BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!!!
"What—?!"
The deafening roar made Tanjiro and the others widen their eyes as they looked on.
Behind the blue torrent strikes, a deep crimson blood moon was advancing in an overwhelmingly exaggerated manner.
Akaza's eyes were stretched wide, as if he were witnessing something utterly inconceivable. The ferocity on his face went slack, turning blank in an instant.
A blood moon several meters in diameter, like a massive millstone, carved a trench into the ground as it rolled forward toward Akaza.
Wherever it passed, the blue light dissolved one after another.
With the rapidly approaching blood moon reflected in his eyes, Akaza completely lost his will to fight.
There was no doubt about it—
This was a difference in power.
Just like when he had once challenged Kokushibo…
No matter how much he wanted to deny it, there was no way to do so.
The crimson moon was not hindered in the slightest by the blue light. It crushed straight through Akaza's body and continued rolling onward, even obliterating the blue light closing in on Tanjiro and the others, until it ground across the railway and flattened a vast section of forest on the other side.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!!
Dust erupted from the ground in waves. Anyone unaware might have thought some great earth dragon had turned beneath the land.
The howling wind whipped Tanjiro's hair wildly. He stared straight ahead, eyes wide, every hair on his back standing on end without him even noticing.
Within his field of vision, the dust slowly settled. Under the crushing force of the blood-red millstone, all that remained of Akaza was a small fragment of severed arm, which was soon burned away by the rising sunlight.
Turning his gaze, he saw that at the edge of his vision—
A trench several meters wide stretched onward, reaching all the way to the distant forest.
This level of power could no longer be described with words.
If the gap between himself and Upper Rank Three was already insurmountable, then witnessing Yuko's move was something completely beyond comprehension.
Was this really a technique that a human could unleash?
Rengoku Kyōjurō did not look as visibly shaken as Tanjiro, but the shock in his heart was no less profound.
The strength of the Upper Ranks was well documented. For hundreds of years, countless Hashira had died at their hands.
Upper Rank Three—the Fighting Demon—had shown his terrifying power firsthand.
Yet today, they had witnessed strength on an entirely different level.
Watching Akaza's remaining arm disintegrate in the sunlight, Yuko dispersed the blood from her blade and sheathed it.
Even Muzan couldn't casually create a powerful Upper Rank.
Being able to eliminate one of Muzan's strongest combatants at this point meant one more advantage in the final battle.
Though learning that demons other than Muzan could overcome the weakness of the neck did weigh heavily on Yuko's mind.
A Kokushibo who had overcome the neck weakness?
That would be hard.
Very hard.
Yuko let out a long breath and walked toward the others. "Are you two alright?"
"Y-Yes." Tanjiro snapped out of his shock and swallowed. "Miss Yuko… what was that just now?"
Yuko nodded slightly. "Another application of my Blood Demon Art."
So it really was a Blood Demon Art.
After all, that kind of strike was impossible for a human to produce.
"That was… incredible…" Tanjiro still hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
Yuko pressed her lips together, about to speak—
When suddenly, from the side—
"WAAAAHHH!!!"
"What the heck is this?!"
A boar-headed boy came running from afar, circling the trench in amazement and looking left and right.
"Eek!" Zenitsu shrieked, so frightened his hair practically stood on end.
"N-No…" Tanjiro wiped sweat from his brow, about to explain.
Inosuke slammed his right fist into his left palm, realization dawning on him.
"Ah! I get it now!"
"You guys must've seen the real Lord of the Mountains, right?"
"That thing must've been huge!"
He looked at everyone with sparkling anticipation.
Tanjiro's mouth twitched slightly. At least now he fully understood that the train was not the Lord of the Mountains.
He said seriously, "We just encountered Upper Rank Three."
"What?! Upper Rank?!" Zenitsu clutched his face and screamed in terror, frantically looking around.
He had just said how rare the Twelve Kizuki were—that running into one already was unlikely enough.
And now even an Upper Rank had shown up?!
Tanjiro rubbed his temples. "Calm down, Zenitsu. It's already daytime."
"…Oh. Right."
"And that demon was already slain by Miss Yuko."
Zenitsu stared at Yuko in shock. "What?! Does that mean Miss Yuko's going to become a Hashira too?!"
"Unfair! You're all secretly racing ahead!"
Yuko: "…No. I have no interest in becoming a Hashira."
And was this guy even serious?
He'd just been terrified moments ago.
"So you're disdainful of becoming a Hashira?" Inosuke appeared at her side at some point, patting her shoulder solemnly. "You're really something, woman."
"?"
Being praised by a kid didn't exactly make her smile.
Rengoku asked, "Have all the passengers on the train been rescued?"
Inosuke flexed his biceps proudly. "Yep! I carried every last one of them off myself!"
Tanjiro suddenly remembered something. "Nezuko?!"
Zenitsu grinned foolishly. "Nezuko-chan? Don't worry—I put her somewhere safe!"
Yuko: Compared to sunlight, this guy somehow seems more dangerous.
…
Rescue efforts arrived swiftly afterward.
With more than two hundred civilians involved in the Mugen Train incident, both the Demon Slayer Corps and the authorities were deeply shaken.
After everyone returned to the Corps, another meeting was convened.
Only Shinobu—who was currently stationed at the Butterfly Estate—and Tanjiro and Rengoku, who had just returned from the mission, were present.
Most of the other Hashira were still on assignment.
Upon seeing Yuko, Shinobu hurried over and sat beside her, her joyful expression tinged with surprise.
"Yuko, you came back so quickly from this mission?"
Yuko nodded lightly. "Yes… I was lucky, it just so happened—"
She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly recalling what she had seen in her dream, her heart giving a sudden thump.
Shinobu tilted her head, looking at her curiously. "'Just so happened'?"
Yuko suppressed the turbulence in her emotions. "Just happened to run into a demon."
Shinobu smiled. "I see. As long as everyone's safe, that's what matters."
"…Yes."
Yuko turned slightly away, letting out a quiet breath and unconsciously pressing a hand to her chest.
It's beating so fast…
This really is strange…
"Are you alright?" Shinobu leaned closer, worry on her face. "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Yuko flinched, shuddering lightly. "N-No, I'm fine."
Shinobu was startled by her sudden reaction. Yuko seemed a little off today.
Yuko forced a calm smile. "I'm a demon. How could I feel unwell?"
"…Hmm."
Something really does feel off.