"The regeneration is insane."
Vincent let out a low sigh, then shared a look with Tanjiro.
The two of them would have to move as one.
"One of us cuts through the flesh, the other smashes the bone," Tanjiro said calmly, analysing the situation out loud as they both shifted into their stances.
Just as they were about to move, the situation changed again.
A wall of meat surged up right in front of them.
Eyes sprouted all over the pulsing flesh.
They were caught off guard and hit by the Blood Demon Art.
But both of them already knew how to break out of Enmu's dreams. There was no way they were just going to roll over and accept it.
Inside the dream, Tanjiro drew his blade across his neck without hesitation.
He woke up.
The moment his eyes opened, he was caught again.
Sleep.
Cut his own neck.
Wake.
Tanjiro repeated this cycle over and over.
In the end, his mind went numb.
He could no longer tell dream from reality.
Once again, his Nichirin Sword was pressed against his throat.
"Stop! Do you not care about your own life anymore?"
Vincent appeared beside him and grabbed his arm.
"This is not a dream. This is reality."
"Do not throw your life away like an idiot."
The sound of Vincent's voice finally cut through the haze in Tanjiro's mind.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
Vincent stepped past him and slashed the huge eye in front of them open.
"Mr. Fox, forgive me for asking, but… why were you not hypnotised?" Tanjiro asked quietly as the two of them stood back to back.
"Because my eyes are closed."
At that moment, Vincent had the Byakugan active.
Its perception pierced through his own eyelids, but Enmu's Blood Demon Art could not tell that his "gaze" was still seeing everything.
The meat surged again.
Countless hands made of flesh formed out of the walls and ceiling, clawing toward them.
The two men's blades flashed, hacking apart the grasping limbs around them.
Enmu's regeneration speed had clearly jumped to another level.
"Fall back first."
Vincent gave the order and the two of them retreated from the engine.
Enmu had no intention of letting them go.
More and more flesh exploded outward, lashing toward them like a storm.
"If this keeps up, it is not just us. Inosuke and the others will not hold out either."
They had no choice.
Both of them leapt high, blades moving in a blur as they dropped, cutting apart the forest of grasping flesh below.
Right before they touched down, eyes opened all over the surface of the meat beneath them.
"Tanjiro, close your eyes!"
Vincent shouted.
His Nichirin Blade stabbed into the nearest eye, then he sprinted across the front of the engine.
The weapon was drenched in blood, only for Vincent's flames to flash and burn it dry again.
"Your turn. Break the flesh."
With a low growl, Tanjiro opened his eyes, risking the hypnosis.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form, Constant Flux!"
Cascades of water roared into existence around him.
The flowing current of his sword cut through every wall of flesh blocking their way, tearing open the path to the neck once more.
The meat exploded.
And surged again.
By now, Enmu's regeneration speed bordered on absurd.
The new flesh swelled up and covered the exposed vertebra in an instant.
Tanjiro frowned.
The breath at his lips shifted, the rhythm changing.
For a brief moment, the aura around him turned to flame.
Hinokami Kagura.
Clear Blue Sky.
Fire carved a graceful arc in mid air.
The neck bone was exposed again.
Vincent struck the instant the opening appeared.
He slid his blade back into its sheath and lowered his fist to his waist.
Serious Punch.
Boom.
His right fist slammed into the vertebra.
With a sickening crack, the neck bone and the flesh of the Mugen Train around it detonated.
Even with Vincent holding back, the entire engine car shuddered violently.
The whole train jumped off the tracks, swaying wildly, almost tipping over entirely.
Inside the cars, Enmu's neck snapped.
He howled, voice raw and crazed, as flesh exploded outward everywhere.
He was burning through the last of his strength.
Because he had finally found the boy with the hanafuda earrings.
If he could kill that one, Muzan Kibutsuji would surely reward him with more blood.
"Maybe… Lord Muzan might even resurrect me."
Enmu drowned himself in his own fantasy.
Flesh burst from the walls, ceiling, and floor, lashing toward the Demon Slayers and the two hundred passengers alike.
The responses from the Demon Slayer Corps were faster.
"Beast Breathing, Tenth Fang, Circular Fanged Spiral!"
Inosuke howled, gripping his twin blades as he spun like a drill.
Every tendril that came near him was shredded to pieces.
"Beast Breathing, Eighth Fang, Explosive Rush!"
He stopped spinning, then charged like a wild boar, bouncing and ricocheting through the carriage.
Under his swords, Enmu's desperate death throes achieved nothing.
At the same time, Kyojuro Rengoku felt the danger spike.
Flames roared around him again.
A streak of fire ripped through over half the train, blasting apart every lump of flesh in its path.
Nezuko was still fighting.
Pink flames burst from her palms again and again.
Her own body was a weapon too. Countless flesh hands were smashed apart under her fists and kicks.
Enmu continued his death struggle, making the entire train shake and lurch.
"Get ready."
Vincent's tone was calm as he stood on the front of the engine, bracing himself for what came next.
The train finally toppled.
Cars tore off the rails and rolled, throwing everyone inside into the darkness.
Vincent stepped into the air with a brief use of Flight, then planted his foot on a patch of sticky flesh and dropped smoothly to the ground.
Tanjiro was not so lucky.
He tumbled and rolled across the earth until the momentum finally died. He lay still, unconscious.
Vincent sprinted to him and hauled him up, one arm under his back.
He pressed two fingers to Tanjiro's neck.
"There is still a heartbeat. He should be fine."
A quick check told him everything he needed to know.
Tanjiro's bones had all taken some level of damage. He would not be fit to fight again any time soon.
By then, the derailed train had ground to a complete stop.
Once he laid Tanjiro carefully aside, Vincent ran toward the wreck.
One by one, people crawled out of shattered windows and torn-open cars.
Only when he saw that everyone was getting out did he finally let out a long breath.
No casualties.
On the ground nearby, a single lump of meat twitched and swelled.
Two blue eyes opened on its surface.
Upper Rank One's marking.
This was all that remained of Enmu's body.
"What… happened? Did I lose? Am I dying?"
He could feel his own existence flickering, fading.
He knew that death was close.
He just could not accept it.
He had fused with the train.
His plan to wipe them out in one stroke had been perfect.
And yet it had failed.
"It is all your fault. All of you."
Enmu screamed soundlessly, rage burning in his mind.
Two figures surfaced in his thoughts.
One was Kyojuro Rengoku, wreathed in fire.
The other was Vincent Fox, the man whose fist had shattered his neck.
"Are they… both Hashira?"
He could not believe it.
Had the Demon Slayer Corps really sent out two pillars just to stop him?
And then there was that yellow-haired brat. And that girl demon.
Why? Why was a demon fighting alongside Demon Slayers?
Enmu would never understand it.
And of course, there was Tanjiro.
He glared at the boy who annoyed him more than anyone else, lying closest to him now.
A final hand of flesh grew out from the lump and clawed across the dirt toward Tanjiro.
His last attempt to kill the boy.
But it was over.
The hand crumbled away, along with his unwilling consciousness, dispersing into dust on the ruined ground.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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