People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

"Breath of Flames? Seventh Form? Feast of Flames!"

Flames erupted around Kyojuro's illusion, surging towards him like a tsunami.

Kyojuro Rengoku used the Fourth Form? The Winding Flame to block the flames.

But as the flames subsided, Rengoku Kyojuro let out a muffled groan as his left shoulder was pierced by a sudden, unexpected chop from a tsukumogami's hand, and the wound immediately began to bleed profusely.

Osamu quickly broke free from the illusion's grasp, stood in front of Kyojuro Rengoku, and kicked away the tsukumogami that was about to continue attacking.

"Hey, Kyojuro, are you alright?!"

Kyojuro Rengoku promptly used flames to cauterize his wounds, preventing him from losing too much blood and becoming unable to fight.

"I'm fine," Kyojuro Rengoku replied, enduring the pain.

Osamu tossed a bottle of medicine to Kyojuro Rengoku.

"Kyojuro, apply this potion to your sword! These illusions are physical entities created by Blood Demon Art, which means that there must be demon cells within the illusionary entities. This potion might be useful!"

Upon hearing this, Rengoku Kyojuro smashed the potion, and the liquid from it soaked into his Nichirin Blade.

To alleviate the pressure on Kyojuro Rengoku, Osamu chooses to actively fight against both his own illusion and Kyojuro's illusion.

"It seems I've been taken care of. I'm truly ashamed! I must set a good example for the kitchen boys!"

Kyojuro Rengoku held his Nichirin Blade horizontally in front of his chest, shouting, "Breath of Flame? Eighth Form? Dragon-Slaying Flame Strike!"

As Kyojuro Rengoku swung his blade, a fire dragon coiled around him, and a dragon's roar resounded throughout the battlefield as it slashed at the illusory clones of Tanjiro and the others.

In an instant, a flash of fire appeared, and all of Tanjiro's and his companions' illusionary clones were instantly decapitated.

Just as the illusion was regenerating its head, the potion on Rengoku Kyojuro's Nichirin Blade began to take effect, suppressing the illusion's head regeneration. After a while, the illusory clones that could not be restored began to dissipate.

This scene greatly boosted Rengoku Kyojuro's morale, and even Tanjiro and the others watching from the sidelines cheered.

"Flame Breathing? First Form? Shiranui!"

Kyojuro Rengoku pressed his advantage, launching a fiery attack on the location of the tsukumogami.

The tsukumogami raised its hand to block the Nichirin Blade that was slashing at it. Although its arm was cut open by the sharp blade, the tsukumogami scoffed dismissively, "It's just dealing with the clones of three little brats. Your illusory clones haven't disappeared yet. The scales of victory are still on my side!"

The tsukumogami's arm instantly regenerated, and it punched Rengoku Kyojuro, sending him flying.

Kyojuro's illusory clone unleashed its fiery aura, slashing at Kyojuro Rengoku with its sword.

After parrying the attack with his sword, Rengoku Kyojuro called out to Osamu, "Osamu!"

"You think so too?! I understand!"

Despite it being their first meeting, Osamu instantly grasped Kyojuro Rengoku's meaning with perfect understanding.

Kyojuro Rengoku and Osamu stood back to back, guarding against their respective illusory clones.

When Kyojuro and Osamu's illusory clones attacked, Kyojuro and Osamu switched positions and began to unleash their respective ultimate techniques.

"Breath of Flames? Ultimate Technique? Ninth Form? Purgatory!"

"Plain Flow Technique? Destructive Kill? Final Move? Azure Silver Chaotic Remnant Light!"

Kyojuro Rengoku unleashed the ultimate technique of Flame Breathing, striking Osamu's illusionary clone with the power of hellfire, instantly inflicting deep, bone-chilling damage on the clone.

Osamu's ultimate technique involves launching hundreds of blue light missiles at Kyojuro's clone in an instant, centered on himself.

Flames and blue missiles filled the entire battlefield, and under the powerful attack, Osamu and Kyojuro's illusionary clones were instantly annihilated.

Under the influence of the drug, the illusionary clones were suppressed and could no longer be restored.

Kyojuro Rengoku stood side by side with Osamu, facing the tsukumogami who had turned pale with shock after losing all their illusory clones.

Zhi sneered, "Your Blood Demon Art has been broken; you're now at your wit's end!"

The spirit sneered, "What are you so smug about? Everyone else is already seriously injured except for you. You alone can't do anything to me!"

At this point, Kyojuro Rengoku was exhausted and was only able to stay upright by sheer willpower. In particular, he was struggling with the penetrating wound in his shoulder. Although he used flames to burn it and stop the bleeding, this was only a temporary measure and would only gradually worsen his injury.

Ji frowned as he looked at Rengoku Kyojuro's wound.

"I'm fine, I can still fight!" Rengoku Kyojuro's expression didn't change, but the large beads of sweat on his forehead showed that he was forcing himself to stay upright.

"I believe you..." Before Osamu could finish speaking, Rengoku Kyojuro's Nichirin Blade was suddenly snatched away by Osamu, who then flung Kyojuro to Tanjiro's side.

"I believe you, but leave the rest of the battle to me."

Kyojuro Rengoku struggled to get up, but Osamu stopped him: "Kyojuro, you should rest for a while! I don't want to lose an opponent! I will carry on your fighting spirit."

Osamu turned to look at the tsukumogami, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

With his left hand gripping Kyojuro Rengoku's Nichirin Blade and his right hand in the starting stance of the Suryu technique, Osamu provocatively beckoned to the tsukumogami: "Come on, our battle has only just begun!"

Chapter 78 The Past of the Tsukumogami

Feeling humiliated, the tsukumogami created dozens of illusions, all of which simultaneously extended their sharp claws and charged at Osamu.

"Destructive Shot? Kick Style? Flowing Light!"

Just as it was about to reach Osamu, the tsukumogami was kicked away by Osamu's accurate and powerful kicks several times.

"It seems that your physical clone cannot be used again for a short time after it was destroyed, and your other Blood Demon Techniques are useless to me who has the ability to sense battle aura. This time, you are really at your wit's end!" Zhi's words were full of sarcasm.

The tsukumogami's forehead veins bulged: "Damn it! Don't underestimate me! I am the Upper Moon Three! Blood Demon Art! Twin Kill!"

Osamu's illusory physical clone reappeared, but the illusory clone, which should have been evenly matched with Osamu, was severed by Osamu's sword.

"The physical clone you barely managed to create isn't even half my strength. You've exhausted all your tricks."

Osamu kept mocking the tsukumogami and approached it step by step. The tsukumogami could only create physical clones to try to stop Osamu, but they were all destroyed by the Nichirin Blade, which was stained with the medicine.

Osamu sneered at the terrified tsukumogami: "You rely entirely on Blood Demon Art. Without it, you're really weak. To bring this battle to a perfect close, I'll use my strongest technique, which I've just mastered, to end your life."

"Plain Flow Technique? Destructive Kill? Ultimate Move? Lingering Azure Radiance!"

This move was mastered by Osamu after his physical abilities were enhanced by the blood injected by Yosuke. Its power is much stronger than other destructive moves, and Osamu is currently unable to fully control this move.

A blue light gathered on Osamu's fist, and with a flash, Osamu appeared in front of the tsukumogami as if a dazzling aurora had streaked across the sky.

With a single punch, the light of the aurora burst forth from the tsukumogami's chest, illuminating the pitch-black night sky.

Looking at the dazzling light before him, the spirit felt a sense of calm.

In human times, a tsukumogami is an encoffiner who specializes in sending off the deceased on their final journey.

Having witnessed countless deaths, the tsukumogami gradually became confused about life.

If death is inevitable, then what is the point of living?

Every time a body is placed in a coffin, the spirit asks itself this question.

Although the spirits were confused at that time, they still had good intentions and did their jobs conscientiously.

One day, an old man died, and the tsukumogami was responsible for preparing his body for burial. However, the tsukumogami discovered that the old man was still alive.

The spirit immediately reported the situation to the old man's children, but their response was, "Don't worry about him! He'll die sooner or later anyway. It's too much trouble to take care of his eating, drinking, toileting, and sleeping while he's alive!"

The disgusted and vicious words assaulted the spirit's mind, and the spirit asked in a trembling voice, "Isn't he your father? Isn't he your closest relative?"

"So what? If he lives, who will take care of him? It's better for him to be dead than alive; at least that would lighten our burden!"

The old man, with only a breath left, reluctantly breathed his last, extinguishing the last vestige of kindness in the spirit's heart.

When the tsukumogami, whose mind had been blank, came to his senses, he discovered that the old man's children had all been brutally murdered by him.

Looking at his blood-stained hands, the tsukumogami felt his long-empty heart filled with emotion; only in death are feelings real.

From that day on, the tsukumogami hunted humans everywhere, because he believed that since living was painful, he might as well free them from suffering.

When death comes, people will know their true feelings; any false feelings should not exist!

The humans of a small village were brutally slaughtered by the tsukumogami, who were then hunted down by the magistrate.

Despite constantly fleeing, the tsukumogami were still captured and subjected to the punishment of being flogged on the stomach.

The club repeatedly pounded the tsukumogami's abdomen, and just as it was about to die, Kibuy Muzan appeared and killed all the humans around him.

Kibuyaku Muzan's words, as seductive as a demon's, reached the ears of the tsukumogami: "Do you want to become a demon?"

The dying tsukumogami asked Muzan, "If I become a demon, can I free lives and let them face their true feelings?"

Kibuy Muzan said with great interest, "Of course, once you become a demon, you will be above all humans. Humans are just lower beings, and all human emotions are just props for us to play with."

The tsukumogami received Muzan Kibutsuji's blood and became a cruel and ruthless demon who toyed with emotions.

Ji held his Nichirin Blade to the neck of the tsukumogami: "Before you die, is there anything you want to say?"

The spirit asked the question that had haunted it its entire life: "What is the meaning of life?"

"I don't know the meaning of life, but I have my own beliefs. I can live for them and I can die for them. What about you? Do you have your own beliefs?"

The spirit's eyes were hazy; looking back on his life, he realized he had always been lost and confused.

"I don't."

Looking at the bewildered tsukumogami, Osamu suddenly felt a pang of pity for it. Recalling his first encounter with Yosuke, he sighed inwardly, "If I had met Kibu Muzan instead of Yosuke-sama, perhaps I would be like that tsukumogami..."

"I hope you won't be lost in your next life."

Ji used his Nichirin Blade to cut off the head of the tsukumogami, and the tsukumogami's body gradually turned into ashes.

Looking at Osamu and Tanjiro and the others behind him, the tsukumogami, about to dissipate, sighed with envy, tears welling in its eyes, "I really envy you... I think I've found the meaning of life, but I'm no longer qualified."

After the Upper Moon Three tsukumogami died, Osamu returned to Kyojuro Rengoku's side and returned the Nichirin Blade to him.

Looking at the wounds that everyone had already bandaged, he exclaimed, "It seems you were quite well prepared."

The penetrating wound on Rengoku Kyojuro's shoulder has been properly treated; all the charred flesh burned by the flames has been removed and treated with medicine.

Tanjiro's abdominal wound has stopped bleeding and is no longer oozing blood.

Zenitsu's leg wound was bandaged.

Inosuke's fractured arm has been reset.

Tanjiro said gratefully, "It's all thanks to Shinobu Kocho's medicine. She has a wide variety of medicines, which is why we were able to get timely treatment."

"Oh, it's Shinobu. No wonder."

Thinking of the serious, earnest, and unsmiling Shinobu Kocho, Osamu's lips curled into a faint smile.