"Hm? Is that... Nezuko?"
The moment Ryuji sensed the presence of the story's protagonist, Shinobu also caught sight of two figures frantically fleeing through the forest. Her eyes narrowed sharply the moment she noticed the girl with a horn on her head.
She instinctively tightened her grip on her sword.
It was only then that Ryuji remembered—Shinobu had mentioned it before. They had already dealt with the matter of Nezuko.
In other words…
"They've accepted Nezuko already?"
Ryuji absentmindedly ran his hand along the hilt of the massive sword on his back. Because behind those two fleeing figures, he could sense something—something strange.
But this "thing" had no physical form.
He could perceive it only through his Observation Haki—it was invisible to the naked eye, made no sound, and carried no scent. Yet its presence was undeniable—because…
"What the hell is that?!"
Shinobu's expression turned to shock as she stared ahead. Behind Tanjiro and Nezuko, trees and rocks were forming sudden, eerie human-shaped voids—as though something invisible was closing in on them.
The voids crept forward relentlessly.
There was no wind. No sound. No growling or whispers—just silence. Only the disturbing sight of holes being etched out from trees and rocks marked the presence of this unseen force.
"Ah! Shinobu-sama!" Tanjiro's voice rang out in desperation as he spotted her. "Run! Anything these things touch disappears! They have no scent, no sound—we can't see them at all!"
At that very moment, Ryuji leapt down from his horse. Flames erupted from his greatsword as he swung it in a wide arc.
A massive wall of fire roared to life and surged toward the oncoming humanoid voids—but even the fierce blaze was useless. The fire wall was punctured, scorched clean through by the approaching figures as if the flames themselves had simply been erased.
Tanjiro and Nezuko both stared, dumbfounded by the sheer scale and power of Ryuji's fire. Tanjiro especially—his Water Breathing training let him slice with a flowing blade, but something like this? A sea of flames at the flick of a wrist?
It was beyond him.
But Ryuji was less than impressed. As he watched his flames fail, he clicked his tongue. A moment later, dragonfire ignited along his blade, the intensity startling Nezuko, who bared her claws like a frightened kitten.
Ryuji gave a small laugh. "That's kinda cute."
He retracted the flames and compressed the dragonfire into a tight spiral along his sword.
"Now this… this is getting interesting."
He spun the blade. Wind pressure surged from the swing, mixing with his Fire Manipulation to unleash a scorching fire slash that tore forward like a wave of molten fury.
Everything in its path began to burn—even the earth itself cracked and flared with heat.
And yet…
The transparent humanoid figures passed through it unharmed.
"…Tch."
Ryuji's sharp eyes caught the distortion in his dragonfire as it touched the entities. The flames weren't extinguished or dispersed—they were erased.
Erased from existence.
Spatial abilities?
He didn't fully understand it, but one thing was clear—his fire was useless. If this was indeed some kind of space-erasing phenomenon, then there wasn't much he could do. Maybe if he had a sword like Yamato, capable of severing space, he might have stood a chance.
But right now?
Yeah… not worth it.
"Hey, you—the kid with the pretty girl. Tanjiro, right?" Ryuji called out. "Any weaknesses for these bastards? Anyone you're with figured them out?"
As he asked, he dispersed the heat around his sword, already preparing to flee. No shame in retreat—he had no desire to be erased out of existence for nothing.
"We haven't found any!"
Tanjiro's reply came quickly and clearly.
Ryuji didn't hesitate.
"Then we run."
Ryuji sheathed his still-warm greatsword across his back, then without hesitation, grabbed Tanjiro and Nezuko—one in each arm—and leapt back onto his horse.
He set Tanjiro behind him, tucked Nezuko into his arms, and called out decisively:
"Retreat!"
No one hesitated. If Ryuji couldn't handle whatever those things were, they sure as hell couldn't. Only Shinobu tossed some powder in their direction before she too turned to flee, sparing a final glance behind.
But the moment she saw the powder vanish—along with all trace of footprints from the humanoid voids—she knew this was no time for hesitation. They needed to run.
The entities were unnaturally fast. Though they couldn't outrun a galloping horse, it still took the group a full thirty minutes of hard riding before they managed to shake them off.
Eventually, they stopped at a small creek. Ryuji swept the area with his Observation Haki to make sure it was safe before letting everyone dismount to rest, with himself on watch.
Now that the danger was behind them—for now—it was time for answers.
The first to speak, unsurprisingly, was Shinobu. She hadn't let her guard down for a second since spotting Nezuko.
"You were supposed to be out on mission under the Water Hashira's supervision," she said, voice sharp with suspicion. "Why are you here?"
She frowned, clearly displeased. They had arranged for Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, to oversee Nezuko's situation. He would've handled any problems swiftly and decisively if Nezuko lost control.
Yet now, only Tanjiro and Nezuko remained. Shinobu's tone dripped with killing intent.
Tanjiro, immediately feeling the pressure, looked visibly shaken. He scratched his head nervously, trying to find the right words.
"Th-they were only chasing after me and Nezuko! We don't even know why!" he blurted. "The others were still resting when we left… Oh! We had just taken down a giant demon. We stopped to rest and—bam—those monsters attacked!"
He looked at Shinobu with pleading eyes, hoping she would believe him.
But trust was not so easily earned—not in this world, not in this crisis. Shinobu narrowed her eyes.
"Do you have any proof?"
In the original story, she might've been swayed by the siblings' strong bond and conviction. But now? The situation was too dire. This world was crawling with monsters—demons, hybrids, corrupted humans—and trust had to be earned with blood.
Having Tanjiro, someone who shouldn't be here, suddenly appear beside Ryuji, the strongest warrior and last hope of this world… If Shinobu didn't draw her blade, it meant she still held some fondness for him.
But Ryuji? He had a different sense about things.
The world itself seemed to whisper for him to trust Tanjiro. His Observation Haki told him Tanjiro was calm, peaceful—even innocent. There was no sense of danger at all.
Besides, once they reached the Demon Slayer headquarters, all of this could be verified.
But just as Ryuji was about to say something, he felt a presence approaching—and turned to see someone he hadn't expected:
Tifa Lockhart.
She walked up beside him like she had always been part of the team.
"What he said must be true."
Ryuji nodded. But something about this felt... off. His gaze shifted to Mai and then back to Tifa.
He remembered clearly—Tifa was someone he and Mai had met in another world. She was skilled with guns, and yes, they had spent a passionate night together.
Her butt, he distinctly recalled, was just as soft as 2B's.
"I trust Tanjiro too," Tifa added. "But we still need to take precautions. Have him and his sister ride separately. Keep at least fifty meters away from us at all times."
Ryuji nodded reflexively. Tifa was a battle comrade—and a bed partner. She would never betray him.
But…
That didn't sound like the real Tifa.
In Final Fantasy, Tifa had never been this cold, this calculating. She wasn't the type to suggest exile. Suspicion bloomed in his heart.
"Wait…"
Ryuji's eyes narrowed as he glanced toward where "Tifa" was chatting with Shinobu and Mai—and even Tanjiro.
"Thank you, Miss Tifa! You and Mr. Cloud are so kind!"
Cloud?
Ryuji's brow furrowed. When had Cloud shown up?
Sure enough, standing beside him now was a spiky-haired blond man with a massive sword on his back—Cloud Strife, smiling warmly as he wrapped an arm around Tifa's waist.
"It's nothing, Tanjiro. We're just—"
His sentence was never finished.
Ryuji's blade ignited with flame and swung down in a vicious arc, slicing both Cloud and Tifa in half.
Screams rang out instantly—Mai, Shinobu, Tanjiro even Nezuko shouted in shock.
"Ryuji! What the hell are you doing? Are you insane?! That was Tifa!"
Mai's voice cracked in fury. Tifa had been her comrade! Shinobu looked equally rattled. She remembered vividly how she and Tifa had teamed up in bed to fight against Ryuji's relentless energy.
But before they could protest further, the truth revealed itself.
The bodies Ryuji had just cleaved into writhed and twisted, transforming into grotesque abominations of tentacles and green ichor. They let out screeching wails as they dissolved, and along with their forms, the vivid memories of Ryuji's night with Tifa began to blur—like a fading dream.
"How could I possibly allow a woman whose virginity I took, and who clearly said she loved me, to sleep with another man? These monsters are so amateur!"
Ryuji scoffed as he incinerated the corpses with one final sweep of his flaming greatsword.
He understood now.
These monsters didn't just infiltrate with stealth—they implanted fake memories.
But they had made one fatal mistake.
If Ryuji had really slept with Tifa, there was no way she'd still be with Cloud afterward.
~~~~~~~~~~
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