The Good Demon [KNY]

Part 74: Come on, then.

"You know you can't stop me, Tanjiro." Akai glared at Tanjiro. "Without that power, we don't have a chance. Despite all that the corp has, they can't stand against the Upper Moons, let alone Muzan. But you're standing in the way. You're the one who wants to doom all of humanity for one person." Akai hissed. "This is stupid!" He yelled furiously.

"..." Tanjiro's face expressed no emotion as he drew in a deep breath, lowering his stance for a straightforward attack. "You've crossed a line." Tanjiro said. His aura was the spitting image of Yoshi. "Dance of The Fire God..." Tanjiro whispered as white steam poured from the corners of his mouth.

"...Come on, then." Akai heated his body and welcomed the battle.

"Waltz." In the blink of an eye, Tanjiro came forward and delivered a light-speed vertical slash towards Akai.

KRING!!!

"Not sho fasht." Akai smirked as he bit down on his tongue, turning his hand into pure Nichiren to stop Tanjiro's blade in its tracks.

Or so he thought.

Tanjiro's sword cut into the metal, burying itself a few inches into his hand.

"Oh, that's not good." Akai noted. 

Tanjiro gritted his teeth and powered through, slicing Akai's hand in two.

"Oh, that's really not good!" Akai panicked and jumped out of the way of a second slash aimed at his chest.

Akai let go of his tongue and heated his limbs, meeting Tanjiro's fiery attacks head-on and deflecting his blows with an equal amount of fury.

The entire area caught flames as the two warriors battled it out. The only indicator that they were there was flashes of flames clinging to their barely perceivable silhouettes and the dancing fire surrounding their exchange. 

"What the hell is this!? You couldn't hold a candle to me two days ago!" Akai gritted his teeth as a blow snuck by and opened his side. A blood tentacle flew out of the wound and straight towards Tanjiro's face. Tanjiro sliced it effortlessly, the blood sizzling into copper-colored vapor at the touch of his blade. 

"I can see it..." Tanjiro muttered. "I can see everything."

In this period of heightened focus, he entered a state of being that allowed him to perceive everything within Akai's body. He saw every muscle contract. Every vein pulse. He saw every organ and weak spot in full display. Tanjiro capitalized and became a flickering red silhouette. Flying through Akai. He froze for a moment, before dozens of giant gashes opened up all over his body, severing his hamstrings and splitting his arteries. Akai collapsed to his knees and vomited blood, his organs shredded.

"You're finished." Tanjiro turned and dashed towards Akai, gripping his sword.

FWOOSH!!! 

Akai ignited his blood and sent Tanjiro back with a pulse of blindingly bright heat. He flew out of the flames, aiming a red hot fist at Tanjiro's head.

"Clear Blue Sky." Tanjiro spun horizontally, his blade gliding through Akai's fist and splitting it in two. He swung upwards and severed the limb, sending the two halves of the hand and severed fingers raining onto the ground.

Akai's face lit up with red-hot fury. Biting down on his tongue enough to nearly cut it off, he let out a muffled roar of rage as hundreds of red-hot Nichiren whips tore out of his wounds. 

"Raging Sun." Tanjiro let out two devastatingly powerful horizontal strikes, cleaving the tendrils into pieces and charging toward Akai. Akai met him halfway and threw a full-powered punch at Tanjiro's center-mass.