Chapter 163: Demonic Hashira
That voice, so familiar...
Everyone present was shaken to the core!
A shudder ran through Tengen’s body. The sword Tanjiro was holding fell to the ground. Zenitsu’s eyes flew wide open. Inosuke’s mouth hung open, exposing his chin below the mask, and he couldn’t close it.
Hakuji’s pupils contracted sharply as a burning light poured from his eyes.
He turned his head toward the source of the sound.
The voice was coming from the lone head on the ground.
There it was, lying in the dirt, and its dazzlingly clear eyes blinked faintly.
And in the next second, everyone felt it.
An overwhelming demonic presence surged from the decapitated body and the head at the same time, spilling out like a flood.
The corner of Hakuji’s lips curled slowly upward.
Excellent! My Lord is still alive!
’He listened to the advice I gave him that time...’
’My Lord chose... TO BECOME A DEMON!’
At the same moment Hakuji smiled, Muzan’s smile froze.
He looked down at that head, which was wobbling about, trying to turn itself over with obvious clumsiness.
For the first time, confusion surfaced in those crimson pupils.
’HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!’
’I’m absolutely certain I never injected a single drop of my blood into him!’
Ever since Marcus’s research had become a threat, he had completely discarded the idea of turning him. So then, how...?
No...
The figure of a woman crossed his mind.
Tamayo could do it!
She was capable of turning Marcus into a demon!
’But why...? Why would a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps want to become a demon?’
In a thousand years, aside from Kokushibo, not a single Hashira had ever been willing.
Why...?
THIS ISN’T RIGHT!!
Muzan’s eyes narrowed, giving off an icy glint.
’I’ll think about that later.’
Swish
The four sharp tips of his whips shot out like spears toward Marcus’s head.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
But not one of them reached its target.
Muzan’s pupils contracted as the veins in his forehead bulged.
"AKAZA!!!"
That’s right.
The four bone tips never reached the head, because they had been completely blocked by Hakuji.
But the block left him in a pitiful state... half his skull blown apart, the flesh torn off his shoulders, his ribs exposed.
Even so, he was a demon... one outside of Muzan’s control.
To put it bluntly: even if he just stood there and let himself be hit, it would take a long time for him to die. Though he had no room to counterattack either.
"Demonic Hashira!"
Tengen gripped his blades and joined the attack immediately, shouting in irritation:
"Tsk, connect your head first! Leave this to us!"
Tanjiro had a somewhat dazed expression; he was having trouble processing that Marcus had gone from human to demon from one moment to the next.
But deep down, right now, he was happy.
’No matter what Senpai has turned into, at least he’s still alive!’
As long as he’s alive, there’s hope!
Setting his inner conflict aside, he picked up the nichirin and joined the charge with a roar.
Inosuke launched himself forward as well, wildly swinging his swords. His face beneath the mask was completely flushed with excitement and joy.
And Zenitsu was smart about it. He knew he wouldn’t be much use up front, and the scare had been so big that he couldn’t have fallen asleep even if he’d wanted to. So he crouched down, hauled up Marcus’s body, and took off toward where the head was.
Marcus, for his part, felt a certain resignation.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t move. In fact, getting there on his own would have been a whole lot faster than being carried by Zenitsu.
But he didn’t want to discourage Zenitsu either.
’Bah, let him come. In the end it’s just sticking a head back on; it doesn’t matter who sticks it on.’
Zenitsu lifted the head with trembling hands.
Noticing the shaking, Marcus warned him in complete seriousness, "Careful... don’t go leaving it crooked on me..."
"Y-YES!!"
Zenitsu shivered. He lined up the cut on the neck with the one on the body and fit the two together perfectly, without leaving the slightest gap.
Flesh and blood immediately surged out to join them. A second later there wasn’t even a mark left.
Zenitsu watched the whole thing open-mouthed.
Marcus stretched his neck and, very naturally, gave Zenitsu a few pats on the head.
"Thanks."
Zenitsu first shook his head stiffly and then instinctively backed up two steps.
A moment ago he’d only been desperate and had forgotten to be afraid. Now he remembered...
The Demonic Hashira had truly become THE Demonic Hashira.
With his head back in place, Marcus instantly suppressed his out-of-control aura.
"Sigh..."
If Daki hadn’t detected the slightest hint of his identity despite such intimate contact, it was because over time he had gotten better and better at concealing it.
If it weren’t for the fact that this was the first time he’d been decapitated and he wasn’t very used to it, not even Muzan would have noticed.
"Tsk! I thought I could keep it up a while longer."
He shook his head in resignation. He hadn’t wanted to make this matter public so soon. But now, everyone who should and shouldn’t know about it already knew.
’I wonder if Kagaya will go crazy when he finds out...’
He turned his attention back to the battle.
Hakuji was holding the front line, being savagely cut apart by Muzan while regenerating at an astonishing speed.
If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, his recovery was far above what it had been before, and obviously, Marcus had a hunch about it.
Either his potential had been unleashed after regenerating his head back then...
Or he’d worked things out with Koyuki and managed to clear his thoughts completely.
Or, now that the burden of eating humans was gone, he was buying blood like crazy and drinking it, with the resulting rush.
’Or all of it together, which is also possible.’
In any case, it was good news.
With that regenerative capacity, plus Tengen and Tanjiro applying pressure from the flanks and Inosuke circling the perimeter, the four of them achieved a surprisingly well-attuned coordination and held Muzan back momentarily.
Exactly the time Marcus needed to deal with the most urgent matter: Daki and Gyūtarō.
He crouched down and gave Daki’s trembling face a small squeeze.
At that moment, her entire body was convulsing and black veins were standing out all over her skin.
"What a pitiful state, girl."
Since Daki couldn’t speak, she just looked at him while she cried. Not even she knew whether those tears were from pain or from relief at seeing him alive.
"Do you want to live?"
Marcus didn’t beat around the bush and pulled a small vial out of his pocket.
"This can save you."
’Save me?!’
Daki’s eyes lit up. She immediately guessed his intention and what that vial contained.
But she didn’t nod. Because Marcus was holding only one.
Lying on the ground, she raised her head with effort and fixed her tear-filled gaze on Gyūtarō.
By that point her brother was already a giant tumor, on the verge of bursting at any moment.
Daki’s intention couldn’t have been clearer.
’Save my brother first!’
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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎
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