"Tie him up and hang him from a tree. When the sun comes up tomorrow, he'll burn to ash!"
That was one way to do it. Back when he'd read the manga, one of the Nine Pillars had dealt with demons that way before joining the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Rope, rope..."
He looked around for rope. The instant his gaze left the demon—
The demon sprang up, his long, blood-red nails flashing as both hands lunged for Tetsu no Sosuke's throat.
His maw bristled with fangs, a forked tongue lashing between them as he snapped at Tetsu no Sosuke's head!
Tetsu no Sosuke's pupils contracted.
I fell for it!
The bastard had been faking it. He had never lost consciousness.
Whether Tetsu no Sosuke went for the blade or searched for rope, the demon had been waiting for the instant he looked away.
Am I... going to die?
It happened in a flash, yet that instant stretched into eternity.
The demon hurtling toward him. The sharp claws. The hideous fangs. The stench pouring from his mouth.
It all came together into what seemed to be the last sight of his life.
Thump! Thump!
My heartbeat!
The thought flashed through Tetsu no Sosuke's mind, and a sharp light glinted in his eyes.
His blood surged, his heart pounding like a drum.
His right hand swung the Heavenly Artisan Crafting Hammer in a death grip!
Breath of the Sun—Form One: Gale Sun!
It was a technique meant for hammering iron, but in that instant it came to him. His right arm became the wind, a storm of blows with the blazing sun at its heels!
Flames seemed to flow through a sky full of hammer strikes as they crashed into the demon without aim or restraint.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood sprayed with every blow.
With Total Concentration Breathing, Tetsu no Sosuke controlled where the Heavenly Artisan Crafting Hammer landed.
First the claws, then the head, then the body. Under the Heavenly Artisan Crafting Hammer's Gale Sun barrage, the demon might as well have been a piece of iron.
In the space of a breath, the demon was riddled with wounds. His bones had been smashed apart, leaving his body as limp as a heap of cotton.
He staggered back, unable to take another step forward!
Then Tetsu no Sosuke's breathing changed abruptly. The storm gave way to the steadiness of a mountain.
Breath of the Sun—Form Two: Name Not Yet Decided!!!
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