At first glance, Shin Arashi's right hand no longer looked human—it had transformed into something monstrous.
The joints of his fingers had grown jagged and sharp, like hardened exoskeleton claws. His skin turned a deep, unnatural red, with dark purple lines crawling like tattoos across it. The sight was eerie unnerving.
The change didn't stop at his hand.
Dark purple markings slithered up his arm and spread across his face. His eyes warped: the whites turned pitch-black, while his pupils burned bright violet. His jet-black hair shimmered and shifted, now glowing a striking purple in the pale mountain light.
Shin couldn't see his own face, but the change in his body was undeniable. His right hand pulsed with unnatural strength, vibrating with raw energy.
Behind him, a cloud of dark violet mist began to gather. It hung low and ghostlike, clinging to him like a living shadow.
Power surged through Shin's veins.
"What... is this?" He flexed his transformed hand, his voice trembling between fear and awe.
The next moment, his body exploded forward, moving so fast it blurred against the snowy landscape. He shot across the mountaintop like a streak of violet lightning, kicking up snow in his wake.
"Is this the power of the Demon-God Devourer?" Shin gasped inwardly breath caught in his throat. "This... this is insane. It's like I've activated a cheat code."
Far ahead, in a clearing blanketed with snow, Giyu Tomioka stood silently, facing a trembling boy—Tanjiro Kamado—who knelt in the snow, clutching his unconscious sister.
Giyu's cold eyes softened slightly as he looked down at them.
"I know… If I had arrived sooner, maybe your family wouldn't have died," Giyu murmured, regret weighing in his voice.
"But time doesn't move backward. Now stand up. Use that anger to grow stronger. A fragile heart won't protect your sister… or avenge your family." He exhaled slowly, then raised his Nichirin Sword, its steel glinting in the cold light.
Tanjiro, who was kneeling in the snow, saw Tomioka Giyu's actions and realized he intended to kill his sister, Nezuko. Suddenly, Tanjiro became extremely nervous.
However, Giyu Tomioka didn't care about Tanjiro's emotions. In the next second, he thrust the Nichirin sword in his hand into Nezuko's chest.
"No... stop!" Tanjiro's voice cracked with desperation as he scrambled to act. His hand shot out, grabbing a snow-covered rock. With all his might, he hurled it at Giyu.
But Giyu deflected the stone with the hilt of his sword.
And in that very moment—everything changed.
Giyu's eyes narrowed. His instincts screamed a warning.
A streak of purple lightning came crashing through the trees. Snow exploded around them as a blur of motion launched straight at Giyu.
Shin Arashi had arrived.
Fueled by the energy of the Demon-God, Shin moved without hesitation. His blade came down with force, aiming directly for Giyu's sword—not to kill, but to intervene.
The two swords met with a sharp clang, sparks flying in all directions.
Giyu slid back slightly from the impact, his face flashing with surprise.
"What…? Who is this?" Tanjiro, frozen by fear, could only stare. His plan to grab the axe and defend Nezuko fell away the instant he saw Shin's sudden arrival—and inhuman form.
Shin's demonic appearance made Tanjiro's heart drop. Purple marks, glowing eyes, monstrous hand... it all screamed danger.
But he hesitated. Slowly, Tanjiro sniffed the air—searching for a scent he could trust.
He didn't find it.
There was no trace of the foul scent that haunted him—the stench of the demon who had killed his family.
Tanjiro's expression shifted from suspicion to confusion.
"He's not... the one who did it?" He stared at Shin, stunned.
"Then... who is he?" Locked in the clash of swords, Shin's eyes burned with fierce resolve.
"I won't let you kill her," he growled under his breath, glaring at Giyu. "Not while I'm still standing."
(End of Chapter)
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