Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 51

The boy stepped back as he responded with his own attack, "Sun Breathing: Burning Bones, Summer Sun." before performing a large, circular slash that created a wall of bright blue fire that ate up some of the damage. While the boy was obscured, Tanjiro quickly sheathed his nichirin blade and drew the Super Shotgun in that same instant so he could pull himself away using the Meathook.

Once the flames died down, Akaza lowered his arms in order to find Tanjiro in the midst of the battlefield. The Upper Moon looked around at the various demons around him getting slaughtered by the Night Sentinels and their allies. Everyone was focused on their own battles for the most part. Akaza tilted his head forward to avoid a stray shot that was coming towards him. After Akaza raised his head back up, his senses alerted him to an incoming threat as he saw Tanjiro descending upon him while swinging with both weapons. The demon quickly grabbed both Tanjiro's axe and sword and maneuvered the boy in front of him for a powerful shove kick that would blow the boy away and disarm him. As Tanjiro was blasted away by Akaza's kick, the boy's weapons were yanked from his hands as he wasn't strong enough to hold onto them.

Akaza inspected both weapons, not impressed by either of them as he mocked Tanjiro, "You're better than I expected, I'll give you that. I'm not going to say, 'I'm not having fun.' because I am. However, you're still an amateur. I haven't the slightest clue how you got this strong so quickly. Maybe it's that suit of armor but that still doesn't cover up your apparent lack of skill when compared to me. I've lived for centuries, accumulating combat experience to become strong while you're some teenager that was given an ungodly amount of power. You still have a long way to go if you want to keep up with me." As Tanjiro picked himself up, Akaza threw the nichirin blade back towards Tanjiro. The boy quickly looked down at the sword before returning his attention towards the axe that Akaza was still holding onto. "You can keep the sword, I'm fine with that dinky little thing. However, this…" Akaza prepared to chuck the axe as far away as he could, "...can go straight to Hell!" before throwing the axe like a baseball in a random direction.

Tanjiro shouted, "NO!" As he pointed his Super Shotgun towards the rocks so he can chase after the axe with his meathook. As he fired it, Akaza punched the air between him and the meathook, creating a shockwave that bent the chain and redirected the meat hook into the ground. Akaza pressed his foot down on the meathook while Tanjiro tried to retract it, preventing it from returning.

"You really want to keep using that axe? It's such a buzzkill of entertainment. It's no fun for me, personally."

Tanjiro gave up on retrieving the axe, he understood Akaza was not going to let him take it back any time soon so he decided to shift his attention to the current situation as he stated with a distorted voice because of the mask, "You make no sense to me. You keep going on and on and on about the weak and how much you despise them. Then all of a sudden, you view the strong as a source of entertainment! What are you even after? I-is that why you hate the weak? Because they can't entertain you? Is life just some fucking game to you?!"

Akaza's nonchalant expression quickly dissipated as he stated, "The strong entertain me for a different reason. I'm entertained by their strength, fascinated by their ability to take control of their lives and bend it to their will. They don't need much, they stay true to their resolve and will not crack under pressure. The weak are entitled pests that do nothing but beg for more than they're entitled to. They cannot accept honor in defeat, they cannot learn from their own mistakes, the weak are just rodents who get in the way of other people's lives! They- they even have the audacity to poison a sick little girl and her father because they lost a fight, fair and square!"

Tanjiro was shocked by the last statement, he didn't take Akaza for the sympathetic type. This made the boy question, "What happened to you? What caused this unfettered hatred for the weak?"