Demon Slayer: Tanjiro becomes a ghost, Nezuko becomes a pillar!

Chapter 164 Upper Moon Three - Akaza

The voice was deep and icy, yet it carried a hint of nonchalant mockery.

It wasn't harsh, but it was so cold it made your bones ache.

It wasn't violent, but it carried an absolute pressure that left no room for resistance, locking down every inch of Tanjiro's bones and muscles.

Even turning my neck became unusually heavy.

Tanjiro's heart skipped a beat.

This sense of oppression—

It's more suffocating than nightmares, more suffocating than the blood demon magic of those three lower moons.

He instinctively gripped his Nichirin Blade, the tip of which was steadily pointing in the direction of the sound, but he couldn't even turn around.

The next second, a cold, iron-like right hand, brimming with explosive power, suddenly landed on his shoulder.

It was a chilling temperature—

The force wasn't great, but it gripped him like an iron clamp, fixing him in place and making it difficult to even breathe.

"hello."

That cold, mocking voice rang directly in his ear, the sound waves carrying a slight vibration, like an invisible hand gently pinching his eardrum.

"My name is—Iwaza!"

Three words, each syllable a heavy hammer blow, slammed into Tanjiro's mind.

What followed was an aura of pressure remarkably similar to Muzan's, yet far more outward and domineering—

A domineering attitude stemming from being in a superior position and naturally looking down on the weak.

Tanjiro's Adam's apple bobbed, and he exhaled with difficulty.

He mustered all his strength to slowly turn his stiff neck and look at his side.

Just then, the thick clouds in the night sky were torn open by the night wind.

A ray of bright moonlight suddenly poured down, landing steadily on the ghost.

The next moment, Tanjiro's breathing stopped instantly.

It was a face that was... almost eerily beautiful.

Her short pink hair swayed gently in the night breeze, the edges of her hair shimmering slightly. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, yet she wore a careless smile that bordered on cruel.

The smile wasn't fierce; it was even somewhat cheerful.

But there was no warmth in those eyes, only pure mockery, contempt, and a kind of pleasure in "treating you as a toy".

The moment Tanjiro met his gaze, it felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen.

Those golden pupils, bright as the embers after a scorching sun, were clearly etched with a deep red mark—

String three.

The Twelve Ghost Months, the Third Moon of the Upper Quarter, Akaza.

[The Upper Moon...it's actually the Upper Moon...]

Tanjiro's heart sank.

He had never felt the "class gap" so clearly before.

Nightmare is the lowest of the Lower Moons, but compared to Nightmare, the aura emanating from this demon is on a completely different level—

It's like the absolute disparity between a living person facing a demon and a demon facing Muzan.

He could even smell it.

That ghostly aura, a mixture of blood and murderous intent—

The stench was so strong it almost filled his nostrils, like an invisible mountain pressing down from his head to his feet, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

That was... a smell just as terrifying as Muzan's.

Akaza glanced at Tanjiro's stiff expression and tilted his head slightly.

His smile remained nonchalant, but his tone carried undisguised contempt:

"Oh? You're not going to tell me your name?"

"Forget it, I don't need to ask someone as weak as you."

He spoke casually, yet it struck Tanjiro's heart like a cold stone.

Tanjiro bit his lower lip, his shoulders aching from being gripped so tightly, but he still tried his best to maintain his posture and not let himself look pathetic.

He slightly tightened his fingertips, preparing to raise his knife to counterattack, even if it was just a momentary probing.

But the next second—

"Click."

A sharp, piercing sound of bone cracking suddenly rang out in the silent night sky.

Immediately following was a sharp pain in my shoulder.

The pain exploded from deep within his bones, like countless bone fragments piercing his flesh, causing Tanjiro's vision to suddenly go white, and he almost collapsed to his knees.

It...crushed my shoulder...

Cold sweat instantly soaked through my back.

Tanjiro endured the excruciating pain without uttering a sound.

His demonized body began frantically repairing his shoulder.

Tanjiro looked up at Akaza, whose hand, which was resting on his shoulder, was still firmly clasped.

It was as if his bones could be easily broken with a casual pinch.

Akaza glanced down at Tanjiro's pained expression, a slight smile playing on his lips, his eyes filled with even more mockery:

"How fragile."

"If you become a ghost and this is still your level, then I won't hold back."

His tone was calm, yet it carried a blatant provocation.

Tanjiro took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He must not panic.

As the demonization process accelerated, his body rapidly recovered.

Tanjiro's eyes turned cold, even though Akaza's hand hadn't left his shoulder.

But he still exerted all his strength, slowly raising the Nichirin Blade until its tip pointed at Akaza's chest—

wrong.

Just as the Nichirin Blade had risen an inch—

Tanjiro suddenly felt a strange emptiness in his abdomen.

He lowered his head.

Suddenly, Akaza's other arm pierced through his abdomen as if by magic.

The palm of that hand held him firmly, its fingertips piercing from his stomach all the way down his back. The pain of his skin being torn came like a tidal wave, and warm blood dripped slowly down his arm.

Tanjiro didn't even see him make a move.

I didn't see him move an inch, nor did I see him make a single move.

In the blink of an eye, the ghost had so easily pierced through his body.

[...I didn't see him move at all.]

An unprecedented fear crept up my spine and up to my head.

That was a more concrete and tangible sense of death than when facing Muzan—

It's a difference between "I could die at any moment, while the other person isn't even bothered to take it seriously."

Akaza looked down at Tanjiro, his gaze disdainful, his tone languid:

"The reaction was too slow."

Akaza then approached Tanjiro's face, and after seeing Tanjiro's incredulous and desperate expression, he smiled.

"Come on, let me see what kind of strength you have, this demon who betrayed Lord Muzan."

"Blood Demon Art: Blazing Inferno!"

Tanjiro knew that if he didn't fight desperately against such an opponent, his sister, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Rengoku would be in dire straits.

So, as soon as Akaza finished speaking, Tanjiro immediately activated his Blood Demon Art.

Akaza's eyes lit up with excitement as he watched Tanjiro unleash his Blood Demon Slayer technique and his body burst into flames.

He didn't care at all that the flames were burning his arms.

"Oh!! So this is your Blood Demon Art? Go for it, let me see your strength!"

Akaza said excitedly, then suddenly pulled out his sword and pierced Tanjiro's arm.

The flames had burned his arm down to bone, but Akaza didn't seem to care at all.

He then swung his arm violently, and the half of his arm, still engulfed in flames, was snapped off.

Tanjiro was stunned at first when he saw this scene, but then he was completely dumbfounded.

Akaza's arm recovered almost instantly, a speed of recovery that left him momentarily stunned.

Immediately afterwards—

Akaza was suddenly enveloped in a cool, blue light.

The chilling ghostly energy transformed into hexagonal snowflake patterns, which then unfolded with a roar beneath his feet.

Akaza then assumed a samurai stance and chuckled softly.

"Hahaha, begin, the spell unfolds!"