Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Inside the coal tender, Enmu was both shocked and terrified. Nothing was supposed to turn out like this!
By now, they should have been speeding along the railway. These Demon Slayer Corps members should have fallen into a deep slumber from his Blood Demon Art, while he sent those weak humans to kill them and took the opportunity to fuse with the entire Mugen Train—that way, even if they managed to escape their dreams, he would have the home-field advantage, plus two hundred blood bags to feast on while fighting. They couldn't possibly be his opponents!
But why had his flawless plan turned into this?!
That guy... that guy who attacked him with poisoned bullets was definitely a Hashira! And not just any ordinary Hashira. He didn't even use a Nichirin Blade, yet he could throw bullets with his bare hands powerful enough to pierce steel plates! Otherwise, he would have entered the carriage during the locomotive change, but the wisteria poison had paralyzed him, forcing him to watch the opportunity slip away!
What the hell!
While Enmu was lost in his chaotic thoughts, Suzuki Makoto had already lost his patience. Since this demon wouldn't choose a dignified end, he would have to give him one.
"Water Breathing, First Form—Water Surface Slash."
The entire top of the coal tender was instantly sliced open, exposing the grotesque, crimson flesh between the layers of steel to everyone's sight. Countless tentacles began to grow and spread.
"Wait! Mr. Suzuki! That person standing inside isn't a demon! He's still human!"
Tanjiro Kamado was startled. He had only just now realized from the scent that the guy inside merely had a strong stench of demon on him, rather than being the demon hiding within.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form—Thunderclap and Flash."
Of course, Suzuki Makoto had known all along that it was a person inside; otherwise, he wouldn't have used a technique as "gentle" as Water Breathing.
In a flash, he had already grabbed the unconscious person and landed back in front of the three young boys, tossing the demon's accomplice to them.
"Whichever of you is fastest, take him out of here and stop anyone else from entering the workshop."
"I'll go! I'm the fastest!"
Zenitsu Agatsuma immediately raised his hand. In his view, a fight between a Hashira and a demon was incredibly dangerous, so running away was the top priority!
The other two boys, however, drew their swords without hesitation, ready to fight alongside Suzuki Makoto.
But Zenitsu didn't leave right away. Instead, he reached for the wooden box on Tanjiro's back.
"Zenitsu! What are you doing!"
"I have to take dear Nezuko with me, too! How can I leave her in such a dangerous place!"
Suzuki Makoto facepalmed. He never would have imagined that the problem student the Thunder Hashira had mentioned could be this much of a problem.
Enmu screamed and immediately began to counterattack with thick, fleshy tentacles. Unsettling large eyeballs sprouted on the tentacles, and these eyes instantly started seeking to make eye contact with everyone.
"Blood Demon Art—Forced Unconscious Hypnosis: Eyeballs."
Thud, thud, thud.
Zenitsu and Tanjiro, who had just been fighting over the box, collapsed at the same time. Inosuke, wearing his boar mask, only had time to raise his sword before the eyes locked onto him.
"Hahahahaha, this is the power granted by the blood Lord Muzan gave me! I no longer need those—Ahhhhhhh!"
His boast was cut short by intense pain. Enmu looked at Suzuki Makoto in horror, realizing the man was still attacking him with his eyes wide open!
"Why didn't you fall into a dream!"
"Oh, but I did enter a dream."
"Then how did you wake up so fast?!"
"Because as soon as I entered the dream, that dump truck showed up again."
The man spoke words Enmu couldn't possibly understand as he meticulously minced the tentacles reaching for him.
In reality, Suzuki Makoto hadn't been hypnotized at all. To him, the other's Blood Demon Art was simply a movie of his past life playing before his eyes, not hindering him in the slightest from slicing through the tentacles while watching.
As for his only feeling at the moment...
Damn it, that truck really must be on the Transmigrator Management Bureau's payroll! Just now, his current self was desperately looking for an opening to dodge, but in the end, he could only watch as his past self was run over like a speed bump, with no chance of survival. One more inch and the tire would have scrambled his brains!
Suzuki Makoto glanced at the three young boys out of the corner of his eye, his brow furrowing slightly. The reason he hadn't killed the demon yet was that he didn't know if doing so would drag the three of them down with it.
He had managed to land a slash on each of them when he found an opening, but they showed no reaction. For now, Suzuki Makoto was out of options and could only stall for time, hoping for a turnaround.
If not... he would carve their tombstones himself.
Enmu, of course, had no idea what Suzuki Makoto was thinking. He was just ecstatic that this guy's strength was merely on par with his own—he'd been scaring himself for no reason!
And so, he laughed maniacally and continued to manipulate his tentacles. If this was all the power his opponent had, then even without the hypnosis, he could crush this unknown Hashira from the Demon Slayer Corps with brute force alone!
Then, he would have killed a Hashira and brought Lord Muzan the corpse of the boy with the hanafuda earrings. Lord Muzan would surely grant him more blood, and perhaps he would even get the chance to challenge an Upper Rank in a replacement blood battle and become a glorious Upper Rank demon!
Filled with beautiful visions of the future, Enmu focused all his attention on attacking Suzuki Makoto.
After a brief stalemate, Suzuki Makoto's expression changed. He turned his head and saw that Nezuko Kamado, who was supposed to be in the box, had climbed out. She was shaking Tanjiro Kamado, who was lying on the ground. A pained expression appeared on the boy's face as he mumbled in his sleep.
It seemed to be working.
Suzuki Makoto instantly sped up, forcing Enmu, who had also noticed, to refocus all his attention on him. As long as Tanjiro could wake up and provide some information, this demon could be sent off with pleasure.
Purplish-red flames rose up, enveloping the three young boys. The overwhelming killing intent towards demons contained within made Enmu panic. He ignored Suzuki Makoto's pressing advance and forcibly split off a tentacle to attack the girl, only for it to be instantly severed mid-air by another sword.
Suzuki Makoto froze. He had never expected that the first one to counterattack wouldn't be Tanjiro Kamado, on whom he had pinned his hopes, but the one who seemed to be the biggest problem of all—Zenitsu Agatsuma!
_____
🔥 New history!: It's over! I'm surrounded by the DanMachi Goddesses! 🔥
✅ Read up to 40 chapters in advance (all stories)!
✅ Access exclusive posts and updates first!
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters on ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan