil people. Now get your butts ready! It's time to get serious!" she cried, "Leave it to me. I'll protect everyone." she said seriously, "I'll do something about this!" she called out as one of the heads attacked, running towards it, slicing at it.
Tanjirou and Genya took that opportunity to look for the main body.
"Tanjirou, I shot a bullet at the main guy's body! Where is it? Do you know?" Genya asked, as they ran.
"I do! It's here!" he said, leading them, 'While Kanroji-san is dealing with the child demon, we have to cut down the main body as fast as we can.' Tanjirou thought.
He found the tree cocoon.
"It's in there!" he pointed to the top and started climbing it, Genya following suit.
It started wiggling, trying to throw them off.
"AAAAHHHH! Don't fall off! Come on, come on! That…tree thing! Hurry while the snake-lizard-dragon thing is away from us! While Kanroji-san is stopping it!"
Tanjirou glanced down at Genya and saw him biting into the tree.
'Whoa! He's biting it?! His teeth are incredibly tough!' was his first thought. Then he realised something, "But your stomach's gonna die, Genya! Will you be okay?!"
The tree was cut down, Tanjirou holding on tightly close to the top.
'It fell! Now!'
He got ready to cut the cocoon open and attack the main body, only for the braches to attack him.
'The branch whip…'
He gripped his sword tightly again, turning it red once more.
'Sun Breathing; Twelfth Form: Flame Waltz!'
He cut the cocoon in half, Genya moving in quickly to hold it open for Tanjirou.
"Go!" Genya shouted.
They both froze when the dust settled.
'He's gone!' Tanjirou thought, with desperation and anger, 'He ran again! Where?! Where is he?! Close by…' his nose picked his scent, 'There!' he saw his tiny form running away.
"You little piece of shit! Stop running away! Get back here! Don't run from your responsibilities! Every sin you've committed, every evil deed, I will make you take responsibility for everything! You can't escape from this! I won't let you get away!" Tanjirou shouted, chasing after him, sword ready.
'Dawn is nearing. Kanroji-san will eventually run out of stamina if she keeps unleashing powerful techniques. And the demon will escape once the night ends. I have to hurry.' Tanjirou thought.
"Cut it out, you dipshit!" Genya screamed, about to throw a tree at the demon, much to Tanjirou's utter shock, "Tuurrd!" he screamed, "Cut the crap out and die! Read! The mood!"
'He… He just threw a tree!'
Tanjirou dove down just in time, watching in shock as Genya threw two more trees, blocking the main body.
"Gyaah!"
Tanjirou pushed up from the ground, pushing aside his shock for now, and shot forward, swinging his blade down on the demon, only for him to manage to escape. Again.
"Eeeepp!"
"He's fast! The fuck is up with that guy? Dammit! I can't keep up!" Genya shouted.
'Fa…Fast! It's like he can keep running forever. But before dawn arrives… Before Kanroji-san gets crushed… I won't let that happen! We won't let you win!' Tanjirou thought, as he pushed his body to run faster.
"EEEEPPPP!" the main body screamed as he ran away faster.
"Gagh…" He stumbled, 'I can't keep up! My left leg is weighing me down…' he thought, as he fell behind, his left hand reaching for his injured leg, 'My legs can't keep up! I can't stand on my feet! I wish my left leg wasn't hurt! If only my left leg wasn't weighing me down…!'
"Thunder Breathing makes you focus on your legs' muscles the most. It's difficult to grasp the size of every muscle you have. But once you do, you can go into 'full focus' mode." an old man was saying, "To every fiber of your muscles, and to every blood vessel, get air pumping through them. Then, put all the power into your legs. All of it. Then explode in a second. Like lightning ripping through the air."
'Kuwajima-san…!' Tanjirou thought, remembering his training with the man, Zenitsu and Kaigaku, 'I am glad I had those lessons with you, Kuwajima-san.' he thought, using it with the First From: Waltz to reach and strike the demon's neck surprising both Genya and the demon with his sudden speed, 'Go! Go! This time, give it everything I've got…'
"Heeey. IIIII am pitiful. Can't you see thaaaat?!" the demon stuttered before growing in an enormous size, instantly, grabbing Tanjirou by the face with both hands, trying to crush his face, "Don't bullyyy the meeeeeek."
Genya was on him in an instant, opening those hands.
"Your logic is fucked up, you dumb shit!"
The demon screamed, but Genya pushed harder, enough for Tanjirou to slip under the hands and charge the demon, stabbing him with his sword, cutting the demon's hands on the way, and both of them falling off the cliff due to their momentum.
"Tanjirou!" he heard Genya call from above.
He had crashed into on a tree, low on the cliff side.
"Hold it." he said to the demon, his sword still stuck in its neck, "You're not getting away…" he stared, more blood running down his face from multiple cuts, "I will chase you down to the depths of hell and cut your head off…" he promised.
Something caught the demon's attention.
Tanjirou followed his line of sight and saw what it was; swordsmiths.
Tanjirou forced himself to fall from the tree the rest of the way down, then pushed himself to get to his feet and chase after the fleeing demon.
'Hurry. Hurry! Just one more time. Just one more push off the ground, then go full focus!' he thought.
Suddenly a sword was thrown before him, stuck upright.
'?! A sword…' he blinked.
"Use it!" a familiar voice called out.
Tanjirou turned to look up the cliff, with relief.
"To…" he breathed out in relief. "Tokitou-kun!" he called out.
"Use that sword, Tanjirou!"
Tanjirou could make Haganezuka-san, Kanamori-san and Kotetsu-kun with him.
"Give it back! Stop! I'll kill you! Don't use it! I haven't put the handguard yet, dammit! Give it back!" Haganezuka-san was screaming, shaking Tokitou-kun.
"The sun is rising! He's gonna get away!" Tokitou-kun shouted back.
"Shitty brat!" Haganezuka-san slapped Tokitou-kun.
"Ow!"
'Tokitou-kun, thank you!' he grabbed the sword, 'Sun Breathing; Enhanced First Form: Waltz Flash!'
Using the same principles of Thunder Breathing once more, Tanjirou moved almost at the same speed as that of a Thunder Breath user and in a blink of an eye had cut the head of the demon.
He glanced behind him and saw the demon's body fall.
He fell on his knees, relieved, drawing deep breaths, when he noticed something that made his blood ran cold.
The tongue of the head he just cut had the word 'resentment' written on it.
'His tongue says resentment?! I thought the real body was supposed to have fear…The tongue's character is wrong!'
Suddenly the swordsmiths started screaming.
"RUN! RUN! He ain't dead! Even though his head got cut off!"
Tanjirou looked up and saw a terrifying scene; the body was still moving, going after them.
"I messed up! I…I have to stop him." Tanjirou picked the sword and started after the demon. He stumbled, his leg hurting from the wound he got earlier and from using Sun Breath like Thunder Breath so much when he wasn't used to it, watching the body getting closer to the people, 'Crap! Someone…! Genya! Tokitou-kun…'
He looks back towards the cliff.
Genya was trying to climb down, Tokitou-kun seemed not to be in fighting condition.
'I am the only one who can do it. The others are too far away. There's no way they can get here from the top of that cliff in time. Oh right! The sunlight affects that demon! But it doesn't matter… He'll get those villagers first!' Tanjirou realised, 'One more time, Kamado Tanjirou. Don't let them down now. Are you or are you not the next Sun Pillar?!'
He gritted his teeth, pushing himself up and drew in a deep breath. He shot forward, reaching the demon quickly, using Waltz Flash once more.
'Sniff him out. He didn't run that far. If the real body was actually far away, I would have smelled it. But he's close. But where? Catch him using his scent, the shape, the color…There. He's still in the demon. I see now. Closer. Closer, claerer. Look closer. More! There he is! Found him. He's inside the heart. It's over for you, coward. Evil demon.'
The body was upon the swordsmiths.
"Waah! It's no use!"
"Oh shit! Oh shit! He's gonna catch–!" they were screaming.
Tanjirou cut off the hands, that had caught two of the swordsmiths.
"Now, atone for this, with your life!" Tanjirou called, as one hand regenerated and grabbed his head, bringing the sword down, cutting the neck of the main body.
He stood there, panting, for a moment, before he collapsed on his knees. He got back up on his feet, only to fall again.
"Ah! Kamado-dono!" a swordsmith barely managed to catch him, "He suddenly fell over!"
"Young Kamado! Keep yourself together!"
"Is he dead?" someone asked, "Dead?"
"Moron!"
Tanjirou chuckled.
"Sorry…worrying you." he said, quietly, "I am just very, very…tired."
The swordsmiths supported him, as he wobbled towards his friends, who had finally climbed down the cliff. They picked up his sword, that had fallen down after he cut the wrong neck that first time, for him.
Kanamori-san took over in holding him up when he came up to his friends.
"Tanjirou, you okay?"
"Oh…To…Tokitou-kun…" he sighed, "Ko…tetsu-kun…" he patted the boy's head, "Thank… Safe… Sword… Thanks…" he said, slowly, disjointedly.
"Thanks to you, too." Tokitou-kun smiled, "With your help, I regained something important to me."
"Eh… Oh no, I didn't do anything though…" he said, quietly.
"GUYS! GUYS! GUUUUYYYYYYSSSS!" Kanroji-san's voice reached them.
They all turned to see her running towards them.
Soon, she had crashed into them, crying, pulling them close in an embrace.
"WE WON! WE DID IT! WE ALL WON!" she cried, "This is so awesome! We're all alive! Thank the Gods!"
Tanjirou laughed softly, happy to be alive, but also because of Genya's blush.
Then everything blacked out.