"Mister Winged Lion."
At this moment, Tanjiro stood amidst small hills that were nearly identical to his hometown. Not far from him was his house.
"I know very well that all of this… is the desire I deeply wish to fulfill."
Tanjiro raised his head to look at the towering Winged Lion, his face wearing a peaceful smile. "If possible, I really wish all my family could return to my side. I want them to see what kind of person I am now. I want the ones who have already passed on to see… that Nezuko and I are living well now. We even have new friends. We have a new life."
"But I still want to go back."
Tanjiro smiled up at the Winged Lion. "Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Kanao… and the others. No matter what we've been through, we've made it to this point."
"So…"
Tanjiro looked at the Winged Lion like that, but didn't continue speaking.
The Winged Lion silently looked at Tanjiro for a while. "Originally, I wanted to wait until your desire grew more bloated before consuming you… but it seems that won't be necessary."
The Winged Lion knelt on one knee before Tanjiro, its massive frame now eye-level with him. "Are you sure about this? You've told me that you hunters from other worlds can even recover your desires. Aren't you trying to get rid of me as a problem?"
The Winged Lion gazed into Tanjiro's eyes. Those eyes were still that faint red, showing no signs of being blinded by desire. If it truly wanted to make Tanjiro drown in desire… the Winged Lion guessed it would take at least ten years, maybe even decades.
Unfortunately, there wasn't time for that now. And though Tanjiro willingly let it consume his desire, the Winged Lion couldn't understand why he was looking at it that way.
It realized that it had rarely—if ever—encountered someone like Tanjiro.
After all, in countless years past, those who came before it were always full of desire: for treasure, for power…
But Tanjiro—he seemed to be empathizing with it. Even though the Winged Lion could tell that Tanjiro wouldn't hesitate to strike it down if necessary, he genuinely felt compassion for it.
It made the Winged Lion… want to taste that kind of flavor.
An indescribable hunger surged within the Winged Lion's heart.
Originally, it had chosen Tanjiro as the dungeon master almost at random—its intention was to save Kairo Retsu and Laios for last.
But now, the desire Tanjiro exhibited made the Winged Lion unable to hold itself back. It wanted to devour him right away.
If it didn't eat him soon, the Winged Lion feared this never-before-tasted desire would disappear…
"So, do you have any other wishes, Tanjiro?" The Winged Lion's throat rolled as if it were a real living creature. "As the dungeon master, is there one last wish you'd like to fulfill?"
"..."
Tanjiro thought seriously for a moment, then said, "I still want to see someone I deeply respect… and… I want to protect the people still trapped inside the dungeon."
As he said this, Tanjiro thought of that man who had burned like flame, saving every passenger aboard the train in his memories.
The Winged Lion instantly perceived the desire rising in Tanjiro's heart—and also sensed that the Scorching Blade Glavenus had already been slain by Kairo Retsu and the others.
This gave the Winged Lion a small idea.
"I see."
The Winged Lion licked its lips. "I'll grant your wish. If you can really recover as you claim… then I'll give that version of you a little help."
As the Winged Lion said this, its hand reached into Tanjiro's body, grasping the unique desire that was now swelling its appetite.
"Let the person you long for… protect those still within the dungeon."
The Winged Lion, somewhat excited, lowered its head to gently lap at the flawless, gem-like desire flowing from Tanjiro's body. "What a… surprising taste."
While it fed, the Winged Lion also, following the wish of Tanjiro—the dungeon's master—once again mobilized the power of the dungeon.
At that moment, some of the monsters within the dungeon had already begun attacking the humans inside.
"Damn it! What the hell are these monsters?!"
A lone adventurer cried out in terror upon seeing the massive form of a Rathian.
But the moment he noticed the monster, it had already locked on to him and pounced.
Just as the Rathian was about to crash down upon the adventurer, a massive burning blade cleaved down from above. Instinctively, the Rathian tried to dodge.
However, its charging bulk could not overcome its own momentum in time. It barely managed to evade with most of its body, but one of the barbed spines on its wing was still severed by the searing blade.
The Rathian let out a piercing screech and soared into the sky.
The blade that had sliced through the Rathian's wing trembled violently, as if shaking off excess debris stuck to it.
The adventurer, meanwhile, was covering his mouth tightly, not daring to make a sound.
Because the one who had severed the Rathian's spine was another massive monster…
One that looked almost identical to the Scorching Blade Glavenus that Kairo Retsu and the others had just defeated.
But unlike that previous enraged beast, this Glavenus showed none of the typical fury or frenzy. Its eyes burned with a clear flame and an uplifting spirit.
The adventurer, filled with despair, watched as the massive Glavenus lowered its head toward him. Just when he thought he was about to die, he suddenly felt his body lift into the air—
The Glavenus had flicked the tip of its bladed tail to hook onto his clothes and tossed him onto its back.
And then…
The lone adventurer realized that this unusually powerful monster seemed to be…
Rescuing other stranded adventurers?
And why did it feel like the monster was using structured, disciplined combat techniques?
Why… does such a monster exist??
Elsewhere, as Kairo Retsu and Laios led Marcille to the foot of the mountain where Tanjiro was, they suddenly saw a shadow swaying and falling from midair.
When the figure hit the ground, Kairo Retsu and the others realized—
It was Izutsumi, who had just twisted the neck of a griffon.
"Izutsumi! Why the hell are you falling out of the sky?!"
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