This is the first time Nii-san's ever praised you…
Tanjiro, don't blow it!
Tanjiro had never felt so fired up.
Dohihara's attempt to sow discord failed; choking on frustration, he snarled viciously, "Fine—right in front of you I'll snap his neck and rip out his heart and liver!"
If he couldn't go around them, he'd go through them.
Dohihara swore he'd make this human who looked down on him pay for his arrogance.
Whoosh! He stamped the floor, leaving two deep prints where he stood, and lunged at Tanjiro at blistering speed.
Hands in his pockets, Roy kept Gyo focused in his eyes and said quietly, "Left."
Tanjiro tightened his grip on the axe and, without thinking, slashed up to the left—
a rising cut from the waist that opened Dohihara's chest.
A stabbing headache nearly tore Dohihara's mind apart. He was ruthless enough to know he couldn't back off now; with Roy calling out his lines of attack, delay meant death or worse.
So—
He took the hit and unleashed a Blood Demon Art.
Blood Demon Art — Head-Binding Rope!
Using the rapidly healing muscles of his chest, Dohihara clamped the axe to keep Tanjiro from yanking it free, then whipped his head—his hair lengthened in an instant, twisting into several "ropes" that snaked for Tanjiro's neck to strangle him.
"Watch his hair."
Roy saw it clearly—this wasn't some special Blood Demon Art so much as a trick every demon has: regeneration. Dohihara was clever—accelerating hair growth for a surprise grab. Anyone who didn't understand demons would never expect it and was almost certain to get caught.
"Nii-san… you said it too late." In the blink of an eye, Tanjiro was trussed up like a rice dumpling by Dohihara's hair.
It wasn't that Roy spoke too slowly—it was that Tanjiro was caught flat-footed and reacted slow.
The baby fat still lingering on his face went visibly blue. He blinked frantically at Roy—
then, with a strangled groan as the hair tightened, he kicked straight at Dohihara's chest!
He aimed for the lame leg—the boy found a flash of wit in crisis. But with demon blood backing him, Dohihara's regeneration was too fast. The axe embedded in his torso clanged loose, and the wound sealed over in an instant.
"Heh-heh-heh… feel pain, human!" Dohihara clamped Tanjiro's neck and hoisted him into the air. Through the wind and snow he flashed Roy a feral grin. "I told you—I'll make you pay for looking down on me!"
"Ghh—" Tanjiro writhed in agony. This time, pride wouldn't let him cry out to Roy.
Stubborn as a mule… Roy leaned against a tree, ignoring the demon's chest-thumping, and said, equal parts exasperated and instructive, "If your hands and feet are tied, you can't fight back?
"What about your head… your teeth… are they just for show?
"Bite him. Headbutt him!"
Thunder out of a clear sky.
Tanjiro jolted—Right, I still have my head!
Our "Head Pillar" finally remembered his loyal forehead. True to form, he ducked and slammed it forward.
Thud—
You could almost hear the skulls crack.
Caught off guard, Dohihara's mind went blank; he staggered and collapsed—
The hair binding Tanjiro went limp. The boy hit the ground, seized the chance, snatched up his axe, and chopped—
Gulululu… The head rolled free.
Tanjiro slumped onto the floor, barely able to hold the axe, gulping air. He turned to Roy and grinned.
"Nii-san, it's over…"
The foolish otōto was elated—he'd finally proven himself. No more cowering behind trees, no more relying on big brother.
But humans tend to get carried away. Popping the champagne halfway only to wipe out is as old as time.
Swaying, a figure rose behind him, blotting out the snow and sky above his head.
Tanjiro's neck creaked as he looked up—straight into a pair of razor demon claws.
Ordinary blades can't kill a demon… Roy's words at the smithy flashed through his head. Tanjiro realized: just chopping off the head wasn't enough.
Which is why a finishing blow is a good habit…
Ffft— Feet on Silent Gait, a sleek figure streaked out too fast to follow.
Under Tanjiro's horrified gaze—
One Snake Awakens strike split open the headless torso and wrenched out its heart.
Thump… The fresh heart was still beating.
Roy's sun earrings swayed in the wind and snow. He glanced down at Tanjiro. "That's what you call 'over'?"
"…Sorry," Tanjiro muttered, face flushing red as a monkey's rump.
Roy snorted, clenched his fist, and crushed the demon heart to ash. "If 'sorry' is all you can do, don't bother following me next time."
Without its heart, Dohihara's body crashed into the snow, sending up a white spray…
And even that desperate sneak had only bought him a moment: enough for the severed head to sprout arms, scuttle in the opposite direction from the Kamado brothers, and try to slip away…
"He's brutal! He has to be a Hashira! Only a Hashira could be that strong!"
Demon and Demon Slayer have fought for a thousand years; each knows the other well. Dohihara knew a retired Water Hashira lived just a ridge away on Mt. Sagiri. He'd been afraid, once—but he'd heard the man had problems in recent years, so he boldly fished for "meals" here in the blind spot.
Who knew he'd hook a Hashira today?
Shff… shff… Using his hands for feet, he scurried—until a rush of wind behind him made him glance back. That glance was his undoing—
Tanjiro's axe pinned his freshly sprouted arms and nailed him to a tree.
Rustle… rustle…
Snow dropped from the branches onto Tanjiro's head. He didn't notice. He picked up a rock and fumed at himself:
This demon's too slippery… running even without a body…
Roy was right. I shouldn't have gotten cocky—or celebrated early.
He raised the rock… and froze—the knowledge that Roy was watching made his hand hesitate.
Dohihara had already changed his face and was howling at him, "You think anyone wants to be a demon?
"I had a decent life—this damned world forced me into this! It was Yamata Kōnosuke who served undercooked beans and poisoned the customers. Why did I take the fall?
"He bribed the officials to force a confession—and even paid the jailers to finish me off after I pled guilty!
"You… and you… tell me, what was I supposed to do?
"Just because I'm honest, I deserve a blade at my throat?"
~~~
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