Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 24

Tanjiro took a good look at the mannequin now that it wasn't being passed around and it astonished him how similar the mannequin looked to the man he saw earlier. They had the same hair, clothes and everything (except, it's a doll so it doesn't look human). The only odd part was that it had six arms, each with their own Nichirin blade. Tanjiro immediately noticed something hanging off of the doll's ears: a pair of hanafuda earrings exactly like his. Tanjiro was baffled at this discovery, trying to figure out how there could be another pair and why it's with this mannequin of all things. Tanjiro asked, "Kotetsu, what is this thing?"

"It's a battle doll that was constructed many centuries ago. It was ahead of its time, even my dad couldn't figure out how to replicate it. It was modeled after a legendary swordsman so they gave it six arms so it could kind of replicate his movements." Tanjiro was in awe, he really was astonished by what he was looking at. Tanjiro kindly requested to see the doll in action. Kotetsu was willing, considering Tanjiro asked nicely and just helped him out. They got to work at making the mannequin stand on its own feet as Kotetsu fiddled with the doll until it bloomed with life. The arms extended immediately as the battle doll assumed a fighting stance. Kotetsu commented, "Here, let's test this on a tree." Kotetsu managed to command the doll to walk up to the nearest tree and begin attacking. That's when the doll began to ferociously strike the tree with all six blades in rapid succession without stopping. The tree was cut apart as it descended, leaving thousands of small, wooden chips sprawled throughout the floor as the only remains of the tree the doll was commanded to attack.

Tanjiro's jaw dropped and his pride was damaged even more. Great, now he's outclassed by a battle doll, just what he needed. Tanjiro had to take a step back and realize how he sounded to himself. He shouldn't be putting himself down like this, this is a perfect opportunity to improve. Tanjiro asked Kotetsu, "Hey, Kotetsu, do you think you could tone down the battle doll so I could train with it? I know you're worried about breaking it but maybe we could both use wooden sticks or something? I think this will really help me a lot." Kotetsu's spirits were lifted as he praised:

"That sounds like a good idea! I can definitely fetch some wooden sticks to use! Just be careful, still. If you break it, I won't forgive you!" Tanjiro promised to be careful. He felt as though he was being watched from behind which made his head snap in the other direction to see who it was. However, there was no one there, he thought he saw the man from earlier that looked like the doll but it had to be his mind playing tricks on him.

Thus began Tanjiro's new training. He tried to get in touch with his swordsmith, Haganezuka, to see if he could get a new sword but the swordsmith was away and couldn't be found. He was alright with waiting as he'd be keeping himself occupied with the new battle doll in the meantime. He had spent several hours throughout the day training with the robot. It was more akin to a one-sided beating as Tanjiro couldn't keep up with the machine even though it was on a lower difficulty setting. Honestly, the boy wasn't even sure if he was learning anything. The robot was simply too fast and it took no time for the boy to be knocked to the floor with ease. The only problem Tanjiro could see in himself is that he was simply far too slow, which hurt because it really goes to show how weak he is compared to the likes of Rengoku or even the Hellwalker. He summoned upon his anger to keep going by remembering the death of his family. He had to become stronger so he can take out all the demons like the Hellwalker does!

Tanjiro pushed forward with his training, but it became more exhausting as the day went on and he wasn't making any progress. He was beginning to wonder if it was a waste of time. He begged Kotetsu to lower the difficulty setting of the doll but Kotetsu refused. It was by this time when the sun was beginning to set and Tanjiro was contemplating on calling it a day. Sure, he could start to see the moves more clearly as it was beginning to get repetitive, but seeing the movements and being able to avoid them are two different things. Nearby, the Doom Slayer leaned against a corner, watching the boy push himself to keep up with the advanced battle doll. Sagetsu had come complaining to him that some kid wouldn't let him take the doll. After the Slayer was done working on his current contraption, he made his way to take the doll himself, only to find this.

He watched as Tanjiro picked himself up to go for another round. He was more determined than before, that's for sure. The Slayer remembered the fear that befell Tanjiro when he met Akaza. He was getting better, but he's still not cut out for his line of duty nor did he hold much respect for the boy as it is. The kid was too focused on being like him, that's not what he should be doing. No one should be like the Doom Slayer. Yet, Tanjiro believes that possessing that much rage is a good thing. So, one minute, the kid goes from showing sympathy towards demons to hating them the next minute? It looks like the boy was very easy to influence, the warrior didn't have time to waste on the weak-willed.

The Slayer lamented his past and remembered the pain of losing everyone he cared about. There was no point in forming any attachments, he's seen where that road leads to time and time again. It's better for him to keep his distance and fulfill his duty, alone, as he has always done since the beginning. The warrior decided to leave Tanjiro be and returned to Sagetsu's shed where they had many more things to create.

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Elsewhere, in the middle of the night, Murata was out on a patrol by himself. He heard of some demonic activity happening nearby so he figured he would check it out. He found himself inside of a quiet village and the first thing he noticed once he walked in was the blood that covered the ground inside the village. There were headless corpses everywhere with no sign of life in this village. As he slowly walked around, he couldn't help but be consumed by fear at what he saw. It was unholy, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stopped once he saw someone in the center of town, kneeling in front of a corpse and drawing his hand through the blood.

Kokushibo turned his head upon hearing Murata enter the village and got up to look Murata in the eye. The boy was terrified at the sight of Kokushibo, who was now sporting an additional set of arms and eyes. His hair was spikier than usual and his chest was exposed to reveal the ends of his ribs poking out from his skin. The demon commented, "Beautiful, isn't it? It's hard to believe that a human did this, I wouldn't think anyone would go this far."

Murata drew his blade and pointed it at Kokushibo, crying out, "Don't lie to me! You did this, didn't you?!" Upper Moon One gently shook his head in denial and responded:

"I'm afraid not, I'm quite serious when I say this wasn't my handiwork."

Murata shook his head in denial as well, there was no way a human would do this. There isn't anybody who would go this far. Only demons can be this violent! Kokushibo continued, "It's hard to process, isn't it? The world isn't so black and white as it seems. It really changes your view on everything, doesn't it? Whoever committed this massacre would make for an excellent demon. Once I heard about what happened here, I had to check it out for myself and it's clear that you didn't do this. Run while you can, boy, I have no use for you." The Upper Moon drew a sword from his flesh, pointing it to the boy to indicate he's about to attack. Murata's instinct told him to run as far away as possible and so he did. He normally wasn't the type to run, he's willing to put in the work when push comes to shove but this was one of those moments where he knew he needed to run.

As the boy sprinted for his life, he was suddenly halted by the demon as he felt Kokushibo's sword pierce him. Murata was wide-eyed with shock, he was going to die and by himself, too. Kokushibo asked the boy a question, "Tell me, how much do you value your life?"

Murata cried out, "A lot! I love my mom and dad, I don't want to leave them!"

Kokushibo felt sadistic and replied, "Family? Heh, give them my condolences." Kokushibo began forcing his blood into Murata's body before pulling the blade out. He stood up and watched as Murata's body convulsed, the boy rolled around uncontrollably as he screamed in pain. Kokushibo chuckled before commenting, "Have fun being a demon, kid, get a taste of what we go through." before departing and leaving Murata to suffer as he tried to resist the effects of Muzan's blood but it was a futile effort. Murata watched as his skin became pale and his nails grew sharper. He begged that this would stop, he dreaded every second he was forced to watch. It didn't take long for the process to complete and Murata had become a demon now. He got up in a panic, he didn't know what to do, the smell of blood in the village made him drool like an animal. He shook his head, refusing to believe he had become a demon. He wasn't sure if he could resist his instincts for long so he got up to leave the village as soon as he could before the symptoms of becoming a demon could get worse.