Chapter 42: Wielding the Demon Slayer's Blade, Dancing the Demon-Slaying Dance
Tanjuro looked deeply at Tatsu, as if trying to find any hint of a joke on his face.
But all he saw was calmness and seriousness.
"Mr. Tatsu... you truly are a heaven-sent genius."
After a long time, Tanjuro slowly uttered these words, his tone carrying a trace of complex emotion.
"I never thought I would see someone with such comprehension in my lifetime."
Tatsu smiled and didn't dwell on the topic, instead stepping toward the center of the clearing.
"Talk is cheap."
Tatsu said as he walked, his eyes flashing with an eager light.
"Mr. Tanjuro, if you don't mind, I'd like to give it a try."
"Give it a try?"
Kanae was startled and quickly stepped forward, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Tatsu! You can't! You're... that..."
She was mindful of Tanjiro and Tanjuro's presence and didn't directly say the word "demon," but her eyes said everything.
It was already difficult enough for a demon to use a Breathing Style, let alone Sun Breathing, which was specifically designed to counter demons.
What was the difference between this and suicide?
"That power... the attributes clash too violently! You'll die!"
Kanae lowered her voice, urgently trying to dissuade him.
"I know you're special and don't eat people, but your physiological structure can't be changed."
Tatsu stopped and turned to look at Kanae, his gaze softening slightly.
"Don't worry, Kanae.
I know what I'm doing.
Besides, with you by my side, if anything goes wrong, you'll save me, right?"
Looking into Tatsu's deep crimson eyes, Kanae's cheeks flushed slightly.
Her worry miraculously calmed down a bit.
She bit her lip and finally nodded.
"Alright... but if you notice anything wrong, please stop immediately!
I'll be ready to stop you at any moment."
As a Hashira-level expert who had mastered a Breathing Style, she was confident she could stop him the moment he lost control.
"Okay."
Tatsu promised.
Then, he turned his gaze to Tanjiro, who was still standing there in a daze.
What was about to happen might be a bit "intense."
For a demon to use Sun Breathing was no different from dancing on a blade's edge—it was practically suicide.
Although he was confident, he couldn't guarantee that no anomalies would occur during the process.
Such as demon energy leaking out, or regeneration after his body collapsed.
He didn't want the young Tanjiro to see these images.
"Tanjiro."
Tatsu crouched down to eye level with Tanjiro and said with a smile.
"Could you do me a favor and go check on your younger siblings first?
I'm a bit worried about Nezuko taking care of them all by herself."
"Huh?"
Tanjiro was stunned, a bit confused.
"But... Nezuko is very capable... and Mom is home too...
I want to see Mr. Tatsu dance..."
He really wanted to see if this big brother had truly learned it.
"Tanjiro."
Just then, Tanjuro's voice rang out at the right time.
Tanjuro stood there quietly, looking at Tatsu with a deep gaze.
He was a smart man and a kind one.
He understood that Tatsu must have a reason for sending Tanjiro away.
"Listen to Mr. Tatsu and go back."
"It just so happens I need you to check if the furnace fire has gone out."
Hearing his father speak, although Tanjiro still felt a bit regretful.
The obedience he had cultivated since childhood made him nod immediately.
"Alright, Father."
Tanjiro replied obediently, then bowed to Tatsu and Kanae.
"Then Mr. Tatsu, Sister Kanae, I'll head back now."
With that, the small figure turned and ran toward the warm little wooden hut, stepping over withered branches and fallen leaves.
Watching Tanjiro's back disappear at the end of the forest, Tatsu breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned around, looked at Kanae, and held out his right hand.
"Kanae, let me borrow your sword for a moment."
"Eh?"
Kanae was stunned for a moment, then realized.
Dancing required a prop, and Tanjuro's seven-branched sword was a ritual artifact that outsiders shouldn't touch lightly.
She did not hesitate and reached down to unfasten the peach-colored nichirin sword at her waist.
"Here."
Tatsu took the nichirin sword.
The sword felt heavy in his hand; the scabbard was decorated with exquisite patterns and emitted a faint floral fragrance.
"Clang—"
Tatsu drew the sword from its scabbard.
A cold light flashed, and the pink blade looked exceptionally eerie and beautiful under the moonlight.
The words "Destroyer of Demons" were engraved on the blade.
At this moment, these four words in the hands of the "demon" Tatsu.
Seemed somewhat ironic, yet also like a fated coincidence.
"A fine blade."
Tatsu praised with a raised eyebrow, his fingers gently brushing over the spine of the blade.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to adjust his breathing.
In his mind, he replayed every move and every detail Tanjuro had just performed.
The demon blood in his body began to boil, and the power that originally belonged to darkness and coldness.
Was forcibly twisted at this moment by some strange will.
He was going to use a demon's body to harness the power of the sun.
This was going against nature; this was seeking death.
But Tatsu didn't care.
What he wanted was this pleasure of breaking limits.
What he wanted was to master the strongest power in this world.
"Whoosh—"
Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Tatsu snapped his eyes open.
His pupils turned crimson in an instant, like burning lava.
The opening stance.
Tatsu's body moved.
Not as soft as Tanjuro's, Tatsu's movements were sharper and more domineering.
If Tanjuro's dance was a prayer, then Tatsu's dance was a conquest.
Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance.
He swung the peach-colored nichirin sword violently, tracing a perfect arc in the air.
At that very instant—
"Boom!"
A terrifying high temperature erupted from within Tatsu's body.
Tatsu felt his cells screaming and wailing.
The solar energy brought by Sun Breathing clashed violently with the demon cells in his body.
It was like pouring water into a boiling pot of oil.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"
White smoke began to rise from the surface of his skin—the sound of flesh being scorched.
His right hand gripping the hilt instantly turned charred black.
But in the next second, his powerful regenerative ability caused new flesh to grow.
Destruction and rebirth were playing out simultaneously at this moment.
"So hot! So painful! But... it feels great!"
Tatsu roared in his heart, his expression becoming somewhat distorted due to the pain.
He did not stop; instead, he pushed the Breathing Style even more violently.
Flames truly appeared.
Though only for a moment, both Kanae and Tanjuro clearly saw.
A layer of crimson-gold flames had actually wrapped around that peach-colored nichirin sword!
"This... this is..."
Kanae covered her mouth in horror; she could feel the destructive power contained within those flames.
That was definitely not something an ordinary swordsman could display.
"Tatsu's hands... are... are burning..."
Tanjuro's eyes also widened, and a look of shock appeared on his usually calm face.
"Using the body as fuel to light the heart's fire..."
Tanjuro murmured to himself.
"Who... exactly is he?"
In this silent spring night, atop Mount Kumotori.
A demon named Tatsu was wielding a Demon Slayer's blade and performing the dance to slay demons.
The first form was complete.
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