"Rengoku-san! Taka-san! Wake up! We're under attack!"
Inside the carriage, Tanjiro, who had broken free from his dream, quickly knocked out several accomplices connected by the Blood Demon Art hemp ropes who were trying to attack his companions in their dreams. He loudly called out to the two Hashira-level swordsmen.
But for some reason, Rengoku was alright, showing a slight reaction to Tanjiro's words.
Taka, however, was completely silent, his breathing very weak.
'What's wrong? Was Taka-san attacked in his dream?!'
Tanjiro was greatly alarmed and quickly checked the hemp rope connected to Taka's wrist.
He was astonished to find that the other end of the rope was tied to the conductor who had punched his ticket.
And he was already dead.
He knew he had no time to waste here!
If Nezuko hadn't headbutted Tanjiro, letting him smell the blood, he might still be dreaming right now.
"Nezuko, you stay here. It's dangerous outside. Don't go anywhere!" he commanded firmly to the confused Nezuko.
Tanjiro made a quick decision. He would first find the demon controlling the dreams on this train and find a way to wake everyone up!
He rushed out of the carriage and climbed onto the roof. A dense, thick demonic aura hit him!
Standing at the locomotive was the instigator of all this.
Lower Rank One - Enmu.
"Oh? You're awake? Good morning~"
Enmu's voice, with its nauseating affectation, pierced through the howling wind and reached Tanjiro's ears: "Why are you up so early? And I made such a nice dream for you."
He grinned, revealing a grim smile:
"Or maybe, you'd like to have a nightmare about your whole family being brutally murdered?"
The veins on Tanjiro's forehead bulged. The hand gripping his Nichirin Sword was turning white.
"Hehe, actually, what I like most is making people have a sweet dream first, immediately followed by a nightmare~" Enmu completely ignored Tanjiro's reaction, still talking to himself. "The twisted expressions on humans' faces are truly the ultimate delicacy."
"Shut up!" Tanjiro roared, flames of anger burning in his chest. "Don't toy with people's hearts! I will definitely cut you down!"
Although the demon before him was a Lower Moon Kizuki, Tanjiro would never retreat because of that.
Everyone was still trapped in false dreams. Who knew what danger they might be in!
He had to defeat the demon before him as quickly as possible!
"Water Breathing: Tenth Form: Constant Flux!!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Tanjiro swung his sword form. The Nichirin Sword traced a cold, aqua-blue arc in the moonlight.
Braving the fierce wind, he charged furiously towards Enmu at the locomotive!
However, Enmu merely smiled contemptuously, not even moving his feet.
"Blood Demon Art: Whisper of the Sleeping Dream! Sleep!"
Hum—!
Just as the blade was about to touch Enmu's skin, Tanjiro felt the scene before him abruptly distort. His mind went blank.
An irresistible drowsiness surged like a tidal wave, instantly causing him to lose his balance. His consciousness began to plummet into darkness.
"Sleep... Go back to that happy dream...."
Enmu's whisper was like a spell, instantly plunging Tanjiro into oblivion.
The Kamado home, a snowy night.
"Nii-san, try this!" Nezuko held up a piece of baked sweet potato and brought it to his lips, her smile sweet.
Tanjiro instinctively opened his mouth. The sweet, warm taste melted on his tongue.
'No!'
A voice inside him suddenly awakened him:
"Don't be deceived! This is a dream! We're fighting a demon!"
"Your family... were all killed by Kibutsuji Muzan!!"
Overwhelming grief swept over him, viciously piercing the false warm illusion.
The intense tearing pain made Tanjiro curl up in agony.
"What's wrong, Tanjiro?" His mother looked at him with concern.
"Nii-san, are you unwell?" Nezuko's pure eyes were full of concern.
[Tanjiro, be strong.]
His father's voice came calmly and distantly, as if penetrating the barrier of the dream.
[Sever it!]
An unprecedented resolve and courage surged in Tanjiro's heart!
He abruptly opened his eyes and looked at the false family beside him, the family he yearned for day and night.
"I'm sorry..." He murmured.
The next second, under the astonished gazes of his family, Tanjiro unhesitatingly drew his Nichirin Sword!
He reversed the blade and swung. The cold blade, carrying the resolve to sever everything, resolutely sliced towards his own neck!
Shrrk!
Intense pain came, not just from the body.
This decision to abandon the time spent with his family, to shatter this warm scene, stabbed at Tanjiro's heart!
The Mugen Train, rooftop.
"Cough… ah!"
Tanjiro abruptly opened his eyes. His body convulsed from the intense mental pain.
But he couldn't fall, because he was still fighting! He was still on the roof!
He forcibly steadied himself, once again mobilizing the momentum of Constant Flux, and charged at Enmu once more!
"How is that possible?" Enmu was incredulous and immediately raised his left hand: "Sleep!"
Hum—!
An intense mental assault hit, making Tanjiro roll his eyes and faint.
But almost instantly, he steadied himself again, breaking free from the nightmare!
Charge after charge, hypnosis after hypnosis.
Enmu and Tanjiro danced a waltz of flashing blades on the howling rooftop, constantly dodging and weaving.
"Ineffective? Why is it ineffective against you?"
The Lower Moon demon dodged Tanjiro's attacks, thinking constantly....
"It's not ineffective... You're just crazy...."
He understood. Tanjiro wasn't not being hypnotized. Rather, every time he fell asleep, he immediately realized it and committed suicide by cutting his own throat!
In other words, within these few dozen seconds, he had committed suicide countless times!
Even if it was a dream, the pain was real.
'Wasn't he afraid?'
"In that case, I'll give you the most painful nightmare!"
Hum—!!
The warm stove fire suddenly extinguished, turning to cold ashes.
The sweet smell of food was replaced by an unbearably thick stench of blood.
The entire Kamado family lay in pools of blood.
Kie's gentle smile became a hollow stare. A bone-deep gash on her neck gushed black blood.
Younger brothers Takeo and Shigeru had stopped their playing. Their small bodies were covered in ferocious claw marks. They stared at him with eyes that would never close.
Younger sisters Hanako and the baby Rokuta in her arms had become two cold corpses.
And Nezuko, sitting beside him, her long black hair stained with dark red blood. Her once pure, innocent eyes now held only endless resentment and pain:
"Tanjiro... why... why were you the only one to survive!"
"Tanjiro..." His mother's head tilted at an unnatural angle, her hollow eyes looking at him: "You useless thing... why didn't you protect us...."
"It's all your fault..." Takeo and Shigeru whispered.
"Letting only yourself live on..." Hanako sneered coldly.
Even the most innocent Rokuta issued a cold interrogation:
"What were you doing when we were being killed?!"
"You still have the nerve to be alive!"
.....The venomous voices converged into sharp curved blades, constantly tearing at Tanjiro's heart!
"My family would never say such things!!"
In reality, Tanjiro's eyes were wide with fury. He roared as he broke free from Enmu's hypnosis!
"Don't you dare... insult them!!"
Tanjiro's Nichirin Sword, carrying uncontrollable fury, howled down, tracing a wave slash of astonishing power in the air!
Shrrk—!!
The blade sank into flesh, viciously cutting into Enmu's neck!
Pffft—!!
The deep blue, spiraling blade light was unstoppable, directly severing Enmu's head! Sending it crashing heavily onto the rooftop!
"Hah... hah...."
Gasping heavily, calming the anger in his heart, Tanjiro's unease did not dissipate.
He didn't feel like he had killed Enmu, as that demonic aura hadn't disappeared....
"Could this also be a dream?" He was uncertain.
Just as Tanjiro hesitated, Enmu's severed head spoke on its own:
"That lord said... besides the Hashira, the most important ones to kill are you, with the earrings, and a black-haired boy...."
"This feeling, I understand it very well now..."
Gurgle...
A hair-raising change was occurring!
The steel body of the train suddenly emitted a twisted sound of flesh writhing!
The train's cold metal shell was rapidly covered in slime-coated, dark red flesh!
Thick, vein-like sinews, pulsating like blood vessels, grew at the carriage connections!
In just a few short moments, the entire Mugen Train had transformed into a colossal, monstrous creature of flesh and blood, radiating terrifying aura!
And Enmu's head, after some flesh writhing, connected to a huge tentacle, and spoke grimly:
"Too bad for you... While you were all sound asleep, I have already fused with the train!"
"Pathetic Demon Slayers... Everything on this train is my blood, my flesh! How will you kill me?!"
"Can you protect the hundreds of people on this train?... Hehehe..."
He sneered, savoring the despair on Tanjiro's face:
"I'll kill every single one of you, not a single one left!!"