Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 25

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The Slayer and Sagetsu were inside of the forest outside the village, they were currently testing out their new toys that the Slayer had been developing. Sagetsu was rocking back and forth like an excited child as he had been anticipating this more than anything else in his life. The Slayer turned towards Sagetsu and revealed a Nichirin Hand Grenade in his palm before instructing the young man, "Watch carefully." He slowly put his thumb through the pinhole before pulling it out. The Slayer chucked the grenade a fair distance so Sagetsu wouldn't get hurt and they both watched as the grenade went off and blasted Nichirin shards everywhere in the explosion. Sagetsu dropped his jaw and even took off his mask so he could witness the explosion with his own two eyes. The man's eyes were the size of baseballs as he observed the damage done to the nearby trees. The man's eyes soon sparkled from excitement as he screamed:

"THAT'S SO COOL! LEMME TRY LEMME TRY! GIMMEGIMMEGIMME!" Sagetsu cupped his palms as if he was some peasant expecting holy water or spare change. The Slayer carefully dropped another grenade into the man's hands and warned him to be careful. The man practiced his throws before he finally pulled the pin and watched the grenade explode. The man jumped with excitement upon seeing the carnage done by the grenade. Sagetsu raised his fist towards the Doom Slayer who first bumped back as they continued with the experimentation of their new toys.

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Tanjiro was getting the hang of the battle doll. He had spent several excruciating days battlings against his mechanical opponent but he was improving. Tanjiro refused to let up as he was fueled by his anger towards the demons and his aspirations to be as strong as those around him. The doll knocked Tanjiro to the ground and the boy would waste no time in getting back on his feet. Tanjiro charged towards the doll and it felt like time had slowed down for him as he began to anticipate the doll's movements. His previous problem was that he was acting on impulse instead of reacting to his opponent's movements. He paid attention to the shoulders of the machine as he quickly learned that following the blade can be misleading and a poor judgement of attack speed and range. He could predict the robot's next attack; it would begin with a low swing followed by a high swing in another arm and a central slash with the third arm. It was designed to attack in advance, keeping in mind what the opponents probable dodge pattern would be and attacking in response.

Tanjiro had to think ahead of the robot who was already thinking ahead, it was like a game of chess but you can only play as if you're in the future. It was a difficult concept to grasp, especially when people tend to focus on the present when it comes to fighting. However, Tanjiro was able to find a way as he weaved around each attack while maintaining his composure. The boy allowed his instincts to take over and allowed his body to move without constraint as he hopped over an attack and rapidly spun around with his wooden blade extended. He smashed the blade with so much force and concentration behind his swing he was able to smash the head of the mechanical doll open and landed on the floor with his back turned to the machine. It was too late for him to realize what he had done as he whipped around and shouted, "HOLY SHIT! I didn't mean to break it! No no no, Kotetsu's going to be PISSED with me!" As the boy scrambled to put the head back together, he noticed a blade sticking out from the shell of the machine. He pulled it out to discover the ragged sheath which obscured the Nichirin Blade. He could only imagine how old this sword was considering the dust and how torn apart the sheath was. He wasn't sure what he was expecting as he pulled the sword out only to see a rustic blade that was in no condition to do its job.