Chapter 45 45: Come Out, Asuramaru!
"Moreover, it was awakened by Tanjiro Kamado and recognizes only him as its Sword Master. No one else can wield it."
The white-haired girl's clear voice carried across the courtyard.
"At the same time, this sword has only recently awakened. Its abilities have not fully recovered. It must slay demons in order to regain its strength."
The Hashira listened in silence.
Then came the next line.
"In addition… Asuramaru's healing ability may be able to cure the Master's illness."
The moment those words fell, the atmosphere in the courtyard changed.
Every Hashira reacted.
Even those who had remained composed until now could no longer fully hide the shock in their expressions. Their gazes sharpened at once, all turning toward the sword hanging at Tanjiro's waist.
For the Demon Slayer Corps, the Master was not merely a commander.
He was the pillar that held their hearts together.
Sanemi Shinazugawa's fierce eyes trembled faintly. The Wind Hashira, who had moments ago looked ready to cut down Nezuko without hesitation, now stared at Asuramaru with something close to hope.
He could not hold himself back.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sanemi snapped. "Start the treatment now!"
Beside him, Kyojuro Rengoku's eyes blazed with the same intensity as his voice.
"Indeed! If there is a chance, then we should begin at once!"
Even Obanai Iguro, who hated demons so deeply that his gaze toward Nezuko's box had never softened, narrowed his mismatched eyes at the sword.
"If it can cure the Master," he said faintly, "then tolerating this boy and his demon sister is not entirely impossible."
Mitsuri Kanroji clasped her hands together, her cheeks flushed as she stared at Asuramaru.
Can that sword really heal the Master?
The other Hashira did not speak, but their thoughts were much the same.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's life mattered more to them than almost anything.
Yet Kagaya himself was the calmest person present.
Faced with the possibility of being cured, his expression remained as still as quiet water. No excitement. No greed. No desperation.
It was as though he had long ago accepted life and death, and now merely listened to one more possibility the world had offered him.
He lifted one finger and placed it gently against his lips.
The courtyard fell silent at once.
The Hashira stopped speaking. One by one, they lowered themselves respectfully to one knee, waiting for his words.
Only then did Kagaya continue in his gentle voice.
"The letter says it may be possible. Not that it is certain."
His tone was warm, but every word settled clearly into the hearts of those present.
"So I ask all of you: even if the treatment fails, do not harbor resentment toward Asuramaru or Tanjiro."
No one spoke.
Kagaya turned his blind gaze toward Tanjiro's direction.
"Furthermore, whether Asuramaru is willing to treat me is not a decision we can make. It must choose for itself."
Then, with the same calm courtesy he would have used when addressing an honored guest, he asked,
"May I request that the spirit within the sword, Asuramaru, appear before us?"
His voice was soft, almost soothing.
Tanjiro felt it immediately.
Kagaya's words carried a strange power. Not force. Not pressure. Something gentler than that. A kind of quiet authority that made people instinctively want to listen.
Inside the sword, Alex also felt it.
So this is Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
A born leader.
Tanjiro, however, was still caught in the emotions stirred by Urokodaki's letter.
Urokodaki had trusted him.
Giyu had trusted him.
They had even staked their lives on him and Nezuko.
His eyes stung, and tears welled before he could stop them.
Then Sanemi grabbed him by the hair and shook him hard.
"Quit spacing out!" Sanemi barked. "Call Asuramaru out already!"
Tanjiro's head jerked back and forth, snapping him out of his daze. When he finally focused again, he found the entire courtyard looking at him.
The Hashira.
The Master.
Everyone was waiting.
The pressure was enormous.
Even so, Tanjiro gritted his teeth and answered firmly, "Please wait a moment. I need to ask Asuramaru first."
Sanemi's expression twitched, as if he wanted to say something unpleasant, but Kagaya spoke before him.
"Of course. Take your time."
With that, Sanemi released Tanjiro's hair.
Tanjiro did not argue with him. He did not even look angry. Instead, he immediately lowered his head and called inwardly,
"Asuramaru, can you come out again? Or control my body? If you can, please try to heal the Master."
Inside the sword, Alex was briefly speechless.
Yesterday you were practically demanding power like a starving man demanding rice. Today you're back to asking politely?
Still, this was the moment he had been waiting for.
He wanted to appear.
Very much.
But wanting something and acting too eager were two different matters.
So Alex answered with deliberate restraint.
"If that is what you wish, it is not impossible."
Tanjiro understood at once.
His face brightened with that familiar, sincere smile.
"Thank you, Asuramaru."
Back in the courtyard, Tanjiro raised his head.
Under the expectant gazes of all the Hashira, he spoke clearly.
"Master, I asked Asuramaru. It is willing to try to treat you."
The effect was immediate.
Relief, excitement, and hope flickered across the faces of the Hashira. Even those skilled at hiding their emotions could not fully conceal what they felt.
The Master's illness had always been a thorn lodged in the hearts of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Now, for the first time, someone had placed a hand near that thorn.
Kagaya's expression remained calm, but a small smile appeared on his lips.
"Is that so? How wonderful."
He was not afraid of death.
But if there was a chance to live longer, to continue guiding his children in their war against Muzan, he would not reject it.
Sanemi, after his first surge of excitement, quickly forced himself back into caution. He looked at Tanjiro and asked in a much lower voice than before,
"How will Asuramaru treat the Master? Does the boy need to touch him?"
There was still roughness in his tone, but the hostility had weakened.
That question also proved one thing.
They had already gathered information about Asuramaru from Zenitsu and Inosuke.
Healing. Black threads. Contact through Tanjiro.
But hearing about it and seeing it were two different matters.
Tanjiro was about to ask Asuramaru again when Alex's voice sounded first.
"I'll come out myself."
The words had only just fallen when the sword at Tanjiro's waist moved.
The guard shifted.
The sword slid a fraction from its scabbard with a soft click.
Then black smoke poured out.
It spilled into the air like ink dropped into clear water, curling around Tanjiro in slow, deliberate spirals. The Hashira tensed at once. Some reached for their swords. Others narrowed their eyes, observing without blinking.
The mist thickened.
Then gathered.
Then took shape.
Before everyone's eyes, a graceful figure emerged from within the darkness.
Even Kagaya, though blind, seemed to sense the change. He tilted his face slightly forward and asked calmly,
"Has something happened?"
One of the girls beside him answered at once.
"The sword at Tanjiro's waist released black smoke. The smoke gathered around him, and when it cleared… a young girl appeared."
As the words faded, everyone finally saw Asuramaru's form clearly.
She floated in midair, her feet never touching the ground.
She looked no taller than a young girl, yet there was nothing childish about the presence she carried. Long dark-purple hair flowed around her face, half-veiling one crimson eye. A black-and-gold hair ornament rested atop her head, and two white horns curved from her forehead. Her ears were long and sharp, almost elf-like, twitching faintly as she surveyed the courtyard.
Her dress was purple and white, elegant enough to seem out of place beneath the morning sun, yet the black mist coiling around her made the beauty feel dangerous rather than delicate.
A strange, fatal charm hung over her.
.....
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