Doom & Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Xover

Chapter 63: Epilogue Part 3 (The End)

Valen turns towards Tanjiro, requesting, "Will the Doom Slayer conclude today's proceedings." Tanjiro nodded, walking towards the guarded sarcophagus and staring at the empty praetor suit inside the coffin. The boy furrowed his brows, partially wincing as he held Flynn's helmet in front of him, staring into his reflection bouncing off of the helmet's visor.

This helmet was damaged, tainted by the many years of endless conflict. Now, it can rest. Most people at the memorial don't see the Doom Slayer as a broken man who continued fighting. Instead, they see him as an indestructible force of nature that has no flaws. Flynn was very flawed and spiritually injured. However, his true self began to shine through towards the end of his journey and he sacrificed himself for the betterment of the universe. Though this closes the chapter of Flynn Taggart's story as the Doom Slayer, it was time for Tanjiro to start crafting his story as the Doom Slayer. Tanjiro gently placed the helmet into the sarcophagus, stepping away as he watched the coffin slide into the pedestal before being sealed off to the outside world.

Thus, Flynn Taggart was put to rest at long last. There was a moment of silence to honor the warrior's burial. The crowd remained for several hours, but it eventually dissipated. Tanjiro stood in front of the statue, refusing to take a single step away from it as he stared up at the statue and admired its beauty. He was savoring the image as long as he possibly could. Soon, the sun began to set in Argent D'nur, and the majority of the citizens that had attended the event were returned to their home worlds. Kanao remained by Tanjiro's side the entire time, but she didn't share the same amount of patience that she did. She pointed out, "Tanjiro, I think we should go home now."

That's when they heard footsteps approaching them from behind. They turned to see a young man with short, black hair step next to them. He had familiar looking pink-eyelashes and several black tattoos marked on his body. The man spoke, his voice was also familiar, "Beautiful, isn't it? Honestly, I never thought I'd be here to see the burial of the Hellwalker. It's strange how life works sometimes, wouldn't you agree, Slayer?"

Tanjiro raised his eyebrows once he figured out who the man next to him was. Akaza smirked, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and patting it several times as he commented, "No use getting all hung up on the past, am I right? At least, that's what you taught me. You're the Doom Slayer now, so start acting like it." The young man backed off, giving a thumbs up before he started to walk away and announce, "That's all I wanted to say, couldn't help but notice you looking mopey the entire time."

Tanjiro raised his voice for the former demon to hear, "Wait, Akaza! What do you plan on doing now?"

The young man stopped, shrugging his shoulders before turning to face the boy one last time and explained, "I dunno. I'm still trying to figure that out. But, y'know what?… Maybe starting my own dojo doesn't sound so bad. Heh, I might just do that. I think my family would like that for me, to follow in my master's footsteps. Now that I'm not immortal anymore, gotta pass on my legacy one way or another."

"Sounds good to me, Akaza. Take care of yourself."

"Likewise, Tanjiro. I know we really started off on the wrong foot, but I never thanked you for giving me a second chance. I can't sweep what I've done under the rug, but I can, at least, start to make amends. Besides, anytime you're looking to learn from someone with literal centuries worth of combat experience under his belt, you know who to find."

"Now you're talking like a smug old man."

"Says the whiny teenager of a Hellwalker" They chuckled at each other's comments before waving goodbye towards each other. Akaza merged into the crowd that was leaving the scene, leaving the area scarily vacant. Zenitsu ran up next to Tanjiro to inform him: