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CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"Enemy attack! ENEMY ATTACK!"
The watchtower bell rang out across the village. Swordsmiths grabbed whatever weapons they could find and rushed to defend themselves, but the demon horde was overwhelming. Several demons wielded Blood Demon Arts, and bodies were already piling up.
The Demon Slayer Corps patrol swordsmen stationed at the village had been slaughtered within minutes.
"Get everyone out of here with the Nichirin blades! Protect those swords at all costs—especially the Hashira blades! As long as these weapons survive, the Corps can keep fighting!" Village Chief Tecchin barked from his seat on the raised platform.
Even in the face of annihilation, the chief prioritized the blades over his own life. If the swords survived, the fight could continue.
"Chief, you need to evacuate too! As long as you're alive, the village's forging techniques won't be lost!"
"That's right, Chief—we'll cover you!"
"No need. I'm old and expendable. Just protect the blades and the talented smiths. That's all that matters."
CRASH!
The wall exploded inward. Several patrol swordsmen were hurled through the opening—already dead.
A muscle-bound demon stepped through the wreckage, blood dripping from its mouth, the stench of carnage radiating from its body.
"Protect the Chief! We have to get him out of here!"
Two villagers drew their weapons and charged the demon. Swordsmiths were not fighters; the gap in strength was insurmountable. They were outmatched in seconds.
ROARRRRRRRRRRRRR!
The demon bellowed and swung both fists toward the two defenders.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
Clone Kaido arrived in a blur of motion, his blade moving like crashing waves. Multiple consecutive slashes carved the demon into pieces before it could react. Ash scattered into the air.
"Chief, get out of here. I'll handle the rest."
"Dragon Hashira-sama! Thank goodness you're here! We'll evacuate the Chief immediately—please, we're counting on you!" The two villagers bowed deeply before escorting the elder to safety.
Once they were clear, Clone Kaido swept through the area, methodically exterminating every demon in sight and rescuing the trapped swordsmiths.
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Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the village, Clone Kaido #2 arrived just in time to save another group of fleeing villagers.
He was about to move toward the next group when his [Hyper Intuition] screamed a warning. He leaped backward, and a crater exploded where he had been standing a split second earlier.
The culprit was a grotesque dwarf demon—small, hideous, but terrifyingly fast and strong. Its power level was the closest to Lower Rank among all the attacking demons.
Screech!
The dwarf vanished. It ricocheted off walls and trees in a blur of high-speed movement, creating a chaotic pattern impossible to track with the naked eye.
Clone Kaido stood motionless, greatsword raised in a defensive stance, seemingly frozen.
His [Demonic Eye] was active—tracking every trajectory, calculating every angle, waiting for the perfect moment.
'One shot. I need to kill it in one strike. If it escapes, it'll slaughter everyone else.'
"Found you."
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
He spun and thrust his blade forward with blinding speed, intercepting the dwarf mid-lunge. The greatsword pierced straight through its throat.
Without wasting a second, Clone Kaido continued his rescue operation, moving toward the next group of swordsmiths.
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Elsewhere in the village, Muichiro encountered a small boy being chased by a demon.
The boy—Kotetsu—clutched a sword in his hands, sprinting desperately while the lizard-like demon crawled after him, toying with its prey. Its tongue lashed out like a whip, wrapping around Kotetsu's neck and yanking him backward.
The demon opened its jaws wide, preparing to swallow the child whole.
Kotetsu struggled, slashing at the tongue with his blade, but his strength was pitiful; he could not even scratch it.
Muichiro's first instinct was to prioritize more "useful" people. Saving a child was not tactically sound.
Then two voices echoed in his mind.
"Helping others always comes back around to help you!"
"The 'Mu' in Muichiro is the 'Mu' that means infinite—the kind of infinite power you can unleash when protecting others!"
SLASH!
Muichiro's blade severed the tongue in a flash. Kotetsu collapsed, gasping for air.
"You're in the way. RUN." Muichiro's tone was emotionless as he decapitated the demon with a single stroke.
"Th-thank you! I thought I was going to die! I'm sorry for calling you a sea-kelp-headed shorty!"
"This isn't the time for apologies. I'm leaving. Figure out the rest yourself."
"Wait! Wait, please! Kanamori-san and Haganezuka-san are also being attacked by demons! Please, you have to save them!"
Kotetsu dropped to his knees, bowing his head to the ground.
"Haganezuka-san is reforging a sword right now. If he stops, everything will be ruined. Please... I'm begging you..."
"I won't—" Muichiro started to refuse, but an image of Master Ubuyashiki flashed through his mind.
"Muichiro, you will find yourself again. You're confused right now... but as long as you keep living, you'll find a way forward. Even the smallest, most insignificant event can become the spark that clears the fog in your mind."
He looked down at Kotetsu, still kneeling.
Without a word, Muichiro hoisted the boy onto his shoulder and sprinted toward Haganezuka's location.
"WAAAAH! Slow down! Just a little slower—please!" Kotetsu bounced around like a sack of potatoes.
"If you keep screaming, you're going to bite your tongue."
'Am I doing the right thing? Wouldn't it be better to focus on protecting the village instead of this...? No. I'm the Mist Hashira, recognized by Master Ubuyashiki. If he believes in me, then I'll trust my instincts.'
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Back at the battle site, Karaku laughed as he watched Muichiro and Kaido get blown away.
"Haha! They flew so far! Don't you think so, Sekido?"
"What's there to be happy about? All I feel is endless, burning rage. Being around you just makes me angrier!" Sekido slammed his staff into the floor, releasing a surge of electricity.
The lightning struck Tanjiro and Nezuko, leaving them paralyzed and semi-conscious.
Through blurred vision, Tanjiro spotted a figure on the roof—someone with a gun aimed at the two demons.
"That's... Genya!"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Genya fired his explosive rifle. Both demons' heads exploded instantly, separating from their bodies. An invisible force suppressed their regeneration, slowing it dramatically.
'This gun can fire four consecutive shots... and it auto-reloads after a few seconds? And it suppresses demon regeneration? If I eat demon flesh and get stronger, this thing's power will skyrocket even more!'
"The weapon Kaido-san gave me is incredible!" Genya stared at the pitch-black rifle in awe before drawing his Nichirin blade and charging the demons' bodies.
"Genya, stop! No matter how strong your weapon is, you can't beat them! Every time you cut them, they split into more demons—and each one gets stronger! They're letting you hit them!" Tanjiro shouted.
Genya: "...!!"
Despite their slowed regeneration, Sekido and Karaku split once again.
Urogi—the Demon of Joy—and Aizetsu—the Demon of Sorrow—materialized.
"They split again! I need to figure this out fast! This demon doesn't care about getting its head cut off, which means the neck isn't the weak point! I have to find the real weakness... find it..."
Tanjiro's mind raced, searching for a strategy. He failed to notice one of the demons closing in.
Urogi's talons latched onto Tanjiro's leg and yanked him into the air.
"Kihihihi! It feels so good to be separate again! It's been way too long!" Urogi cackled.
The demon had the lower body and limbs of a bird, with massive wings sprouting from his back. His Blood Demon Art allowed him to unleash destructive sonic waves from his mouth, and his talons could shred diamond like paper.
"Nezuko, don't worry about me! Go help Genya!"
"How pathetic. So weak it's almost sad." Aizetsu lunged forward, driving his spear straight through Genya's stomach while the boy was distracted.
"GENYA!!"
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"The Swordsmith Village is under attack! Requesting immediate backup!" Mitsuri's crow screeched the alert while leading the way through the forest.
"I can't believe my patrol zone is this close to the village! Alright—time to kick it into high gear!" Mitsuri's excitement was palpable as she accelerated, her determined footsteps carrying her toward the battle.
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Muichiro arrived at a small cottage deep in the forest, Kotetsu still slung over his shoulder. Three demons surrounded the entrance, circling like vultures while Kanamori desperately defended the doorway with a blade—his body already covered in wounds.
"Hahaha! He's still fighting back! If he's guarding the door this hard, there's gotta be something good inside!"
"This fool's throwing his worthless life away in the most worthless place possible!"
"Let's finish the job that man gave us. Complete the mission, get more blood, get stronger!"
As Muichiro listened to their conversation, something stirred in the depths of his mind. Memories flickered—images from a past he'd forgotten.
One demon grabbed Kanamori by the throat and lifted him off the ground. The other two smashed through the door and burst into the cottage.
Inside, a muscular man wearing a mask sat hunched over a whetstone, grinding a blade with single-minded focus.
"What incredible iron... what an incredible sword... What kind of forging technique is this? This is amazing!"
Stab! Stab!
Even as the demons' claws tore into Haganezuka's flesh, covering him in blood, he did not stop. His mask shattered, revealing his handsome face beneath, but his hands never left the blade.
"Tokito-kun, please! You have to save them!" Kotetsu's desperate plea cut through the fog.
"Hide somewhere safe!"
Muichiro charged forward with his damaged, rolled-edge blade and decapitated the demon holding Kanamori. He spun toward the cottage, ready to eliminate the other two—
"Blood Demon Art: Petrification!"
The demon's body transformed into stone, absorbing Muichiro's strike without damage.
TING!
Muichiro's already-damaged blade shattered against the petrified demon.
The second demon seized the opening.
"Blood Demon Art: Penetration!"
Its arms transformed into javelin-like spears, driving straight toward Muichiro's chest.
He could dodge, but Kanamori stood directly behind him. If he moved, the swordsmith would die.
He raised his broken blade to block.
"TOKITO-KUN!"
Kotetsu came out of nowhere, throwing himself between Muichiro and the attack. Both spears punched through the boy's shoulders.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Muichiro's mind exploded.
Watching the child take a blow meant for him, something cracked inside his skull. The fog—the endless, suffocating fog that had clouded his memories—began to lift.
Master Ubuyashiki's face appeared in his mind, then shifted into Tanjiro's.
"What one person can accomplish alone is extremely limited. That's why people work together. Helping others always comes back around—and humans are creatures capable of unleashing extraordinary power when protecting someone other than themselves, Muichiro!"
Thump. Thump.
Muichiro's heartbeat accelerated. His body temperature spiked. Rage—pure, crystalline rage—flooded his veins.
"AAAAAAAHHH!"
His roar echoed through the cottage. Slowly, marks began to spread across his forehead and face—patterns like drifting clouds.
The [Demon Slayer Mark] had awakened.
"Mist Breathing, Fifth Form: Sea of Clouds and Haze!"
Mist erupted around Muichiro. With nothing but his broken blade, he unleashed a devastating barrage of high-speed slashes in a straight line. Both demons were reduced to ash before they could react.
The cottage collapsed into ruins from the force of his technique.
Muichiro knelt beside Kotetsu, cradling the boy in his arms. The child was still breathing—barely—but his shoulders had been run through. He needed immediate medical attention or he would bleed out.
Then the memories came flooding back.
His parents. His twin brother—identical in appearance but opposite in temperament.
"I remember. I remember everything now..." Muichiro's voice cracked. "My father used to say that helping others comes back around. But my parents both died when I was ten. After that, it was just me and my brother—Yuichiro Tokito."
"He told me the 'Mu' in my name meant 'nothing'—that I was worthless. He was always telling me I couldn't do this, couldn't do that..."
"Then one day, a beautiful woman found us. She said we were descendants of the original Sun Breathing swordsman..."
"One summer night, a demon attacked. It mortally wounded my brother. I was so angry—I fought it with an axe and a hammer. When I came to my senses, the demon was dead, pinned to the ground."
"Before Yuichiro died, he told me the 'Mu' in my name wasn't 'nothing.' It was 'infinite.' And that's when... my memories started to fade..."
Tears streamed down Muichiro's face as the weight of his past settled over him like a shroud.
"Cough, cough... Muichiro-kun, are you alright?" Kanamori staggered over, clutching his injuries.
"I'm fine. You're Kanamori, right? I came for my sword. Where is it?"
"Oh! Yes, it's ready—I'll get it for you right away!"
Behind them, Haganezuka continued grinding the blade, completely oblivious to the battle that had just taken place.
"He forged a blade this exceptional and didn't even sign his name to it. This character engraved here—he poured his entire soul into this sword with a single thought. What kind of person creates something like this?"
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