Tanjiro gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, his feet dragging across the ground as he tried to use his own weight to stop the Coward Demon from advancing.
"Stop. I won't let you hurt them!"
Nezuko rushed forward too, wrapping both arms around the Coward Demon's legs in an attempt to trip him.
Above them, Yuichiro gritted his teeth as he watched the desperate situation below. He knew Tanjiro could no longer pull his blade free. He needed a new weapon.
Gathering every last bit of strength he had, Yuichiro picked up his Nichirin Blade from where it had fallen beside him.
"Hey! Use this!"
Yuichiro shouted and hurled his Nichirin Blade down from the cliff with all his strength.
The Nichirin Blade traced a straight line through the air and plunged precisely into the grass beside Tanjiro.
Tanjiro heard the voice above him. Spotting the blade in the ground, he immediately let go of the one stuck in the Coward Demon's body, rolled forward, and drew Yuichiro's Nichirin Blade.
Freed from Tanjiro's restraint, the Coward Demon picked up speed again. He was less than ten meters from the villagers.
Tanjiro tightened his grip on the new blade, preparing to launch his final attack.
Just then, something happened that none of them had noticed.
In the eastern sky, the darkness of the polar night began to recede. A shaft of golden light pierced the clouds and spilled across the plain.
The sun had risen.
The morning sunlight fell on the Coward Demon and Nezuko.
A drastic change occurred in an instant.
The moment the sunlight touched the Coward Demon's body, he let out a piercing scream. Thick white smoke began rising from his skin, and the places exposed to the sunlight rapidly suffered severe burns and ulceration.
He rolled