Demon Slayer : Heir to the Moon

My body screamed in protest, a symphony of agony. Shattered ribs ground against each other with every shallow breath, sending jolts of white-hot pain through my chest. My lungs burned, each inhale a struggle against the weight of my own exhaustion. I lay sprawled in the cold, unforgiving mud, the relentless rain pelting my skin, each drop a tiny hammer driving me deeper into despair. Above me, the sky blazed with hundreds of fiery spears, a deadly constellation of crimson and gold, each one a harbinger of my impending doom. Ichiro loomed over me, his silhouette framed by the blazing inferno of his Blood Demon Art: Crimson Spear Shower. His eyes gleamed with triumph, a predator savoring the moment before the kill.

Despair, cold and absolute, threatened to consume me. In that moment, all I could see was Yuki's face—her gentle smile, her eyes full of love, now forever extinguished. I had failed her, just as I had failed my family. The memories crashed over me like a tidal wave, the night of the massacre, the helplessness, the weakness. I was back there again, someone powerless to save those he loved. This was it. This was how it ended. Just like before. I failed them all.

But then, a single, chilling thought cut through the chaos, sharper than any blade. No. Not again. I would not fail. Not again. Yuki... my family... I would not let this monster win. Even if I died here, he would not take another step. I will keep fighting. I won't give up till my last breath, because it's not over until I win.

A cold, absolute resolve, born from the depths of despair, solidified within me. It wasn't rage, it was a terrifying stillness, an unyielding determination.

The world around me shifted. The pounding rain, the roaring thunder, Ichiro's triumphant snarl—they didn't fade, but became distant, muted, like sounds heard through thick glass. My vision didn't blur, it became unnervingly sharp, almost monochromatic, stripping away all non-essential detail. The falling raindrops became individual, suspended spheres of light. The exact, minute trajectories of each fiery spear, the subtle energy flowing within Ichiro's Blood Demon Art, became perfectly, horrifyingly clear. I saw the very flow of demonic blood within Ichiro's body, the subtle shifts in his posture, the minute weaknesses in his form.

A searing heat, sharp and intense, erupted from my solar plexus, surging upwards through my chest and limbs. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drum beating over 200 beats per minute, threatening to burst from my chest.

My body temperature soared, a feverish inferno burning from within, yet it felt strangely exhilarating, sharpening every nerve. The torrent of rain hitting my superheated skin instantly vaporized into thick steam, creating a dense, billowing mist that billowed around me, obscuring me slightly. The air around me crackled with an intense, new power.

As the hundreds of fiery spears began their descent, their crimson glow flashed across the rain-slicked ground, illuminating the puddles around me. In one brief, blinding reflection, I saw my own face staring back from the murky water. A pattern, like jagged shadows or swirling mist, bloomed dark against my forehead and along my jawline. A mark. My breath hitched, not from pain, but from the sheer, impossible sight.

Time itself seemed to fracture and stretch, pulling apart into infinitely discernible moments. The world didn't just slow, it became a series of frozen painting, each detail etched with impossible clarity. The individual raindrops hung suspended in the air, glittering like tiny diamonds. The way the light from Ichiro's fiery spears caught on each droplet, creating faint, shimmering rainbows. My battered body, moments ago screaming in agony, now felt impossibly lightweight, as if gravity itself had released its hold. It was like I was floating, untethered, every muscle humming with a silent, boundless energy. The world felt so vibrantly colorful, every hue intensified, every shadow deepened, as if a veil had been lifted from my eyes.

I slowly, deliberately, shifted into my stance. It was an effortless motion, my limbs moving with a fluidity I'd never known. Usually, I'd draw a deep, focused breath, gathering my strength before unleashing any heavy technique. But now, there was no need. My body already possessed an inherent, perfect momentum, a silent, flowing power that anticipated my every move, a rhythm that was both ancient and utterly new.

Shadow Breathing: Seventh Form – Lunar Eclipse Dance!

I charged towards the descending army of fiery spears, a silent, dark blur against the chaotic backdrop of rain and fire. It felt less like running and more like flying, gliding effortlessly through the suspended deluge. The hundreds of spears, once a terrifying onslaught, now drifted downwards at a turtle's pace, each a predictable, easily avoidable target. My blade, an extension of my will, moved with smooth, clean motions, slicing through them one after another. I was literally dancing amidst the descending fire, a solitary, graceful figure destroying an entire legion. Each cut was a perfect, effortless act of destruction, the dying sizzle of extinguished flames a satisfying whisper in the hyper-clear air.

In no time, I had utterly destroyed every single spear, the air filled with the faint, dying sizzle of extinguished flames. Without losing a single ounce of momentum, I continued my flow, my dance, directly towards Ichiro. My enhanced vision allowed me to see every muscle, every vein, every flow of blood inside his body, a transparent map of his inner workings. I could predict his next movement before he even conceived it, seeing the minute contractions in his muscles, the subtle shifts in his blood flow. But he couldn't move. His muscles remained frozen, his body still, utterly awed by the impossible spectacle he had just witnessed. I saw the fear in his eyes for the first time—the raw, primal fear of danger, the absolute terror of death. He was utterly paralyzed, a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming train, completely at my mercy.

To Be Continued…

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Kazanami (Demon Ichiro) is slightly weaker than former upper moon 6 Gyutaro.

Author here. Almost 50 chapters in to the story, but still no visible rating on the book. Come on guys, Review the book.