The World On His Shoulders | Demon slayer x Male reader

Chapter LXXX

Tons of info for the end lmao. (Wrote this at 3 am...you'll see why)

.

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

.

3rd Person's POV

In the aftermath of the battle on the Mugen Train, Tanjiro lay on the ground, each breath sending sharp pains through his body, a telltale sign of his broken ribs. The train, a twisted mass of metal and flesh was beside the tracks.

The Lower Moon they had faced was unlike any other; his Blood Demon Art granted him control over metal, a power he exploited by infusing his blood into the train's very structure, transforming it into a monstrous entity intent on consuming its passengers. For nights, this demon had used the train as his hunting ground, but it was finally dead.

Tanjiro remembered the battle vividly. His and Inosuke's efforts had been crucial in taking down the demon, while Rengoku-san had protected the passengers from the train's attacks. Zenitsu, true to his nature had stayed close to Nezuko, ensuring her safety above all else.

Now with the threat neutralized, Zenitsu and Inosuke were attending to the passengers. Zenitsu, with his usual panic and concern, prioritized Nezuko's well-being, while Inosuke scolded the injured passengers, telling them to shrug off their minor wounds.

Tanjiro was alone with his pain, sprawled on the ground where the derailment had thrown him. Unprepared for the sudden crash, he had been flung violently from the train, resulting in his current agonized state.

As he lay there, struggling with the pain, Tanjiro took solace in the approaching dawn. The first hints of sunlight rose across the sky, a sign that their ordeal was over and that, despite the odds, they had survived. In his mind he replayed the battle, analyzing the Lower Moon's tactics and their responses.

Tanjiro's thoughts drifted to his friends, grateful for their safety and their strength. As the pain wracked his body, he held onto the hope that the worst was behind them and that, in the light of the new day, they could begin to heal and prepare for whatever missions lay ahead.

Tanjiro's gaze shifted back to the train, the remnants of the battle confronted him with a grotesque sight. The train had been transformed into an abomination of flesh and metal. Parts of its steel body sprouted jagged, perfectly white teeth, not unlike those of a predatory beast, set in a grimace as if the train itself were snarling at the survivors.

Eyes, too many to count and too human to belong on an inanimate object, dotted its length, blinking and twitching independently still with the demo's original body now turned to ash almost completely. They were set in what could only be described as fleshy sockets, a horrifying fusion of organic and mechanical. Ears, or at least structures that bore a disturbing resemblance to ears, also adorned its form.

Even Rengoku, a Hashira of formidable strength and skill, had been pushed to his limits. He fought not just the demon but the train itself, protecting the 200 passengers from a fate too ghastly to contemplate. His efforts ensured that not a single life was lost something Tanjiro was in awe and deeply admired.

Tanjiro's mind still tried to make sense of the anatomical impossibilities before him. The blending of organic and mechanical, the seamless integration of living tissue with cold metal, challenged every natural law he knew. It was a creature pulled from the darkest depths of imagination, made all the more terrifying by how real it was.

Tanjiro couldn't shake the feeling of unease that clung to him. The battle was over, but the image of the monstrous train would haunt him for a long time to come.