The moment Sakura finished tying her worn-out sneakers, she pointed toward the shattered cityscape beyond the broken windows.
"Tanjiro-san… the nearest subway station is M-17. If we reach there, we can follow the route to Narita Airport. That's how we leave Japan."
Tanjiro nodded gently, even though half of what she said was beyond him. After two thousand years spent in another realm, the familiar world he once knew now felt like an alien planet carved by tragedy.
Still, he walked with her—steady, focused, protective.
They descended the cracked staircase of the abandoned building and stepped into a street swallowed by silence. Cars lay overturned. Neon boards flickered with dying light. The wind carried the ashes of long-burnt nightmares.
Sakura kept close beside him. She'd put on a brave face, but her trembling hands told the truth.
"Don't worry," Tanjiro assured her softly. "I'll protect you."
His words carried a quiet, ancient weight—like an oath forged in steel.
---
The Empty Station
The entrance of the M-17 subway station yawned like a dark cave. Dust hung in the air as the two stepped in.
Sakura's voice echoed faintly.
"It's… too quiet."
Tanjiro sensed no heartbeats, no footsteps, no human breath. Only a faint, foul vibration trembled in the shadows—a warning. But he didn't mention it. Not yet.
They reached the ticket gates, twisted apart like broken bones. The station lights flickered weakly, a few still clinging to life.
"Tanjiro-san, wait here. I'll check the control room."
She sprinted ahead.
Tanjiro walked after her at a calm pace, letting his senses expand—marking every scent, every presence, every ripple of spiritual malice.
Inside the control room, Sakura froze.
Everything was smashed. Screens shattered. Switchboards shredded. Blood splattered on the walls.
"It's… all ruined," she whispered.
Tanjiro laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Breathe. You're doing well."
Her fear eased slightly under his steady tone.
"We can't use the trains anymore," she said. "We need to walk to the next station—Otemachi… M-18."
Tanjiro blinked. "Station… lines… M-18…?"
Sakura puffed her cheeks in frustration. "Why are adults like this?! Even I understand all this!"
He smiled faintly. "I… wasn't raised in places like these. Before I died… my life was spent on mountains, in villages. I barely saw any machines."
Her anger melted immediately.
"Oh… sorry. I didn't know."
"It's alright," Tanjiro said warmly. "Teach me."
Sakura nodded as if accepting a sacred mission.
"There are train lines, Tanjiro-san. Like… paths." She gestured with her hands, drawing imaginary routes in the air. "Tokyo Metro has nine different lines. Each line has stations. And each station has a number."
She pointed to the cracked floor map.
"We're on the Marunouchi Line—the M-line. This is M-17. If we reach M-18, we can transfer to the Z-08 line. That one leads toward the airport."
Tanjiro followed the lines with grave concentration, though most of it slipped past him.
"But you don't need to worry," Sakura added, puffing her tiny chest. "I'll guide you. I know Tokyo well. My parents used to bring me every week."
Tanjiro looked at her with a soft, aching expression.
—She really is like Nezuko…
The way she walked. The way she tried to stay brave. The way she looked toward him with trust.
His resolve hardened.
I'll protect her. No matter what.
---
Walking the Dead Tracks
The trains were long gone. So Tanjiro and Sakura stepped onto the empty tracks, walking deeper into the tunnel.
The darkness grew thicker, swallowing their footsteps. Water dripped in the distance. The stale smell of rust and mold filled the air.
Sakura walked carefully behind him, clutching his sleeve.
"Is it always this scary…?"
Tanjiro shook his head.
"No. Only because something is living here."
She froze. "L-living?! WHAT?!"
Tanjiro lifted one finger. "Shh."
His nose twitched.
He sensed ten… no, eleven demonic presences waiting in the dark. Hungry. Watching.
"Stay close to me, Sakura."
She gulped. "O-okay…"
A beat passed.
Then, with a chorus of snarls—
The demons leapt from the shadows.
Eyes gleaming. Claws dripping. Mouths wide with bloodlust.
Sakura screamed.
But Tanjiro's voice cut cleanly through her fear:
"Don't worry."
He stepped forward.
His reiatsu began to seep from his body—dense, heavy, ancient. Like a storm given human shape.
Demons staggered backward.
"What… what is that pressure?!"
"Why can't we move?!"
Tanjiro raised his palm.
"Bakudō 55 — Invincible Anti-Barrier."
A soft shimmer wrapped around Sakura like an invisible cocoon. She gasped as it hugged her like warm air.
"What is this…?"
"You'll be safe," he assured her. "They cannot sense you anymore."
The demons, however, sensed him all too clearly.
Tanjiro inhaled. His breath was calm—almost gentle.
Then—
He released 5% of his reiatsu.
The tunnel shook as if struck by thunder.
A crushing pressure slammed down on the demons. Bones snapped. Flesh tore. Eyes burst.
Nine demons exploded under the weight of his power—reduced to nothing but blood mist.
The last demon, stronger than the others, lunged from behind.
Its claws reached for Tanjiro's neck—
But a thin veil of reiatsu surrounding Tanjiro pulsed outward with a gentle hum.
BOOM.
The demon was crushed instantly—flattened against the tunnel wall like wet clay.
Silence returned.
Sakura stared with wide, trembling eyes.
"T-Tanjiro-san… you… you defeated so many… in just a few seconds…"
Tanjiro brushed dust from his sleeve.
"I only used a little."
His voice was calm, humble—yet it carried the terrifying truth of what he had become.
Sakura whispered, almost to herself—
"…He's stronger than Giyu-san…"
---
Arrival at Otemachi — M-18
The tunnel opened and the two stepped into the sprawling, wrecked platform of M-18.
Sakura collapsed against a bench, panting.
"I'm… so tired…"
Tanjiro gently handed her the bread he had bought earlier.
"Eat. You need strength."
She nodded happily and devoured a few bites. Her face softened with relief.
"What about you, Tanjiro-san?"
"I don't need food right now."
He patted her head, soft and reassuring.
"You should sleep. I'll watch over you."
Sakura hesitated. But exhaustion won, and she slowly lay down in a small staff rest room nearby.
Tanjiro whispered an incantation.
"Bakudō 56 — Invisible Barrier."
A transparent dome enveloped the room.
"If a demon touches this barrier… they'll be crushed instantly."
He watched Sakura for a moment.
Then he looked up.
And without hesitation, he leapt—his body dissolving into particles of reishi.
He shot upward—
CRASH!
He burst through the station roof like a comet and rose into the night sky.
---
A Patrol in the Silence
The surface was bathed in moonlight.
Buildings collapsed.
Roads cracked.
Not a single human heartbeat echoed anywhere.
Tanjiro floated above the city, scanning every corner. Every rooftop. Every alley. Every ruined shrine.
Nothing.
Only the scent of death.
Only the echo of a world that had already fallen.
He closed his eyes, letting the cold night wind brush his face.
If Giyu is alive… if humans survived… I will find them.
His heart beat with quiet, unbreakable resolve.
And Muzan…
He opened his eyes—sharp, burning with ancient fury.
I'm coming for you.