MHGA Chapter 18 – Full Burst from the Slinger!!!

"Are you human? Or another species like demons, no longer belonging to mankind?" Dōma spoke with a smile on his face. "Surely your reason for exterminating demons isn't something like revenge, is it?"

"You three… the first one, the one who concealed people and vanished, and you. None of your expressions held a shred of vengeance." Dōma's voice rang clear through the massive chamber. "So what are your real goals? Do you seek to destroy demons, or eliminate those different from yourselves…"

"Even if you cooperate with the Demon Slayer Corps and kill Lord Muzan… then what?" Dōma continued, "Are you some kind of saints? Helping the Demon Slayer Corps without asking for anything in return?"

"Or is it…"

Before Dōma could finish, a figure darted past, cutting off his words.

Inosuke, acting before anyone else could respond, had already leapt forward, dual blades flailing as he launched yet another attack on Dōma. "Shut the hell up already!!! Why the hell should we sit here listening to your damn nonsense?!"

Though Inosuke's attack did not harm Dōma, it effectively shattered the atmosphere he had been weaving with his speech.

"You sure are a clever bastard. Of course we're Hunters—we're no saints offering free charity!"

Right then, Kairo Retsu grinned savagely, raising a finger and pointing at Dōma. "Trying to sow discord between us and the Demon Slayer Corps? Then let me lay it all out right here and now."

"We're Monster Hunters. A part of the ecosystem. The world is simple… hunt, or be hunted. But there are exceptions—cases like…"

"Monsters like you who've shattered the balance of nature."

Kairo pointed at Dōma as he spoke. "As Hunters, it's our duty to eliminate ecological threats like you… But of course, that's the pretty version!"

"Our real reason for hunting you is to gather materials for crafting new gear. And frankly, every single one of us Hunters finds you demons absolutely insufferable!!"

Kairo continued, "Trying to turn us against our allies? A freak like you doesn't have that kind of qualification."

"Dōma, founder of the Eternal Bliss cult, incapable of understanding human emotions since childhood… later transformed into a demon by Muzan… It was about fifteen years ago, wasn't it? You took in a woman named Kotoha Hashibira. But when she discovered you were eating people, she tried to flee with her child."

"She escaped your temple clutching her child, but you caught up to her. Before dying, Kotoha threw her child off a cliff, letting the river carry him away…"

Kairo stated bluntly, "Even if us Hunters weren't here, you'd deserve to be slain by that child."

"Kotoha… Hashibira?" Shinobu Kocho murmured, stunned. "That's… Inosuke's mother? So that's why he was raised by wild boars…"

"Ah, yes, now that you mention it." Dōma seemed to remember the event after Kairo's mention. "You actually knew all that? Now I'm even more curious about your origins. Still, since you brought it up…"

He swept his gaze across the battlefield, finally locking eyes with Inosuke.

A blast of icy wind surged toward Inosuke. He blocked it with his blades, and though he scattered the gust, it blew off his boar-head mask, revealing a face bearing an uncanny resemblance to a girl's.

"She really does look exactly like Kotoha." Dōma's remark corroborated Kairo's claims, and veins bulged visibly on Inosuke's forehead.

"But I didn't wrong Kotoha in any way," Dōma said casually. "Even if she had returned home, her husband and mother-in-law would've continued abusing her. Or she would've died out in the wilderness with that child."

"Her life was just that miserable," he smiled blandly. "But don't worry—I didn't leave behind a single trace of her body. Not even a bone."

Disgust rippled through every Demon Slayer present, and Inosuke finally grasped the full scope of Dōma's atrocities.

"Thought processes like yours—utterly alien to humans—are revolting." Kairo rested his Insect Glaive on his shoulder. "Every single one of us Hunters agrees—letting scum like you take anyone would be a stain on our mission."

"Demons like you aren't worth a single life sacrificed. Which is why—"

Kairo smiled. "We've prepared a special extermination just for you—second only to our operation against Muzan."

"Don't worry. You'll die the most spectacular death of any Upper Rank demon in this Infinity Castle."

As he spoke, Kairo pointed behind Dōma to his right. "For example… that was set just for you."

Confirming that no one on the field was in range to strike, Dōma cautiously turned to look where Kairo had pointed—only to see…

Kazuma Satou had somehow reappeared beside the wall, placing two massive bomb barrels reeking of gunpowder. Dōma had no idea where he'd even pulled those from.

What puzzled him more was that he had already verified Kazuma wasn't on the battlefield. When had he returned?

"Whe—" Just as Dōma began to speak, a hissing launch sound rang in his ears. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck—something large and barbed had pierced it.

A massive claw hook had shot from Kairo Retsu's left wrist and latched onto Dōma's neck with a chain.

With the reeling of the cable, Kairo's body was launched toward Dōma like a rocket. Before Dōma could react, Kairo had already straddled him.

Instinctively, Dōma tried to shake Kairo off to counterattack—but Kairo raised the claw again and punched him square in the face.

The claw's sharp tips shredded Dōma's face, forcing his head to twist. In the next moment, Kairo braced his arm-mounted Slinger against Dōma's skull.

"Let's take this to the wall—Sonic Bomb… Slinger Full Burst!!"

A deafening BOOM echoed through Dōma's ears, rendering him completely deaf. All he could feel was his body being hurled forward, unable to resist.

And directly in front of him—

Were the two massive explosive barrels Kazuma had placed just moments ago.

In the next moment—