Warning: Revealing the contents of Demon Slayer: Swordsman’s Village, episode 3One of demon slayerThe most basic rules of demons are that there are only two ways to kill a demon: expose them to sunlight or decapitate them with the Nichirin sword. However, Hantengu has proven that at least one of them doesn’t always guarantee success.
Hantengu was presented as nothing more than a snoring worm, making one wonder how such a pathetic creature managed to rank so high in Muzan’s hierarchy. His pathetic appearance even caused Tanjiro and Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito to momentarily lose interest, as both were initially unsure if he was a threat. However, when Tokito drew his sword and conducted a perfectly executed beheading using Nichirin and the powerful Demon Slayer’s Fog Breath technique, Hantengu’s head flew out of his body — and then both reincarnated, leaving two new demons in his place.
Demon Slayer’s Hangetsu is not beheaded
Past demons that have been decapitated can speak and think for a short time after their heads are removed, but always die in the end. The whole point of using one of the Demon Hunters’ famous Nichirin swords to decapitate them is that the sword has the power of the Sun within it, nullifying their normal regeneration. Then, how did Hantengu not only survive but both pieces of his body being able to regenerate into new beings? And this isn’t a one-time trick either; Another strike resulted in the same thing happening again. If Tanjiro and the others weren’t careful, they could start a situation of exponential growth, flooding the village with demons in a matter of minutes.
Since it is still unclear exactly how Hantengu was able to survive, it would be nearly impossible to formulate an effective strategy to defeat him. The lower fifth level demon, Rui, was able to fake beheading, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here, as the two halves are still separate, although it could still be some kind of hoax. Holding out until morning was always an option, but the night was early and the demons had plenty of time to wreak havoc before they risked sunrise. Worse still, Hantengu wasn’t sent alone, and Tanjiro and his friends hadn’t even set their eyes on the Fifth High, Gyokko.
Things are looking pretty bad for the Blacksmith Village, so Tanjiro will have to think fast if they want to find out Hantengu’s secret before it’s too late. Losing the village meant the end of the Nichirin blades, and thus the end of demon slayer Legion, so the fate of the world might depend on this battle.