CHAPTER 287: CHAPTER 38: UPPER MOON THREE

Although Nezuko didn’t fully understand what was happening, the sinister aura radiating from the grotesque lumps of flesh stirred a primal, demonic ferocity deep within her.

Several monstrous hands stretched out from the pulsating flesh, reaching toward the unconscious passengers slumped in their seats.

She suddenly recalled what Tanjiro had told her before—protect the humans. Just as she was about to launch herself at the grotesque limbs, a firm hand pressed down gently on her shoulder.

"I’ve got this," Ron said calmly.

Nezuko looked up at him, her crimson eyes gleaming with silent trust.

Ron raised his hand. A dazzling, icy-blue glow shimmered from his fingertips. In the next instant, a ripple of blue light expanded outward, sweeping through the entirety of the speeding train in a blink.

All eight train cars, filled with grotesque, twitching flesh about to strike, suddenly froze in time. The revolting masses were halted mid-movement—and then, before anyone could react, they began to freeze over, rapidly encased in glimmering crystal ice.

A bone-chilling cold surged toward the ceiling like a rising tide.

Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu stared, slack-jawed, as the pulsing, snaking mass of flesh that connected the train cars to Enmu’s severed head was rapidly overtaken by frost, until it was completely entombed in jagged ice.

Enmu’s head, still in its distorted form, showed visible panic.

"Wh-What is this power?!"

A moment later...

CRACK!

His head froze solid—his contorted face captured forever in an expression of horror, now nothing more than a grotesque ice sculpture.

"D-Did... Did he just freeze it?!" Zenitsu stammered, his voice trembling.

"But it’s not even winter..." Inosuke added, his confusion mirroring Tanjiro’s blank stare.

Then a calm voice echoed across the frosted silence.

"With me here, you don’t need to worry about the passengers. Go—find its weak spot."

It was Ron’s voice.

All three of them felt something stir deep inside their chests.

"Wait... Could that have been... Mr. Ron’s doing?" Zenitsu whispered, utterly awestruck.

There was no answer—but none was needed.

"I can feel it," Inosuke suddenly said, his head snapping toward the front of the train. "There’s something nasty up ahead."

Tanjiro took a deep breath and steadied himself. The awe in his eyes was quickly replaced with resolve.

"Zenitsu, Inosuke—let’s go."

The three of them dashed toward the locomotive front.

The closer they got to the front, the stronger the revolting aura became. It was thick—oppressive—like the stench of rotting flesh. When they finally reached the engine room, that disgusting demonic presence peaked.

"UOOOOAAHH!!" Inosuke howled in excitement, his blades raised. "No doubt about it—this is its neck! That’s the demon’s weak spot!"

Without hesitation, he charged in.

Immediately, the walls around him bulged and pulsed—flesh exploded from every corner. Disgusting arms writhed out from the walls, clawing toward him.

"DISGUSTING!"

Inosuke shouted as he slashed at the incoming limbs.

Tanjiro and Zenitsu arrived right behind him.

Together, the three launched a coordinated assault—an all-out strike against Enmu’s true body.

As their blades carved through the train floor, exposing a pulsating, spine-like structure beneath it...

A grotesque change took place.

Dozens of monstrous eyes suddenly grew from the walls of flesh around them—each one staring directly into their souls.

And the moment their eyes met those hideous pupils—everything went black.

Instant hypnosis.

Tanjiro and Inosuke collapsed, unconscious. Their limp bodies were seconds away from being seized by the demon’s hands...

But then—

Zenitsu also fell into a dream-like state.

Only this time... something changed.

His entire presence shifted.

His expression went blank—his eyes opened, but the whites of his eyes had overtaken the pupils. His breath fogged the air, his posture calm and lethal.

It was as if... another version of him had awakened.

His stance dropped, blade drawn, and he exhaled a sharp puff of air.

"First Form of Thunder Breathing—"

Thunderclap and Flash!

BOOM!!

A golden bolt ripped through the carriage like a divine judgment.

In that blinding instant, every demonic hand in the area was cleanly severed—

in one stroke.

Tanjiro and Inosuke jolted awake just in time.

Grasping the moment, the two of them launched a deadly coordinated strike at the spinal bone below, which was just about to be covered again by regenerating flesh.

"Beast Breathing, Fang Four: Serrated Fang Rush!"

"Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky!"

With the dual attacks descending in unison—

Crack!

The spinal bone was cleanly severed.

The entire train shuddered violently. With a sharp jolt, the engine and the remaining cars split apart.

And then—

From somewhere inside the train came a piercing, blood-curdling scream.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

Disgusting, grotesque masses of flesh surged out wildly from the train, ballooning in size, threatening to explode out and tear the entire Infinite Train apart.

"This is bad!!"

Cold sweat slid down Inosuke’s cheek. "His neck’s been cut... now he’s throwing a tantrum!!"

Tanjiro, wounded and struggling to stay upright, shouted, "It’s going to derail! Inosuke, get Zenitsu and that conductor out—!"

Before he could even finish his sentence—

In the chaos of the rattling train car, Ron moved with only a thought.

The power of the Imperial Ice Arm activated.

In an instant—

The rampaging, expanding masses of demon flesh were all frozen solid, encased in glimmering ice.

The entire train, still hurtling forward a second ago, froze completely in place—halted.

Tanjiro and Inosuke, who were just panicking a moment ago, froze in stunned disbelief.

"It... it stopped?"

"What just happened?"

Carrying the unconscious Zenitsu and the passed-out conductor on their backs, Tanjiro and Inosuke stepped off the broken train car and walked onto the grassy field nearby. When they turned back for a look, what met their eyes left them speechless—

The entire Infinite Train, along with the grotesque flesh, had been frozen solid.

Tanjiro and Inosuke stood frozen in place, their eyes wide and overwhelmed.

"The entire train... actually got frozen?"

"So this is Ron’s power... what kind of terrifying strength is this..."

Once the initial shock passed, Tanjiro checked on the passengers still inside the train. He found that all two hundred-plus passengers remained fast asleep or unconscious—but unharmed.

He finally let out a long breath of relief. "Thank goodness... everyone’s safe..."

The moment he let down his guard, his legs gave out and he slumped to the ground with a heavy sigh.

"Well done."

Ron’s calm voice echoed beside them.

They both turned their heads.

There he was—Ron, standing with a faint smile, and Nezuko by his side.

Meanwhile, the beheaded demon, Enmu, was reduced to ashes with a last trace of unwilling hatred, its body slowly disintegrating into gray particles.

The ice encasing the train began to crack and crumble, fluttering down like snowflakes—glistening in the moonlight, delicate and pure.

Tanjiro looked at Ron, just about to speak—

When Ron’s gaze shifted suddenly to the side.

In the next second—

BOOM!

A heavy figure came crashing down onto the earth nearby, landing with such force that the ground quaked and a storm of dust and smoke erupted from the impact.

"!!"

Tanjiro and Inosuke’s hearts jolted, both of them snapping their heads in that direction.

Through the swirling smoke, a powerful silhouette began to emerge.

As the dust gradually cleared—

The figure’s form became visible.

The Upper Rank Three of the Twelve Kizuki—Akaza.

The moment Tanjiro laid eyes on the demonic markings in his eyes, symbolizing his status, a surge of dread gripped his chest.

Upper Moon... Three.

Why is someone like him here?!

BOOM!

Another thunderous sound erupted.

Akaza’s figure disappeared from where he stood—in the blink of an eye.

And reappeared right in front of Tanjiro, his fist already launching straight toward Tanjiro’s skull.

Tanjiro had no time to react. No time to dodge. He couldn’t do anything.

Just as that deadly punch was about to smash his head like a melon—

A tall, lean figure moved faster than thought, appearing directly in front of Tanjiro.

Fist raised. A punch launched to meet Akaza’s head-on.

"Trying to take me head-on...?"

Akaza’s mouth curled into a sneer.

"Foolish human."

Their fists collided.

CRACK!!

In that instant—

Akaza’s entire right arm, along with his right shoulder, was utterly obliterated.

The devastating force of that punch didn’t just rip through half of Akaza’s torso—it continued on, blasting through the forest behind him for a hundred meters, annihilating every tree and boulder in its path.

Akaza’s eyes widened in utter disbelief, his face filled with horror.