From Demon Slayer Onward, Forging the Strongest Demon Blade!

He saw his younger self playing with Nezuko in the courtyard at home, while his frail father watched from behind...

Amid the laughter, his father smiled kindly. "Tanjiro, you must practice your breathing and adjust your breath until you completely become the God of Fire."

The scene shifted.

It was night in the woods. His father danced amid a ravine, performing the family's inherited Dance of the Fire God.

Every movement was deeply etched into his mind, as though he himself were the one dancing!

Then his father's voice rang out once more.

"There is a method to breathing. With proper breathing, you will not feel tired, and even the cold will be completely driven away...

Tanjiro, I will entrust this dance and these earrings to you. Do not let them be lost. We promised..."

The moment the voice faded.

Tanjiro suddenly awakened!

Amid the billowing dust, a crimson gleam burst forth!

Scorching flames bloomed from within!

The Awakened Dance of the Fire God

A figure emerged from the dust.

It was Tanjiro, his clothes in tatters. The surging water around the blade in his hand had now been replaced by blazing flames.

The searing fire drove away the surrounding darkness.

"What?!"

Every demon present changed expression. None of them had expected Tanjiro to survive that kind of attack!

And the feeling he gave them had changed again.

The one who felt it most deeply was Lin Fan within the blade. When Tanjiro used the Dance of the Fire God, his entire being underwent an earth-shaking transformation!

It was absolutely incomparable to Water Breathing!

Or rather, Water Breathing was merely usable for Tanjiro, while the Dance of the Fire God seemed as though it and he were Born as a Pair!

Outside.

Tanjiro set Nezuko down from the box on his back, then darted through the forest, the blade in his hand burning with scorching flames.

Not far away.

Seeing this, Rui immediately raised both hands before him. Countless blood-red threads gathered there, twisting and connecting to form a continuously rotating crimson wheel.

"You insulted the bond between my family and me, and you still refuse to take back those words. Then die in atonement, you bastard!

Blood Demon Art—Silk Wheel Rotation!"

The blood-red wheel shot straight at Tanjiro. Everything in its path was sliced to pieces as it swept through the air.

Yet facing that blood-red wheel, Tanjiro showed not the slightest fear. His heart was incomparably resolute.

*If I stop now, the forced change from Water Breathing to the Dance of the Fire God will probably cause backlash to my body...

I'll likely become incredibly weak afterward... So I can't stop. I have to kill these four demons in one swift strike!*

The only reason he thought this was because of something Lin Fan had said.

When I tell you to run, don't hesitate!

But Tanjiro understood it as, If you don't tell me to run, then that means I can win!

And if he ran now, Zenitsu and the others would definitely be killed. So for Zenitsu and Inosuke, he would likewise stake everything on one desperate gamble!

"Rapidly rotating threads..."

Tanjiro's mind was clear. Holding the sword with both hands, he felt the resonance between the power in his body and the blade.

"Ashura Kannon—Death-Granting Blade Aura!"

The blade tore through the air as it slashed forward.

Black mist suddenly erupted from the blade, which had been wreathed in flames, forming a sword aura mixed with burning fire as it flew forward.

It collided with the blood-red wheel.

The next moment.

The blade aura swept through, and the wheel shattered completely!

Tanjiro followed close behind, charging straight toward Rui.

Watching Tanjiro draw closer and closer, Rui's gaze gradually turned vicious. "Such dense threads were all cut apart?! Then I'll do it again!"

The other demons also reacted and attacked at the same time.

The first to strike was Mukago, Lower Rank Four. She controlled several vines behind her, making them dance through the air like spiritual serpents.

The spores at their tips opened, and the fruit within was poised to fire. She cried out sweetly, "Don't let him get close! Everyone, attack together!"

With that, she aimed at Tanjiro and fired a dense barrage of fruit.

Tanjiro merely swung his blade calmly. Even when the occasional fruit pierced through his body, it failed to elicit any reaction from him.

Because he believed Ashura Maru would help heal his body. All he needed to do now was kill these demons at all costs!

This sight placed immense pressure on the demons.

What they faced now was no longer a demon slayer, but a madman who would stop at nothing to kill them!

Even Rokuro, the oldest among them, felt a chill run down his spine. But their numerical advantage still gave him confidence.

"Can the four of us really not deal with a demon slayer who isn't even a Hashira?! Attack together and kill him!

Blood Demon Art—Wood Release!"

As the Blood Demon Art activated, the nearby trees seemed to come alive. Their trunks twisted one after another, and their lush branches became piercing swords!

Even more terrifyingly, grotesque demon faces grew from the trunks, letting out shrill cries.

It looked utterly bizarre!

Wakuraba, who had hidden himself in the darkness again, instinctively sensed danger from Tanjiro's figure. Several shuriken appeared in his hand.

As he held them, they gradually became coated in a dark green liquid.

"Blood Demon Art—Withering Shuriken!"

Countless attacks came crashing down.

Tanjiro's gaze was resolute as he spoke in his heart.

*I can't lose yet. Lend me all your power, Ashura Maru!!!

I want to protect everyone!*

The blade in his hand was swung to its limit, severing every obstacle before him. Yet Lin Fan's voice also rang out in his mind.

"But you might die here like this, and the time limit for Demonification is almost up. If you run now, it's not too late..."

"To protect them, I would not hesitate even if it means dying together!"

Tanjiro answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Ah... I knew it would be like this. You really are impossible..." Lin Fan sighed and chose to increase his output of Demon Power.

Tanjiro's strength rose once again.

Black smoke faintly seeped from both the hands gripping his sword and his entire body.

Even more terrifyingly, a demon horn suddenly sprouted from the right side of his head!

Feeling the power, Tanjiro did not care what he looked like now. He simply thanked him sincerely. "Thank you, Ashura Maru!"

"You should focus on surviving first."

Lin Fan replied irritably.

The only response Tanjiro could offer was a brilliant smile as he gripped his sword with both hands, flames bursting forth!

He had already arrived before Rui.

Facing the countless spiderwebs rushing toward him, Tanjiro cleanly and decisively cut them apart.

Rui knew he could not fight at close range, so he hurriedly controlled his threads to pull himself away.

The other demons also attacked with all their strength, trying to kill or halt Tanjiro, but none could shake his footsteps or his resolve.

He pursued Rui's fleeing figure relentlessly.

The two chased one another.

Suspended in midair, Rui's expression twisted into a savage grimace. The threads that had been carrying him away tightened and gathered into blood-red spiderwebs.

They surged in from every direction, surrounding them both and sealing off every route of escape for Tanjiro. "Just die already, you annoying piece of trash!"

Tanjiro, by contrast, heard only his own heavy breathing. Even his blade had become extraordinarily heavy!

He recalled the dance of the Dance of the Fire God.

Everything seemed to flow naturally. His body spun, and the flames on his blade followed the turn of his body.

They streaked through the air, leaving a fiery trail behind!

Like a falling meteor, dazzling and brilliant. "Dance of the Fire God—Round Dance!"

Entrust It to You, Ashura Maru

The flaming blade swept through the air. The spiderwebs attacking from all around were burned to ashes in the flames, while the blade had already cut toward Rui's neck.

At this distance, Rui had no room to resist. He could only watch as this strike severed his head!

The blade swept through his body, bursting with resplendent flames!

His head flew into the air.

Just as Tanjiro thought it was over, Lin Fan's voice sounded in his mind at the right moment. "This guy severed his own neck with spider threads beforehand. He's playing dead now!"

"I understand."

Tanjiro did not doubt him in the slightest.

His gaze locked onto Rui's head in midair, and he swiftly slashed several times with his sword.

Rui's head in midair did not even have time to say anything before it was completely cut into several pieces and fell to the ground.

And Rui died completely.

His body and shattered head gradually broke down into nothingness.

This scene deeply shocked the other three demons. Facing all four of the Twelve Kizuki, Tanjiro had still forcefully killed one of them!

Rui's strength was no weaker than theirs. If Tanjiro could kill him, that meant he could kill them as well!

Mukago, the weakest of the three remaining demons, had already begun to consider retreating and fleeing this place.

But the moment that thought arose, Muzan's incomparably cold command appeared in her mind.

"I am always watching you. If you dare flee, you will die immediately. But if you kill that demon slayer, I will pardon you!"

That voice was like a ghost demanding her life.

Tears immediately streamed from Mukago's eyes. She gasped for breath and apologized again and again.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm truly so sorry. I'll kill this demon slayer for you in a moment... Please forgive me..."

Hearing her apology, Muzan's killing intent did not lessen in the slightest.

If he had not still needed her to hunt Tanjiro, he would have killed her long ago, just as he always did. Why would he give her such an opportunity?

But on the other hand, Muzan also felt deeply confused.

What exactly was going on with this guy? Why did he become several times stronger every time Muzan encountered him, and whenever he was driven into a desperate situation.

His power would surge dramatically...

Once or twice could be explained as luck, but if it kept happening, then the only explanation was that he had been hiding his strength...