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"Tanjiro! Nezuko!"
Hantengu plummeted over the cliff alongside the Kamado siblings, his regeneration crawling to a near-standstill.
Maintaining Zohakuten's form had drained him. The critical injuries he'd sustained left him in a severely weakened state.
'Need to feed. Human blood and flesh. There's... someone nearby...'
The armless demon dragged himself upright. The Nichirin blade embedded in his neck had come loose during the fall.
Right now, all he wanted was to find a few humans, devour them, and escape.
Then he spotted them—several villagers carrying Nichirin blades, not far ahead. He accelerated.
"Stop! I won't... let you escape! Even if you run to the ends of hell... I'll cut off your head!"
Tanjiro was a mess—covered in blood, battered beyond recognition—but he refused to quit. He stumbled toward his fallen blade and grabbed it.
Hantengu ignored him, focusing entirely on reaching the villagers.
'Just need to eat them. Then I can escape!'
Tanjiro retrieved his sword, assessed the distance, and activated Total Concentration Breathing one more time. His leg muscles coiled like springs—
"Dance of the Fire God: Flash Dance!"
He closed the gap in an instant and severed Hantengu's head.
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Dawn broke across the horizon.
Tanjiro suddenly realized Nezuko was still standing in the open field—directly exposed to the rising sun. He tried to scream a warning, but no sound came out.
"Cough... Nezuko... don't... don't come closer..."
Nezuko didn't hesitate. She sprinted straight to her brother's side.
"Nezuko, run! Get to the shadows!"
"Mm!" Nezuko pointed frantically behind Tanjiro. He spun around—and his blood turned to ice.
The decapitated Hantengu was still moving.
"Run! RUN!" The two villagers clutched their blades and bolted. Hantengu's headless body gave chase.
Tanjiro glanced down at the severed head. The kanji on its tongue had changed from "Cowardice" to "Hatred."
He tried to pursue—but the sun's rays struck Nezuko. Her skin began to burn. Without thinking, Tanjiro threw himself over her, using his own body as a shield.
"AAAAHHH!"
The villagers' screams echoed in the distance. Tanjiro wanted to help them—but if he moved, Nezuko would be incinerated.
Nezuko understood his dilemma. She kicked him away with enough force to send him tumbling toward Hantengu's fleeing form.
She remained behind, exposed to the merciless sun.
"NEZUKO!"
Tanjiro forced down the anguish tearing through his chest, gripped his blade, and charged after the demon.
His enhanced sense of smell tracked Hantengu's location. The demon hadn't gotten far.
Then something changed.
Tanjiro's vision sharpened to a crystalline clarity—as if he could see through everything. The Transparent World activated. Hantengu's body became translucent, revealing a tiny form hiding inside his chest cavity, near the heart.
"Found you. You're in the heart! This time, you're finished—you pathetic excuse for a demon!"
Tanjiro leaped forward and drove his blade through Hantengu's chest.
"Atone with your life!"
SLASH!
The true Hantengu—no larger than a fist—was bisected. Sunlight finished what the blade had started, reducing him to ash.
Hantengu was dead.
But Tanjiro felt no joy. He'd won the battle—but at the cost of his sister.
"We won... but Nezuko sacrificed herself... The sun burned her away until nothing remained... not even bones..." Tears streamed down his face.
"Kamado-dono... Kamado-dono... um, you should look behind you..." One of the villagers pointed hesitantly.
Tanjiro turned around.
Nezuko stood there—alive, unharmed, bathed in sunlight.
She had conquered the sun.
"Ne... zuko...!"
"Good... morn... ing..." Her speech was childlike, halting—but she was speaking. And she was human again.
"Nezuko! You're back! You turned back into a human!" Tanjiro pulled her into a crushing embrace, both of them sobbing.
From a distance, Genya watched with a smile that could've lit up the sky. He was genuinely happy for them.
With Hantengu defeated and Nezuko alive, the tension that had been holding Tanjiro together finally snapped. His exhausted body gave out, and he collapsed unconscious into his sister's arms.
"Kamado-dono!"
What they didn't know was that Hantengu's severed head—still intact for a few final moments—had transmitted everything back to Muzan Kibutsuji through its fading vision.
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CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Mitsuri, Muichiro, and Kaido—who'd barely recovered enough to stand—were locked in combat with Zohakuten, their stamina nearly depleted.
They were preparing for a final desperate assault when Zohakuten and all his wooden dragons abruptly vanished into ash.
"Oh! Thank goodness! Tanjiro-kun and the others must've succeeded!"
"Yeah. They did it."
"Good thing Tanjiro pulled through. If he hadn't, Zohakuten would've ground us down through sheer attrition." Kaido collapsed backward onto the ground.
"Haah..." All three of them sighed in unison.
After fighting Zohakuten all night, their stamina reserves had hit rock bottom. The moment the demon vanished, they sat down back-to-back and waited for reinforcements.
"Mitsuri-nee, take this. It'll counteract the mark's side effects." Kaido pulled out an Enhanced Longevity Pill and pressed it into her hand.
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Kaido-kun!" She swallowed the pill immediately. It tasted sweet with a faint cooling sensation.
"Kaido, how bad are your injuries?" Muichiro's concern was evident.
"I'll need a few days to fully recover. But I'll live. As long as you two are okay, that's all that matters. Thanks for showing up when you did—I wouldn't have lasted much longer on my own."
"I should be thanking you. You and Tanjiro helped me recover something irreplaceable," Muichiro said quietly.
"Yes, yes! We're the ones who should be thanking you, Kaido-kun!" Mitsuri added.
"Oh! Speaking of which—once we get back, let's all go out for a huge meal! I'm starving!"
"Sounds perfect."
"I'm in."
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Asakusa, Luxurious Estate.
A young boy hurled a stack of books across the room, his expression twisted with manic excitement. Red eyes gleamed in the dim light.
"Finally! At long last, it's appeared! Someone who's conquered the sun! Well done, Hantengu..."
A woman and a maid entered the room, surveying the scattered books with concern. "Oh my, Toshikuni, what happened? Why is everything so messy—"
SPLAT!
A whip-like tendril obliterated the woman's head, reducing it to pulp. The boy's form shifted, revealing Muzan Kibutsuji's true appearance.
"AAAAHHH! MURDERER! MONSTER!" The maid screamed and bolted for the door.
She didn't make it three steps before Muzan killed her too.
"I no longer need to search for the Blue Spider Lily. A physiology that not even the Twelve Kizuki have achieved—incredibly rare, impossibly valuable."
His smile was predatory. "Once I absorb that girl into my body, I'll become the ultimate perfect being. I'll never fear the sun again. Hahaha..."
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The Swordsmith Village crisis had been resolved.
But none of them realized that a far greater catastrophe was already beginning.
Now that Nezuko had conquered the sun, the battles ahead would be exponentially more brutal—and all of them would revolve around her.
"Kaido-san! Mitsuri-san! Tokito-kun! Thank god—you're all okay!"
Nezuko arrived carrying Tanjiro on her back, with Genya and several villagers following close behind.
"Yo, Tanjiro. Genya. Nezu—ko... wait. WAIT. Nezuko conquered the sun?!"
Kaido stared at Nezuko standing in broad daylight, and something clicked in his memory.
'Shit... After the Swordsmith Village arc comes the Infinity Castle final battle. Which means—crap, CRAP! I never finished reading the manga! I stopped right before the ending!'
His internal monologue spiraled into panic. 'I saw Nezuko's memories that one time, but those were just flashbacks! I remember Muzan turning into a giant demon baby and trying to escape, but I never read what happened after that! What am I supposed to do?!'
'System? SYSTEM!'
[System, are you there? I've got a serious problem!]
[Ding~ Apologies, Host. I cannot reveal future plot developments. If I do, you will either lose all memories related to Demon Slayer and restart from the beginning—or both you and I will be erased from existence.]
[Ah. Right. Sorry for putting you in that position, System.]
[...]
'Guess I'm flying blind from here on out. But no matter what happens... I'm keeping everyone alive.'
Though the situation was grim, his resolve remained unshakable.
"Kaido-san, are you okay?" Tanjiro noticed Kaido staring at Nezuko with an unreadable expression, lost in thought.
Multiple conflicting scents emanated from the Dragon Hashira.
"It's nothing. Just thinking ahead. If Muzan finds out Nezuko conquered the sun, he'll throw everything he has at capturing her. We're about to face battles that'll make this look like a warmup."
Muichiro nodded. "Kaido's right. Muzan will do whatever it takes to devour Nezuko. We need to return to headquarters immediately and discuss countermeasures."
In the quiet moments after battle, when adrenaline fades and exhaustion settles like a heavy cloak, warriors face their most difficult challenge—not the enemy before them, but the weight of what comes next.
Kaido understood this truth more acutely than most. Victory was never the end. It was merely the prelude to the next conflict, and the next, until either the war was won or the warriors fell.
'Knowing the future should be an advantage,' he thought as the Kakushi arrived with stretchers. 'But incomplete knowledge is worse than ignorance. I can see the storm on the horizon—I just don't know which direction the lightning will strike.'
Still, he'd made his choice long ago. He would stand between his friends and oblivion, even if it cost him everything.
The Kakushi arrived shortly after, carrying stretchers for Kaido, Mitsuri, Muichiro, and Tanjiro. Mitsuri and Muichiro hadn't sustained serious injuries—just severe stamina depletion.
Their crows returned to headquarters and broadcast the news three times in succession.
"CAW CAW! Dragon Hashira Kaido, Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji, Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito, Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, and Genya Shinazugawa have defeated Upper Rank Four! All survived! Dragon Hashira sustained injuries! CAW!"
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Butterfly Mansion.
"Big brother!"
"Retsuki-chan, get everything ready! Don't worry—your brother's going to be fine!"
"I know, Aoi-nee! I'll handle it!"
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Ubuyashiki Estate.
Master Kagaya heard the news and smiled—genuinely, deeply pleased.
He could feel it. The final confrontation with Muzan was approaching.
"Another Upper Rank fallen. Excellent work, my children. Muzan Kibutsuji—in this era, you will finally pay for your crimes and descend into hell where you belong."
...
Obanai Iguro heard that Mitsuri had encountered an Upper Rank and immediately rushed out of his estate, his heart in his throat.
Then he remembered Kaido's promise. A strange sense of calm settled over him—followed immediately by renewed worry.
'Kaido, I know you'll be fine. You promised you'd attend my wedding with Mitsuri. You don't break promises.'
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Because the Swordsmith Village's location had been compromised, the crows guided everyone back to headquarters via the shortest route. Multiple teams were dispatched to help relocate the villagers to a new, secure location.
The operation was massive—not only did they need to move every person and piece of equipment, but they also had to tend to the wounded and bury the fallen swordsmen who'd defended the village.
Though casualties had been significant, they would've been catastrophic without the three Hashira and Tanjiro's group arriving when they did.
Under the crows' guidance, the Kakushi brought Kaido and the others back to headquarters. The Butterfly Mansion's medical staff had already prepared for emergency treatment.
Obanai was the first to reach Mitsuri's side, gripping her hand tightly. "Mitsuri, how are you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Obanai! But Kaido-kun—he protected me, and now he's..." Her voice wavered.
Obanai looked toward the other stretcher. Kaido was unconscious.
He walked over and took Kaido's hand in his own. No words were needed. The gesture said everything.
"Serpent Hashira-sama, please step aside. The Dragon Hashira requires immediate treatment," one of the Kakushi said respectfully.
"Right. Of course."
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