Chapter 74: Fire God Kagura. Furious Zero!

Boom!

Another kick sent Shinobu flying far away.

The force was so great that Shinobu spat out another mouthful of blood.

“Cough… so strong! Stronger than any demon I’ve faced so far! Is this one of the Twelve Kizuki?! If even a Lower Moon is this powerful, then what about the Upper Moons Zero-brother faced?!”

Nezuko, hanging upside down by spider silk, watched her brother fight the demon alone and tried to break free to help him!

But the silk’s strength was far beyond what she could currently break.

She could only roar in fury.

“Shut up. Be quiet for a moment.”

Shh!

Crack!

The spider silk around Nezuko tightened suddenly, her bones cracking under pressure.

Her wounds were pressed deeper, blood sliding down the silk.

“Nezuko! Stop it!!!” Shinobu shouted.

After struggling in vain, Nezuko slowly closed her eyes and fell into sleep.

“Huh? Passed out? Fell asleep? What an unusual demon—she feels different from the rest of us… fascinating!”

Huh~

Shinobu adjusted his ragged breathing—he knew now was no time for emotion.

The power gap between them was too great; he had to think calmly, or he’d play right into the enemy’s hands!!

“Focus. Control your breath. Release the most precise final form!”

Full Concentration!

Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Life-Flowing Turn!

This was the final and strongest form of Water Breathing—the more rotations, the greater the power!

Shinobu gripped his broken blade and charged forward like a water dragon, spinning his body.

“Don’t you understand this is meaningless?” Rui’s eyes filled with contempt as he saw Shinobu’s futile resistance.

He continued flinging out silk threads.

Unexpectedly, every thread he launched was severed by the broken blade.

“Cut! All cut! It’s possible!”

He pressed forward, closing the distance, determined to sever the demon’s neck!

Rui, too, realized the truth behind it.

He noticed that with each rotation, the power increased—something troublesome.

But only troublesome, nothing more.

“Hey, you don’t think this is the maximum strength of my silk, do you?”

Rui’s hands were coated in blood, which coalesced into threads.

All threads turned from white to red, their hardness strengthened several times over!

Blood Demon Art: Threaded Prison!

Instantly, a terrifying aura enveloped Shinobu; crimson spider silk surrounded him on all sides.

If he tried to break through, even his Nichirin Blade would be sliced into fragments!

“No… this silk can’t be cut! Its aura is completely different from before! Not enough rotations—I can’t cut it! I can’t lose…!”

“Die… I’ll die…”

In that fleeting instant, Shinobu’s vision flashed with a series of memories.

“Shinobu… breathe…”

He recalled his father’s Fire God Dance from childhood.

Back then, his father was frail and sickly.

Yet every New Year, when he performed the Fire God Dance, he could dance continuously for three days and nights!

“Shinobu, look—your father is dancing the Kagura!”

“Our family has always served fire-related work. To avoid fire disasters, we perform this dance each New Year to pray to the Fire God…”

At the time, Shinobu was still young.

He didn’t understand how his frail father could dance so long in such heavy snow.

Childhood memories flooded Shinobu’s mind…

Later, his father told him—it was breathing.

Breathing had a method; if done correctly, one would never tire, no matter the task.

One could even accomplish things beyond ordinary humans…

“Shinobu, you must pass down this Kagura and this earring to every generation. We made a promise.”

Kagura… Breathing Technique…

In that instant, Shinobu’s thoughts returned to reality—unprecedented power erupted from his body!

Huh…

Fire God Kagura: Circular Dance!

Transformed from Water Breathing into Fire God Kagura, the water dragon became a fire dragon, shattering the silk prison and burning every thread to ash.

Then, he pressed forward without pause!

He knew clearly—even if the living threads were cut, new ones would instantly spread.

After forcibly switching from Water Breathing to Fire God Kagura, he could not retreat even an inch!

If he retreated, side effects would strike.

He’d be paralyzed.

Helpless before the demon.

Therefore, at this moment, no matter what lay ahead, he could not stop!

Rui never imagined his strongest threads would be burned through!

He accelerated his hand movements, launching more crimson spider silk to block Shinobu.

But now, Shinobu feared nothing—he cut through every thread with Fire God Kagura while closing the distance with each step!

Even as the silk slashed his body and drew blood, his determination to advance never wavered.

More threads appeared—but as Shinobu danced and slashed, all were reduced to ash!

“Don’t stop! Keep moving! Run! I must protect Nezuko!”

With unstoppable resolve, he pressed forward despite his battered body!

“This guy…!!” Rui, forced to retreat, manipulated his silk.

But this very action revealed the 【Thread of Flaw】 on his neck!

“I see it! 【Thread of Flaw】! Now’s my chance—I must defeat him! Even if it means dying with him, I’ll sever the demon’s neck!”

Meanwhile,

Nezuko, hanging upside down and unconscious, was being awakened by her father.

【Nezuko, wake up—Shinobu is in danger!】

【Shinobu needs help. Only you can save him…】

【If you don’t act, Shinobu will die!】

Suddenly, Nezuko’s eyes snapped open—her gaze changed.

The blood on her body and the silk turned crimson and began to burn.

Blood Demon Art: Bursting Blood!

Intense flames scorched the silk; Nezuko could even control the fire to burn whatever she willed.

The battle between Rui and Shinobu continued.

At that moment, a wave of flame surged between them, burning all of Rui’s threads to ash!

Ding!!

Shinobu burst from the flames, swinging his broken blade at Rui’s neck—there was a sharp crack!

The force exploded through the other side of his neck!

And the flames left no burn or injury on Shinobu.

“The bond between Nezuko and me—no one… can sever it!!!”

Boom!

Splat!

His broken blade slashed a flaming arc around Rui’s neck—severed instantly!

Combined with Nezuko’s blood dripping onto the blade, igniting even fiercer flames, the power surged again.

With the battle over, Rui’s head rolled to the side; Shinobu collapsed from physical overload.

In midair, the severed silk released Nezuko, who fell onto the ground nearby.

Seeing Nezuko, Shinobu struggled to rise and stagger toward her.

But the side effect of switching from Water Breathing to Fire God Kagura struck at once,

His body grew impossibly heavy, vision blurred, dizziness and ringing in his ears overwhelmed him.

He could only crawl forward bit by bit.

He even had to take Nezuko with him to help Inosuke.

“Nezuko… Nezuko…”

Suddenly, Tanjiro smelled a pungent odor in the air.

“Has the smell of blood grown stronger?!”

He recalled previous battles—those demons he had slain would slowly turn to ash.

But he hadn’t smelled that burning flesh odor just now, and his tense heart tightened again!

“Could it be…? But I clearly severed his neck!”

Behind him, the headless body of Lei slowly walked toward him.

Shu!

The headless body used its threads to lift Lei’s head.

Lei’s voice reached Tanjiro’s ears: “You think you’ve won? How pitiful! Are you happy drowning in delusions?”

“I cut my own neck with my threads. I’m done—I’ll kill you and your sister!”

Earlier, just as his neck was about to be severed, Lei had used his own threads to detach his head in advance.

That was how he avoided decapitation!

The headless body reattached Lei’s head to his neck. Now, Lei felt only rage and fury.

Tanjiro dragged his exhausted body, struggling to crawl toward his sister—he had to protect Nezuko.

“All I feel is anger! Why is it only you and your threads that didn’t burn? Why only me and my threads?”

“I don’t know if this is your sister’s power, but thank you for making me so agitated! Now, I’ll send you both to your deaths!”

“I’ll tear you both into a thousand pieces without mercy!”

Blood Demon Art: Killing Eye Cage!

The threads in his hands twisted like a child’s string game, weaving a web of silk that bound Tanjiro from all sides, ready to crush him in one go!

The air around Tanjiro choked him; his body felt sliced apart, blood streaming freely.

Suddenly, a figure dropped from midair, spinning his Nichirin Scythe rapidly and shattering every thread!

“Who’s here? Zenitsu?”

When he looked up, he saw that familiar figure.

“Sorry, Tanjiro, I’m late! You and little Nezuko have suffered! Leave him to me!”

“Zero-brother…”

The newcomer was Zero.

“If you can still move, keep an eye on little Nezuko!”

No sooner had he spoken than another figure appeared beside Tanjiro.

Tomioka Giyuu.

“Giyuu, you’re just in time. Take care of them two—I’ll handle him! Hehe…”

Tomioka Giyuu said nothing. He followed Zero’s instruction, drawing his Nichirin Blade and standing guard beside Tanjiro and Nezuko.

He sensed anger in Zero’s tone!

That kind of anger—he had never seen it before.

In the Demon Slayer Corps, he had never seen Zero angry. He always spoke and laughed calmly with everyone.

But this time…

It seemed the Lower Moon demon had crossed Zero’s line.

One after another, figures appeared before him. “Enough! One after another… a bunch of trash only getting in my way!”

Blood Demon Art: Carved Wheel Spin!

He manipulated his hardest threads, weaving a massive vortex-shaped cocoon and hurling it toward Zero.

Just as it neared Zero, a blue light erupted from his body, blocking it.

All threads snapped—unable to advance an inch!

“How is this possible?! My threads are useless against him?! I don’t believe it! Again!”

Blood Demon Art…

Boom!

Zero flashed before Lei and punched downward, driving his fist into the earth and cratering the ground.

Lei was dazed by the blow. When he opened his eyes again, he met Zero’s gaze—and fear surged within him!

It was as if he saw a black figure wreathed in crimson mist, eyes blazing red!

Like a death god come to claim his soul!

“Hey, I say—you seem awfully agitated~ Who gave you the courage?”

Thud!

A kick sent Lei flying, slamming him into a tree trunk—bones cracked audibly.

Crack!

The sheer force toppled the tree behind Lei.

These wounds meant nothing to Lei—he could regenerate them quickly.

But inside, he felt only humiliation.

Yet it wasn’t over. Zero appeared before him again and said: “I don’t even know why I’m so angry. Maybe because Tanjiro called me ‘brother’~ As a brother, failing to protect his younger siblings… it makes me feel awful.”

As a brother… protect younger siblings…

Those words echoed in Lei’s ears, reminding him of Nezuko shielding her brother just now.

Is this their bond?

Why? Why why why?

Why is their bond so strong?!

I want a bond like that too!

If I can’t have it, I’ll destroy it!

Blood Demon Art…

Boom!

Before Lei could activate his Blood Demon Art, another punch sent him crashing to the ground.

Blood spewed from his mouth.

As he reached out his hands to unleash his technique, Zero ripped both arms clean off!

“Aaaaaaah!!!” A heart-rending scream tore from Lei’s throat.

“The wounds on little Nezuko—were they your doing?”

Boom!

Another kick sent Lei flying, crashing into another tree.

From afar, Tanjiro felt that the Zero before him now seemed… strangely unfamiliar.

But hearing Zero fight for him and Nezuko filled his heart with warmth.

Instantly, Nezuko awoke.

Seeing Zero, she moved forward—but Tomioka Giyuu blocked her with his Nichirin Blade.

“Don’t come near!”

Nezuko was about to rage—then she saw Giyuu’s face and recognized him. She halted.

Instead, she returned to Tanjiro’s side and hugged him.

Seeing this, Tomioka Giyuu suddenly remembered who these siblings were!

He was about to speak when he suddenly sensed a killing intent locking onto Nezuko.

He lunged forward, raising his Nichirin Blade to block the attack!

Clang!

Weapons clashed, sparks flying.

“Mr. Tomioka, why are you stopping me?” The newcomer was Koyoharu Shinobu.

She was furious at Giyuu’s action.

As if she wouldn’t rest until he gave her a satisfactory explanation!

…………