‘Demon Slayer’: Who Killed Hantengu, the Upper Rank Four, and How?

The Demons of Demon Slayer are a truly fascinating lot. They come in all shapes and sizes, and while they are evil in their demonic form, their backstories and their lives while they were human usually contain a tragic note that makes you sad for them. But there are also exceptions, and one such exception is the protagonist of this article – Hantengu. The Upper-Rank Four of the Twelve Kizuki, Hantengu was a very peculiar Demon who seemed to be a complete coward unworthy of his status but proved himself to be a very powerful enemy. Still, he was eventually killed, and in this article, we are going to tell you what happened to him and how he died.

Hatengu was killed by Tanjiro after he managed to find his fifth body. Hantengu is a Demon with the ability to split his main body into five different Demonic bodies, all of whom are representations of a certain emotion. And while the four stronger bodies were defeated with relative ease, it took some time before Hantengu’s fifth body was found by Tanjirō and killed, thus ending Hantengu completely.

The rest of this article will focus on Hantengu and his death in the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series. Hantengu is a villain, but he is an exceptionally important and very peculiar character. His death was both a complex and intriguing process, so we have decided to dedicate this whole article to him and his death. This article will contain some spoilers from the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga, so be careful how you approach it.

Hantengu was a cowardly lot, but that is exactly what he was difficult to kill

A Demon with the appearance of an old man, despite his weak and harmless appearance, Hantengu held the position of the Upper Rank Four, behind only Akaza, Doma, and Kokushibo. Now, Muzan might not have been the fairest, but he was slick, and he knew what he was doing, so the fact that he gave Hantengu such a high rank meant something.

He would not have given such a cowardly Demon such a high rank for no reason, and during the Swordsmith Village arc, Hantengu demonstrated not only his strength and his loyalty to Muzan but also why he is so difficult to kill. Remember how Daki and Gyūtarō had to be killed at the same time for them to actually die? Well, killing Hantengu was neither that simple nor that easy. And this is all due to his specific powers.

Namely, Hantengu was able to use his Blood Demon Art to create four clones of himself, each of the clones being a representation of one of his emotions and a powerful standalone Demon. These clones were:

• Sekido, the manifestation of anger, who is constantly irritated and very aggressive. He is quite powerful and also has exceptional speed and reflexes, as well as the ability to fuse with Karaku, Urogi, and Aizetsu into Zohakuten.
• Karaku, the manifestation of relaxation, is the most laid-back of all the clones but nevertheless very dangerous. He is also physically imposing but also has incredible stamina and durability.
• Aizetsu, the manifestation of sorrow, is constantly depressed, negativistic, and cynical to everyone, which is in line with the emotion he represents. His most prominent feature is his durability.
• Urogi, the manifestation of joy, is the happiest and most cheerful among the clones. He is also quite dangerous, though, as he is able to mimic avian creatures and use their abilities to his advantage in combat, which is why he is also the oddest one on the list.

As stated, each of these Demons is a standalone and very powerful entity. Sekido can absorb the other three clones into Zohakuten, a manifestation of Hantengu’s hatred. Zohakuten is a powerful Demon who shares a lot of personality traits with Sekido and has such a powerful aura that his mere presence can induce pain in people. Finally, there’s also Urami, a Demon capable of increasing his size so much that Hantengu is able to hide in his heart.

Now, while these clones are present, Hantengu shrinks and disappears, using his exceptionally high stealth abilities, which means that killing him is actually a scavenger hunt more than anything else, as he is extremely difficult to find. Even if you can kill the clones, you’ll have a hard time finding the main body, which is why Hantengu is very difficult to slay. But, during the Swordsmith Village Arc, the Demon Slayer Corps managed to do it.

So, what happened? The battle against Hantengu was a complex one and included both Tanjirō and Nezuko, as well as Genya. When Hantengu arrived in the village, he was quickly “greeted” by Tanjirō and Muichiro; while Hantengu managed to kick Muichiro far away, Tanjirō and Nezuko remained and were later joined in the fight by Genya Shinazugawa. And while Muichiro was fighting Gyokko, the others had to face off against Hantengu.

Soon after the battle started, Hantengu started dividing himself, creating more and more clones, while the main body ran away into hiding. Tanjirō, Nezuko, and Genya each fought their own clone of Hantengu’s, facing various trouble along the way, even sustaining some severe injuries (Genya was, for example, cut severely, whereas Nezuko even lost an arm fighting one of the clones). Tanjirō suffered no severe injuries, but his fight against Urogi was exceptionally difficult due to Urogi’s personality and ability to mimic avian creatures.

As the Demon Slayers slowly started gaining the upper hand, Tanjirō instructed Genya to close in on Hantengu’s main body. The tiny demon was running away, and although Genya managed to find him, he was not able to kill him, and the fear Demon once again ran into hiding. After realizing that they were on the brink of defeat, Sekido decided to absorb his fellow clones and transform into Zohakuten, a powerful hateful Demon who also engaged the Demon Slayers and even entered into a discussion with them. Nezuko, meanwhile, seemingly sacrificed herself, and the Demon Slayers were, ultimately able to defeat Zohakuten.

A fifth clone, Urami, soon appeared and was beheaded by Tanjirō using the Hinokami Kagura, but this was not the end, as the headless Demon ran away. Tanjirō then realized that even that was not Hantengu’s true body and, honoring Nezuko’s sacrifice, went to pursue the Demon as the sun was slowly rising. He eventually located the original body of Hantengu inside Urami’s heart. Hantengu realized that it was over, and as Tanjirō slashed his torso, the Upper-Rank Four finally died. This was Hantengu’s final moment, and he finally died, leaving Muzan without yet another Upper Rank.

But, Hantengu was morbidly loyal to Muzan, and even while he was on the brink of death, he managed to inform his master of Nezuko’s resistance to the Sun, which both intrigued and angered Muzan. This had some plot-wide consequences, as Muzan made Nezuko Kamado his next target, and his pursuit of her would be an important narrative element later on in the manga. As for Hantengu, he simply disappeared in a manner befitting of his primary, cowardly nature and was never seen or heard from again in the manga.

It actually seemed that Nezuko sacrificed herself to kill Hantengu

And while Hantengu’s death has already been explained, in light of the recent events surrounding the final of the anime’s third season, we also wanted to explain Nezuko’s role in Hantengu’s death. Namely, Nezuko actually participated in the battle and her intervention was crucial in defeating the vile demon once and for all, but how far was Nezuko willing to go to kill Hantengu and how far did she actually go?

Well, at one point, as the sun started rising while Nezuko was still actively participating in the fight, everyone was worried that she would die. It would have been a noble sacrifice, that much is certain, as Nezuko would have given up her life to defeat a powerful demon, but while Nezuko was willing to do it, it did not play out like shat.

Yes, Nezuko was willing to give up her own life for Hantengu’s defeat and when the Sun actually reached her, it seemed that she would die. Tanjiro even started crying as Nezuko, as a demon, was supposed to be weak to sunlight. And while Hantengu was also on the brink of death, Nezuko seemed to by dying as well. But, at that point, Nezuko simply rose up and greeted her brother, who was both shocked and overjoyed with seeing his sister alive. She was still a demon, as was seen soon after, but she was alive and she had, as Tamayo assumed in her letter, “conquered the Sun”. Hantengu also observed that and told Muzan about it, but that is a different story entierly.

What is important to conclude here is that Nezuko did not sacrifice herself during the battle against Hantengu, and while she was perfectly ready to do it, she actually survived and helped in taking down the Upper Rank Four.