Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 49

They were now approaching the entrance to the World Spear which consisted of a large, similarly patterned, eye-shaped gate. In front of the large gate stood two, large, armored spirits that stood at attention with their spears overlapping one another. Once the two allies reached the slope leading up to the gate, the Slayer ushered Tanjiro to stay behind, unsure whether the spirits were hostile or not. As the man ventured up the slope, the two spirits withdrew their spears, granting access to the entrance behind them. Tanjiro cocked his head as he pointed out, "I guess we're worthy…?" before quickly catching up with the Hellwalker.

After passing the two spirits and approaching the gate, the eye-shaped door began separating as it split apart to grant the two warriors passage into the World Spear. What was on the other side was something neither of them were expecting. After passing through the large doors, Tanjiro's jaw slightly dropped as he looked around the gigantic megastructure they were inside. This was not, at all, a natural formation. This was hand-crafted by something. Covering the thick ice walls of the World Spear were hundreds upon thousands of large capsules, each containing a dormant creature in hibernation. There were various bridges and support beams connected to a central structure that took up the space within the middle of the World Spear. It was a large tower made up of various sections, each of them spherical in shape. The ground they stood upon was a type of grass not native to any of the worlds they've ventured to before as the grass pathway led up to a habitat up ahead.

Tanjiro stood in disbelief as he pointed out, "What are those things?" The boy pointed at the capsules covering the walls of the structure. The Slayer looked closely at the dormant creatures and recognized them immediately as he responded:

"Those are Wraiths waiting to be awakened, from what I can tell." Tanjiro raised his eyebrows in shock, taking in the fact that he was finally seeing a Wraith for the first time. They were nothing like he had imagined, they surpassed his expectations. While Tanjiro looked around, fascinated at the sight around him, the Slayer was focused on the central tower and identifying where the power source he needed was. He was able to see a large opening a few stories above them with several platforms extending from the large section. It was worth checking out. "We need to get up there." The Slayer informed as he pointed to the section he was referring to. Tanjiro spotted it right away and nodded in agreement as the two ventured into the habitat to get closer to the central tower.

The Slayer and Tanjiro fired their respective hooks towards the edge of the platform as the metallic hook dug into the ground. With minimal effort, Tanjiro and the Slayer were able to pull themselves up onto the platform, spending a few minutes climbing the large structure in order to get to the top. This was indefinitely not the ideal way to scale the tower but they were left with no choice or time. After Tanjiro was pulled onto the platform with Flynn's help, they looked toward the middle of the section they were in. There were numerous pillars supporting the upper half of the structure. The ground, the pillars, and even the floor shared the same eye-shaped pattern. The boy was starting to get more unsettled by the consistent eye-shaped pattern, it gave him the feeling that he was being watched at all times and considering where they're at, he wouldn't be surprised.

Within the center was a well with a large, blue crystal that was the size of Tanjiro's arm, hovering above it. A steady blue light radiated from the well as it beamed through the crystal and pointed towards the ceiling. Upon approaching the crystal, both Tanjiro and the Doom Slayer realized that the pillars surrounding them were more than structural support. Within them, they could see more Wraiths residing inside. These pillars were also acting as hibernation capsules for the creatures inside.

The Slayer made his way towards the crystal to retrieve it. As he walked towards it, a voice that the Slayer is familiar with called out to him, "At last, you have returned… Do you know what you have done?" The Slayer clenched his fist, hand hovering over the demonic crucible as he turned around to face the person slowly approaching him. Tanjiro took a step back in uncertainty as he was unnerved by the appearance of the creature entering the room.