I DO NOT OWN ANY DEMON SLAYER, OR SWORD ART ONLINE CHARACTERS, ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR COPYRIGHT OWNERS,THIS IS PURELY FOR FAN SERVICE AND I ONLY OWN THE OC'S I CREATE AND THERE IS NO PROFIT INVOLVED WHATSOEVER THIS IS A HOBBY AND THE ONLY THING I GAIN IS A BAD SLEEP SCHEDULE FOR FREE, THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!
Bold = Important Text/Breathing Styles and Techniques
Italic Thoughts
Underline Whisper
Quick Author's note: This and chapter 5 were meant to be one chapter but I couldn't upload it because it was so long lol but uh yeah enjoy two chapters I guess lol.
Permanent Author's Note: I plan on doing Tanjiro X Kanao as the pairing for Tanjiro as I think it's a beautiful pairing and I've always liked it and I love fleshing in more Demon Slayer characters as I go, I have no plans to change Kirisuna, I'm sure I just upset someone, but hey the events I want to do for this story doesn't allow me to split up Kirisuna and now that I think about it, Neither do I want to, because I see nth wrong with that cannon ship, I will also add Sinon to Tanjiro X Kanao because she is SAO's best girl.
Chapter 4: The Flame Hashira.
Timeskip - 3 weeks later
We see Tanjiro standing next to Rengoku with a smile on his face looking upon the raid party for the floor 4 boss. "Something on your mind lad?" Rengoku asks curiously, causing Tanjiro to look at him and shake his head.
"No sir, it's just, it's only been 3 weeks and we have already made it this far, to think it took us 1 whole month just to clear floor one and now we're on floor 4 in a short amount of time….it's unbelievable." Tanjiro says softly with a smile, causing to smile brightly.
"The time getting shorter isn't the only thing impressive Young Kamado, we haven't been together long, yet you have improved significantly under my guidance, I am proud to call you my Tsuguko, I'd even go as far as to say you're like a little brother to me in a way." Rengoku says, causing Tanjiro to look at him, surprised at his words before smiling at them brightly.
"Thank you….Mr. Rengoku." Tanjiro thought before turning his attention towards a voice that calls out.
"Alright everyone, may I have your attention, those who don't know me, my name is Lind, I'm a member of the Dragons Knight Brigade, and for today's boss raid I'll be your leader. I'm honored to be here with you." The proclaimed Lind, a man with blue hair and brown eyes wearing silver armor over a blue and yellow outlined uniform with a shield on his back and a sword on his waist, says before putting his right hand on his chest and bowing, causing the crowd members apart of his guild to clap before the man looks up and signals for them to quiet down.
"Heh, What up I'm Kibaou of the Aincrad Liberation Squad, I'm your co-leader so lets get in there and kick some ass!" Kibaou who was behind Lind says before yelling at the end as he walks in front of Lind, causing members of the crowd who are a part of his guild to clap while cheering and chanting his name, making Tanjiro sweat drop as Rengoku chuckles.
"Wow, they're certainly a lively group aren't they!" Rengoku says with eccentricity and a smile on his face.
"Yeah…that's not quite the word I'd use for them but it works." Tanjiro says before giving a nervous chuckle.
"Does everyone know the bosses' attack patterns and their squads job?" Lind says before getting a nod from the crowd.
"Good!" We couldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for top players like you and the work you put in! As the leader of warriors with those skills, I know we'll beat this boss too!" Lind says with a smile, causing Kibaou to scoff.
"Leader my ass, the only reason you're callin yourself that is cause you got to the boss room a second before we did!" Kibaou says ticked off, causing Lind to look back at him.
"That's the rule we all agreed to, I'm sorry if that upsets you" Lind says with a cocky smirk, causing Kibaou to scoff at him once more.
"Hmph, as if Dork." Kibaou says before stepping forward. "Enough talk, today we get to floor 5!" Kibaou yells, causing the crowd to do a battle cry as a figure in a tannish cloak steps behind a pillar.
Timeskip - 25 minutes later.
Wythege The Hippocampus, the floor 4 boss is a white horse with blood red eyes and a watery like mohawk rises up and lets out a horse like yell as Kibaou and two raid group members charge his front, only to get knocked away by a stomp before Wythege smacks away three flankers away with his blue scaly fish like tail, causing Agil who's wearing new dark red armor with white outlines to charge and attack his legs with a green battle ax skill, only to be parried back by Wythege's tail before Asuna's partner from floor one, who has a new black cloak with armored shoulder pads and a new sword to charge at Wythege, charging up a blue sword skill as he slices across the Horse fish's body before Asuna herself, who is equipped with a new red cloak and pink armor as well as a new rapier to use a pink linear sword skill on the boss, sliding under it as it's 2nd to last Hp bar lowers down to half, turning Orange in the process as it jumps back, with the raid group chasing after it, causing the floor 4 boss to shoot out a beam of water.
Emerging from the water is Kyojuro Rengoku who turns toward the boss and looks at it with a smile, blazing red Nichirin Katana unsheathed before in a impressive show of speed dashes at the horse in a blazing spiral, slashing it before it can even react.
"Flame Breathing, First Form, Unknowing Fire!" Rengoku yells before jumping back, avoid a strike from the horse's tail as it turns and chases Rengoku with it's health lowering down to to only a quarter, bashing through pillars that the fiery man uses to dodge the beasts attacks until suddenly Tanjiro can be seen flipping over the boss in a front flip before meeting its face while upside down.
"Hinokami Kagura, Firewheel!" Tanjiro yells as he swings forward toward the bottom of the bosses face with blazing hot fire trailing on his sword as it slices the bosses face, causing Tanjiro to do a full circle flip as his blade burns up the bosses face in an upward slash.
As Tanjiro lands the bosses health lowers down to one bar, causing it to try and attack Tanjiro who jumps away before landing next to Rengoku. "Nicely done Young Kamado, now the beast only has one health bar left." Rengoku says with a bright smile.
"Thank you for your kind words Mr. Rengoku, but It was really all thanks to your distraction." Tanjiro says returning the smile with one of his own.
"Nicely done you two we couldn't be as safe as we are without you, alright now then, D prepare to switch, A charge on my command!" Lind says, causing Kibaou to look at him annoyed and dumb founded.
"Are you kidding me! We got this thing on the ropes!" Kibaou yells at Lind.
"I am your leader, so stick to the plan, besides Tanjiro and his friend over there have done more damage to the boss than you ever have Kibaou!" Lind says, causing Kibaou to grit his teeth.
"Oh I see what's goin on, you want to grab the last attack for yourself, greedy punk!" Kibaou yells.
"You can't be serious!" Lind argues back.
"Watch out!" Asuna's Partner yells as he and Asuna jump back from the boss's giant attack, being a wave of water that sweeps away the players as some of the use the pillars to stop themselves from following, unlike Tanjiro and Rengoku who use Total Concentration Breathing to enhance their speed and make gradual foot holds on the water to run on it, not being able to stop running unless wanting to be swept away by the flood.
"Young Kamado, you save Kibaou and his men, I've got the others." Rengoku says as Tanjiro nods before rushing toward Kibaou's floating body that begins to flee quickly.
"Mr. Kibaou, grab my hand!" Tanjiro yells as Kibaou looks up at him, barely able to see straight from the waves pressure as he reaches out, causing Tanjiro to grasp his hand and pull him up before holding him over his shoulder.
"Heh, thanks Tanjiro, I owe you one!" Kibaou yells as Tanjiro runs him over to a pillar and takes the arm holding his sword before stabbing the blade into the pillar before letting go of Kibaou who gives a smirk and a thumbs up of approval, having apologized to Tanjiro back on floor 2 thanks to Diavel who decided to join neither guild not wanting to get involved with the drama.
"No problem, just helping out those in need!" Tanjiro yells with a smile at the man
Tanjiro grabs the last of Kibaou's men and brings them to a pillar before holding onto it himself while hearing Asuna's partner call out.
"Argo!" He yells as the door to the boss room opens, letting out all the water, allowing Asuna and her partner to finish the boss off, Asuna using a linear sword skill to the boss's body and her partner using a green sword skill slash to the boss's head, killing it and shattering it into blue glass particles.
"Mr. Rengoku, can I ask you something?" Tanjiro asks curiously while walking up to him once more to join his side.
"Oh, what is it?" Rengoku asks with a smile as Tanjiro looks at him.
"Why is it that we never go for the boss's last attack bonus?" Tanjiro asks with curiosity, causing Rengoku to smile.
"Ah, there are two reasons for that, first it's because the player base of Sword Art Online, they see our abilities as unnatural and unfair since we refuse to teach them any breathing techniques unless they join, and once they join they can never leave the core because knowing Total Concentration Breathing is a dangerous power if it isn't kept unchecked. Secondly it is because we do not need these attack bonuses as of yet, the Demon Slayer Core is already strong enough to hold its own, so we do not actively seek out these bonuses. Does this answer your question, lad?" Rengoku says with a smile, causing Tanjiro to a look of understanding before nodding.
"Yes sir, I think I understand now." Tanjiro says before smiling brightly.
Timeskip - Many Hours Later.
We see Tanjiro and Rengoku sitting at a restaurant with food on the table looking like a king's meal, causing Tanjiro to look at Rengoku surprised. "Woah, there's so much food, what's the deal?" Tanjiro asks Rengoku, surprised who just laughs.
"To celebrate not only getting to floor 5 in SAO, but to celebrate how far you have come, Young Kamado!" Rengoku says before taking a bite out of his food and chewing before swallowing and yelling out with gusto "TASTY!" Rengoku yells as wind suddenly appears around the man, flaring his hair and cape up out of nowhere, catching the attention of other players at the restaurant, making them sweat drop at the man saying Tasty over and over after each bite.
Tanjiro looks at his master with a smile before doing the same and looking at the food with a bright and happy smile. "Woah, tasty!" Tanjiro says, practically imitating Rengoku on accident, having spent nearly a month with the man training and progressing through the floors alongside him and risking their lives together every second of the way, growing a close, damn near family bond with the man.
"So why did we come to this town sir?" Tanjiro asks curiously.
"I have received word from that crow earlier when we were wandering that 2 demons will be showing up in the catacombs this evening, the core has tracked there movements from left behind notes with coordinates on them, it appears these notes have a set of coordinates on them as well, so both you and I are being sent to eliminate them." Rengoku says with a smile, causing Tanjiro to widen his eyes a bit.
"D-Demons!? Then we shouldn't waste a second, we need to stop them before they hurt anyone!" Tanjiro says, causing Rengoku to nod.
"You are correct, but that is not the only reason we have come to this town tonight, 2 days from now there will be a new years celebration that we have been invited to, I'm sure it'll be fun to celebrate the new year of 2023!" Rengoku says before chuckling, causing Tanjiro to smile softly.
"A new year huh…..that'll mean I'll have to perform the Hinokami Kagura Dance Tradition that my family has done for centuries." Tanjiro says, remembering his father dancing in the snow from sunset to sunrise.
"Ah, of course! The Hinokami Kagura, if it is your family tradition, then it is your duty to fulfill it on new years, I know you can do it!" Rengoku says with a bright smile, causing Tanjiro to smile warmly. "Now Young Kamado, let us journey into the catacombs and seek out these foul demons!" Rengoku says as he stands up before paying for their meal and signaling Tanjiro to follow him, causing the boy to smile as he does.
Timeskip - 10 minutes later.
"Woah, it sure is dark in here isn't it." Tanjiro says, causing Rengoku to nod, still having a smile as bright as ever.
The two continue to walk through the catacombs before hearing a girlish scream echo, causing the two to look at each other and nod before taking a breath in as they begin to run in the direction of the echoed scream.
"Total Concentration Breathing." Tanjiro and Rengoku thought simultaneously as they begin to speed up gradually at a quick pace, both of them gain individual trails of fire behind them from their running speed, Rengoku having a Flame breathing trail whilst Tanjiro having the flames of the Hinokami Kagura.
Rengoku looks behind him and smiles seeing Tanjiro keeping up with him before speeding up, causing Tanjiro to do the same as the two ultimately make it to their destination to see Asuna's partner alone fighting off a ghost like monster called the Mournful Wraith, a disturbing mob that looks like a adult female with red eyes and a crazed look on her face, Tanjiro and Rengoku end there amazing show of speed by slicing at the ghosts legs, Tanjiro taking her left while Rengoku takes her right, shocking Asuna's partner at there sudden appearance and speed.
"What the hell, where did you two come from!?" The boy yells in shock.
"Wh-what is that thing!?" Tanjiro says surprised, unconsciously ignoring the boy's surprise alongside Rengoku.
"It doesn't matter at the moment, what's important is that we help this young man at once!" Rengoku says as he gets into a stance.
"Hey are you two just gonna ignore me!?" Asuna's partner yelled at the two annoyed, before widening his eyes at the display of power he's about to see.
"Flame Breathing, First Form." Rengoku thought in a flash as he leaps at the ghost like mob with great speed, attracting it's attention as it flies toward him without any thought as Rengoku speeds past it and swings his blade down at the creatures neck, beheading it with his flaming sword and leaving a charred mark on the ghosts stump where it's head once lay. "Unknowing Fire!" Rengoku thought as he spins midair and lands on his feet, looking behind him and watching alongside Tanjiro and Asuna's partner who's in aw as he watches the creature's body explode into blue glass particles.
"Amazing….he killed that Mournful Wraith with only a single slice, what is he…." Asuna's partner said aloud, stunned at Rengoku's skill as Tanjiro looks back at the boy and smiles before sheathing his katana.
"I know what you mean, no matter how many times I see him fight with the sword I'm always left in awe at how strong Mr. Rengoku really is…." Tanjiro says with a warm smile. "I don't think we've ever formally met by the way, I'm Tanjiro Kamado, it's nice to meet you, that over there who killed that monster is Mr. Rengoku." Tanjiro says before holding his hand out to shake causing the boy to smile and sheathe his sword before shaking hands with Tanjiro.
"I'm Kirito, I'm Asuna's partner but I'm sure you already knew that, besides everyone from the floor 1 boss raid already know's you." The newly and finally named Kirito says as Rengoku walks over.
"Speaking of which Young Swordsman, where is Ms. Asuna, we heard a girl scream and came as fast as we could, I can only assume that was her?" Rengoku says, causing Kirito to widen his eyes remembering how Asuna fell through a trapdoor.
"Oh shit that's right! Asuna fell through a trapdoor when we encountered the Mournful Wraith, she's bound to be several levels deep in the catacombs by now…." Kirito says while looking down with a frown on his face before looking at Rengoku who places a hand on his shoulder with a smile.
"Fear not Young Swordsman because we shall find her once more, me and Young Kamado were just on our way down into the catacombs ourselves!" Rengoku says with a smile and great eccentricity, causing Tanjiro to smile.
"Why don't you come with us Kirito, it wouldn't hurt to have another friend along the way." Tanjiro says, causing Kirito to smile and nod.
"Alright then, there is no time to waste, let us go, Young Kamado, Young Swordsman!" Rengoku says as he begins to walk, causing the two to look at each other and nod before following him.
Timeskip - 30 Minutes Later
"Young Kamado, be on your guard, this is the place, the demons could be anywhere, so stay sharp." Rengoku says to Tanjiro, getting a nod from the boy along with a confused look from Kirito.
"Place, place for what, and did you say demons?" Kirito asks before being silenced by Tanjiro as Rengoku signals the both of them to hide behind corners, causing the two to do so as they hear footsteps getting closer.
The footsteps stop as a man in a black cloak appears before turning because of another pair of footsteps can be heard, belonging to another black cloaked man holding a sword, the one holding a sword makes a sign with his hands which the empty handed man mimics with a smirk under his hood.
"What's up my man, you're early, sorry to keep you waiting." The cloaked sword wielder says.
"It's cool, it wasn't for long, getting here was a real pain though." The empty handed cloaked man says before sitting down. "Those handwritten notes, they suck, I still haven't figured out how to use the frickin pen function right, can't we just DM instead." The empty handed man complained before the sword wielder sits down beside him.
"Dude, you know why we can't, we don't want to be leaving a record of them in our histories. Welp, we're here now, so let's talk business, so how'd it go, they take the bait?" The sword wielder says with an etch of excitement threatening to show up.
"Yeah hook line and sinker, day after tomorrow ALS's top players are gonna ditch that count down event. They're gonna storm the labyrinth all on their own." The empty handed man says, widening Tanjiro's eyes alongside Kirito with Rengoku's eyes sharpening with his bright smile turning into a frown with subtle anger in it.
"They're taking the floor boss on their own, but why…..and that scent on one of those two….I recognize it, but from where...!?" Tanjiro thought while trying to remember where he remembered the scent until widening his eyes, getting a flashback to floor one at the end of the boss raid.
"Sounds like it's coming together, man I can't wait, Kibaou and Lind, locking horns and going at it, that'll be some show." The sword wielder says excitedly.
"Well setting it up was a hassle, it ain't easy manipulating guild meetings, without anyone catching on." The empty handed man says.
"You don't have to tell me, but like, the boss did train you to be the smooth talker, if anyone can handle that kind of stuff it's you man." The sword wielder says nonchalantly.
"I guess so, keep fanning the flames, and before anyone knows it we'll get those dorks to kill each other yet." The empty handed man says, causing great anger to stir up in Tanjiro as he grips his hand into a fist. "I don't know what the boss is thinking, all his plans are so, complicated, there's a ton of easier ways to make someone dead." The empty handed man says with an etch of boredom in his voice, getting a chuckle out of the sword wielder.
"We're still sowing the seeds here my friend, be patient, cause we wouldn't want our fun and games to end just yet." The sword wielder says playfully.
"I hear ya, savoring the process is part of the fun." The empty handed man says as Tanjiro scowls.
"These men, no, these evil demons, they talk about murder so easily, they don't want to get out of here, all they want to do is spread chaos!" Tanjiro thought before widening his eyes hearing a rock skip, catching his attention alongside Kirito, Rengoku, and the two cloaked men.
"What was that…..wait…that scent, I know that scent….it's Asuna's scent!" Tanjiro thought in a panic as he goes to grip his sword before being stopped by Rengoku who signals him to just watch.
"Did you hear that?" The sword wielder asks with excitement in his tone.
"Yeah" The empty handed man says nonchalantly.
"If someone overheard our top secret conversation, it'd sure suck for them." The man says playfully as the empty handed man pulls out a hidden dagger, now upgrading from the empty handed man to the dagger wielder.
"This is bad, if he finds her, he'll-!" Tanjiro thought before a sly shrewman runs under the dagger wielder.
"Woah, what the hell is that!?" The dagger wielder says while freaked out at the sudden appearance of the rat-like monster, making Tanjiro release a breath of relief as he looks to Rengoku who gives him a smile. "Little Bastard" The dagger wielder yells while trying to kill it, getting a laugh out of the sword wielder.
"Look at it go! Hey, cover the exit, I got it!" The sword wielder says as he charges a blue sword skill and kills the sly shrewman with a single slice, shattering it into blue glass particles. "Mystery solved, that sucka's the one that made the noise before." The sword wielder says with assurance in his voice.
"God those stupid rat things are so annoying, did you have to deal with their crap during the beta too?" The dagger wielder says as a results list pops up.
"Yeah, but since they grab weapons players drop, they were fun to kill, a surprise every time." The sword wielder says as he sheathes his blade. "Speaking of, what do we have here?" The sword wielder says as Asuna's Rapier drops.
"Yo a rare weapon!" The knife wielder says excitedly before putting his knife back in its hidden sheathe.
"It's one of the Rapiers!" The Sword wielder says slightly surprised, causing Tanjiro and Kirito to widen their eyes as the dagger wielder picks up Asuna's weapon.
"Woah, it's heavy, let's check the specs, damn look at that, this things totally leveled up, it deals damage like a two hander!" The knife wielder says excitedly.
"Yeah, guess it's alright." The sword wielder says while brushing it off slightly.
"This is badass and that's all you gotta say? Hey if you don't want it, I'll totally take it." The knife wielder says with greed in his voice.
"I don't know, you use a short sword, you need to level up before you can use it right!" The sword wielder says while teasing the dagger wielder as said man unsheathes it, showing its blade with it gleaming..
"If I had this sexy thing I'd switch to a fencer in a heartbeat, it's called the uh Civilric Rapier, what a badass name for a sword!" The dagger wielder says excitedly, causing the sword wielder to sweat drop.
"You're not saying it right, it's pronounced Chivalric, genius." The sword wielder says as Rengoku signals Tanjiro to follow him, in which the boy nods.
A drop of water from the sealing hits a puddle, grabbing the attention of the dagger wielder. "Hey!" He says, noticing Rengoku and Tanjiro, causing the sword wielder to turn and widen his eyes under his cloak, gripping his sword unconsciously.
"Damn, a couple of Demon Slayers! So how long have you two been there" The sword wielder says with caution in his voice.
"Me and this young lad were passing by and overheard you two talking. I must say your plan is quite despicable and I must say, it was difficult to hold back." Rengoku says, making the sword wielder and knife wielder sweat a little.
"So you heard all of that, heh, it doesn't matter though because you'll be dead soon, I'll take care of this one with the new weapon I got so just stay back and watch ok?" The dagger wielder says cockily.
"Fine but if you lose it's your funeral my man." The sword wielder says teasingly.
"So you wish to clash blades, is that right? Fine then, I accept your challenge, good luck." Rengoku says as he grips his katana's hilt with Tanjiro doing the same as the heat in the air kicks up and steam starts to flow around Rengoku. "Know this, if you bare your fangs at the innocent." Rengoku says unsheathing his blade, making the steam intensify. "I will see your bone turn to ash, with my bright red blade of fire!" Rengoku proclaims proudly as the dagger wielder looks at Rengoku's katana in aw.
"Heh, forget the rapier, I want that katana, it's so badass, and it'll be mine!" The dagger wielder says as he sprints at Rengoku charging up a linear skill, thrusting his right arm forward and going to pierce Rengoku who leans forward as a crumpled paper ball lands behind the sword wielder.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form." Rengoku says aloud before swinging his sword upward, flames following his blade, making a circle and delimbing the dagger wielder of his right arm, making it fly up into the air and shatter into blue glass particles before Asuna's Rapier drops to the ground. "Rising Scorching Sun!" Rengoku yells, widening the eyes of the dagger wielder who screams in fright and jumps back.
"Ah! What the hell was that, my arm! You bastard, I'll kill you for that!" The dagger wielder yells as a Sly Shreman runs over and grabs the Rapier. "Hey!" The dagger wielder yells as Asuna jumps from behind a corner and lands in front of the rat creature, slicing it with a pink sword skill and killing it, making it shatter into blue glass particles as well as replacing her Rapier with the one the Sly Shrewman was carrying, making Rengoku chuckle loudly.
"Wha-what the hell! Where'd you come from!?" The one armed dagger wielder asks while holding his stumped limb.
"Nice going young lady, that was a fine attack, losing your weapon and adapting in battle is commendable." Rengoku says with a smile, surprising Asuna as Tanjiro smiles brightly.
"Asuna, I'm glad you're ok, you worried me for a second." Tanjiro says with a bright smile.
"Ye-yeah I'm fine, but how did you guys know I was down here?" Asuna says before Kirito walks out of the shadows with a smile on his face, causing the girl to gain a look of happiness in her eyes as she smiles brightly.
"While it is true we were down here searching for you Young Asuna, our true goal was hunting down these demons." Rengoku says as he points his sword at the two cloaked men, widening the eyes of Kirito putting two and two together and regaining the attention of Tanjiro who unsheathes his sword.
"I don't know about you but I'm beyond pissed off right now, we don't got the time to stand around chit chatting, they heard everything so lets deal with them together this time.
"Now let's not go jumping the gun, these are Demon Slayers we're dealing with right now, and one of them just offed your arm like it was nothing, even with that Rapier and it's specs you couldn't even touch him, you're lucky it's not permanent loss of a limb." The sword wielder says cautiously.
"Please I won't lose a fight with him, much less that kid, I can tell he's the weaker of the two, I won't even break a sweat, I won't underestimate him this time, I ain't leaving here till he's dead and his blade is in my inventory."
"I wouldn't, who knows when something unfortunate might happen." Rengoku says catching the attention of Tanjiro who widens his eyes gaining the scent of multiple sly shrews coming their way as Kirito tackles Asuna out of the line of sight with Tanjiro and Rengoku disappearing out of thin air leaving only an afterimage behind.
"Damn it, it's a mob!" The dagger wielder says with the sword wielder clenching his teeth.
"Well it's your fault damn it, you're the one who screamed at losing a fake arm. Well hate to say it but come on nothing we can do except run." The sword wielder says playfully with a chuckle.
"God this sucks!: The dagger wielder says as they begin to run with the mob running by.
Timeskip - 10 minutes later
"Are you sure we should leave them down there Mr. Rengoku, those demons are still down there." Tanjiro says concerned for Kirito and Asuna's safety as Rengoku gives him a bright smile.
"There's no need to worry Young Kamado, we may have lost track of the Demons but at least they won't find your friends again, that mob is bound to have driven them out of the catacombs by now, it's a shame we weren't able to slay them, but there is always tomorrow!" Rengoku says, making Tanjiro gain a warm smile as he nods.
Timeskip - The Next Day
We see Asuna and Argo throwing away DIY weapons made from hot spring bath fruits, both girls having put on swim suits for a mach duel that they decided to call a tie, they decided to do a mach duel because Asuna was getting worried about Argo going solo on her own without a combat build. "Argo, when you ran across the water just now, was that some kind of skill effect?" Asuna asks curiously.
"Hm, I should charge for info like that but for you, it's free. That wasn't a skill effect it was all training, like, whenever you were a kid at the pool didn't you ever try it? Figuring as long as you put one down before the other sunk, you could run across the water." Argo asks with a smile.
"Ye-yeah I think I might have tried that." Asuna said hesitantly while remembering embarrassing moments as a kid.
"Me too, and when I got to this world, I figured I could finally do it! So I started practicing, everyday, in the bath, in rivers, and before I knew it, I finally managed to run up to four steps! I guess you could call it an outside system skill, like the Total Concentration Breathing that the Demon Slayers use, but then again they can do what I do but better, they actually manage to run on the water, they used it in the floor 4 boss raid, remember?" Argo says, causing Asuna to get a flashback from last night, remembering Rengoku and Tanjiro both running on water as well as Rengoku slicing off the dagger wielder's arm.
"Hey…Argo?" Asuna says, catching the blonde girl's attention.
"Yeah Ah-chan, what's up?" Argo says, causing Asuna to get another flashback to floor 1 of Tanjiro using Hinokami Kagura for the first time to fight off Illfang and his last words to the raid party before going off with Shinobu, remembering all of this steels her resolve as she confidently asks.
"What is Total Concentration Breathing, and what is a demon slayer?" hearing this from Asuna makes Argo curious as she gives Asuna a questioning look.
"As thanks for treating me to this amazing bath, I'll tell you for free, but I gotta ask, why do you want to know?" Argo asks with a smile.
"I have a friend from real life in this game, his name is Tanjiro, I'm sure you know of him, last night me and Kirito ran into some "players" with Tanjiro and his friend, I think his name was Rengoku, or at least that's what Tanjiro called him, he and Rengoku were called Demon Slayers, I just wanted to know what a Demon Slayer is is all…" Asuna said, gaining a soft smile remembering Tanjiro's kind and sweet nature.
Argo looks at Asuna for a second and smiles. "I see, that explains a lot, well before I get into what a Demon Slayer is I gotta tell you about Total Concentration Breathing, or at least what I know of it anyway. Let's see where to start, I guess I should go over the basics of what Total Concentration Breathing is first. Total Concentration Breathing requires one to breathe a certain way or rather I should say the proper way." Argo says, catching Asuna's attention.
"The proper way? I didn't know there was one." Asuna says curiously, not understanding the point.
"Yeah, you see the way the Demon Slayer's breathe gives them extraordinary down right supernatural abilities if I say so myself, breathing the way they do enhances not only there bodies to make them super strong but it also allows them to enhance there healing capabilities, it essentially grants them a natural healing factor, from what I hear it also allows them to have super stamina as well, they can go on fighting for days without breaking a sweat it's crazy how overpowered the technique is to be honest." Argo says, annoyed at the versatility of Total Concentration Breathing, causing Asuna to sweat drop at her childish attitude.
"I didn't know it was so strong, wait then why do they seem to have fire and stuff coming off of their swords, is that also a part of Total Concentration Breathing?" Asuna asks curiously, remembering the fire coming off of Tanjiro and Rengoku's blades.
"That's the fun part Ah-Chan, Flame, Water, Wind, Stone, and Thunder, the breathing fundamentals, all other breathing techniques have split off from those 5 fundamentals and that's a fact, but see the thing is with Total Concentration Breathing is that when you breath a specific style you gain access to that particular styles element, I've heard you can use it in real life too, but I don't believe in that silly rumor, it just sounds impossible ya know, anyway from what I can tell Tan-boy uses a breathing technique that closely resembles Flame breathing so that means it must be a style that branched off from it." Argo says, causing Asuna to nod in agreement.
"Ok, so now that you've told me about their abilities can you tell me about what a Demon Slayer actually is, is it a title or something?" Asuna asks curiously, causing Argo to look down at the water deep in thought on how to break the news to Asuna. "Argo, hey, Aincrad to Argo, you there?" Asuna says, snapping the blonde girl out of her stupor as she gives a soft smile.
"My bad Ah-Chan, it's just, Demon Slayers are complicated people, the population of SAO is torn between supporting them and destroying them….." Argo says, causing Asuna to widen her eyes in surprise.
"D-destroying them!? W-why, did they do something wrong!?" Asuna asks, worried for Tanjiro's safety.
"Ya see Ah-Chan, Demon Slayer isn't just a title, it's a guild, there called the Demon Slayer Core, they do a lot for the players of SAO to make sure that everyone gets out alive, their goal is to protect everyone, even if it means protecting them from other players….." Argo says sadly, making Asuna widen her eyes, remembering the two cloaked men from yesterday and Rengoku's speech before he took off one of their arms.
"From other players….why would they need to do that...?" Asuna asks hesitantly, putting a hand over her heart fearing the truth.
"Ah-chan…..not everyone in SAO wants to clear the game, there are some who just want to create chaos and murder, they're called red players, the Demon Slayer Core calls them Demons who have lost their humanity, and I'm starting to think they're right on that…..anyway like the name of the guild suggests, they slay these red players for the sake of everyone in SAO…." Argo says softly, watching Asuna cover her mouth in horror. Argo gives her reassurance. "I know it's hard to believe it, I had the same reaction when I learned of them, but I know they aren't bad people….they're just doing what the rest of us aren't able to do….." Argo says, trying to cheer Asuna up, managing to get a sad smile out of her.
"Yeah….maybe…." Asuna said while getting flashbacks of Tanjiro being the kind hearted boy she knew him as. "Even now….after all he's been through…..after all he's lost….Tanjiro….I just hope everything works out for you in the end….." thought Asuna sadly with concern for her older brother figure in Aincrad.
Timeskip - Many Hours Later
"Mr. Rengoku, why did we stop?" Tanjiro asks before noticing Kirito standing in front of them, causing Tanjiro to smile.
"Hello there Young Swordsmen, glad to see you made it out of the catacombs safely." Rengoku says with a bright smile.
"Hey Kirito, it's good to see you, but uh, where's Asuna?" Tanjiro asks curiously.
"She's off on another floor visiting a friend, but anyway it's good to see you guys too, thanks again for helping me find Asuna, I was scared that I had lost her, I'm sorry for causing any unnecessary trouble." Kirito says with a smile, causing Rengoku to laugh.
"Please, don't feel badly, living your life, without being afraid, at least not being afraid of losing friends to this death game, that's as it should be!" Rengoku says with a smile, causing Tanjiro to smile warmly at Kirito.
"He's right ya know, being trapped here, and forced into clearing these floors, it shouldn't have happened, but I know we can do it!" Tanjiro says, causing Kirito to smile and nod.
"You're right, we will make it through this death game, that's actually why I'm here, I wanted to invite you two to help clear the floor 5 boss with me and a few other players that'll be joining up, there's an item that drops from the floor 5 boss, it's called the guild flag, it could cause a rupture between the balance of the top guilds and cause a full blown war between them, so please, help me and my party beat the floor 5 boss won't you?" Kirito pleads as Tanjiro and Rengoku smile at the boy.
"You wish to keep the peace among the ALS and the DKB, how admirable of you Young Swordsmen, so it shall be, Young Kamado and I will join you and your party in this fight!" Rengoku proclaims, causing Kirito to widen his eyes with hope.
"We promise to do our best!" Tanjiro says with a smile on his face, causing Kirito to smile.
"Alright then, we'll be heading out tomorrow at 4 so be ready by then, cya." Kirito says waving goodbye, causing Tanjiro to do the same as Rengoku smiles.
Timeskip - The Next Day
We see Kirito and Asuna looking over a cliff at the floor 5 dungeon along with Agil and his 3 party members, Argo, the DKB and ALS event organizers Liten and Shivata, and finally in the the two Demon Slayers Hashira and Tsuguko Kyojuro Rengoku and Tanjiro Kamado.
"There's only 11 of us on this raid, but our odds of winning are good, that said watch your backs in there, don't forget why were going to all this trouble today, to keep the assault team from splitting up and to make sure that the new years party is a success, alright are we ready?" Kirito asks the group of players.
"Hell yeah, let's go get that boss!" Agil says, getting the others in the party to give out a yeah with Rengoku and Tanjiro just nodding with smiles on their faces.
Timeskip - 25 minutes later.
"Huh, I'm not sure if it's gonna be another corridor up there, or if it's gonna be the boss room entrance." Kirito says while in a thinking pose.
"These stairs weren't here in the beta?" Shivata asks, causing everyone in the front to look at him.
"No, I remember we went through a door here and the boss room was on the other side of it." Kirito says while vaguely trying to go through his memories.
"Really, so what was the boss like in the beta?" Asuna asks curiously.
"The guardians of the ruins was what he was called, he was this huge golem, but the thing we have to keep in mind is that even though they might look the same, the bosses we fought up to now had new attacks." Kirito says before turning to Argo. "Actually, did you find anything out about this one?" Kirito says, causing Argo to smile smugly.
"Of course! But I am still an info broker, remember?" Argo says teasingly.
"Right, coming up" Kirito says, pulling up his menu, getting a tiny chuckle out of Argo.
"There's a good boy, but you can hold onto your cash, this time the info's on the house." Argo said cockily, causing Kirito to put his menu away, leaving everyone's eyes on Argo for her answer.
"Here's what I found out, long story short, he's still a golem, just like in the beta, there's a crest on his forehead and that's his weak spot." Argo says.
"So then his attacks could be magic based?" Agil says, getting a smirk out of Argo.
"Yeah, and since we're on a higher floor you can bet he'll be tougher than the other bosses." Argo says a grin. "The only way to find out is to go in, right?" Argo says.
"Ok, for now we'll assume the boss rooms up there, I'll head on out first and check things out." Kirito says.
"Hn, wait here, let me scope things out first." Argo says as jumps up the first set of stairs, a small platform leading to longer sets of stairs. "So far so good, I'm thinking these stairs could also be a trap, the kind where they lift up and block the entrance.
If that's what it is, I'm fast enough to get there before it closes all the way." Argo says, causing Rengoku to smile.
"Then let me and Young Kamado go check it out first." Rengoku insists, getting a confused look out of Argo.
"Huh!? But why?" Argo asks, being confused on Rengoku's insistincy.
"Because even if nobody wants to say it out loud, we are the strongest members here, and we can make it there if these stairs are a trap like you say Argo, and if it does turn out to be the boss we can handle ourselves." Tanjiro says with a smile on his face.
"No way, even if you guys are strong there's no way you could make it in time!" Argo argues, causing Rengoku to smile.
"Young Cat, while it is true that you are fast, we are faster, so rest assured that we will make it there in one piece!" Rengoku says, causing Argo to sigh.
"Fine, if you say so." Argo says annoyed, as Rengoku and Tanjiro begin walking up the stairs.
Timeskip - 5 minutes later
We see Tanjiro and Rengoku walk up the stairs before reaching the top, seeing a room with a bunch of blue lines all over the floor and walls. "Is this the boss room?" Tanjiro says while looking around, as Rengoku nods.
"Seeing as there is no other door here then we must be in the boss room so stay sharp, who knows when it could show up." Rengoku says getting a nod out of Tanjiro who continues to walk around before noticing a blue line on the floor.
"What's this, some sort of blue line?" Tanjiro says, catching the attention of Rengoku.
"Young Kamado, wait!" Rengoku says a second too late as the blue light touches Tanjiro's feet, causing the room to light up and a hand to appear up from the ground where Tanjiro stands.
"What the….What is this thing!? Is it the boss!?" Tanjiro thought aloud before jumping away before its grip closes.
As Tanjiro lands next to Rengoku the both unsheathe their blades and look around for the rest of the boss as it's arm goes back into the ground.
"Are you alright Young Kamado?" Rengoku asks, worried for his Tsuguko as Tanjiro nods.
"Yeah I'm fine, but where's the rest of it!?" Tanjiro asks as Rengoku points down at the ground where a large blue circle appears before turning red.
"I hope you're fired up lad, because there's no time to waste!" Rengoku says before the two dodge the arm before another Icon appears below Rengoku.
"Mr. Rengoku watch out!" Tanjiro says, causing Rengoku to look down and dodge a second arm that comes out of the ground.
"Ha ha, I should have known a beast like him would have two arms, if the other Hashira were here to see this, I'd be ashamed!" Rengoku says before looking up at the ceiling hearing a sound cue and seeing another red icon, causing him to sprint and grab Tanjiro before dodging the bosses leg before putting Tanjiro down before noticing a green wave coming at them.
"Thanks, I didn't realize he had legs too!' Tanjiro said before Rengoku laughs.
"No need to thank me, it's only natural I'd protect you, now jump!" Rengoku yells as the two jump over the green wave of energy.
"If he has two arms, then that means he has to have two legs, but where could it be coming from!?" Tanjiro thought before getting a scent, causing him to look up and widen his eyes seeing the foot coming down upon him and Rengoku. "Above us!" Tanjiro yells allowing him and Rengoku to dodge it along with its green energy wave.
"Young Kamado, don't move!" Rengoku says before pointing at the ground. "Remember how you triggered the boss, it was by touching those blue lines, you know what that means don't you?" Rengoku says with a smile as Tanjiro gives a look of surprise and a smile of his own.
"It means we can predict the boss's movements and when he'll attack!" Tanjiro says excitedly, causing Rengoku to nod.
"Hey, you guys alright!?" Shivata asks as everyone comes up the stairs, widening the eyes of Tanjiro and Rengoku who can only watch as Shivata and Agil's party members step on the blue lines, making blue targets around them.
"What's up is this the boss room?" Shivata asks as Argo and Kirito look around confused.
"It's nothing like how the beta was that's for sure" Argo says as Kirito nods.
"Stop! Get out of the way! You have to dodge!" Tanjiro yells causing the others to scatter with one of Agil's party members bumping into Shivata, causing the two to fall. "Damn it, I have to save them!" Tanjiro thought before widening his eyes seeing Rengoku speed past him, grabbing Shivata and steeling Tanjiro's resolve in the process. "Rengoku is saving them while fighting the boss of himself, everyone else is fighting too, I have to do my part in all of this as well!" Tanjiro thought as he speeds toward Agil's party member, picking him up and dodging just before the boss grabs him. "I'll see that everyone is safe!" Tanjiro says with resolve on his face as he looks up at the ceiling with everyone else, watching the boss's face emerge from a black cloud of mist along with his 6 health bars and name "Fuscus the Vacant Colossus".
"He's different, even his names different!" Kirito says as the newly named Fuscus roars, giving everyone a status effect.
"What an ugly mess, listen up everyone, the boss uses both his arms and legs to attack, if you step on one of those blue lines you see at your feet he will target you, I'll trigger one so deal as much damage as possible, got it!" Rengoku yells, getting a nod from everyone before stepping on a blue line and dodging out of the way of Fuscus's hand, leaving it open for Asuna to hit with a double strike sword skill before Argo does the same with her wolverine-like claws just before Kirito hits it with a sword skill and a clean upward slice skill before landing on the ground, lowering Fuscus's first health bar down to half a quarter left.
"The crest on its head is the weak spot, if you get a clean shot, go for it!" Kirito yells.
"Right" Everyone yells, now having a target placed on Fuscus's crest.
A few of the raid party members step on the blue lines alongside Rengoku, activating Fuscus's arms and legs on purpose to attack them as Asuna, Kirito, Agil, and the rest of the Raid party do, with Tanjiro charging at Fuscus's left leg while taking a breath in.
"Hinokami Kagura!" Tanjiro yells before slashing left at Fuscus's leg before slashing right, leaving two fiery slashes behind that continuously burn Fuscus's leg. "Raging Sun!" Tanjiro yells as the fire slashes dissipate, lowering Fuscus's health down to three bars.
"He's down to three!" Asuna yells as the walls start to glow.
"Hey, what's up with the walls!?" Agil yells as the walls start moving forward and backward.
"Well this is definitely a new pattern, I don't think we can handle this anymore!" Argo yells at Kirito who sweats a bit while looking around.
"I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this too, we're leaving, regroup downstairs!" Kirito orders, as everyone heads toward the stairs except Rengoku who looks around at the situation before looking up at the ceiling, widening his eyes not seeing Fuscus any more.
"Where did he go!? He can't have gotten far, but where would he possibly be!?" Rengoku thought with his instincts guiding him until widening his eyes. "The stairs!" Rengoku yells before looking at the dark mist cloud forming.
"Shiva!" Liten yells as Shivata looks on in horror as the mist appears, Asuna goes to push Shivata out of the way but gets beaten to the punch by Tanjiro who shoves the man out of the way before getting clenched by Fuscus's mouth.
"Young Kamado!" Rengoku yells with widened eyes as he watches Tanjiro struggle, his green checkered Haori shattering into blue glass particles from too much damage sustained.
Agil sweats in shock watching Tanjiro struggle "The staircase…..It turned into his mouth!" Agil yells.
"Agil! Smash the crest on its head!" Kirito yells.
"I can't, the crest ain't there anymore!" Agil yells, widening the eyes of Rengoku.
"Everyone, search around the room! The crest isn't gone, this isn't just a boss room, it's the golem itself. It's still a boss, its crest is on it somewhere, this boss has two arms and two legs, so it has to be on one of them. I will try to free Young Kamado while you search. Now let's find that crest!" Rengoku yells getting everyone to scatter with Rengoku leaping over to Tanjiro while breathing in.
"Flame Breathing, Third Form." Rengoku thought before doing an arcing downward slash of flames aimed at Fuscus's teeth. "Blazing Universe!" Rengoku yells in hopes of freeing his Tsuguko but failing, widening his eyes and gritting his teeth while watching Tanjiro's health go down. "No! Let go of him you bastard, I won't let you kill my Tsuguko, he is the future!" Rengoku yells while slashing at Furcus's face with many flaming slashes, widening Tanjiro's eyes before giving a sad smile.
"I'm sorry Mr. Rengoku, Mr. Tomioka…..Mr. Urokodaki…but most of all….Nezuko, I'm sorry that I failed you all…." Tanjiro thought with tears in his eyes seeing his health go down to yellow before widening his eyes seeing a scythe appear from below Fusces mouth before pushing his teeth apart, allowing the owner of said scythe, Mito to crawl up out of the bosses mouth.
"I've got you Tanjiro, I won't let you die, not if I can help it!" Mito yells, gaining the attention of Asuna who smiles at her arrival while Tanjiro widens his eyes in shock.
"Mito…" Tanjiro says surprised, causing her to look at him with a smile.
"You've done so much for everyone, but you still have to get back to your sister in the real world, so you can't die here!" Mito yells, widening Tanjiro's eyes as Rengoku smiles.
"She's right Young Kamado, your sister needs you, so pick up your sword and fight!" Rengoku yells, giving Tanjiro the resolve to stab his blade into Fuscus's teeth and using what strength he has left to push him back, breathing in and setting his sword ablaze in Hinokami Kagura flames in the process. With a battle cry Tanjiro holds off Fusces with Mito and Rengoku long enough for Argo to slice his crest, returning it to his forehead and letting go of Tanjiro who begins to fall as the boss disappears from the staircase.
"Tanjiro!" Mito yells as Rengoku speeds to Tanjiro and catches him.
"I've got you Young Kamado, you're safe for now." Rengoku says, assuring Tanjiro who weakly stands up.
"Tanjiro, are you alright?" Mito says while looking at the bottom left of Tanjiro's stomach which is still glowing red from a deep wound status effect Tanjiro gained from Fuscus.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Tanjiro says as he gives a smile toward Mito who blushes and looks away, coincidentally looking at Asuna by accident.
"Mito, you came!" Asuna says while rushing over.
"Yeah well I figured I couldn't let you have all the fun now could I, heh." Mito says with a smile, causing Asuna to give a bright one of her own. "Alright, let's go kill it." Mito says as the two friends smack their weapons blades together lightly with Tanjiro smiling at the scene.
"What's changed from the beta?" Mito asks Rengoku who gives her a smile.
"You see that crest, from what I've seen it can move it to any part of its body, but it's still his weak spot so if you get a chance to strike, don't hesitate even for a second!" Rengoku says enthusiastically before one of his legs comes down, creating a green shockwave that hits a member of Agil's party, paralyzing him as Kirito watches the leg closely, looking for the crest and widening his eyes when he sees it.
"There!" Kirito yells, causing Mito to run in.
"No wait, it's too high up!" Agil says, worried for Mito's safety before the purple headed girl uses a special skill that splits her scythe into a chain scythe, allowing her to throw part of it at the crest with a battle cry, hitting it with full force and lowering his health down to 1 bar and a half instead of 2 bars because of Rengoku's flaming strikes earlier.
"Woah a follow up attack!" Shivata says in awe.
"She's good!" Liten says, impressed at Mito's skills.
"Everyone, stomp on the lines again, this time when the crest appears, let me at it!" Mito yells.
"Right!" Agil says with a smirk.
"Roger that!" Shivata says with a smile.
"Mito, over here!" Asuna calls out with Mito rushing toward the crest at full speed with everyone else attacking the bosses other limbs.
"Flame Breathing, First Form, Unknowing Fire!" Rengoku says before slicing the boss's leg with a flaming horizontal slash at great speeds.
"Hinokami Kagura, Dance!" Tanjiro says while performing a flaming vertical slash in an arcing motion at the boss's arm. Lowering the boss's health down to one bar, causing all the blue lines to travel up to the boss's head, making the room go purple as it emerges from the mist cloud, landing on the ground and turning red as it reveals its full body.
"What a giant, it was difficult to fight him before, but now we can fight at full strength!" Rengoku says with a bright smile on his face.
"Yeah, let's do it Mr. Rengoku!" Tanjiro says with a smile on his face. "With Mr. Rengoku, I can do this!" Tanjiro thought with steeled resolve as Rengoku nods.
Everyone begins to attack the boss with Liten and Shivata being the shields, Mito uses her chain scythe skill to swing to the same height as the bosses face and uses the end to smack his head back, leaving him open for Asuna and Kirito slash up the bosses face before being forced to back off.
"Damn it, we're so close!" Kirito says before widening his eyes watching Rengoku dashing up the boss's right with Tanjiro behind him.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form!" Rengoku yells as he gets enveloped with fire in the shape of a tiger, slashing and knocking back the boss's other arm away, stopping it from hitting Tanjiro leaving it open "Flame Tiger!" Rengoku yells before Tanjiro leaps while breathing in.
"Hinokami Kagura!" Tanjiro yells before thrusting his blade forward with Hinokami flames spiraling around the tip while going all the way down the blade into a tornado before hitting the boss's crest. "Sunflower Thrust!" Tanjiro yells as the boss gets pushed back, exploding into giant blue glass particles that look purple thanks to the lighting, making the room around them evaporate and change into a normal building as Tanjiro falls at great speeds still losing health little by little from his deep wound status effect before hitting the ground and rolling to reduce the impact right as a "Congratulations!" text appeared.
"We did it…." Shivata says.
"We did it!" The entire raid party yells apart from Rengoku who sheathes his katana and walks over to Tanjiro and crutches down before looking his Tsuguko eye to eye.
To be continued...in chapter 5 because I'm running out of space lol