Location: Demon Slayer HQ – War Room
Evening had begun to settle in.The sky bled orange, and wind carried ash from still-smoldering forest patches.
Inside the War Room, Doom Slayer stood before a massive map laid out on the table.Beside him, Kagaya sat calmly, his hands folded.Muzan, arms crossed, stood in silence.
They'd been summoned by the Slayer.
"They're trying to reopen a gate," the Slayer said coldly, pointing at a mountain village deep in the northern region. "This is the ritual site."
"A cult—possibly survivors turned zealots. Twisting hell's scripture. They're going to tear the veil."
He looked directly at Muzan.
"Send two of your strongest. Smart ones. Not idiots."
"Same goes for you, Oyakata-sama," he said, voice more respectful. "Two who can fight—and think."
Muzan spoke smoothly, gesturing with one pale hand.
"Kokushibo will go. And… Akaza. He's reckless, but in this—rage will serve him well."
Kagaya nodded once.
"I'll send Giyu Tomioka. His composure under pressure is unmatched."
He turned to the side.
"And… Obanai Iguro. Precise. Tactical. Sharp instincts."
The Slayer said nothing for a moment… then nodded.
"Good."
The Orders
"This is a field test," Slayer said, pacing slowly.
"You four are the blade."
"This village… is gone. No rescue. No mercy."
"You find anyone alive—they're part of it. Kill them."
"If you see the portal start to form—you don't stop it."
The four looked up.
"You go in."
Scene: Nightfall – The Village
Fog crept along the base of the mountains.The trees were warped. Sick. Oozing.No animals. No insects. Just rot.
"This place reeks of death," Obanai muttered, Kaburamaru coiling around his neck uneasily.
Akaza grinned.
"Finally. Something worth hitting."
Kokushibo was silent. His many eyes scanned the village.
"There. The center. A shrine. The pulse is faint… but growing."
They descended like ghosts.
Inside the Village
They found no resistance at first. Just silence.Homes abandoned. Blood trails. Symbols drawn in entrails on walls.
Then the chanting began.
From the shrine, a group of humans—wild-eyed, robed, muttering in Hell-tongue—were swaying in a circle of fire and ash.
"Found your cult," Giyu muttered.
Akaza was already moving.
The Slayer's words echoed.
"This is practice. Rip and tear."
Akaza's fist went through the first cultist's head like breaking glass.Obanai's blade sliced clean through a second's spine.Giyu summoned a Water Breathing form, carving a path through them in silence.
Kokushibo, calm and flawless, split three with one swing.
"Do not let even one live," he said.
Blood soaked the floor. Screams echoed. And then—
The portal opened.
The Hellspawn Arrives
It wasn't a full gate—but a wound in the air.
And from it poured creatures that were wrong.
Crawling torsos with mouths in their stomachs.Fire-breathing beasts of bone.A two-headed juggernaut with spiked limbs and flaming horns.
Giyu and Obanai hesitated.
This… was not like any demon they'd ever fought.
Akaza? He laughed.
"Now we're talking!"
He leapt at a flaming beast, punching through its ribcage.
Kokushibo spun, six blades whistling, slicing two hell creatures apart in a storm of flesh and ichor.
Giyu and Obanai held the line, working in rhythm, their breathing techniques flashing through the red mist.
But the longer they fought… the more they realized these things didn't flinch.
Didn't slow down. Didn't scream.
"Slayer wasn't exaggerating," Obanai hissed. "They don't die easy."
"We keep cutting," Giyu replied.
Akaza, bleeding but wild with joy, grabbed the juggernaut beast by its neck, tore off its second head, and crushed the other into pulp.
Kokushibo, now bathed in gore, drove his blade through a summoning cultist crawling to finish the ritual.
The portal shimmered—then snapped shut with a banshee wail.
Aftermath
The village was ash.
Nothing moved.
The four stood in silence. Their bodies burned. Their blades stained.
"Report to the Slayer," Kokushibo said.
Akaza cracked his knuckles. "He's gonna be proud."
Obanai sheathed his sword. "He'll probably just grunt."
Giyu looked out over the smoke, a faint unease in his heart.
"This… was practice."