Tanjiro slowly opened his eyes, the last thing he remembered was the choice he had made with Yerichi... The rest was like a fog. His mind was very weak, for a long time Tanjiro didn't understand what was going on at all, his mind was only filled with the pain his own body was causing him.

The body was completely devastated. Blood was raining down, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't feel his pulse or his heartbeat. Tanjiro understood that his body was dying, left to understand how it died, and how he was still alive.

He had only one option to check.

Tanjiro focused his mind, just as he focused his breath, and instead of a murky darkness he saw a beautiful clear ocean, with an empty and calm sky. This is the soul of Tanjiro, the soul of a little boy carrying a whole mountain on his shoulders, managing not to get dirty, but only to repaint his inner world, though the boy thought that this is some kind of special place for all hunters, and all human souls are the same.

- Tanjiro... - Erichi said in his soft voice cloudily, drilling the boy's soul with his eyes.

- Tanjiro, please don't try to come in here again, your mind needs your body right now. It is simply in a terrible state. - Saying the boy's name more firmly, the man began to speak more clearly, a note of surprise in his voice.

- E-erichi? I'm not..." Tanjiro's eyes suddenly widened and his body began to tremble. The mind successfully recovered and as a result the memories slowly returned back to the owner.

- Ye-erichi! Muzzan! Я! The dance of the God Og! - Tanjiro was in shock, his emotions mixed. He was afraid... afraid of Muzzan. Fury. Fury and a sense of incomprehension simmered within him. Before he could finish his words, the Keeper of Sun Breath was a mile second in front of his face and gagged him.

- Muzzan isn't here at the moment, and won't be for some time. Besides, I'm pretty sure you scared him so much that every time he thinks of you, all twelve of his organs will shake. - Yerichi said with a majestic tone, as if proud of the boy. But his voice changed and became serious.

- But he did survive. You could not finish. - Yerichi said annoyedly, he wasn't angry with the boy, he was just waiting for his reaction.

- I couldn't... I couldn't?... I lost? - Tears came to his eyes, Tanjiro was completely shattered. He had gone through so much pain and all for nothing? Tanjiro, the boy who radiated light like hope, like the sun, lighting the way for people, right now needed at least one drop of light.

- Tanjiro, you. - Yerichi was shocked by the reaction, even now he thinks of those he could not save and the honor of those he could not restore.

- Your body is the true abode of the demons Tanjiro, do not let Mudzan come near it in any way. The gods will fear what this monster will do with such power. - In a serious tone, Yerichi addressed the boy.

Tanjiro didn't stop crying small tears, but he still paid attention to Yerichi's words. One could clearly read incomprehension in his face.

- The techniques of your ancestors, they make a body as good as a demon's. Otherwise I can't explain your survivability. It's the perfect body for Mudzan to get rid of his only weakness, the Sunlight. - said Yerichi without changing his tone of voice, as if he was telling the boy that there was still a chance.

Tanjiro stopped crying and now looked at the founder of the breaths with a full serious face. Was this Dance that strong? Twenty-four movements over twenty-four hours.

- Your Mission is not over yet. Tanjiro, you are alive and well, and Mudzan is somewhere in the North. Taking a break to regain his strength, Muzzan will bare his blade.

- You must destroy him. He devours the lives of innocent people and he must not be alive. - The man seemed to utter the last words with hatred and venom in his voice.

Tanjiro understood the man's motive and without thinking long returned back to his body, remembering once and for all the picture of a man so fiercely holding his weapon.

- In the end, if anyone is to blame for a failed mission, it's me. - With sadness in his voice, the Founder of Breaths walked out of consciousness.

Tanjiro opened his eyes and instead of the dim emptiness he saw the light of a clear blue sky. The more he regained consciousness, the more he began to feel the intense pressure of the wind on his back, which intensified as time passed.

Finally, Tanjiro realized that gravity was pulling him down more and more. Fully opening his eyes, Tanjiro saw the earth slowly approaching. Wait.

- I'm Falling! - The boy shouted nervously as he realized that if he didn't think of something now, then he would lose the mission he had just found. Well, and lose his life.

Tanjiro nervously began searching for some body of water, parrying his body skyward. Adrenaline gripped him, he thought of nothing but saving his life, but still he looked at the places where he was... A huge city, gigantic walls and a magnificent castle.

- Where am I. - With wonder and admiration at the same time, the boy said. He had not seen such huge buildings in his homeland, was he in another country?

Tanjiro left these thoughts for later, right now he saw a shallow river flowing among the city and directed his body right there. Taking a deep breath, Tanjiro closed his eyes, bringing his hand to his blade he slowly began to inhale cold steam.

- Eighth style, Waterfall Flow! - The boy shouted loudly. One strong sword movement made a huge controlling flow of water, throwing Tanjiro two or three meters upwards, allowing him to lose the frantic inertia acquired by time earlier and safely allow him to plunge into the river.

Tanjiro swam quickly out of the river, getting to his knees and began to gulp air greedily while moaning through the pain, his wounds open from the use of his breath, and the cold water only made it worse. Right now he didn't know of a better option than just standing in the sunlight, trying to warm his body.

The strong splash of water had already attracted the attention of ordinary residents, many of whom ran away in a panic from the strong sound and in what seemed to be an unexpected situation. Even more frightened were the residents of the armed and wounded boy. There was not a soul willing to help the poor warrior, but that is not their fault. They were too afraid of everything about guns, they were made to be afraid of them.

- W-Where am I? - mumbled Tanjiro muttered, unceasingly taking deep breaths, his body was too tired and he was about to enter a nice sleep under the warm sun, but still in the dampness and his own blood, on the sidelines of an unknown city, it was not the best option to wait, thought Tanjiro and wanted to stand on his feet, but they did not obey him, an attempt to take only a step led to the fall, Tanjiro mentally prepared to strike, but someone caught him and rested on his body. Tanjiro slowly turned his head over to the figure.

A boy about 16-18 years old, with light brown hair, boggy eyes, and an average build, but with a huge weapon in his back sheath, caught him. By the expression on his face could you think that he was sort of afraid of him? No, rather, it was a tremendous shock to see a man scrambled with holes in him who was still thinking clearly.

- S-Spa. - Tanjiro still couldn't speak properly, Mudzan ripped off his tongue. But that shouldn't stop him from being grateful, should it? But no sooner had he finished than his savior interrupted loudly.

- Don't say anything! You're losing blood... the horror of your body... who did this to you..." the boy said with a shiver in his voice, he had seen death before, but this guy was literally struck in every vital organ, he just had to die. "Who was he? And more importantly, what kind of creature inflicted those wounds?" - mentally horrified the guy.

Tanjiro only nodded softly and gave the guy the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, Tanjiro thanked him with a smile as the guy carried him somewhere trying to cover his open wounds with his hands.

"I think I found my first friend here." - Tanjiro said in his head with a smile, the boy first tried to find something in his big bag, but then he just carried him somewhere else.

The boy wasn't expecting such a reaction, he thought he'd at least be asking with his hands where he was carrying him, but he seemed to trust him completely, and his beaming smile only confirmed it.

"Looks like I found my first friend in the capital." - the boy said with a chuckle in his head. With one glance, the lad looked at his weapons, he could tell that his weapons must be worth as much as his entire village. And this clean and peculiar appearance without a single scar except for one big one in the shape of fire on his face didn't confuse the guy, it was too suspicious a scar, it couldn't be, so it must be some kind of symbol, well and this peculiar clothing... "Is he a nobleman?" the boy thought, but then he stopped and inhaled excitedly.

- Oh, excuse me! I forgot to introduce myself. - with these words the boy drew his sword and proudly raised it up still holding Tanjiro on his shoulder.

- My name is Tatsumi! And I have come here to conquer the capital! - he smugly declared, making the boy only chuckle lightly.

- Tanjiro. - the boy briefly introduced himself and nodded as if to say "pleased to meet you," receiving a nod in return, the two figures hurriedly walked away attracting the eyes of all kinds of people and not one of them dared to help. They both seemed to look too suspicious, which caught the attention of a certain cat.

- You boys seem to be in trouble," a woman with a strange belt on her hip addressed the two figures in a kindly tone. She did not fear them, but as she approached her eyes spoke for her.

- What the... - "that boy's heartbeat must be a joke." - the woman thought, before indirectly inspecting the boy's wounds and his appearance at the same time. She had seen many things in her life, but of this boy a remarkable resilience stood out. He smiled at her and showed every kind of good intent, even though he was wounded as if he were a dummy for testing blades. "It must really hurt." - the woman thought more seriously already.

- Well, as you can see. - Tatsumi replied sarcastically, moving Tanjiro's dead body a little and turning to the woman with a more serious voice. - Please, can you help us? - Tanjiro's eyes met those of the blond woman, as if asking for her help. Although Tanjiro did not mean to alarm anyone, his eyes simply revealed the truth better.

- Hmm." With full seriousness in her tone, the woman looked once more at the wounded boy. Something else was peculiar, those eyes that had survived a lot, but still hadn't affected the innocent child's mind. - Warrior. - muttered the woman before hesitantly clenching her fist.

- You owe me, remember that. - The woman said playfully, turning to Tatsumi, giving him a bit of her beautiful smile, though how beautiful? Her smile was like sunlight, making the latter blush, as if he saw a goddess and muttered something to himself about the beautiful girls of the capital.

- And so are you. - Tilting her head to the side, the woman winked at the same time she put a finger to her lip. Obviously, she wanted to play on the virgin souls of the male sex and so she teased them, but it seems to have had little effect on the latter.

- You have a very kind heart. - Through a cough the boy said, before his body finally gave up on him, collapsing completely on Tatsumi. Tanjiro began to lose consciousness, all he could see were the muddy bodies of the woman running towards him and Tatsumi moving his shoulders, and all he heard was some kind of hum, smelling... and then he opened his eyes.

Tanjiro could smell fear, terror and blood, everywhere, in this city there was that smell.

- How many... how many demons are there? - The dumbfounded Tanjiro was already completely losing his mind.

- Nezuka, is that you?" asked Tanjiro through tears, he saw his sister. His only support during all that horror.

Tanjiro only saw an affirmative nod in response, Tanjiro clutched his sister in a deadly embrace, then he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

- M-Mom?" the even more dumbfounded boy looked at his whole family, at all the people close to him.

Tanjiro felt at home here, he wanted to stay here. He was tired, the urge to fight quickly left him and the warrior's eyes became the eyes of an ordinary frightened boy.

- Onii-chan, I think it's a little early for you. - Through a big smile the girl said and took the boy's face in her small hands.

- Please LIVE!" with these words she broke free from Tanjiro's embrace quickly pushing him away from her. Tanjiro looked lost, but there was not much he could understand, there was not enough time.

- Hey!

Tanjiro saw a blurry face in front of him, a man was standing in front of him, periodically splashing his face with cold water.

- tabHey! - More forcefully, almost turning into a shout, the man said and poured the same water, it looked like he wasn't going to stop.

- HEY! - the man finally managed to wake up Tanjiro's dead body, making the first one feel very relieved in his chest.

- Phew, he's awake now, or I thought I was going to fail my sweet Leona's request. - The man rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle.

- W-Where am I?" asked a still bewildered Tangiro. How many times had he been in this situation this day?

- Well, you're in my drugstore boy, in the slums, and don't worry about the price, Sister Leone explained it all to me. - With joy in his eyes the man explained.

- I'm sorry if I woke you up, you were crying strangely and I couldn't help waking you from your nightmare. - With a scratch on the back of his head the man replied.

- It was not a nightmare, it was quite the opposite. - Tangiro answered, with tenderness in his eyes. - But thank you, thank you for everything! - Immediately he threw off his blanket, stood up and bowed to Tanjiro.

Tanjiro looked at his almost completely bandaged body, it did not hurt and felt much better, although he was very hungry.

- Thank you! I won't forget you for sure! And now, I have to go and thank Tatsumi and the blonde woman! - Tanjiro said solemnly and walked away straight into the sunset, ignoring the apothecary's cries of danger.

He didn't have to walk long, he searched by scent for Tatsumi and quickly found him, an angry, leaning against the wall, Tatsumi who was furiously checking some kind of map. Tangiro didn't decide to do anything special, just walked over and sat down next to him, the latter even startled that he hadn't noticed him. Tanjiro couldn't help himself, he hunted demons in such a way that he made as little noise as possible.

- T-Tanjiro, how you?.. - Tatsumi asked the boy in a surprised voice, but he was interrupted by a certain carriage. The carriage consisted of servants and some girl of 16, who stepped out of the transport greeting the two figures.

- Lady Aria... again? - The servant rolled his eyes.

- I'm sorry... I can't help it. - In a voice sweet to Tatsumi, but sharp to Tanjiro, the girl said, and stared intently at the man with the strange scar on his face.