The real world.
Tanjiro exhaled a breath of hot, stale air.
Although his inherent gentleness made him physically resistant to such cruel methods, he was not an inflexible, pedantic fool.
In order to fight against Muzan and to truly possess the power to protect his family, the Heat Haze) that allows him to advance is indeed an ace he cannot afford to give up.
"Sigh... that's how it is."
Tanjiro looked down at the regenerating Rui at the bottom of the pit, a hint of apology flashing in his eyes.
Then,
He gripped the sword with both hands, took half a step back, and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle to the Lower Rank Five in the mud pit!
"I'm so sorry, sir!"
Tanjiro raised his head, his tone so gentle it was almost like a spring breeze:
"The next few minutes might be a little intense, and there might be a little pain."
Tanjiro reverses the blade.
Please take a deep breath, clench your teeth, and try to endure it as long as possible.
Completely baffled:???
Wait a minute! Hold on a second!
What do you mean by "a little pain"?!
What do you mean by turning the knife upside down?!
What's with that benevolent look on your face, like you're about to boil me alive?!
Before my brain, already a mess, could even process what was happening!
"Whoosh--!"
Tanjiro's figure vanished from the spot as if by teleportation!
"Bang!!"
The loud thud exploded instantly in his exhausted right knee!
The back of the blade struck the exhausted right kneecap precisely, and the terrifying force instantly blasted it into dust!
"Aww--!"
Exhausted, his body slumped forward, and just as he was about to exert force with his left leg to resist, Tanjiro's crimson blade had already grazed his left shoulder at an angle!
"Sizzle--!"
Skin and flesh separated!
The newly regenerated left arm detached from the body and flew off again!
However, this time, no blood gushed from the broken wound.
Because a clump of blood-red Heat Haze, like maggots clinging to bones, sealed off the entire cross-section the moment it broke!
"Sizzle--!"
I felt as if every hematopoietic stem cell at the site of my amputation was being frantically drained by that blood-red flame with an overbearing gravitational pull!
The demon blood hidden deep within his bones transformed into streaks of crimson light, which were continuously absorbed and absorbed by the Heat Haze through the wounds, and then fed back into Tanjiro's body!
"Ahhh--!"
Unparalleled excruciating pain!
It surpasses being torn to pieces by a thousand cuts, it surpasses being dismembered by five horses!
Lei's pale face instantly contorted into a horrifying abstract image, veins bulging all over her body, and eyes bulging out:
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"You call this a little pain?! You demon in human skin! You bastard who deserves to die a horrible death!"
Lei scratched at the ground with his only remaining right hand, carving bloody grooves into the frozen soil, pleading desperately for mercy:
"Kill me! Please, just cut my throat! Give me a quick death!!"
Faced with Lei's agonizing desire to die.
Tanjiro, who was standing to the side, stopped what he was doing and frowned slightly.
"No, that won't do, Mr. Ghost."
Tanjiro shook his head and explained very patiently:
"It will take at least ten minutes of continuous burning to completely evaporate all the ghost blood!"
"Please relax a little. If you stay calm, the pain will lessen somewhat."
"I'll calm down, my ass!"
Exhausted, he rolled his eyes in utter despair!
Devil!
Damn, that's a real devil!!
Compared to that, even that damn expressionless guy seems much kinder!!
Mr. Muzan!
Kokushibo!
Come and take a look!
Humans are abusing evil spirits here!
For the next full ten minutes...
This scorched earth has been completely transformed into a human Rengoku where the sacred and the cruel intertwine.
The screams of exhaustion, which started strong and resounding, gradually became hoarse, until finally only weak, desperate gasps remained.
"Buzz--!"
The moment the last drop of demon blood was completely evaporated!
Tanjiro's Red Nichirin Blade emitted a clear dragon's roar that lasted for ten seconds!
The crimson Heat Haze on the blade suddenly surged three feet!
After absorbing the demon blood of a near- Upper Rank level demon, Heat Haze's quality achieved its first leap!
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the demonic personality let out a satisfied burp, patted his round belly, rolled over, and drifted into hibernation.
"Hiccup... That felt good! That was fucking good! You're a smart guy... I'm going to take a beauty nap now, you can clean up the mess yourself..."
In the middle of the huge pit in the real world.
Lower Rank Five, whose blood had been completely drained, was slowly dissipating.
The resentment, tyranny, and madness that had been on his mutilated face had miraculously vanished at this moment.
After the endless pain dissipated, what followed was... an unprecedented liberation.
A gentle breeze blows.
Two golden tears slid down from the corners of her tired eyes.
He looked at the red-haired boy standing before him, sword sheathed, his eyes still filled with pity. His pale lips moved slightly, and in the final second before his complete collapse, he uttered a murmur for the first time ever:
"Anyway... in short... still..."
"Thank you... thank you..."
"Splash--"
This was accompanied by a barely perceptible sigh.
The Lower Rank Five was utterly annihilated!
"Huff... huff... huff..."
As Rui completely perished, the crimson-gold flame mark on Tanjiro's forehead dimmed rapidly, like a receding tide, until it disappeared beneath the deep red scar on his temple.
The Red Nichirin Blade in his hand instantly lost all its mystique, reverting to its original, unremarkable, scratch-covered, dark blue standard Nichirin Blade.
The next second.
"Boom--!"
Like a terrifying flash flood, the backlash instantly engulfed Tanjiro!
One second he was a decisive and ruthless war god, exuding a terrifying aura.
In that instant, his face visibly changed from rosy to deathly pale, and then transformed into a comical gray-white paper doll!
"Ouch... ouch ouch ouch? My legs... my legs won't obey me!!"
Tanjiro's knees throbbed wildly, his eyes rolled upwards uncontrollably, and he no longer had the strength to even grip his sword.
Smack!
Without any hesitation!
He fell face-first onto the muddy ground in a classic dog-face-poop pose!
His mouth was slightly open, his tongue drooping limply outside, and only his chest was still rising and falling weakly.
He was cool for only three seconds!