Demon Slayer: The Wolverine Template

It was that familiar space of consciousness again.

Takeo found himself here once more.

He held two swords in his hands, but the playful expression he'd worn when sparring with 2B was completely gone.

2B seemed to sense the change as well. This time, she didn't attack immediately. Instead, she stood still, silently locking eyes with Takeo.

Though her eyes were covered by a black visor, he could feel her gaze meeting his.

Neither of them spoke.

Takeo said nothing. And 2B, as usual, remained wordless—she hadn't uttered a single word since her appearance.

For a long while, Takeo simply stared at her. Eventually, he shifted his gaze down to the two swords he gripped tightly.

The blades were identical to his real Nichirin swords. They weren't pristine—far from it. Both bore clear marks of battle. One even had a visible crack running along the edge, a scar left from previous fights against demons.

In this space of consciousness, whatever Takeo was most familiar with would manifest as projections.

That was why the swords here mirrored the very ones he wielded in the real world.

Takeo studied the worn blades for a moment longer. Then he slowly raised his head and looked back at 2B.

His voice was quiet, steady—but heavy.

"I've lost another friend."

2B said nothing.

With his eyes lowered, hidden beneath the shadow of his hair, Takeo spoke softly, his voice heavy.

"He died… in a battle with a demon. Just like my last friend."

"There were many reasons for his death. The demon was too cunning. It used hostages… it was fast..."

Takeo paused for a moment, then continued, his voice tightening.

"…But those aren't the real reasons. The real reason is… I'm too weak."

He slowly lifted his head. A faint glimmer flickered in his eyes beneath the shadows as he admitted:

"Yeah… I'm too weak. I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I haven't worked nearly as hard as I should have. Otherwise… the Hinokami Kagura... I should've remembered it a long time ago."

"..."

"Maybe… if I'd remembered it a day earlier… or an hour… or even just a minute sooner… my friend wouldn't have died."

"But... reality doesn't have a 'maybe.'"

Takeo let out a long breath, lifting his gaze fully to face 2B standing before him.

He wanted to say something more. There were so many things tangled in his throat.

But in the end… all those words, all those emotions, condensed into a single sentence:

"I want to apologize to you, 2B… because today… I'm going to kill you. Right here."

The instant the words left his mouth, Takeo surged forward, his body igniting with dancing flames—like a fire dragon racing toward 2B!

Faster than before.

Stronger than ever.

The Hinokami Kagura placed a tremendous burden on the body. If the body wasn't trained to withstand it, every use would tear muscle, strain organs, and damage the very bones holding the body together.

Maybe… maybe it was because of this that his father, Tanjuro Kamado, had died so young.

But for Takeo...

That cost might as well not exist.

Will it burden the body? Will it cause damage?

With his enhanced recovery ability, none of that mattered anymore.

The deep, penetrating wounds from his fight with the Shadow Demon had already healed completely within a single day. Just one day after that brutal battle, Takeo was back at his peak.

That was why he could wield the Hinokami Kagura without hesitation—without restraint!

The sheer power and speed granted by the Hinokami Kagura far exceeded anything ordinary Breathing Techniques could offer.

Takeo's strength… his speed… both now towered over his former self.

For the first time, he could fight 2B on equal footing—head-to-head!

Blades clashed, sending arcs of fire through the air. Shockwaves rippled through the burning aura of the Hinokami Kagura, colliding with Takeo as he charged forward, undeterred.

The sharp gleam of Virtuous Contract clashed violently against Takeo's dual Nichirin swords.

2B tried to reach for the massive greatsword strapped to her back—White Promise—but Takeo's unrelenting assault left her no opening to draw it.

The tide had turned.

After being pushed back for so long, Takeo was finally the one pressing forward.

He was the one suppressing 2B now.

The flames blazed even hotter. His fiery red hair, his crimson eyes—they burned as fiercely as the inferno around him, the color intensified by the firelight.

His swords practically dripped with flame, as if stained red with molten steel. Crossing his twin blades, Takeo unleashed an attack that roared like a feral beast.

Wolf Breathing, Sixth Form—

Fusing the immense power of the Hinokami Kagura with the Breathing Technique he had developed himself, Takeo transcended his limits.

This was the apex of his strength—his most powerful move to date.

——Flame Wolf!!

Awooo——!

A faint wolf howl echoed within the blaze as Takeo was surrounded by the fiery silhouette of a wolf.

Within the collision of wind and fire, the blazing wolf—wielding both elements—lunged forward, its flaming jaws clamping down onto 2B's body!

At that instant, Takeo's twin blades crossed—one on either side of 2B's neck.

Without hesitation, he struck.

Her head, still wrapped in the black visor, was severed cleanly. It flew into the air, spinning through the void of the consciousness space.

But Takeo didn't relax. Not even for a moment.

His swords flipped, and he immediately followed up with another attack—

Wolf Breathing, Fifth Form – Eightfold Fang!

He hadn't forgotten 2B's ability—[Restart]—nor the fact that she could regenerate her entire body.

And just as he expected…

A new head was already forming atop 2B's body. The seamless reconstruction, the flawless mechanical precision—it was so uncanny that Takeo felt, for a brief moment, like he was fighting a Terminator.

But he didn't let up.

The flurry of strikes from Eightfold Fang rained down like a violent storm. Countless wolf fang-shaped slashes carved into 2B's body in the blink of an eye—bite after bite, relentless and merciless.

Desperate, 2B summoned the last of her strength. Her hand shot back, gripping the massive sword strapped to her back.

With one swift motion, she drew White Promise—its enormous blade swung down in a wide arc, aiming directly for Takeo's head!

She wasn't trying to kill him outright—she was trying to force him to retreat. To buy herself even a moment to breathe.

But Takeo didn't dodge.

Instead, he tilted his head just enough to avoid a fatal strike—and then let his shoulder take the full force of White Promise.

His enhanced regeneration kicked into overdrive. Strengthened muscle, reinforced bone, and flesh mending at rapid speed allowed him to trap the massive sword within his own body, locking it in place.

"This is… the final blow!!!"

Takeo roared. His blades flashed once more, aiming at the fully regenerated 2B.

Wolf Breathing, First Form – Wolf Fang!

His twin swords crossed like the jaws of a hunting wolf—snapping open and shut—wind swirling with embers as the attack struck true.

2B's head was severed once again.

This time… It didn't grow back.

[Restart] could only be triggered once within a limited span. Takeo didn't know the exact cooldown time, but no matter how short it was, it certainly couldn't activate twice within a single minute.

And so—this time—the fight was truly over.

Takeo stood still, panting lightly, as 2B's lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

From beginning to end… she hadn't said a single word.

Strangely, it reminded him of Uncle Logan—the very first figure he had fought in this consciousness space. Just like her… not a single word had been exchanged.

Perhaps… the characters that appeared in this place weren't capable of speaking to him at all.

Maybe.

Takeo thought about it as he watched 2B's body dissolve into black particles, those fragments of data flowing into his own body. He then sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes as he began to accept 2B's inheritance.

Even though he had defeated 2B, it didn't mean her abilities were useless to him.

Far from it.

Not only was the bullet-time effect brought by [Overclocking] incredibly valuable, but the two other skills—[Shockwave] and [No-Injury Blood Recovery]—would drastically enhance his combat ability.

Especially the latter.

When combined with Takeo's own regenerative abilities, it meant that, under certain circumstances, his recovery speed could rival—or even surpass—that of a demon.

And then… there was [Restart].

This… this was the real jackpot.

Only after fully absorbing 2B's inheritance did Takeo realize that [Restart] wasn't the same as it was in the game. There, the activation chance had been a mere 50%.

Now?

It was 100%!!

No matter how severe the injury—even a fatal blow—as long as his body hadn't been completely reduced to ashes, [Restart] would trigger.

A second life.

A genuine, guaranteed second life.

And that wasn't all. As he dug deeper, Takeo uncovered chip-based skills he hadn't noticed before in 2B's repertoire.

One was [Extended Evasion Distance], and the other was [Charged Attack].

Both… were excellent additions.

The first skill, [Extended Evasion Distance], allowed Takeo to dodge farther—though in practical terms, it essentially translated to faster dodge speed.

The second, [Charged Attack], let him unleash attacks at 300% of their normal power after charging.

As he sorted through and summarized the abilities he had gained, Takeo's expression remained calm.

He felt no excitement over acquiring new powers, nor sorrow over having slain a familiar figure.

He simply sat cross-legged in this space of consciousness, quietly watching the tree in front of him.

When he noticed the tree gradually fade—and no new figures appeared—Takeo slowly closed his eyes.

And with that, his consciousness returned to reality.

______

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