Being cut in half, Jinu could no longer continue electrocuting Genya. The painful screams that had filled the air abruptly stopped. Genya, though charred and bloodied, glared up at Aijuu, who was now standing face-to-face with him, still controlling the spear lodged through Genya's torso.
With a bloodthirsty growl, Genya leaned forward.
"What—?! Impossible!" Aijuu gasped in shock.
Before he could react, Genya bit into Aijuu's neck, ripping out a large chunk of flesh and swallowing it whole, without so much as a chew.
Genya gripped the shaft of the spear embedded in his own body and, using all his strength, delivered a brutal headbutt—a technique borrowed from Tanjirou.
CRACK!
Aijuu was knocked backward with a pained grunt. Genya let out a roar, ripped the spear from his own chest, and slammed it into the ground to keep his balance.
"Come on! Let's go!" he shouted, blood streaming down his face.
"Genya! Are you okay?!" Tanjirou shouted, watching in horror as Genya stood tall despite the gaping wound that had pierced him entirely.
"I'm fine," Genya grunted. "I've got a... special constitution. I'll explain later. But first, let's wipe out these bastards!"
Genya gritted his teeth, thrust the spear forward, and once again struck Aijuu, who had just regained his footing. With a savage roar, Genya impaled Aijuu, pinning him to the ground, then leapt into the air and landed on his chest, using his full weight to immobilize the clone.
"Well done, Genya!" Tanjirou shouted.
"You don't need to tell me! I'm gonna be a Pillar someday!" Genya shot back with a cocky grin.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat!" Tanjirou laughed, even as chaos reigned.
At that moment, Kongshi dived down from the sky at full speed, claws outstretched, aiming directly for Tanjirou. Simultaneously, Kole lifted his fan to prepare an attack.
Kole thought to himself, If I blow Genya away, Aijuu will go with him, and we can recover. But if anything goes wrong later, it's better to eliminate Tanjirou now. Just in case.
"Oh no, he's going to use that fan again!" Tanjirou realized with dread.
He barely dodged Kongshi's initial strike by rolling aside, but another attack was coming fast. Before he could respond—
SWISH!
A pink blade flashed through the air.
Kole's arm and fan were severed in a single strike, blood spraying out in a crimson arc.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm late! I went to help evacuate the villagers, like the note said," came a cheerful, bubbly voice.
A pink figure landed gracefully on the battlefield. It was none other than Kanroji Mitsuri, the Love Hashira.
"Tanjirou-kun! Nezuko is safe and sound. You don't have to worry anymore!"
"Thank you, Mitsuri-san!" Tanjirou called out with genuine relief.
"Leave the rest to me," she said with a confident smile, hands on her hips. "After all, I'm a Hashira!"
Her soft pink Nichirin Blade rippled like a ribbon in the moonlight—beautiful, flexible, and deadly.
"Ahh... what a shame," Jinu muttered, observing the tide of battle turning against them.
After a brief recovery, he suddenly lunged toward Kole, who was still weakened. Grabbing him, Jinu swallowed Kole whole.
Then, without hesitation, he raised his cane and fired a bolt of lightning straight at Kongshi, who froze in terror as Jinu struck him down—and devoured him too.
Before Tanjirou or Genya could react, Jinu had already flashed to Genya's side, kicked him away, and devoured Aijuu as well.
"Too fast!" Mitsuri's expression hardened. A bead of cold sweat rolled down her temple. She had tried to intercept him—but even she had been too late.
"This speed… is this really an Upper Moon?" she whispered.
"No," Tanjirou muttered, equally shaken. "He didn't move like this earlier... Something's changed."
After consuming the other three clones, Jinu's body began to transform.
His childlike form gradually took shape—becoming a youthful yet eerily regal figure. His forehead now bore two curved horns, and black marks spread across his brow and under his eyes.
His sclerae turned crimson, while his irises shone gold.
On one eye was engraved " (Four), and the other bore " (Upper Rank).
He wore resplendent golden armor, and on his back were five taiko drums, each marked with the kanji for "resentment" . In both hands, he held S-shaped drumsticks.
"Wh-What is that?!" Tanjirou gasped. "It feels... wrong. Evil."
His sword trembled in his hands.
"Why bully the weak?" the golden-eyed demon murmured softly.
His voice echoed strangely, like it came from another realm.
The demon now known as Zohakuten—the merged form of Hantengu's emotions—spoke in a language that none of them could understand. His aura was freezing cold and reeked of overwhelming malice.
Without hesitation, Mitsuri dashed forward.
She moved like a blur, her ribbon-like sword flowing around her in looping patterns. Her target: Zohakuten's neck.
He didn't even flinch.
Instead, he raised a drumstick—and struck the drum on his back.
BOOM!
A massive stone skink erupted from behind him, mouth wide open.
"Watch out!!" Tanjirou yelled.
Mitsuri vaulted into the air, narrowly avoiding the skink's jaws. She flipped gracefully, landed on its back, and coiled her pink sword around the skink's massive form like a silken whip.
Then, with one fluid motion, she sliced through the skink's body, cleaving it into giant chunks.
"So strong... Is this the power of a Hashira?" Genya muttered from where he lay, stunned.
But Zohakuten wasn't done yet.
He beat the drums again, this time in rapid succession.
From behind him, five new skinks burst forth. Their towering forms cast monstrous shadows that blotted out the moonlight, plunging the battlefield into darkness.
Mitsuri danced among them like a flickering flame, her pink silhouette weaving between the beasts as they lunged and swiped at her.
Their immense size and chaotic movements made them stumble over each other, unable to land a proper hit.
Meanwhile, Tanjirou dashed forward, gripping his Nichirin Blades tightly. He leapt onto a skink's back and struck downward with all his strength.
Clang!
It felt like hitting solid steel.
They're too hard! he thought. But if I can just open a path for Miss Mitsuri…!
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
He sensed something.
Another smell... Another presence... What is it?!
He scanned the battlefield—then saw it.
Behind Zohakuten, a round object, sealed in tightly wrapped layers of wood, pulsed with demonic energy.
"That's it!" he realized. "Zohakuten is a clone—the real body must be hidden in there!"
And if that was true… then Zohakuten's ability wasn't everything.
"Miss Mitsuri, don't get close!!" Tanjirou yelled.
But it was already too late.
Mitsuri had bypassed another stone skink and closed in on Zohakuten. Her blade was just inches from his neck, and she had no time to respond to the danger that now flanked her.
A warning echoed in her ears, but so did silence—as the stone skinks on either side of her suddenly stopped moving.
Their mouths began to glow ominously.
Energy gathered there, swirling, expanding.
Her heart skipped a beat.
What... is that?
Tanjirou screamed again, but it sounded distant.
Zohakuten, the skinks, and even the air around her opened their mouths in unison.
A massive surge of energy was about to be unleashed from all directions.
A wave of dread hit her.
Am I going to die here? she thought.
I haven't fallen in love yet... I haven't married the person I dreamed of... I'm not ready to die...
"I'm sorry, Tanjirou-kun," she whispered. "For dragging you into this…"
For a moment, her thoughts turned inward.
Mitsuri had always possessed unimaginable physical strength, even as a child. Her muscle density was eight times that of a normal human. Though her frame appeared delicate, her body held monstrous power.
But her strength had become a curse. It caused her to be rejected by many marriage candidates—who found her intimidating and unnatural.
So, she joined the Demon Slayer Corps, hoping to find someone stronger—someone who could accept her for who she truly was.
But now, in this dark moment, she doubted whether that dream could ever come true.
Still, she didn't let go of her blade.
If this is the end, then I'll go out fighting.
Her eyes, usually soft green, now blazed with unshakable determination.
Tanjirou's shouts, Zohakuten's silence, and the gathering of death itself all hung heavy in the air—
Until suddenly—
A calm, almost whispering voice rang out from the shadows.
"Cloud Breathing – Sixth Form: Disappearance of the Moon."
Øóffer going on for diamond tier
pàtreøn (Gk31)