Demon Slayer: My breathing technique went awry after Nezuko pushed me down.

"die!!!"

The Nichirin Blade was wreathed in flames; this was the most powerful strike he had ever delivered in his life!

Exhausted, he saw the rapidly enlarging crimson blade tip reflected in his eyes, as well as the resolute face of the boy behind the blade.

Too fast! Too intense!

There's no way to avoid it!!!

"laugh!"

The knife passed...

A crimson flame encircles the sky! Its brilliance surpasses even the heavens!

Fire dissipates...

The blade flashed sharply, and crimson light scattered!

Exhausted, his head leaped high into the air, still bearing the deep shock of his previous actions.

Tanjiro glanced at his head, showing neither joy nor lingering.

Instead, he immediately turned around to check on Nezuko's condition.

Seeing Nezuko sitting obediently with her head in her hands, even shrinking into a small bean shape, Tanjiro finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, those big pink eyes suddenly looked aggrieved.

"Waaaaah~!"

With two dissatisfied whimpers, Little Bean opened her little hands that were covering her head, revealing a round little bump underneath.

Little Bean pointed at the small bag with one hand and at his older brother with the other; the meaning couldn't be clearer.

You pushed me aside, look what happened to me!

Tanjiro was instantly embarrassed and quickly clasped his hands together, begging for forgiveness, "Brother was wrong, brother apologizes to you, okay~"

Little Bean put his hands on his hips, snorted, and angrily turned his head away.

To show how angry she was, she even twisted her little body in the opposite direction.

Clearly, they do not intend to accept this flimsy apology.

She even mimicked Shirakawa Hayao's signature wicked smile, clearly telling Tanjiro, "Not only will I not forgive you, I'm going to sue you!"

Tanjiro was truly at a loss. He knew perfectly well that his sister's anger wasn't because of the little bump on her head.

She was angry at his irrational behavior earlier.

After all, Nezuko won't die from taking that hit, but he will!

So when he stood in front of Nezuko, Nezuko was touched, but naturally, she was also angry.

While Tanjiro was racking his brains trying to figure out how to please Nezuko so she wouldn't tell her senior...

Suddenly, an unusual smell of blood wafted from behind!

Upon smelling the aroma, Tanjiro shuddered and turned around in disbelief.

Not far away, the exhausted, headless body, somehow... stood up again.

At this moment, she is walking step by step toward Tanjiro.

Tanjiro stared blankly at the scene, muttering incredulously, "I clearly... cut off his head!"

My past experiences and understanding simply cannot explain all of this.

Does a demon die if its head is cut off by a Nichirin Blade?

Master...you're lying to me??

"You think you've won?" A weary voice came from the woods, sounding somewhat unreal.

"How pathetic, living in a pathetic fantasy to comfort themselves."

Tanjiro's eyes widened. "Why...why?"

"Why? Hehe~" Lei reached out and pulled, and several silk threads slowly suspended his head, hanging down beside him.

"Before you cut off my head, I cut my own head open with a silk thread."

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro's pupils dilated in shock.

Can you do this?

I'm so sorry, Master! I misunderstood you!

You're right! They're full of tricks!

Although I really want to complain, now is obviously not the time.

The battle is not over yet...

Just as Tanjiro was getting into his fighting stance again, preparing for their second battle...

His alert and sharp gaze... gradually turned blank...

Or even... comical?

There's nothing I can do, the scene before me is just... too bizarre.

Not far from him stood the extremely high-class Lower Moon Five of the Twelve Demon Moons!

I'm exhausted! I've been battering myself so much that I'm practically dying, like a demon on the verge of death!

Suddenly, it started playing a game of 'you can't live in me' with its own head.

His head was clearly on the right side of his body.

He reached out his right hand to catch it, but his head suddenly swayed... and he dodged to the left.

???

His tired and lonely face was clearly stunned for a moment, and even turned a little red.

After all, he's still in full gear, and his opponent is watching!

He quickly reached out his left hand to grab it.

As a result, its head wobbled and it ran back to the right.

Lei's face showed utter astonishment.

They no longer cared about maintaining a strong image.

Unconvinced, he remotely controlled his body towards his head, stretching out his two little arms, one on the left and one on the right, to hug the head simultaneously.

This time, there's no escaping it now!

Pull~

Its head was held high, and it flew up...

A vein bulged on his forehead from exhaustion.

At this moment, even the most oblivious person would realize that something was wrong.

It swaying from side to side, you could call it wind, but what the hell is this about flying upwards?!

He stopped playing this idiotic game. With a sharp tug of his fingers, the thread connecting his head to the skull tightened instantly, pulling his head into his hand.

But to his surprise... this forceful tug only caused his head to drop less than half a meter.

After that, no matter how much Lei urged the remaining threads to move, or how tightly they were stretched, he could not stop them.

That exquisitely crafted head, like a doll yet filled with question marks, floated eerily in mid-air.

Lei stared in shock at his own helpless, headless body below.

A night breeze blew by, causing the white hair on his head to flutter slightly.

The scene was very quiet for a time.

Tanjiro opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

After a long while, he lowered his sword and sighed softly.

Nezuko blinked, and then relaxed even more openly.

She reached into her little pocket and rummaged around until she pulled out a small cookie (a tonic for ghosts) that Aunt Tamayo had given her.

(。???。) Delicious, beautiful, keep going~

Exhausted, his head hung high above, his red beastly eyes able to see the state of the two people, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.

Finally, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Who—is it?!"

The head opened its mouth and let out a scream that was a mixture of shock, anger, shame, and panic!

"Get out here!!!"

The sound echoed in the quiet forest clearing.

"Tsk~"

A clear smacking sound came from the shadows at the edge of the woods, tinged with laziness and amusement.

"This is so boring, I'm tired... Shouldn't a kid your age like to play hide-and-seek? How can you be so impatient?"

Deep in the jungle, a leisurely figure slowly appeared.

He was wearing a Demon Slayer Corps uniform that didn't fit him very well.

A pair of eyes, faintly glowing with a golden light and with arrow-shaped pupils, were particularly striking.

"It's you!?"

Lei's eyes flashed with even greater shock and anger. "You did this?!"

He could clearly sense that this person exuded the aura of a living person.

But... Lei took a deep breath, his eyes filled with even deeper doubt.

But the power being applied to me now clearly smells of Blood Demon Art.