Yubi let out a distorted, unstable laugh, his voice trembling as if his body could collapse at any moment under the strain of his own regeneration.
"Heh… hehehe…"
Tanjiro Kamado stepped forward and firmly shielded Nezuko Kamado behind him, raising his newly reforged Nichirin Blade toward the enemy.
His eyes sharpened with resolve as he assessed the battlefield.
"Zenitsu," Tanjiro said quietly, "I'll hold him off. Take Nezuko and retreat. If anything goes wrong, return to the Demon Slayer Corps and report immediately."
Zenitsu Agatsuma froze.
Those words sounded too much like a farewell.
"Don't say something like that!" Zenitsu shouted, voice trembling as he gripped his sword tightly. "We're all going to survive together!"
Inosuke Hashibira slammed his blades together and stepped forward aggressively.
"Quit acting like you're already dead, forehead!" Inosuke barked. "We're tearing this thing apart together!"
Zenitsu, unusually steady for once, stood beside them instead of retreating, instinctively placing himself between Nezuko and the demon.
"That's right," Zenitsu said, voice low but firm. "We'll win. All of us."
Then, as if trying to push Tanjiro forward emotionally, Zenitsu added,
"You said your family was killed by demons, didn't you? Don't you want revenge?"
That single sentence struck Tanjiro like a spark igniting dry wood.
His hesitation vanished.
His breathing deepened.
Water Breathing flowed through his body like a current.
"Alright…" Tanjiro whispered.
He lunged forward.
Water Breathing Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!
A heavy vertical slash descended toward Yubi, but the demon twisted his body and evaded at the last instant.
"Tch!" Inosuke reacted immediately, reading the landing angle and charging in from the side.
Yubi barely landed before
Zenitsu moved.
Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!
A blinding strike flashed through the battlefield.
In an instant, Yubi's arms were severed cleanly at the shoulders.
"Now!" Tanjiro roared.
His lung capacity surged as he forced more oxygen into his body.
He noticed the thin thread-like connection of Yubi's core structure and focused his attack.
Water Breathing Tenth Form: Constant Flux!
A spiraling water-dragon slash surged forward.
Yubi's expression twisted as his back tentacles moved instinctively to block the attack.
"Hehehe…"
But before he could finish laughing
Nezuko Kamado moved.
A sharp, explosive kick landed directly on Yubi's face, disrupting his balance and breaking his rhythm entirely.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouted.
The opening was immediate.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke launched a synchronized assault.
Yubi was driven backward, his regeneration struggling to keep up under continuous pressure.
Clutching his chest, Yubi hissed in pain.
"Grr… this hurts…!"
Nezuko's leg, which had briefly regenerated during the fight, now stabilized her movements, allowing her to remain active in combat.
Tanjiro exhaled in relief.
But his expression quickly tightened again.
The real danger had not been eliminated.
The battlefield still carried traces of other hostile presences, and escape routes were still open.
Inosuke, suddenly taking command in his own chaotic way, pointed forward.
"Zenitsu! Lure it away!"
Zenitsu immediately panicked.
"What kind of strategy is that?! That's just suicide!"
"I'm not dying, you're just faster!" Inosuke shouted back. "Use your lightning thing and draw it off!"
Before Zenitsu could argue further
Yubi attacked again.
Nezuko instantly intercepted with another kick, her demon instincts sharpening her reflexes mid-battle.
The clash resumed in full intensity.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke combined their Breathing Styles in rapid succession.
Water Breathing techniques flowed one after another, each strike chained into the next without pause.
Water Breathing Third Form: Flowing Dance
Water Breathing Fourth Form: Striking Tide
Water Breathing Seventh Form: Piercing Rain Drop
Tanjiro pushed his stamina beyond its normal limit, breathing heavily as exhaustion began to creep in.
"It's not enough…!" he thought desperately.
In that moment, something inside him resonated.
A memory.
A sensation passed down through his blood.
His breathing shifted.
The water around his blade seemed to glow faintly like rising heat.
For an instant, Yubi's body was cleaved open by a powerful slash he failed to fully anticipate.
"Now!" Tanjiro shouted.
Nezuko followed instantly with another strike, launching Yubi's severed head into the air.
Inosuke and Zenitsu rushed in without hesitation.
Beast Breathing Third Fang: Devour!
A final combined strike tore through Yubi's remaining body.
Silence fell.
The battle ended.
All four collapsed into exhaustion.
Nezuko, having overexerted herself, reverted into her childlike dormant state and fell asleep inside the box.
"We… won…" Zenitsu gasped, unable to move his legs from exhaustion.
Inosuke barely remained conscious, breathing heavily beneath his boar mask.
Tanjiro looked at his friends and exhaled slowly.
"Everyone… thank you…"
But then
A faint movement.
Something small escaped into the darkness.
A surviving fragment.
A spider-like remnant fleeing the battlefield.
The victory was not complete.
The next morning, the group was escorted back to the Butterfly Mansion by Kakushi for treatment.
Shinobu Kocho inspected the situation carefully, her expression calm but observant.
"So it escaped again," she said quietly after examining the remains.
Tanjiro clenched his fist in frustration.
"Even after everything…"
Shinobu did not respond, only noting the implications.
No casualties had occurred this time.
That alone was rare.
Elsewhere, deep within the Demon territory, Kokushibo observed the aftermath through reports delivered by Saito Arashi, who had retreated earlier.
The information was incomplete but sufficient.
Kokushibo remained silent for a long moment.
"…So even lower-tier experimental demons are becoming unstable," he murmured.
His six eyes narrowed slightly.
"If this continues, it will interfere with the plan."
He turned slightly, voice calm but absolute.
"Prepare everything."
"We will eliminate these irregularities completely."
Advanced are Available on Patreon!
We are currently at Chapter 119 on Patreon!
Join now:
Patreon.com/HACKDWORLD