Chapter 849: A Close Call
Chapter 849: A Close Call
"Tanjiro has gotten so much stronger."
In the small cabin at Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Kanroji Mitsuri, who was watching the live feed of the battle in the Red-light District, exclaimed with her cheeks in her hands.
Compared to the previous battle on the Infinity Train, Tanjiro was truly displaying the prowess of a Hashira in this Red-light District arc.
In the original timeline, without Feng Ye's interference, Tanjiro had unleashed the power of his 'Stripes' in this battle, making a sudden leap to a level where he could suppress and defeat Daki and kill Gyutaro. It had been an unstable and fleeting power-up.
But now, Tanjiro's displayed strength might not have been as high as that previous eruption, but it was consistent. He could completely block Daki's attacks head-on and, with the help of Zenitsu and Inosuke, keep her at bay.
On the other side.
Unimpeded by poison due to his caution, Uzui Tengen displayed a power on par with Gyutaro, matching him blow for blow. With the help of his wives, he even briefly gained the upper hand, severing Gyutaro's head once.
Unfortunately, the secret that both Gyutaro and Daki's heads had to be cut off simultaneously was not yet known, so this attempt at slaying Gyutaro was ultimately futile, and they couldn't take advantage of the opportunity to finish him off.
Even so, with Uzui Tengen's assistance and the current strength of Tanjiro and his companions, they could completely suppress Gyutaro and Daki. Victory in this battle was only a matter of time.
"By the way, when did Mr. Feng Ye go over there?"
Kanae tilted her head, her curiosity piqued as she glanced to the side.
There sat Feng Ye, a smile on his face as he teased little Yazu. In Kanae's and the others' perception, he hadn't left the room at all. Yet, his silhouette had appeared in the Red-light District, and there had even been a moment when time seemed to flow backward.
"Time has no meaning to me."
Feng Ye pinched Yazu's cheeks, his demeanor relaxed as he replied, and then said, "Going over there was a whim. I thought of giving this world's hell and reincarnation a guardian."
Kanroji Mitsuri looked on curiously, "A guardian? What is that?"
Feng Ye explained, "In this world, when the dead have lingering attachments, their spirits wander the earth. Those whose attachments fade without much sin will reincarnate, while those burdened by grave sins descend into hell. However, this world's hell is incomplete; it's just a place of chaos."
"I plan to give the siblings an opportunity. If they can pass a test, they will go to the boundary between hell and the human world, and in the future, they will be responsible for judging and punishing those with deep sins."
Hearing Feng Ye's words, Kanae blinked in surprise.
The power to oversee reincarnation and hell, to judge and punish the deeply sinful—this was akin to a godly prerogative in many myths, often associated with the Grim Reaper. Yet, Feng Ye could bestow this authority upon others with ease.
It seemed that even the gods and buddhas of various nations in their legends might not match Feng Ye's capabilities. Even among divine beings, Feng Ye occupied an extremely high position. Indeed, with just a thought, he could rewrite the past and turn the world upside down—a power akin to the highest creators in various myths.
"Oh? In that case, it's indeed a good place for them."
Kanroji Mitsuri blinked, her eyes shining with curiosity.
Having not experienced much of the Demon Slayer Corps' life, she held a more neutral perspective. She sympathized with the Siblings, Daki and Gyutaro. Although their sins warranted punishment, becoming messengers of hell after death seemed fitting for them.
As Kanroji Mitsuri and the others chatted, the battle on the screen between Tanjiro's group and their foes came to a conclusion.
Finally,
Tanjiro, with the help of Zenitsu and Inosuke, severed Daki's neck. Simultaneously, on the other side, the Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen, employed a daring strategy, trading a blow for a blow. He sacrificed one of his arms but, at the same time, beheaded Gyutaro.
Daki's slowly dissipating head landed in the pool of blood, wailing inconsolably. Despite being a demon who had lived for hundreds of years, her mental state had been fixed at the moment she transformed into a demon.
She didn't even have many memories from before, having long forgotten them. Corrupted by Muzan's blood, her humanity was suppressed by her demonic blood, and only at the moment of death did emotions like fear and reluctance, inherent to humans, surface.
The defeated Daki and Gyutaro didn't quarrel.
Because this time, they simply weren't strong enough; they hadn't been careless and made any mistakes.
"Hang in there, there'll be a way, big brother will definitely save you!"
Gyutaro's head also landed not far away, slowly dissipating, but he gritted his teeth, trying to muster the power within his body to save Daki, yet he was utterly powerless.
No!
Don't!
Watching Daki disappear bit by bit,
Gyutaro's eyes were filled with madness and denial.
"Hang in there!!!"
"Even if your neck is cut off, you can still survive, like Upper Moon Three, and I will too!"
Gyutaro roared incessantly.
With each of his roars, the rate at which his head dissipated slowed, as if his obsession with his sister, that strong reluctance to accept her death, was pushing him to truly break through a limit, just like Upper Moon Three.
But Daki was wailing incessantly, lacking the same will as her brother. Her remaining head slowly shattered and disappeared, finally turning into flying ash and vanishing without a trace.
"No!!!!"
Gyutaro watched helplessly as Daki perished completely.
The determination in his heart finally crumbled, and his head and body, which had stopped dissipating, began to crumble again, and this time, faster than before. In the span of a breath, he turned into flying ash and completely disappeared.
This scene also startled Uzui Tengen and the others gathered not far away, their faces paling as if facing a formidable enemy, and they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That guy almost..."
Uzui Tengen stared at the flying ash that had dissipated in the air, his expression still carrying a hint of lingering fear.
Among the Upper Moons of the Twelve Kizuki, the ones ranked higher were monstrous beings who wouldn't die even if their heads were cut off, and their strength far surpassed that of the other Upper Moons.
Gyutaro's final struggle, where his body and head stopped dissipating simultaneously, had startled Uzui Tengen. If Gyutaro had also overcome his weakness at the neck and become like Upper Moon Three, it would have been an unimaginable catastrophe!
Perhaps Gyutaro couldn't have reached Upper Moon Three's level of strength, but if he had broken through that limit and received more blood from Muzan, there was no doubt that another monster that the Demon Slayer Corps would struggle to defeat would have emerged!
Fortunately.
His sister's death caused his determination to crumble as well.
"No matter how evil a demon you are, the way you protected your sister was indeed admirable."
Uzui Tengen slowly sheathed his sword, muttering softly, then stumbled and fell to the ground. He had traded wounds with Gyutaro earlier, and although he was poisoned, the poison wasn't deep, and he could still control it.
Seeing this, Tanjiro and the others quickly composed themselves from the shock Gyutaro had inflicted on them and rushed over to check on Uzui Tengen. They began tending to their own wounds and bandaging their injuries while also taking care of the aftermath of the battle.
(End of Chapter)
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