"Tanjiro's attack power... is actually inferior to Mr. Tomioka's recovery ability?!"
[Love Hashira] Mitsuri Kanroji covered her mouth with both hands, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Too... too violent. Mr. Tomioka is usually so quiet, but once he starts fighting, he's even wilder than Mr. Shinazugawa..."
Behind the distant ruins, the nine pillars were experiencing an extremely complex mix of emotions.
They stared blankly at the "battle of gods" that was hundreds of meters away from them, a battle that was completely beyond human comprehension.
A gentle breeze rustled through their tattered team uniforms, carrying with it a pungent, metallic smell of blood.
The pillars fell into deep thought.
Just moments ago, they were confidently clamoring to kill Tanjiro Kamado.
Do you still want to kill me?
Without a doubt, as Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, their hatred for demons is ingrained in their bones; of course they want to kill them!
But...
Do they really have the qualifications, or rather, the strength, to kill Tanjiro now?
For a moment, all the pillars felt an unprecedented sense of bewilderment and frustration.
"Look at that monster!!"
[Water Hashira] Sabito swallowed hard, his voice filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.
"He was pinned to the ground and beaten like a sandbag by Giyu. Half of his body was riddled with blood, and his head was crushed countless times."
"But is he dead?"
The question about the Sabito was like a knife, piercing deep into the heart of every pillar.
No!
Tanjiro didn't die at all!
Not only did he not die, but with his unreasonable superhuman regeneration, he rose from the pool of blood time and time again, condensing even more ferocious Heat Haze each time, launching a Giyu!
His physical strength seemed inexhaustible, and his cells seemed to never age!
"That Tomioka guy... has already reached the limits of human physical skill."
Sanemi Shinazugawa dejectedly lowered the Nichirin Blade in his hand.
"If it were me, no, even if all seven of us went at it together, we probably wouldn't even be able to scratch that kid before being burned to ashes by all those fireballs."
"..."
Sanemi didn't continue, but everyone understood what it meant.
This means that this evil spirit that has overcome sunlight is indeed an unkillable being.
What right do these so-called "pillars," who are so weak that even approaching the battlefield would send them flying in the shockwaves, have to clamor for his "execution"?
Faced with this absolute disparity in military strength, their pitiful hatred and prejudice seem so pale and laughable.
"Amitabha..."
Gyomei Himejima closed his tearful, blind eyes and clasped his hands together.
"It seems that our Master and Mr. Tomioka are using this most cruel method to show us the truth."
Gyomei sighed.
"It's not that Mr. Tomioka is protecting him, but... our entire Demon Slayer Corps has lost the means to kill him."
"--The only options are acceptance or destruction."
Just as everyone's values were being repeatedly reshaped and deeply reflected upon.
The battle in the center of the battlefield has entered its most intense and heated phase!
"Roar!"
Tanjiro was struck on the shoulder by Giyu's powerful downward kick, shattering his entire right collarbone.
He slammed his knees heavily on the ground, creating two deep dents in the bluestone slab.
But his survival instincts unleashed an unprecedented ferocity within him!
He suddenly bit down and shattered his newly grown fangs.
"Roar--!"
Tanjiro let out a roar that was difficult to decipher.
His newly regenerated right arm suddenly began to swell and grow enormous!
Countless drops of blood gushed from his pores, eventually transforming into a massive, blood-red blade, several meters long and burning with Heat Haze!
Eerie black-purple lightning even flickered faintly along the edge of the giant blade!
[Blood Demon Art: Heat Haze - Deadly Greatslash!]
Tanjiro suddenly stood up, his waist making a cracking sound as if it could no longer bear the strain.
He wielded the blood-red giant blade, which resembled the Grim Reaper's scythe, with a ferocious aura that seemed to tear everything apart, and swept it towards Giyu Tomioka, who was right in front of him!
"Sizzle--!"
Before the blade even arrived, the earth was suddenly cleaved open with a terrifying, bottomless chasm.
The air along the way was sucked out, creating a sharp sonic boom.
The power of this strike is enough to instantly cut a small hill in half!
"Mr. Giyu! Get out of the way!"
Hiding in the distance, Kanae Kocho witnessed this devastating strike and turned pale with fright.
However--,
Faced with this extremely sharp, explosive sound that seemed capable of slicing through space.
There was not a trace of panic in Giyu Tomioka's deep blue eyes.
"The moves are very flashy."
"But the trajectory of your sword swing was too straightforward."
Under everyone's watchful eyes!
Instead of retreating, Giyu took a sudden step forward.
He slowly raised his not-so-thick left hand, and facing the blood-red giant blade that was over ten meters long and burning with Heat Haze, he grabbed it directly!
"This... this is insane!!"
[Flame Hashira] Kyojuro Rengoku's eyes were practically bulging out.
"Boom--!"
A deafening roar erupted between the two!
The raging fire surged wildly in all directions, and the blinding red light made everyone instinctively close their eyes.
When the red light faded and the pillars could see the scene at the center of the battlefield again, their brains completely shut down.
Giyu Tomioka remained in the position of extending one hand forward.
His long, slender hand was gripping the blade tightly!
"How is this possible?!"
Tanjiro's vertical pupils contracted, sensing an unprecedented absurdity.
"A mere spark..."
Giyu slightly raised his head, a sinister smile flashing in his deep blue eyes.
Then, his five fingers suddenly contracted, and a terrifying grip force erupted in an instant!
"Break it."
"Snap!"
With a low shout from Giyu, he grabbed hard!
"Boom--!"
The massive, blood -Heat Haze blade, over ten meters long, was actually cracked and shattered under Giyu's grip!
Flames and blood shot into the sky, transforming into a rolling curtain of fiery red rain!
The next moment--
After the rain of fire fell from the sky, Giyu Tomioka's body slumped slightly, his knees bending.
Just the instant his legs exerted force!
"Boom!!"
An astonishing disturbance occurred on the hilltop where half of the Ubuyashiki garden is located!
"Tear--!"
The ground within a radius of 100 meters suddenly collapsed, and several giant pillars of dust swept up, revealing spiderweb-like radial cracks in the courtyard's ground structure.
"Too slow."
Giyu suddenly looked up, his sinister smile becoming even more pronounced.
"Boom!"
His figure was like a peerless tiger breaking free of its cage, fiercely smashing through the fiery red rain curtain and disappearing from the spot in the blink of an eye.