The Swordsmith Hunting Grounds-but Who Was the Hunter?

Night, black as ink, soaked the Swordsmith Village.

Akaza stood in the shadow of a broken wall, Nameless Hundred Faces slung over his shoulder.

Hundred Faces' charred body twitched. Dark brown, filthy blood kept spilling out, soaking Akaza's shoulder.

From afar came Hantengu's piercing screams, tearing through the night with utter terror and drowning out every other sound in the village.

"...Useless trash..."

Akaza tossed Hundred Faces to the ground in disgust. "Howling like a stray dog with a broken spine. You're a disgrace to the Upper Ranks!"

Beside him, Kokushibo's six eerie demon eyes remained fixed on the village ahead, where scattered lights flickered.

"We misjudged this," Kokushibo said evenly. "The presence here is fierce and dangerous... far beyond our expectations!"

"Seven Hashira-level presences! And another..." Kokushibo paused.

"...An ancient, powerful presence. Absolutely beyond anything a human could attain!"

He turned his head slightly toward Akaza. "Akaza, is that the Sapphire Star's presence?"

Akaza did not answer immediately, merely nodding in silence. He recalled the Sapphire Star's figure: an enormous weapon that tore through space, the aura of a primordial beast, an overwhelming pressure that swept everything before it... At the mention of the Sapphire Star, Hundred Faces twitched again on the ground.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my!"

A syrupy voice abruptly cut in. Doma leaned in the shadows of a hole in a nearby wall, surveying Akaza's gloomy profile with amusement.

"Lord Akaza~ Didn't you also... get scared off by her?" Doma deliberately drew out the last word. "You even remember her presence so clearly! No wonder our little Nameless keeps thinking of her even on death's door~ After all~ You were the one who picked him up. Tsk, tsk... Such tender devotion~ Hahaha!"

Humm-

A blade of flesh appeared across Doma's throat.

Kokushibo had not moved from his spot. He merely held his sword out in one hand.

"Doma! We came here under orders. Seven Hashira stand before us, and a formidable foreign enemy is nearby... This battle will be difficult. Do not cause trouble!"

Upper Rank One's command allowed no argument. Doma could only smile and fall silent.

Kokushibo had already turned his gaze away, back toward the distant heart of the chaos.

Akaza seemed not to have heard the farce. He had been watching the village all along-there, nine ferocious surges of Fighting Spirit clung to Hantengu like towering waves.

Nameless Hundred Faces stopped twitching and laboriously turned his head, seemingly watching the same spot.

Elsewhere.

The Sapphire Star, who was pursuing Hantengu, noticed something amiss. "Motherfucker! There's something lurking outside the village too. That wasn't the only demon!"

Kanroji startled at her words. "Huh? There are more?!"

Muichiro Tokito ran at the front, azure mist silently curling around him. His usually unfocused gaze had sharpened for once. He had sensed a faint, familiar presence.

"No matter how many come, we just have to cut them all down flamboyantly!" Tengen Uzui adjusted his flamboyant wrist ornaments, only for the Sapphire Star to throw cold water on his enthusiasm.

"Quit showing off at a time like this, Tengen! Your swords are broken. What are you going to do, headbutt those demons to death? Who do you think you are, Tanjiro? Stay together and find some usable Nichirin Blades first!"

Tanjiro: ???

The Sapphire Star's gaze swept over the broken weapons in their hands. Uzui's twin blades were covered in cracks; the chain connecting Himejima's broad axe and flail had snapped, leaving him holding the broken ends; Kyojuro Rengoku's sword tip had shattered; Shinazugawa had only half a blade left; and Giyu's sword was reduced to a tiny stub. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he liked beating people with a sword hilt.

"Swords! I know where there are more swords in the Swordsmith Village!" Tanjiro suddenly raised his head.

"On the training doll I usually practice with! It has five training Nichirin Blades embedded in it. Mr. Muichiro took one, so there are five left. Miss Kanroji's sword is intact, which leaves exactly one each for the other five!"

The Sapphire Star nodded in satisfaction. "Well, look at you! Reliable kid! Tanjiro, lead them there. You know the way! I can handle this screaming old bastard all by myself!"

Before she had finished speaking, the Sapphire Star shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.

"Hey! You're going alone-!" Sanemi Shinazugawa roared, but the Sapphire Star was astonishingly fast. She had already vanished.

Up ahead, the Sapphire Star calling him an "old bastard" seemed to drive Hantengu completely mad. He ran even faster.

"Hurry!" Tanjiro's heart pounded as he turned and sprinted toward the training grounds in his memory. "Everyone, follow me!"

Tengen Uzui muttered, "What a pain!" but did not slow down, racing after him.

Kyojuro Rengoku followed close behind, his golden eyes blazing. "Young Kamado! We're counting on you!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa's eyes were the fiercest of all as he gritted his teeth and followed.

Where the shadows gathered.

Gyokko, who had been sneaking along soundlessly, abruptly stopped. He stared in the direction Tanjiro's group was racing, the mouth of his pot opening slightly. The other Upper Ranks had also noticed the group splitting up.

Gyokko's pot twisted unnaturally, and he made a downward chopping gesture toward Tanjiro's group.

Kokushibo nodded in silence.

Unlike the other Upper Ranks, Hantengu, who had gone ahead to scout, was having a miserable time.

The Sapphire Star streaked forward like a blue meteor, closing the distance in an instant.

Tears and snot streamed down Hantengu's face, and whimpers of abject terror escaped his throat. The murderous intent radiating from the woman behind him frightened him even more than Lord Muzan did. This oppressive presence could not possibly belong to a human!

"Mommy! Don't... don't come near me! I haven't done anything wrong! Let me go!" Hantengu wailed hoarsely, desperately twisting his mangled body to burrow into a patch of grass.

"See, see, see! I told you, every one of you Twelve Kizuki is better at running away than the last! Eat my Sonic Boom Bomb!"

The Sapphire Star's left hand flashed out of the leather pouch at her waist, and her wrist snapped forward-

Whoosh!

BOOOOM-!!!

The terrifying, deafening sonic blast formed visible white shock waves. Black blood instantly spurted from the ears of the still-wailing Hantengu. His eardrums ruptured completely, and his entire body seized up.

In that millisecond-long opening, the Sapphire Star drew her Long Sword. The edge sliced through the air with a high-pitched hum!

Slash, slash, slash, slash-

In an instant, Hantengu's withered body was cut into countless fingernail-sized pieces.

Minced meat. Genuine minced meat, without a speck of fat-the kind that even Lu Zhishen would surely have approved of.

The Sapphire Star sheathed her sword in one fluid motion and warily scanned the scattered pieces. She knew these demonic things' habits all too well.

Sure enough, a small lump of flesh among the scattered meat suddenly swelled and twisted! A demon with bulging muscles, crimson eyes, and an aura of violent rage-

Sekido-formed from the flesh with a roar! The moment his upper body took shape, he clenched both fists and smashed them toward the Sapphire Star with pure destructive force!

"ROAR-! I'll kill you!"

Before the demon finished roaring, the Sapphire Star shifted slightly sideways. Her right leg lashed out like a steel whip, trailing afterimages!

Thud--Splat!

A dull impact rang out! Sekido flew like a torn sack under the force of her kick, slamming into a thick tree ten meters away. The trunk cracked under the unbearable strain!

Sekido spat out a huge mouthful of black blood, his breastbone visibly caved in.

"Fuck, you bastard! You..." Sekido struggled to get up as he coughed blood.

The Sapphire Star was already before him, raising her Long Sword again.

Slash-!!

Sekido's roar cut off abruptly. His head, along with the enormous tree behind him, slowly slid down and crashed to the ground!

For the first time, Sekido was filled with a different emotion-not fear, but utter bewilderment.

This woman called the Sapphire Star... was too strong! Absurdly strong! What kind of person opened with a kick and a slash and instantly killed him?!

Splat! Splat! Two other patches of flesh began writhing at the same time.

"Hmph!" The Sapphire Star snorted. Without giving them a chance to fully form, she turned her wrist and swept her Long Sword through a full-moon arc with tremendous force!

Slash-!

The two half-formed demonic figures were cut apart again by the vicious flash of her blade!

"Motherfucker! Don't think I don't know that every one of you Twelve Kizuki has a shitload of escape tricks!" the Sapphire Star said angrily. "I refuse to believe I can't hack you bastards to death!"

Sekido was utterly bewildered, but the imperative to protect his true body overrode everything else! Ignoring the three other masses of flesh howling and struggling, he forcibly dragged them over and stuffed them into his ruined body!

"Aaaah! You form the head! You form the limbs! You form the tonsils! Become one! Hate! Zohakuten-!!"

Black light erupted! Rampaging energy instantly swallowed Sekido's ruined body and the three unformed masses of flesh.

A stronger, twisted figure of a boy demon rapidly swelled into shape within the light! He floated in midair, several thunder drums strapped to his back. Distorted fury and a barely perceptible trace of alarm burned in his eyes-Zohakuten had been born!

The instant Zohakuten's fusion was complete, the demonic aura erupting around him shook spiderweb cracks into the ground.

"You hurt the weak... You're the real demon! Go to hell and repent-!" Zohakuten's roar echoed like thunder as his drumsticks smashed into the drums behind him.

Bang! Bang, bang!

Several wooden dragons as thick as giant pythons burst from the earth, opening their jaws and plunging toward the Sapphire Star!

The combined Blood Demon Arts could have ground mountain rock to dust.

Facing that world-destroying torrent, the Sapphire Star raised her left arm. With a hiss, her Clutch Claw device fired a small ball that struck precisely in front of Zohakuten's eyes.

"That trick again! I won't fall for it!" Zohakuten immediately covered his ears and looked smugly at the Sapphire Star.

Bang-!

Blinding light erupted like a miniature sun. Zohakuten's eyes were instantly burned, and his vision turned stark white!

"Aaaaaah! That's cheating!"

In that millisecond-long opening, the Sapphire Star vanished.

The next instant, she appeared like a ghost atop a wooden dragon's head and drew the Fatalis Demolisher!

The blade swept around the wooden dragon's neck. Its head crashed to the ground, severed as easily as tofu.

"Fuck! She's hacking... Left!" Though Zohakuten could no longer see, he could still sense through his drums. Enduring the agony, he frantically struck the drum on his left. Sound waves mixed with ice spears blanketed every inch of space on that side.

The Sapphire Star landed and passed her sword to her left hand. Her right hand swept behind her waist, then hurled another Sonic Boom Bomb into the center of the sound waves and ice spears.

BOOOOM-!!!

The sonic blast instantly crushed the sound waves and shattered the ice spears, scattering them in every direction!

Under cover of the sonic blast, the Sapphire Star drove her sword tip straight toward Zohakuten.

Zohakuten panicked completely, frantically striking every drum at once!

Lightning serpents, hurricanes, shrieks, and shock waves mixed together without order, forming a chaotic energy storm that enveloped him and the remaining wooden dragons.

"Your power level is five at most! Mine is five hundred and thirty thousand! Keh heh heh!" Utterly fearless, the Sapphire Star continued flying toward Zohakuten.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Sapphire Star smashed straight through Zohakuten's chaotic barrier. The backlash of turbulent energy blasted him off balance, leaving charred cracks across his body. His drumming fell into complete disarray!

The last two wooden dragons lost their direction and stiffened. The Sapphire Star became a streak of speeding blue light! Her blade flashed twice like a crescent moon, erupting with powerful red light.

Crack! Crack! Both wooden dragons were severed at the waist!

"No... Impossible! I am the strongest shield, born to protect the weak true body!" Zohakuten's eyes stretched wide. For the first time, fear overwhelmed his distorted sense of justice.

Sensing a lethal threat, he desperately gathered every ounce of his power and swung his drumstick toward the largest drum in the center-he would unleash his ultimate Blood Demon Art: Infinite Karma Tree, summoning an endless sea of wooden dragons to drown her!

But the Sapphire Star moved faster than his very thought of striking the drum!

On the Fatalis Demolisher, the phantom of an evil dragon seemed to roar along the blade!

"You can't even play the drums! Too slow, too slow! Weak, weak!"

Zohakuten's drumstick was still an inch from the drumhead when that crimson blade light, imbued with draconic might, plunged through the top of his head like divine lightning and emerged from his lower abdomen!

Zohakuten froze completely. The two halves of his body began falling to either side.

"I... was protecting... the weak..." He tried to offer one last justification.

"Shut up, shut up! I know you're weak. You're so damn noisy!" The Sapphire Star pulled out her sword and continued the pursuit without looking back.

Seeing the Sapphire Star keep pursuing, Zohakuten, who had already begun turning to ash, grew desperate. He struggled to grab her, but in the end, dust returned to dust, and he crumbled into ashes.

It was over. She had still found the true body.

Without pausing amid the smoke of Zohakuten's charred remains, the Sapphire Star precisely caught that faint yet cunning presence-the Coward Demon! Hantengu's true body!

Zohakuten had been nothing more than a cover for his escape!

The Coward Demon, hiding inside the Hate Demon's heart, was drenched in sweat. How had Zohakuten been instantly killed? Why could that murderous Sapphire Star detect his presence again so easily?

"Run, run, run! Run, my ass! Secret Art-Sapphire Star Wyvern Riding! Hell yes!!!!!"

The ground beneath the Sapphire Star's feet groaned. Spiderweb cracks exploded outward, and with terrifying kinetic force capable of smashing a mountain, she crashed toward the Hate Demon's hill-sized back-right where his heart lay!

BOOOOM-!!! This was the Sapphire Star's version of Ultimate Wyvern Riding, fueled by sky-high resentment.

Across the Hate Demon's back, which looked clad in stone armor, a visible ring-shaped shock wave exploded outward with a deafening roar!

The iron-hard muscles of his demonic body were torn apart by brute force. Dust mixed with foul black blood mist shot into the sky, and the ground shook violently as though struck by a small earthquake!

"Aaagh-!" The massive impact knocked the Coward Demon straight out of the Hate Demon's heart. Stunned with disbelief and agony, he looked at the mangled Hate Demon, then whipped around to stare at the tall figure slowly straightening in the dust.

"No... Impossible! Which one of us is the demon here?!"

The Coward Demon's tiny body trembled in horror as he stared at the creature before him, who clearly looked human yet radiated a pressure that froze his very soul.

"You... You monster, how did you jump over here... That distance... A human body..." His mind simply could not comprehend a charge that defied the laws of physics.

Splat!

His answer was the dull sound of a spike piercing his skull!

The Coward Demon caught only a blue afterimage. The next instant, agony shot through his forehead as a Nergigante spike pierced his brain!

Reason with the Twelve Kizuki? Give them a chance to demonstrate how they could split apart and escape? Repeated clashes with these twisted creatures had taught her one creed alone: use absolute power to wipe them all out before they could pull any tricks!

As the dust slowly settled, the Sapphire Star picked up the Coward Demon, his head sealed by the spike. By then, Hantengu's presence had vanished completely.

Even in death, Hantengu never understood how the Sapphire Star had tracked down his true body, the Coward Demon. The answer was simple-she had Scoutflies.

Must... tell my lord... how dangerous this one is...

Unfortunately, Hantengu could never inform Muzan again. The Nergigante spike had completely extinguished his life force and suppressed his demonic regeneration.

The Sapphire Star hefted Hantengu in her hand, then found a piece of animal hide and wrapped him up.

"I forgot about this the last time I killed an Upper Rank. This time, I need to keep him safe and give him to Tanjiro. I can't wait to see what Nezuko evolves into after eating an Upper Rank~ Keh heh heh."

Nezuko did not eat demons at all, of course, but that did nothing to stop the Sapphire Star's wild imaginings.

After Hantengu's presence vanished, inside the Infinity Castle-

Broken planks kept filling the cracks in the rooms-this was yet another sleepless night Nakime had spent repairing the Infinity Castle.

"Fuck, Nakime! Aaaagh-!!!"

Muzan's agonized scream erupted without warning. The Demon King suddenly fell from his ruined throne, black blood bursting from all seven facial orifices!

The Nergigante Spike's savage will surged backward through the blood link-the same pain as when those three Lower Ranks had died together years ago, only a hundred times fiercer. It was the natural suppression of an Elder Dragon!

Bang-!!

Muzan's right arm swelled uncontrollably, and a bloody claw swept outward! The corridor Nakime had just repaired instantly collapsed into flying debris under the force of the strike.

Even Nakime's plucking hand paused briefly. Then she seemed to sigh and resumed repairing the Infinity Castle.

"Fuck... Han... tengu..." Black blood dripped down Muzan's chin. "The Swordsmith Village... Why is the Sapphire Star there?!" He struggled to brace himself against the ground with his bloody claw and stand. "Nakime! Summon them immed-" His order cut off abruptly.

Bzzzt-!

A phantom of Nergigante roared through all five of his brains at once, crushing every node of consciousness with agonizing pain!

The Demon King's eyes suddenly rolled back, and his body slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash.

Nakime remained impassive. Her lord had not finished giving his orders, so she dared not act rashly and could only continue repairing the Infinity Castle.

"Ah..." Even Nakime, who toiled without complaint, let out a weary sigh after Muzan lost consciousness completely.