Tanjiro adjusted his breathing, surging forward after Hantengu's retreating figure. His Nichirin Sword, wreathed in the scorching heat of Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky, swung violently toward the demon's neck.
Push! I have to put everything I have into this strike!
"Don't you... feel any pity for me at all?" Hantengu turned, his eyes welling as he looked at Tanjiro.
Tanjiro stared at the tear tracks on Hantengu's face, his own gaze hardening with absolute conviction.
"Pity?" Tanjiro's voice was raspy, but every word rang clear. "The people you slaughtered, the children who lost their families—they are the ones who deserve pity!"
He snapped his wrists tight, the heat of the Hinokami Kagura erupting in a brilliant burst. With the grim resolve of one determined to sever all evil, he brought the blade down.
"Your 'misery' was never an excuse to hurt others!"
"Stop bullying the weak!" Hantengu roared. Suddenly, his form swelled, and he lunged forward, catching Tanjiro by the throat.
The sheer force of the grip cut off Tanjiro's air instantly. His face flushed a deep purple, and his Nichirin Sword nearly slipped from his numb fingers.
"Tanjiro!" Aoi Kazama's frantic cry cut through the air. Without a second's hesitation, she lunged forward, her blade driving toward Hantengu's massive arm.
Genya was right beside her, pulling at Hantengu's fingers with all his might, trying to pry the giant hand off Tanjiro. But Hantengu's skin was like reinforced iron; Genya's face turned beet-red and veins throbbed at his temples, yet he could barely move the demon's grip an inch.
Nezuko's pupils constricted into slits, a primal fury igniting in her pink eyes. She threw herself forward, instantly activating her Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood!
Crimson mist erupted from her palms, splashing precisely across Hantengu's arm. The searing droplets of blood acted like white-hot iron filings, burning into the demon's flesh and forcing a blood-curdling shriek from his lungs.
His skin charred instantly, and his grip on Tanjiro slackened.
Veins bulged on Tanjiro's sword-arm. Seizing this fleeting window, he channeled every ounce of his breathing power into the blade, hacking savagely at Hantengu's neck.
Hantengu stumbled back blindly, dragging Tanjiro and Nezuko with him as they tumbled over the edge of the cliff. Aoi didn't even think—she lunged out and grabbed Tanjiro by the waist, but the momentum of their fall was too great. A jolt of agonizing pain shot through her arms as she was yanked down with them.
With a series of heavy thuds, the four of them smashed through the dense forest at the base of the cliff. Shattered branches and withered leaves flew into the air, settling amidst a thick cloud of dust.
Hantengu struggled to his feet, staggering away. Dammit... my regeneration is slowing down. Zohakuten used up too much power.
"I need... fresh human flesh! Now!"
Tanjiro forced himself up despite the searing pain in his body. He tasted copper and felt a surge of blood in his throat, but he swallowed it back down.
Wiping the blood from his lip, his gaze locked onto Hantengu's retreating, stumbling back. "You aren't going anywhere."
Tanjiro's voice was hoarse but carried the weight of a death sentence. He began to close the distance, one agonizing step at a time. "Even if I have to chase you to the ends of hell, I will find you, and I will sever your head!"
Hantengu broke into a panicked run, muttering to himself, "Humans... where are the humans? If I just eat someone, I'll recover! Brats like that... I could kill them in an instant!"
Hantengu spotted three villagers hiding nearby, and a greedy light flared in his clouded eyes. He lunged toward them, his gnarled fingers clawing at the air. "There! If I just eat you, my strength will return!"
"Tanjiro!"
A sword suddenly clattered to the ground at Tanjiro's feet. It was Muichiro Tokito!
"Tanjiro, use this sword!"
"Use it to cut that demon's head off!"
Muichiro screamed the words with every bit of strength he had left. "Tanjiro, the sun is almost up! He'll get away!"
"You brat!" Haganezuka, whose sword had just been snatched, delivered an angry thwack to the back of Muichiro's head. In the next breath, Muichiro slumped over, unconscious.
"Aaaah! Haganezuka-san killed him!" Kotetsu shrieked in terror as he caught the falling Hashira.
"No, no! I barely touched him!" Haganezuka waved his hands frantically.
Tanjiro looked down at the Nichirin Sword at his feet and scooped it up without hesitation. "Thank you, Muichiro."
"Total Concentration!"
Tanjiro let out a low growl, pushing his breathing rhythm to its absolute limit. The volcanic heat in his chest surged down his arms and into the hilt. Muichiro's sword seemed to ignite, wreathed in a brilliant, crimson flame.
He kicked off the ground, the force of his departure whipping up a gale of dead leaves. He became a streak of fire, an arrow of flame hurtling toward Hantengu's back.
A moment later, Hantengu's head spun into the air. Boiling blood sprayed across Tanjiro's cheek, smelling of salt and rot.
Tanjiro let out a ragged breath. The sky was already turning the pale grey of dawn. He ran toward the edge of the clearing to check on Aoi, finding her unconscious from the impact and sheer exhaustion.
He turned to tell Nezuko to hide, but he found her pointing toward the distance, her pink eyes wide with alarm.
Tanjiro spun around. Hantengu's body was still standing. It was only then that he realized the head he had just severed bore the character for 'Resentment' on its tongue. The main body—the one marked with 'Fear'—was still inside the heart!
"I messed up! I have to stop him!" Tanjiro gripped his sword and sprinted back toward the headless torso.
But the sun broke over the horizon. Gold light flooded the clearing, washing over Nezuko. She let out a piteous whimper as her skin began to smoke and char under the sun's touch.
Tanjiro's pupils shrank. He threw himself at her, shielding her body with his own. "Nezuko! Shrink! Get small, now!"
"Aaaaah!"
A scream for help from the villagers pierced the morning light. Tanjiro glanced back, catching sight of Hantengu's torso closing in on the cowering humans.
He looked around desperately for help, but the reality was grim: Aoi was out cold, Kotetsu was tending to an unconscious Muichiro, and Genya was still struggling to make his way down the cliff. None of them could reach the villagers in time.
Despair clamped around Tanjiro's heart like a vice. He gritted his teeth, tears blurring his vision. "Nezuko!"
Nezuko looked at her helpless brother, then did the unthinkable—she kicked him away, launching him toward Hantengu, before curling herself into a ball to face the sun.
Tanjiro looked back at her for one heart-stopping second. In that moment, his heart burned with a different kind of heat, and every shred of hesitation or fear was incinerated.
He whirled around, his eyes locking onto Hantengu's murderous silhouette. He gripped the sword until his knuckles turned white, his Total Concentration breathing so intense it felt as though his lungs would burst.
"I will not lose!"
With a gutteral roar, Tanjiro became a blur of red light. He surged toward Hantengu. "Atone for your sins!"
Hantengu let out one last, soul-shredding shriek as the threat of death finally became absolute.
After a long moment, the screaming stopped. Hantengu's body crumbled into ash, caught by the morning breeze and scattered into nothingness. Not a single trace remained.
The sun was fully up now. Tanjiro collapsed to his knees. He didn't dare look back. He was terrified of seeing Nezuko's charred remains—terrified that those gentle pink eyes would never light up for him again.
"Nezuko..."