"Please let me go with you!"
Hotaru Haganezuka clung tightly to Tanjiro's leg, snot dripping from beneath his mask as he refused to let go.
As for why he wasn't clinging to Yuko's leg instead—well, that was because he had tried that earlier and gotten beaten again.
Tanjiro was drenched in cold sweat. "Mr. Haganezuka, please let go!"
"No!" Haganezuka shrieked. "If you make me leave that sword, I swear I—"
Before he could finish, Urokodaki Sakonji struck the back of his neck with a precise chop.
Haganezuka collapsed instantly.
The world fell silent.
Urokodaki said calmly, "Go without worry."
"Thank you so much, Master Urokodaki," Tanjiro said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
Urokodaki gave a slight nod, grabbed Haganezuka by the ankle, and dragged him away.
Tanjiro broke into another sweat and turned to Yuko. "Mr. Haganezuka's obsession with swords is honestly terrifying."
"Mhm."
Yuko responded simply and handed Tanjiro the box she was carrying.
It was made of special wood and used to hold Nezuko.
Shrunken down, Nezuko was unbelievably cute—especially with her dazed, innocent expression. Even Yuko couldn't help but cry out in her heart:
My maiden heart can't take this!
On the road, Tanjiro asked worriedly, "Is it really okay for you to come with me, Miss Yuko?"
It felt like he was delaying her.
Yuko shook her head. "It's fine."
Not only because she was worried about Tanjiro—now that he had learned Sun Breathing, he was already far stronger than in the original story—but also because…
If she didn't follow Tanjiro, she had no way of finding Tamayo at all!
Before coming to Mount Sagiri, she had stayed in Asakusa for several days, searching day and night. Forget Tamayo or Muzan—she hadn't even seen a single demon.
Tamayo and Yushiro's Blood Demon Arts were incredibly deceptive. They were not something she could find with her senses alone.
Blood Demon Arts didn't follow common logic. Even the progenitor of demons, Kibutsuji Muzan, could not completely resist them.
This was also why Muzan was unwilling to create too many subordinates, and why he didn't want demons to form large groups—he feared that they might unite and rebel against him.
Even though Yuko said it was no problem, Tanjiro still felt that he had to show her his growth.
When they arrived at the town plagued by demons, Tanjiro quickly obtained information from a man whose fiancée had been taken, and with his exceptional sense of smell, he soon found the demon's trail.
"The scent is getting stronger—the demon is here!"
"Over there, Miss Yuko!"
As he spoke, Tanjiro leapt onto the rooftops and dashed forward.
What a sharp nose—she hadn't detected it much later than he had.
Yuko's eyes flickered as she turned to look at the stunned man, shocked by Tanjiro's smooth movements.
"Come with me," she said.
Although she didn't think his fiancée was still alive.
She didn't remember this part of the story well. Her notes only recorded the demon's ability:
A swamp demon that could split into multiple bodies.
By the time Yuko arrived with the man, Tanjiro had already rescued a young girl and was standing guard against the demon.
"Where are the women you abducted?!" Tanjiro demanded.
The demon ground its teeth furiously, emitting a shrill, grating sound.
Hearing noises behind him, Tanjiro said without turning back, "Miss Yuko, please watch over them!"
With the box on his back, he raised his blade and launched his attack.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!"
A blazing orange-red arc of flame swept through the air, severing the demon's head cleanly.
'I was cut—by this brat?!'
Only when its horned head was flung high into the air did the demon's face finally reveal sheer terror.
It hadn't seen anything at all.
If it hadn't already split itself in advance, it would have died on the spot.
'This is bad… this kid is way too strong.'
If this continued, there was no way it would escape alive.
In its panic, as its spinning head flew through the air, the demon spotted the people standing not far from Tanjiro.
Just ordinary humans!
When Tanjiro landed, he caught a strange scent.
He turned and shouted, "Be careful! On the ground—"
A shadow swelled across the earth. Yuko lowered her gaze.
Two demonic shadows burst upward from the darkness, attacking from both sides.
"Ah!" the man cried in terror.
'I'll take hostages and escape!'
The demon had completely lost any intention of fighting Tanjiro. From their brief exchange alone, it had already understood—it was no match for that boy.
In a blink faster than the eye could follow, the demon saw a blur before him, and Yuko had already seized his throat with one hand, lifting him into the air.
What about the other clone?
It couldn't feel the connection anymore!
A head fell beside him, hit the ground, and rolled to a stop. The demon gripped by Yuko stared in horror.
Dead.
He hadn't even seen her draw her sword—nor resheathe it.
This woman…
…is a monster!!
Yuko tore off his head in one motion and stepped on the headless body, which writhed but could not break free.
Expressionlessly, Yuko wiped the blood from her face and held up the severed head. "Where are the others?"
Tanjiro stiffened, cold sweat running down his temple as he gave an awkward laugh.
As expected of Miss Yuko…
The demon trembled in terror. "E–eaten… they were eaten."
The next instant, a cold flash of light split the demon's head in two.
Its body slowly disintegrated into ash.
The man beside them, who had barely endured the gruesome sight, froze completely when he heard the demon's words.
Yuko calmly sheathed her sword, lifted the unconscious girl from the ground, and gently placed her by the wall before waking her.
On the other side, Tanjiro was comforting the man.
Yuko did not join them.
It wasn't that she had changed—just that tragedy repeated itself too many times. Even the most emotional person would eventually grow numb.
They were members of the Demon Slayer Corps, not therapists.
No…
Even a therapist couldn't truly heal wounds of the heart.
After barely stabilizing the man's emotions, Tanjiro rose with a gentle expression and quietly left.
Before they had even traveled two kilometers, Tanjiro's Kasugai Crow began circling overhead.
"The next destination is Asakusa, Tokyo!"
"There's said to be a demon lurking there!"
The crow named Matsuemon Tennoji landed on Tanjiro's shoulder.
"Eh? Another mission already?" Tanjiro exclaimed, having just caught his breath.
Yuko let out a quiet breath and silently gazed at the pale light of dawn on the horizon.
The demon's blood still lingering on her face slowly faded away.
The sun was always like this—no matter how powerful a Blood Demon Art was, it would lose its effect under sunlight, let alone demon blood.
Yuko's mind drifted.
How long had it been since she last parted with Tamayo?
Even if not two hundred years, it had to be over a hundred.
And now, at last, they would meet again—
In this era that held the greatest hope of defeating Muzan.
---
Currently at chapter 363 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08