Thud!
Tanjirou landed back on the roof, the immense impact shattering a large section of tiles.
"Huu… huu…"
The negative effects of overexerting his body to enhance his Breathing Technique immediately surged through Tanjirou after he used that move; his legs could barely stand, and he gasped for air, his internal organs all burning with pain as if consumed by fire.
Finally… he had beheaded this demon…
Collapsing to his knees, unable to bear the pain, Tanjirou nevertheless let out a sigh of relief despite his body's immense agony.
"Damn it!!! How could I, Daki, be beheaded by an ugly monster like you! I am an Upper Rank recognized by that person!!!"
At that moment, Daki's head also landed back on the rooftop, crying out in indignation.
"You must have gotten lucky to do that! Otherwise, I would never have lost!"
Listening to Daki's ranting, Tanjirou wasn't too surprised, thinking she was merely delaying her disintegration into ash due to her immense power.
I can't rest yet… I still need to… save those injured people…
Suppressing the pain in his body, Tanjirou slowly stood up, then walked step by step downwards.
"Stop! You! Stop right now! We haven't decided the victor yet, and I will definitely cut you into pieces!!"
Daki's head watched Tanjirou slowly walk away, constantly shouting at his retreating back, but Tanjirou had no intention of stopping, completely ignoring her.
Daki, ignored, was furious, and thinking that she, an Upper Rank, had been beheaded by a swordsman who wasn't even a Pillar, she actually started crying pitifully.
"Waaahhhhhh!!! You ugly monsters only bully me!!"
Hearing Daki's distorted words, Tanjirou's previously calm mood once again flared with anger; he clenched his jaw and abruptly turned his head.
"Enough! You people who unreasonably take human lives without a shred of remorse!"
Tanjirou roared angrily at Daki; though his heart felt a little better after the shout, the pain in his body intensified.
At the same time, upon hearing Tanjirou's roar, Daki's wailing grew even louder.
"Waaahhhh!!! My neck was cut off! My neck was cut off! Onii-chan—!!"
Daki screamed, her voice echoing throughout the night sky.
Tanjirou also sensed something was wrong at this point.
So much time had passed since her beheading, yet why hadn't her body begun to disintegrate, and why could she still cry out here?
A strong sense of unease began to well up in Tanjirou's heart.
Originally, he wouldn't continue attacking a demon after it had been beheaded, but the current situation made him feel as if this demon hadn't died yet.
To eliminate any potential threat, Tanjirou once again raised his nichirin blade and walked towards Daki's body.
And she just called for her brother, a demon's brother… What could that be…
As Tanjirou was thinking, the scene unfolding before him made his pupils gradually widen.
Daki's already beheaded body suddenly began to reveal another figure; a head emerged from Daki's body, and then a body and arms separated from her form.
The upper body appeared emaciated, especially the waist, which looked as if large chunks had been dug out from both sides.
From the parts of the body that had appeared so far, it could only be determined to be male.
This is… another demon…
Tanjirou's eyes widened, looking at the scene before him in disbelief.
Move! Move! Slay this demon! Protect the humans behind me!
Tanjirou kept shouting to himself in his mind; his slow walk gradually turned into a run, step by step.
"Ahhhh!!!!"
Charging towards the newly appeared demon with his nichirin blade, Tanjirou's current physical condition didn't allow him to use his Breathing Technique again; he simply charged forward with his nichirin blade and then struck the demon that had crawled out of Daki's body.
Clang!
A sound like clashing swords rang out as a hand gripped Tanjirou's nichirin blade.
"Are you the one who bullied my sister?"
With a slightly sickly voice, Gyuutarou raised his head.
He had messy black and green hair, a large patch of black spots on his face, and his yellow irises had the characters "Upper Rank" and "Six" engraved on his right and left eyes, respectively.
Such great strength… I can't break free…
Tanjirou felt the hand gripping his nichirin blade was like an iron clamp; no matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't move it an inch.
Moreover, the moment Gyuutarou spoke, Tanjirou felt immense pressure, completely unlike facing Daki; his body even instinctively trembled because of it.
"Hey… hey… you've got some nerve!"
Gyuutarou's tone gradually rose with his words, and at the same time, his grip on the nichirin blade tightened, his expression becoming furiously terrifying.
This is bad! The nichirin blade can't withstand the sideways force.
Cold sweat broke out on Tanjirou's face as he realized the danger.
But it was already too late; the next moment, with a "crack" sound, the tip of Tanjirou's nichirin blade was directly crushed by Gyuutarou.
…
Kotetsu, who was eating dango in the Swordsmith Village, suddenly sneezed, then rubbed his nose and raised the dango in his hand, continuing to eat happily.
…
Bang!
After crushing Tanjirou's nichirin blade, Gyuutarou directly kicked Tanjirou, sending him flying.
"Ugh…"
Stomach acid spewed from his mouth as Tanjirou, curled up like a shrimp, flew through the air for a while before crashing onto another rooftop.
This heavy impact nearly knocked him unconscious, leaving him lying there, unable to move.
What exactly… is going on?
Lying on the rooftop, Tanjirou was still enduring the pain, trying to figure out what had just happened.
On the other side, after kicking Tanjirou away, Gyuutarou picked up Daki's head and placed it back on her severed neck.
"Stop crying, crying won't make your head grow back. If your head falls off, put it back yourself, you're such a clumsy child."
Gyuutarou said soothingly, stroking Daki's head.
Gyuutarou's appearance made Daki cry less loudly, but she was still sniffling softly.
"I tried so hard, but that Demon Slayer kept burning me with fire! And his blade hurt so much when it cut me. I held on for so long, but he still wouldn't give up! And he even cursed at me!"
After Gyuutarou appeared, Daki completely transformed into a spoiled child, crying and complaining to Gyuutarou.
"I see, then I absolutely cannot let him off the hook. Let big brother get justice for you. After all, my name is Gyuutarou."
Gyuutarou stood up, two blood-formed sickles appeared in his hands, and at the same time, he walked step by step towards Tanjirou, who was lying on the rooftop…