"Turn around. Let me have a look."
The man stood not far away, staring at Soma's back. Although he didn't really believe he would encounter a demon, it was the middle of the night, so he still remained somewhat cautious.
"Is there something you want?"
Soma did not turn around. He kept his head lowered, his voice sounding cold and indifferent.
"It's nothing serious. Recently there have been bandits around, so we're cooperating with the dōshin of the town magistrate's office to inspect passersby. It's for your own safety too."
The man was a Kakushi, a support member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Although he was actually helping the Corps search for demons, that couldn't be said openly. Instead, he claimed they were assisting the town's dōshin in inspecting travelers—essentially what Soma understood as cooperating with the local police to check people coming and going.
As he spoke, the man looked Soma up and down. However, since Soma didn't turn around, he could only see his back. The girl on his back, however, seemed curious and turned her head.
Under the gentle moonlight, the girl's delicate features and fluttering pink-violet eyes looked especially refined and beautiful.
The man was momentarily stunned. His voice softened slightly.
"Just cooperate with us for a moment. It'll only take a second."
Then he looked at Soma again.
"Let me see your eyes. It won't delay you for long."
His tone relaxed considerably. After all, the girl on Soma's back clearly wasn't a demon. If the girl wasn't a demon, then the man carrying her was probably not one either.
Demons were usually humans who had transformed, so their appearance remained largely the same as humans. However, some special traits often appeared—for example, some demons' skin might turn bluish-purple, or certain parts of their bodies might mutate.
Of course, some demons showed no such obvious changes, making them harder to distinguish.
Even so, there was still a way to identify them.
All demons shared one characteristic: their eyes usually bore special markings. For ordinary demons the markings were faint, but for powerful ones they were very obvious. For the Twelve Kizuki, the markings in their eyes even formed clear numbers.
Just now he had seen the girl's eyes. There was no marking, so he concluded she was not a demon.
After realizing the girl wasn't a demon, he was already fairly certain Soma probably wasn't either. If not for the fact that the pair had suddenly changed direction when passing through the area where the wisteria incense was burning—forcing him to investigate according to protocol—he wouldn't have wanted to cause trouble.
"Hurry up and turn around. I just need to see your eyes."
Seeing that Soma still wasn't cooperating, the man urged him again.
"I don't understand what you're trying to do. Why are you looking at my eyes? I have things to do. I don't have time to waste here with you."
Soma said quietly while keeping his head lowered, then began walking forward quickly.
"Hey! What are you doing? I told you to cooperate with the inspection."
Seeing Soma simply leave, the man panicked and hurried after him.
But Soma suddenly sped up, making it difficult for the man to catch up.
"Hey! If you don't cooperate, I'll call someone over!"
The man grew irritated when Soma didn't stop and even walked faster than before.
At once, Soma halted.
"You should've done that earlier," the man muttered as he approached, quickly stepping in front of Soma. Seeing that Soma still had his head lowered, he said,
"Lift your head. I just need to see your eyes."
"There's no need."
Soma's voice was soft, almost sounding like a sigh.
"Please cooperate with my work. Otherwise I'll call someone. If the dōshin come, they won't be as easy to talk to as I am."
The man's tone became stricter.
Seeing that Soma still kept his head lowered, the man grew impatient and simply bent forward to take a look himself.
But the moment he did, he froze.
Those crimson eyes…
And the marking upon them was so clear that his heart trembled.
At the same time, a faint sigh sounded beside the man's ear. Then, his eyes caught the flash of a blade—the color of flickering flames—emerging from beneath the overcoat.
The razor-sharp edge sliced through his neck in an instant.
The man opened his mouth instinctively, trying to shout. But Soma had already stepped forward and tightly covered his mouth, preventing any sound from escaping, watching as the despair in the man's eyes gradually faded.
Supporting the man's limp body, Soma dragged it into the nearby grass. Just then, he saw someone approaching from afar—this person also bore the wisteria flower mark on his clothing, likely the dead man's companion, another Kakushi.
"Hey…"
The companion called out from a distance, seemingly noticing something unusual, though he didn't come closer yet.
Seeing that it would be impossible to silently kill this Kakushi as well, there was no longer any need to stay hidden. Soma immediately turned and started running.
The Kakushi froze for a moment. Looking at the inhuman speed of the fleeing figure, then at his fallen companion on the ground, he instantly let out a shrill scream.
"A DEMON!"
The cry was filled with extreme terror and piercing volume, instantly shattering the silence of the surroundings.
Almost the moment the shout rang out, several men dressed in tight black clothing rushed over at incredible speed. Leading them was the Demon Slayer swordsman Furukawa Hiroshi.
Looking at the Kakushi lying dead on the ground, then at the familiar back of the man carrying a girl, Furukawa Hiroshi's face instantly turned extremely grim.
"Damn it."
He gripped the hilt of his Nichirin Sword tightly. That demon had slipped away right under his nose. If he hadn't been careless and overlooked him, this Kakushi wouldn't have died.
"Damn you... I will kill you!" Hiroshi hissed through gritted teeth.
...
Now that he had been exposed, Soma naturally began fleeing without hesitation. His speed was extremely fast—so fast that the scenery on both sides seemed to slide backward as he ran.
He kept running.
At such speed, ordinary people would never be able to catch him. Once he created enough distance, he could easily shake off the Demon Slayer swordsmen.
After all, although Demon Slayer swordsmen practiced Breathing Techniques, allowing them to briefly reach speeds comparable to demons, it clearly wasn't sustainable. They couldn't maintain high-speed pursuit for long periods.
As long as they failed to catch him immediately, escape would basically be guaranteed.
Under the gentle moonlight, everything was quiet. The only sound was the clear rhythm of Soma's footsteps striking the ground.
Suddenly, it felt as though a gust of wind passed by. Grass swayed, leaves rustled—and at the same time, a deadly sense of danger descended from above.
Without hesitation, he instantly drew his Nichirin Sword.
Clang!
A Nichirin Sword suddenly slashed down from above, colliding with his blade and sending sparks flying.
The swordsman, finding his strike blocked, capitalized on the momentum. Even as they were locked in a mid-air struggle, he swung a leg out like a heavy mallet.
The kick came with a whistling wind, carrying immense force as it slammed into Soma's chest.
Thud!
A dull thud sounded from his chest, as if he had been rammed by a ferocious beast. The impact forced Soma to stagger backward uncontrollably, leaving deep footprints in the ground before he finally managed to steady himself after several steps.
Meanwhile, the swordsman used the momentum from his kick to push off. His body flipped lightly in the air like a nimble bird before landing gracefully.
His clothes fluttered in the wind as he landed steadily not far away.
This was a Demon Slayer swordsman who practiced Wind Breathing, a style known for its exceptional speed within the Demon Slayer Corps.
...
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!