Chapter 2

  After those words the boy said, and his attempt to motivate them and fix everything so that the ending would be different from what he had seen in the anime, he knew that the matter would be difficult, but he was certain he would save everyone and save Kyojuro Rengoku. Then Inosuke shouted loudly:

  “Haah! Who dares to die while I’m here?”

  Zenitsu swallowed his saliva:

  “Please, Tanjiro, don’t say such scary things.”

  The boy replied calmly:

  “Don’t worry, everything is under control. We must go; the time has come. Prepare yourselves, we must catch the train. We have a long night ahead today, so it’s better to be ready.”

  After finishing his words, the boy froze suddenly: Nezuko… I haven’t seen her since I woke up, how did I not notice this? How stupid of me! Inosuke, Zenitsu, stay here; I’ll get Nezuko, and we’ll go now.

  Inosuke waved his sword and said:

  “Boy Tanjiro, you’re such an idiot! I’m always ready!”

  Zenitsu became frightened.

  The boy rushed toward the house quickly, then opened the door forcefully and said:

  “The wooden box… it’s in pce.”

  He approached slowly, pced his hand on the lid, then called:

  “Nezuko?”

  There was a moment of silence that seemed like an eternity. Then the box shook lightly from inside, and the boy heard a deep breath. He opened the lid quickly, and there she was:

  Her pink eyes looked at him calmly, but she seemed to sense his tension. The boy knelt and said:

  “Nezuko, listen to me carefully. Tonight will be dangerous, but I’ll give you a signal when the time comes. Then you must do as I say so we survive.”

  Nezuko’s eyes widened, she nodded, then said:

  “Umm.”

  The boy smiled but felt a pang in his heart because he didn’t want to live the scenario he had seen in his previous life. Yet he realized that this time was different; he was now in the world of demons, knowing all demons, their powers, all secrets, and all the terrible events that would happen.

  He closed the box gently, carried it on his back, then heard a voice inside saying:

  “Save them today if you can. This night is the beginning.”

  The boy went outside quickly, followed by Zenitsu and Inosuke on the journey, which he didn’t know what it would bring. Would he be able to save Rengoku, or were all his words just a foolish impulse? The first journey had begun, the first mission he knew would be his first encounter with Rengoku on the train. Then he told Zenitsu and Inosuke:

  “When we reach the station, do not act normally. Watch everyone.”

  Zenitsu froze in pce and said:

  “Do you mean there will be a demon?”

  The boy smiled lightly and said:

  “It’s not the real danger.”

  Finally, they reached the station, and the train was about to depart. Smoke rose from the train, and people boarded quickly. The boy was watching, his eyes moving between faces, between windows, everything seemed normal—and that’s exactly what scared him.

  He boarded the train, then began searching for Rengoku, and suddenly saw him:

  He was there near the first-css car, sitting calmly and eating.

  “Delicious,” he said in his strong voice.

  The meeting was completely normal. The boy approached politely, bowed, and introduced himself. Zenitsu was tense as usual, and Inosuke stared at Rengoku challengingly. Everything matched what the boy remembered, and here the worry began: if nothing changed, the ending wouldn’t change.

  The train departed. Everyone acted normally, but the boy watched the aisle with fixed eyes. Then he saw him: the ticket inspector walking slowly between the seats. The boy froze in pce and said:

  “Don’t let him cut your tickets!”

  Rengoku stopped eating and said to him:

  “What do you mean, boy?”

  The boy tried to tell him all the details, then said:

  “Listen, Rengoku, there’s a demon on the train. It’s Lower Moon One.”

  Suddenly his voice stopped as if something pressed his skull from the inside. A sharp pain pierced his head, as if thousands of needles pierced his mind at once. Then, in a firm voice, the inner voice said:

  “Do not reveal anything; it will happen.”

  Damn… it seems… this is the only drawback of entering the demon world knowing everything. It seems I cannot tell them what will happen.

  He raised his eyes toward Rengoku and said:

  “There’s an enemy. I smell him. Don’t trust the inspector.”

  The pain eased slightly but didn’t disappear completely.

  Rengoku looked at him firmly and said:

  “What do you mean, boy?”

  The boy looked at him calmly and said:

  “Sir Rengoku, if a powerful enemy appears, don’t fight alone. Please, let us fight with you.”

  Rengoku ughed loudly and said:

  “Excellent words, boy. That’s the fighting spirit.”

  At that moment, the inspector arrived and said:

  “Tickets, please.”

  The boy shouted loudly:

  “Don’t let him cut your tickets! He will try to hypnotize you!”

  Suddenly a sharp sensation hit his head again. A severe headache swept through his brain, and he fell to the ground, unable to stand. Rengoku and Nezuko approached him quickly, and Rengoku said:

  “Boy, what’s happening to you?”

  The boy screamed at the top of his lungs:

  “Ahhh!”

  Inosuke stood up and shouted loudly:

  “Hey, idiot! We don’t want our tickets cut! Go, square-head, or I’ll rip your eyes out and eat them!”

  The inspector suddenly stopped and retreated in fear.

  Rengoku stared at the boy intensely, this time without his usual smile:

  “You warn us about boarding the train. You know something.”

  The boy looked at him with determined eyes and said:

  “I want to protect you, but I can’t tell you everything.”

  At that moment, Enmu appeared towering over the train, his body seeming to be an extension of the train itself, his anger clear. He said to himself:

  “This boy? How did he know? But it doesn’t matter. No one will stop me. They all will die now, and I will get Muzan-sama’s blood. It’s the power I need. Finally, I will be invincible.”

  He raised his hands slowly, and the bck shadows began writhing like snakes, surrounding every corner of the car. Enmu began his attack; his long shadow fingers spread like sharp thorns, extending across the car at an unbelievable speed, colliding with seats and walls, splitting the wood.

  Rengoku raised his sword, his fming hair flying with the car’s shaking, his eyes shining with focus and usual madness.

  “The wait has been long.”

  The shadows around Enmu writhed like snakes, encircling every corner of the car and extending their bck tips at a terrifying speed. Passengers froze; some screamed, others were frozen in pce with fear.

  Inosuke rushed forward, screaming, swinging his swords wildly at the advancing shadows, cutting them like a storm of rage. Meanwhile, Zenitsu’s hands trembled, but he focused on his strikes, gathering his strength to unleash Thunder Breathing: First Form – Thundercp and Fsh. With every movement, lightning surged from his sword, his inhale and exhale synchronized with the electric bolts, each breath filling him with focus and power, each strike unching with a fsh of energy from his entire body.

  At that moment, Rengoku lifted off the ground slightly and shouted in a booming voice:

  “Fme Breathing: Seventh Form – Twin Dragon Fme Strike.”

  The fme attack surged from his sword like writhing rays forming a raging tiger, smashing the bck shadows with a loud roar. Smoke filled the car, heat rising, igniting the air around the passengers. Every movement synchronized with his deep breathing, every inhale and exhale giving power to the attack, as if the tiger made of fmes leapt straight from his body to strike the enemies.

  While Rengoku, Zenitsu, and Inosuke unched their attacks, the boy didn’t stand idle. He gathered all his strength and shouted:

  “It’s time!”

  He unleashed his strongest attack: Water Breathing – Ninth Form: Dark Tidal Wave.

  It was the first time he used this form, so he felt something strange coursing through his body, a mixture of unfamiliar power, excitement, and confusion. His sword moved through the air at tremendous speed, water lines writhing like snakes, striking and shattering the shadows. Every inhale and exhale synchronized with the attack’s energy, as if the breathing itself dissolved the limits of his body and granted him unnatural strength.

  Even Rengoku, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were shocked, never having seen such power before. It was the first time the boy witnessed energy flowing at this intensity.

  Passengers froze in awe and fear, and the shadows began to retreat under the unexpected force of the attack. The boy didn’t smile; he was focused, feeling this strange thing, as if touching something greater than his usual abilities, something unknown.

  While he prepared to unch his strongest attack, Nezuko felt the need to help. She raised her hands and unleashed her special attack: Demon Fiery Kick.

  She leapt into the air at incredible speed, fmes rising from her feet, kicking the advancing shadows, smashing seats and wood in her path. Every movement synchronized with her internal blood-demonic breathing, increasing power and speed due to her anger and protection of the train’s passengers.

  Even the boy felt the power she unleashed, smiling slightly, realizing that Nezuko was not just a guardian beside him but an actual partner in battle. Then, in one moment, all attacks converged, and all energies collided in a single point around Enmu, destroying all his defenses.

  Enmu screamed in rage, trying to resist, but the synchronized group attack struck his heart directly, leaving him unable to move or trick. Pressure from all directions, with a force he didn’t expect, caused his defenses to colpse instantly. Suddenly, a massive explosion filled the car, light, sparks, fmes, and water intermingling. Then an eerie silence fell as the attacks converged on him from all directions. Enmu shouted, a voice mixed with anger and astonishment:

  “Im… impossible! How… are you… this strong?”

  He tried to move, to create shadows to defend, but all his defenses colpsed under the synchronized group force. Then, as his body crumbled under the attack’s pressure, he released his st breaths in a faint voice:

  “This… is not the end… ever…”

  In an instant, a wave of energy exploded around him, turning everything in the car into a mist of sparks and smoke. Enmu colpsed instantly, shattered and destroyed before the unified team. There was no longer any threat; all shadows vanished, and passengers were in shock at the swift, dazzling victory.

  The boy felt strange, the overwhelming power flowing through him for the first time. Nezuko smiled, Rengoku raised his sword proudly, and Zenitsu and Inosuke stared in astonishment. They had changed the course of events, destroying Enmu before his time in the anime in a logical way. Smoke gradually dissipated, heat calmed, and the heroes stood united, each feeling unprecedented power, as if this night was the beginning of changing their fate entirely.

  The boy stood in the middle of the car, his heart racing, eyes scanning every corner, every movement of the passengers, because he knew a greater threat was coming, and what had just happened against Enmu was only the beginning. Smoke and sparks gradually disappeared, and the st traces of the attack fell to the ground, but the boy’s feeling did not calm. He knew there was no time to celebrate yet. Something extremely powerful was approaching… something he had never faced before.

  Suddenly, at the end of the car, a massive shadow appeared, filling the space with indescribable awe. The sound in the car rose as if the air itself screamed in fear, and Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, appeared before them.

  “What… no way…” the boy whispered to himself, swallowing his saliva, unable to believe what he saw. He didn’t expect Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, to appear on the train this quickly. Then he said:

  “What is this? This didn’t happen. Akaza didn’t appear on the train; he appeared outside. This was unexpected. What… what are we supposed to do now? How… how do we defend now?”

  In an instant, Akaza raised his hand, and with a single strike, a massive wave of dark power destroyed seats and walls, killing half the train passengers in one moment. Sparks, smoke, and blood filled the space, screams echoing through the car, while the boy froze, unable to believe what was happening before his eyes.

  His body trembled, his grip on the sword shook as well, and his eyes widened with fear. His breathing was uneven, and he suddenly whispered to himself with a trembling voice:

  “I… I made things worse.”

  Akaza smiled a terrifying smile, as if killing the weak was a game for him, then said:

  “Haaa, you killed that weakling quickly, but your death will be faster than his, weaklings…”