Demon Slayer: Path of Redemption

Humanity has a dark side, and this cannot be denied. Even saints inevitably harbor dark thoughts.

But alas, the glimmering aspects of humanity are what truly deserve attention, the sacred brilliance that cannot be ignored.

Goodness, perseverance, courage, loyalty, tolerance, resilience...

These countless points of light are like innumerable dazzling stars hanging in the night sky, radiating brilliantly and dispelling the darkness.

And the demons with twisted minds—greed, cruelty, brutality, selfishness, lies...

They possess only hideously ugly qualities, as if all the good in humanity has been stripped away, leaving only profound evil. These evils form demons.

"A mere three parts of human nature not yet learned, yet seven parts of beastliness already deeply rooted."

"You, a chaotic evil demon, who only follows the bestial instincts of your heart, what right do you have to discuss the principles of Life, human morality, and the workings of nature with me?"

Yamibari: "......"

You're a demon too, you damn brat! Do you really think of yourself as human?

However, Akihiro truly considered himself human. Transformed into an evil demon, he wielded a human heart to drive his demon body. His blade would only be raised against man-eating demons.

Yamibari was now seething with rage. Seven parts beastliness? Demons are a higher form of life than humans! How dare he compare me to a beast?

"A weakness!"

Akihiro keenly noticed Yamibari's anomaly. In battle, unnecessary emotions are fatal; anger is forbidden, and so is fear.

Only by rationally launching appropriate attacks and rationally defending against the opponent's killing moves can one achieve victory in battle.

"Blazing Feathers: Heaven-Piercing Blade!"

In the previous close-quarters combat, Akihiro had not used Blazing Feathers at all, only for acceleration or leverage. This wasn't because Blazing Feathers genuinely lacked energy and couldn't be used.

Instead, Akihiro intended to lull Yamibari into a false sense of security, quietly waiting for Yamibari to relax his guard against Blazing Feathers, waiting for Yamibari to expose a weakness.

Akihiro, in battle, seemed to have transformed into a cold, emotionless fighting machine. Although his actions were wild, engaging in a furious exchange of blows with Yamibari, his inner self remained largely undisturbed.

Blazing Feathers had another use, but if he used it lightly, it would only be evaded by Yamibari, and serious injury would be trivial.

Therefore, Akihiro needed to make a decisive strike, to use Blazing Feathers at the instant that would determine the outcome of the battle, to end it.

He feigned anger only to convey to Yamibari the message that he was unlikely to use Blazing Feathers again. Fortunately, Yamibari fell for it.

The Hinokami Kagura had already made Akihiro's bones groan under the strain. If Yamibari had not exposed a weakness, but instead fought him in a crazed but cautious manner, Akihiro would have been helpless.

But thankfully, an opportunity arose.

In his fury, Yamibari relaxed the vigilance he had always maintained against Blazing Feathers. Before, even while trading blows, Yamibari had always been wary of Akihiro's Blazing Feathers, ready to disengage at the slightest movement.

Now, Yamibari had almost completely abandoned his defense, unleashing his full power to attack Akihiro.

After abandoning cautious defense for an all-out attack, one of Yamibari's grotesque claws mercilessly lunged towards Akihiro's neck with no reservations. The angle was tricky, and the speed was swift.

The sharp nails, connected to his knuckles, directly pierced Akihiro's neck, causing Akihiro intense pain. Yamibari's eyes gleamed viciously, poised to violently tear off Akihiro's neck.

However, at this moment, his vision suddenly brightened, and a sharp white light slashed down.

Yamibari subconsciously raised his demon-slaying blade to block, but the blade, hastily raised, lacked much force and was directly cleaved open.

In an emergency, Yamibari tilted his head, feeling something cut him. The next second, half of his body felt as if it were on fire, and his left claw, grasping Akihiro, also lost its strength, loosening limply.

"You... weren't you unable to use your Blood Demon Art anymore?"

Akihiro's throat was torn, and he spoke in a hoarse, grating voice: "That was a lie, of course."

"Idiot, you've been fooled by me three times."

"If our strengths were similar, you would have already died three times over..."

Blood gushed from his throat with each word, so Akihiro quickly fell silent, merely looking at Yamibari with an unreadable gaze.

Yamibari's body, from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist, had a faintly glowing white line.

Akihiro pushed with his hand, and Yamibari's body split into two irregular halves, falling to the ground.

The massive wound on Yamibari's body was charred black, with no blood flowing. This was the high-temperature damage carried by the Blazing Feathers.

Just now, as Yamibari grabbed Akihiro's neck, the incandescent white wings on Akihiro's back, which had been like decorations in close combat, shot up sharply and swiftly.

The sharply edged feathers, tightly and densely arranged, then resembled a three-meter-long gigantic white wing-blade, fiercely and sharply slashing downwards towards Yamibari's head, intending to cleave Yamibari in half from the middle.

However, Yamibari's reaction was decent; he tilted his head to avoid the head, but the outcome was already sealed. This merely bought him a moment more to breathe.

Yamibari frantically mobilized energy and stamina to try and mend his body, but injuries like being cut in half couldn't be easily mended.

Not to mention, Akihiro's Blazing Feather attack carried a peculiar sunlight energy, causing him immense pain and weakening Yamibari's recovery effect.

Propping himself with one hand, Yamibari struggled, grabbing the demon-slaying blade beside him with his other hand. He needed to buy time to recover.

But Akihiro had learned his lesson this time. He didn't give Yamibari a chance to recover. The white blazing feather slashed down again, this time aiming for Yamibari's neck.

The heavily wounded Yamibari was powerless to resist. His blade hadn't even been raised before the white blazing feather severed his neck.

At that moment, Yamibari's body stiffened, completely losing its strength.

His body was turning into black and red ashes, rising into the air.

"This feeling... am I dying?"

"How can this be? There's no sunlight, and I wasn't decapitated by a Nichirin Blade. Why am I dying?"

"This newly born demon's Blazing Feathers possess the same lethality as a Nichirin Blade..."

"But why do I no longer feel pain, but instead feel warm, like when I was human and bathed in sunlight..."

"So, sunlight is truly this warm? I've forgotten the feeling of bathing in sunlight for so long. No wonder that person was so persistent."

"I remember now. I remember why I always stayed in this small town and didn't want to leave."

"I'm sorry, Nanako, I never waited for you after all..."

Under Akihiro's astonished gaze, Yamibari was turning into black and red ashes. Akihiro didn't know what was happening.

"What's going on?"

"My Blood Demon Art, these incandescent white wings, can actually kill demons?"

"This is great! I thought only sunlight could kill demons, but I, as a demon, also fear sunlight, which is very inconvenient. Now, I have even more confidence in dealing with demons."

At this moment, Akihiro was unaware of the existence of Nichirin Blades.

Just then, a strong instinctive urge emanated from the incandescent white wings on Akihiro's back. This feeling... was somewhat like wanting to eat.

Akihiro's thought moved, and he followed the instinct of the incandescent white wings.

In an instant, a suction force came from the incandescent white wings.

The black and red ashes that Yamibari had turned into flew entirely into the incandescent white wings, like swallows returning to their nest.

Akihiro's face turned pale with shock.

"What the hell, don't just eat anything!"

"This is a demon. What if something goes wrong from eating it?"

Just then, the incandescent white wings flashed with light, and a memory stream filled with sadness surged into Akihiro's mind...

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