Slash!
Giyu severed the Lower Rank demon’s neck in an instant.
And yet Tanjiro glared at Giyu as he stepped on the demon’s clothes, pitying the oni even though it had tried to kill him.
"He’s not some filthy monster. Demons are fleeting lives... tragic lives."
"....You..."
Then, at that moment, someone rushed in and tried to cut down Nezuko, only for Giyu to block the strike.
"Wha?! Why are you interfering, Tomioka?!"
It was a woman with a butterfly ornament who looked fiercely proud.
"You said oni can’t be understood... What do you think you’re doing? No wonder people hate you!"
.....
An odd tension hung between the two of them.
"...I’ve never been hated."
"!!!"
"Are you talking about yourself?!"
Giyu’s completely out-of-left-field remark left everyone stunned.
"You there!"
"Yes!"
"The thing you’re protecting is an oni! It’s dangerous, so get out of the way!"
"N-No! This girl is my little sister!"
"...Oh, is that so? How unfortunate... Then..."
The woman lunged again, and Giyu once more stepped in to stop her.
"I’ll kill it with as little pain as possible."
"Tanjiro, run!"
At Giyu’s words, Tanjiro squeezed out every last bit of strength he had left.
"Tomioka... I’m sorry! Thank you!"
With those words, Tanjiro ran off with Nezuko.
"This is... a violation of the Corps code."
"...."
"And... we’re not the only ones who came here, you know?"
"...! Don’t tell me..."
Whoosh...
Clang!
The woman tried once more to stab Tomioka with her blade, and Tomioka blocked it.
...
"Huff, huff, huff."
Tanjiro was running while carrying the wooden box Nezuko had been inside.
'My whole body hurts!! It’s agonizing!! I want to scream that it hurts...! ...No, hold on!!'
Tanjiro ran while enduring the pain, and Nezuko watched him with worried eyes.
Shiiing...
"!! That sound..."
He heard the sound of breathing from somewhere, and then a crimson slash flew straight in front of him, blocking Tanjiro’s path.
"!!! This is..."
"...Found you. You’re absurdly fast..."
"!!!"
Tanjiro turned toward the voice, but a hand seized his neck and slammed him into the ground.
Bang!
"Guh!"
"...! Mmph!"
Far away, Nezuko, who had been sent tumbling, looked shocked when she saw Tanjiro.
"A Demon Slayer traveling with an oni... What kind of guts do you have to do something like that...? Are you... brainless?"
"Kuh... Run, Nezuko! Run!!"
At those words, Nezuko started running.
"...Now I’m curious... Why are you protecting that oni...? Pity...? Or do you have some lustful thoughts toward it...?"
"!! What are you talking about?! That girl is my little sister!"
"...Little sister?"
The man seemed to think for a moment at Tanjiro’s words, then rushed over to the oni and grabbed her by the nape of the neck.
"! Mmph!"
"Nezuko!!"
It was over. Nezuko was going to die. Because I couldn’t protect her...!
"That’s it, that’s it... Good girl..."
"...Huh?"
Instead of cutting Nezuko down, the man was actually soothing her.
"Don’t worry... I’m not so heartless that I’d kill someone else’s family..."
"...Huh? Um... why...?"
Just as the man was about to answer Tanjiro’s question, a crow’s cry rang out.
"Caw! Order!! Order!! It’s an order!!"
"...An order?"
"Take Tanjiro and Nezuko into custody and bring them to headquarters!!"
"...!! What is this..."
"....."
"Take Tanjiro and the oni Nezuko into custody and bring them to headquarters!! Tanjiro with the scar on his forehead! Nezuko with the bamboo in her mouth!!"
"....Hey... You’re Tanjiro, right...?"
"...Huh? Ah, yes!"
"I see... Then..."
The man moved in an instant, then struck Tanjiro on the back of the neck and knocked him unconscious.
"Guh!"
"Just... sleep for a bit..."
"Mmph?"
Nezuko tilted her head, unable to understand what was going on, and the man gently patted her head.
"Don’t worry... I’m not trying to hurt you... Will you come with me?"
At the man’s words, Nezuko took his hand and left the mountain.
"...What is the meaning of this?!"
"...Huh? ...What is...?"
Of course, the woman who saw this was left looking utterly dumbfounded.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register