"Haha... haha... haha!!"
The deafening laughter seemed to threaten to overturn the entire Mount Kumotori.
An immense, suffocating aura of ghostly Demon Aura exploded outwards from the center of the blue flower field with a deafening roar!
The Demon Aura was no longer a cold and filthy entity.
It carries the warmth of the sun, full of aggression and vitality, as if announcing the arrival of a new era to the whole world.
This aura, violent and unrestrained, surged down from the mountaintop in an instant, sweeping across the entire Mount Kumotori.
At the foot of the mountain, at the entrance of the town.
"He is a ghost."
Giyu Tomioka's emotionless voice still rang in Tanjiro's ears.
Just as Tanjiro's worldview was shattered, and he didn't know whether to believe his own nose or the swordsman in front of him who exuded a "reliable" aura,
That terrifying aura emanating from the mountaintop crashed down like a tsunami!
Tanjiro's face turned pale instantly.
He smelled it!
That smell!
It smells like the legendary healer!
But it's no longer that clean facade!
That's... the smell of a demon!
Moreover, that smell was coming from the direction of my own house!
"No... it's impossible..."
Tanjiro's lips began to tremble as a chilling thought crept into his mind.
If the legendary healer is a ghost...
So what was his purpose in going up the mountain...?
The miracle drug he mentioned that would save many lives...
And then there's... the defenseless mother and younger siblings left at home!!
"Ahhh!!"
Tanjiro let out a desperate scream, the charcoal basket on his back crashed to the ground, and he rushed up the mountain like a madman, disregarding everything!
But someone else was even faster!
Something terrible has happened.
Giyu Tomioka's expression instantly darkened.
His calm blue eyes were now fixed intently on the direction of the mountaintop.
In his Transparent World, he "saw" a sun.
A black sun composed entirely of Demon Aura!
That power was completely beyond his understanding of "ghosts"!
That bastard Yaoshi must have done something terrible or forbidden up in the mountains!
Giyu Tomioka could no longer care about the charcoal-selling boy beside him.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his figure disappeared at the end of the mountain path like an arrow released from a bow.
"The Yaoshi must die here today."
Mountain top.
The Yaoshi was still laughing wildly, enjoying a freedom and power he had never felt before, standing in the sunlight.
He felt that he was the only god in the world.
But just as he was preparing to take the first step in conquering the world, turning the "clinical material" on the mountaintop into his own work of art.
A figure appeared silently between him and the small wooden house.
He was a man dressed in a simple kimono, thin and pale, looking as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
He was also carrying a wood-chopping axe in his hand.
It was none other than Tanjuro Kamado.
The Yaoshi's laughter abruptly stopped.
"Oh? Isn't this Mr. Tanjuro Kamado?"
"A sickly man on the verge of death dares to stand in the way of God?"
"Perfect timing. My perfect body still needs some data to fill in the gaps. I'll start with you."
He looked at Tanjuro as if he were looking at an ant crawling onto a dining table, his eyes full of amusement and disdain.
However, Tanjuro ignored his trash talk.
He simply stood there quietly, his calm eyes piercing through the Yaoshi's perfect exterior to see the ugly mark of a demon within his body.
"Call--"
Tanjuro exhaled a long breath of white air and assumed a strange starting stance.
In that instant, his entire demeanor changed.
If he was a candle that could go out at any moment before, now he is a volcano that appears calm on the surface but is actually churning with lava inside!
Hinokami Kagura!
"Playing tricks."
The Yaoshi curled his lip, preparing to deal with this ignorant mortal as easily as crushing an insect.
But when his gaze fell upon the flame-like Demon Slayer Mark on Tanjuro's forehead, and the pair of ancient Sun Wheel Hanafuda Earrings that swayed slightly with his breath, he was struck by the sight of the flame.
A chilling fear, rising from the depths of his DNA, gripped his heart!
What... what does that feel like?
Why is my body shaking?
Why does it feel like even my thoughts are frozen?
That's impossible!
I've overcome the sun!
I am already a perfect god!
There is nothing in this world that can frighten me!
But that fear was so real, so overwhelming!
It does not belong to the Yaoshi, nor does it originate from any of his memories.
It comes from a deeper, more ancient place!
From within him, every single drop of blood belonging to the Demon King Muzan!
From that ultimate nightmare imprinted deep within our genes, for a certain being!
The Yaoshi's vision began to distort.
The sickly man before her gradually blurred, his figure slowly overlapping with that of a samurai dressed in hunting robes and wielding Red Nichirin Blade.
"You..."
Tanjuro spoke, his voice still weak, yet carrying an air of authority that seemed to judge all things.
What do you consider life to be?
Boom--!
These words struck the Yaoshi's soul like a thunderbolt from the heavens!
His mind went completely blank.
His most prized wisdom and the composure he relied on for survival were utterly crushed in this moment!
He even forgot that he was no longer afraid of sunlight, forgot that he possessed unprecedented power, and was left only with the most primal instinct of a ghost—to run!
However, his body seemed to be nailed to the spot, unable to move even a finger!
Tanjuro moved.
Accompanied by his long and sacred breath!
The rusty axe blade suddenly burst into flames as dazzling as the sun!
"Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky!"
Tanjuro's figure left an afterimage in the original spot, and he appeared in front of Yaoshi as if he had teleported!
With a posture that surpasses the limits of human endurance, he twisted his body, and with the flaming axe in his hand, he drew a perfect 360-degree circular slash!
Wherever the firelight passed, the air howled, the earth cracked, and the entire mountaintop was dyed golden by this blazing divine power!
The Yaoshi, frozen in place by fear, could only watch helplessly as the golden "sun" slashed toward his neck in a way he could not possibly resist!
"Sizzle--!"
A piercing cutting sound rang out.
The head, still wearing gold-rimmed glasses and with extreme terror and confusion frozen on its face, was tossed high into the air by the golden ring of fire!
The scorching golden flames clung to the wound, burning his cells with ferocity!
"Ahhh--!"
Excruciating pain!
"How... how... is this possible..."
His head tumbled in the air; the Yaoshi's last consciousness was filled with absurdity and resentment.
"I clearly... have overcome the sunlight... I clearly... have become a god..."
"Why... am I still... bound by the fear of the Demon King..."
"Why... why did I die... under... a broken axe..."
His headless body collapsed to his knees with a thud, golden flames swirling around his wounds, as if he were about to turn to ashes at any moment.
It's over.
It's all over.
The Yaoshi felt his life force rapidly slipping away, felt the scorching sensation from the sun, and felt only despair.
However, just as he realized he was about to die...
Something outrageous has happened.
The golden flame that clung to the wound like a maggot to the bone slowly extinguished after burning to a certain critical point.
Instead of turning to ash, his cells, which should have collapsed rapidly, began to multiply wildly under the impetus of an inexplicable force!
Granulation tissue surged wildly from the severed neck, writhing and trying to reconnect.
"I... I'm not dead?"
The head that had rolled onto the snow suddenly opened its eyes wide, its pupils initially filled with utter bewilderment, which was then replaced by a twisted, ecstatic joy at surviving a catastrophe!
"I... didn't die! Haha! I'm even immune to the slashes from the Sun Breathing!"
"I... am truly immortal! I am perfect!!"
Before his maniacal laughter could even escape, a foot stomped heavily on his face, crushing all his ecstasy back into his throat.
Tanjuro kept his head down, his calm eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.
"It seems that once wasn't enough."