The air in the alley seemed to have been sucked dry.
The scorching waves of fire had yet to fully dissipate when a bone-piercing chill seized everyone's throats from another direction.
The Swamp Demon's main body stood rigidly in place.
It dared not move.
Before it stood the strange female demon who had kicked its head around like a ball.
Behind it stood the true monster who could breathe flames and now had lightning coiling around his hand.
A dead end ahead, hell behind.
The Blood Demon Art it took such pride in, the swamp that allowed it to hide and split endlessly, had now become a tiny cage it could not escape.
"Bzz... bzzzt..."
That sound rang out again.
It was clearer and more piercing than ever before.
It was as though a thousand, ten thousand birds were shrieking shrilly in Sasuke's palm.
Blue-white Lightning Release leaped wildly around his left hand, gathering and condensing into a ball of light too dazzling to look at directly.
Under that violent energy, the pebbles in the alley began to tremble slightly and float.
Standing in the distance, Tanjiro watched the scene blankly, his mouth wide open.
He had studied Thunder Breathing.
He had seen his master Jigoro Kuwajima's Thunderclap and Flash, like heavenly lightning descending upon the world.
But the sight before him was entirely different.
Thunder Breathing concentrated all one's strength into the feet in a single instant and unleashed it, pursuing the utmost speed and slashing power.
But this man's "jutsu" was more like...
Seizing real lightning from high in the heavens, then forcibly binding it in his palm.
That was no "technique."
It was absolute control over the mighty forces of nature!
"Monster... you monster!"
The Swamp Demon finally broke down.
It let out a hysterical scream, abandoned all thought, and instinctively began sinking into the last patch of swamp beneath its feet.
Even if it died, it would die in its own world!
But Sasuke did not give it that chance.
The instant the Swamp Demon's body began to sink, he moved.
"Chidori!"
The cold, low cry was like a death sentence pronounced by the Grim Reaper.
Sasuke vanished from where he stood.
There was no running, no gathering of strength.
Just like that, he turned into a pure streak of blue-white Lightning Release out of thin air.
That streak of Lightning Release lacked the overwhelming spectacle of Thunder Breathing, but carried an ultimate sharpness that could tear through and pierce anything.
In Tanjiro's eyes.
Time seemed to slow countless times over.
He saw that streak of Lightning Release follow a trajectory that utterly defied reason, sweeping around Nezuko, who stood in its path.
Then it struck the sinking Swamp Demon precisely in the head.
"Shlk-"
There was no deafening crash as he had imagined.
Only a dull sound, like a sharp blade plunging into rotten flesh.
The Swamp Demon's movements stopped abruptly.
Its face still held the terror and savage contortion of its attempted escape.
But now there was a fist-sized, charred hole between its brows.
Blue-white arcs spilled from that hole and instantly raced over its entire body like venomous snakes.
"Ugh..."
A short, meaningless sound escaped the Swamp Demon's throat.
The next second.
Its entire body, along with the black swamp beneath its feet, turned to ash in the raging lightning.
Not even a trace of its existence remained.
Dead silence.
Absolute silence fell over the alley.
The piercing cries of birds were gone.
The dazzling Lightning Release was gone as well.
Only Sasuke remained, standing quietly with one hand still extended.
Faint traces of electricity lingered on his left hand, crackling softly before fading into nothing.
He slowly withdrew his hand.
His face still bore that same eternally unchanging, icy expression.
As though the person who had breathed flames and held lightning in his hand, like a god or demon descending upon the world, had not been him.
Tanjiro's body trembled slightly.
It was not fear.
It was a shudder born of life's own instincts before an incomprehensible, absolute power.
He looked at Sasuke, then at the spot where the Swamp Demon had disappeared.
That powerful demon, which had plagued the entire town, murdered countless girls, and could even split into three.
Just like that, this boy had utterly erased it in an almost crushing display.
A breath of fire.
A judgment of lightning.
And those blood-red eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything in the world.
Who exactly was this person?
Was he really a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?
"Mm..."
A soft murmur interrupted Tanjiro's thoughts.
After confirming that the threat was gone, Nezuko rapidly shrank back to her original petite form, and the demonic ferocity in her eyes faded with it, replaced by drowsiness and dependence.
She swayed as she walked toward Tanjiro.
Tanjiro hurried forward and steadied his sister, his heart filled with lingering dread and relief.
But just then.
A murderous intent even colder than the Swamp Demon's completely enveloped the siblings.
Tanjiro stiffly raised his head.
He saw that Sasuke had turned around at some point.
Those scarlet eyes, each with two black tomoe spinning within them, stared unblinkingly at Nezuko, whom he held protectively in his arms.
That gaze was exactly the same as when he had looked at the Swamp Demon.
Cold, indifferent, without a trace of feeling.
As though he were looking at an obstacle that could be eliminated at any moment.
Before you continue