Demon Slayer HQ – Late Morning
The sky split again.
Not with thunder. Not with sound.But with the unnatural hiss of reality itself bending.
South of the Kuromine Valley, a small mountain village simply vanished. Where once was wind, now only ash. Where once were trees, only flame. Screams—then silence. Again.
A second rift.No mistaking it now.Hell wasn't done.
Within the Slayer HQ Hall
The great doors slammed open. The Hashiras—scarred, proud, weary—stormed in. Upper Moons followed, colder, quieter, but no less intense. For the first time, all eyes burned with the same question.
Where was the Slayer?
"He's still underground in that godless forge," Sanemi snapped. "Grinding steel while people burn."
"That forge made him the God-Slayer," Gyomei replied calmly, though his fists were clenched. "He has reason. We cannot act impulsively."
Akaza stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "So we just watch Hell take more ground?"
"We are not his pets," spat Sanemi. "If he won't move—we will."
"You speak as if Hell is a battlefield you know. It is not."It was Kokushibo. His voice was low… trembling with layered memory.
"Enough," Mitsuri snapped, surprising all. Her voice cracked slightly. "We aren't the Slayer. But we can't just wait. We need to do something."
Tension rose like steam.
"Then who do we send?" shouted Obanai, glaring at Akaza. "Them? Demons?"
"Careful with your tongue, Snake Pillar," Akaza warned, his voice sharp. "I bleed for this HQ now."
"That's rich," Sanemi said, stepping forward, face inches from Akaza. "You bled us for centuries—"
"Enough!" Gyomei's voice echoed like thunder through the hall.
"Enough talk. We decide, or we divide."
A harsh silence fell.
Kokushibo's eye glinted crimson. "I will go."
"No debate there," muttered Sanemi, crossing his arms. "I'm not letting a demon outdo me again. I go too."
Gyomei raised a hand. "Then I must go. We need one who does not act with anger."
"Then we're at three," Mitsuri added, hopeful.
"No."All turned as Kagaya stepped in, hands behind his back. Calm, but stern.
"Only four. Not five. This is Hell—not a raid. Choose with clarity, or do not go at all."
Sanemi exhaled. "Fine. Who's the fourth?"
Akaza stepped forward again. "Me."
"Why you?" Obanai spat.
"I've fought in arenas of pain you wouldn't imagine. And I won't let Kokushibo walk into that alone."
Gyomei nodded. "Then it's decided. Gyomei. Sanemi. Kokushibo. Akaza."
As the rift shimmered violently, a quiet settled again.
"But know this," Kagaya said, stepping forward. His soft voice now razor-sharp.
"You are entering Hell without consulting the only man who's crawled out of it alive. If this ends in failure… it will be on your names."
They nodded. Resolute. Stubborn. Ready—or pretending to be.
And they stepped into the rip.
At the Forge Below
The hammer stopped.
The Slayer looked up.
He felt it.
Their decision.Their arrogance.Their mistake.
He didn't move.Didn't speak.But the red runes flared on his armor…
And the forge answered with a deeper glow.