Warm sunlight fell across the ground.
Yet the swordsman standing beneath it felt cold all over.
He knew perfectly well that the demon could not step into the sunlight, and yet a trace of fear still crept into his heart.
The swordsman tightened his grip on the hilt of his Nichirin Sword, as if that alone could give him a little warmth.
...
Soma stood in the darkness of the cave, silently watching the swordsman.
And the girl being held captive in the man's grasp.
His crimson eyes lowered slightly.
Slowly, he crouched down and knelt where he was. From his tattered clothes, he tore off a strip of cloth.
Then he began wiping the blood from his Nichirin Sword.
Again.
And again.
The blade gradually regained its sharp gleam, reflecting the demon's crimson eyes—cold and expressionless.
After experiencing this life-and-death battle, Soma felt that his understanding of the sword had deepened.
Ever since learning the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, he had practiced every day.
Yet something had always felt… missing.
Only now did he realize what it was.
Combat.
True life-or-death combat.
Swordsmanship—whether it was ordinary techniques or the Hiten Mitsurugi Style—at its core was nothing more than a craft meant to kill.
If one never killed… how could they truly understand them?
He continued wiping the blood from the blade over and over.
Occasionally, he would lift his head and glance toward the outside. Toward the swordsman standing in the sunlight he feared.
The man was hesitating.
At times, rage filled his face.
At others, fear.
Sometimes he gathered the courage to step forward—but then he would retreat again, dread overtaking him.
Soma continued silently polishing his blade.
Part of him hoped the swordsman would charge in and fight him to the death.
But unfortunately—
The man was neither foolish enough nor brave enough.
After glaring at him with hatred, the swordsman raised a whistle and blew.
A moment later, a Kasugai Crow flapped down and landed on his shoulder.
"A call for reinforcements…"
Soma lowered his gaze slightly.
He wasn't surprised.
The Demon Slayer Corps never hunted demons alone.
And demons—
Demons were usually alone.
With very few exceptions, most demons wandered the world by themselves.
No friends.
No family.
Nothing.
All they possessed was power… endless lifespan… an eternal craving for flesh… and slowly—
The loss of themselves.
The fact that he had lasted this long had already surprised even him.
He had never thought of himself as particularly strong-willed.
More than once, he had been ready to end his own life.
Yet step by step…
He had endured until now.
Even now, he still hadn't fallen into the bloodthirst that consumed other demons.
Perhaps it was because he still held onto a hope that other demons lacked.
Or perhaps—
Soma raised his head.
His gaze fell on the girl restrained by the swordsman.
His crimson eyes softened slightly before lowering again.
His fingers brushed along the blade as he felt the hateful sunlight outside and watched the Kasugai Crow fly away into the distance.
He wondered when the next group of demon hunters—stronger ones—would arrive.
"What is meant to come will come eventually."
He continued wiping the blade slowly.
But suddenly—
He stopped.
The swordsman shot one last hateful glance toward the cave.
Then he grabbed the girl and hurried away.
Soma, who had been sitting quietly until now, suddenly sprang to his feet.
Almost instinctively, he chased after them.
But just as he reached the edge where sunlight touched the ground—
His body froze.
The instinctive fear of sunlight forced him to stop.
All he could do was watch as the girl's figure gradually disappeared from view.
His fingers tapped restlessly against the sword hilt.
Just like the agitation inside his heart.
No matter how anxious he felt…
No matter how badly he wanted to act…
He could only stand here.
He could not step into the sunlight.
That was a place demons could never reach.
His thoughts grew chaotic.
Somewhere along the way, while he had become the demon that Kanao relied on— Kanao had also become the one tie binding this demon.
He knew perfectly well that, at this moment, the smartest thing to do would be to retreat deeper into the cave.
To escape.
To find a new hiding place before stronger Demon Slayers arrived to cut off his head.
But...
He simply couldn't do it.
Just as he didn't want to kill people or be an enemy of the Demon Slayer Corps, these things weren't dictated by what he wanted. If he didn't kill them, they would kill him.
When his own life was threatened, he still struck without mercy… without even a moment of hesitation.
Even though he knew that, as a demon, he should remain alone.
A solitary existence.
Lonely, perhaps—but without attachments.
And without attachments, there would be nothing to care about.
No one to worry about.
No weaknesses.
But once you gained something to protect—
it became a burden.
A vulnerability.
...
Soma stood silently in the darkness of the cave, staring toward the direction where the figures had long since disappeared. His hand slowly tightened around the hilt of his sword.
At some point, dark clouds drifted overhead, and the sky began to grow heavy and dim.
A storm was coming.
Drip.
Without warning, cold raindrops began to fall, striking the snow gathered on the trees and washing over the land.
The wind howled.
A sharp gust blew through the cave entrance and struck Soma across the face.
Winter rain was far colder than rain in any other season.
Even with the powerful body of a demon, he could still feel the chill.
Yet he remained standing at the cave entrance.
Silently waiting for the sun to set.
For the first time, he found himself hating the sunlight even more deeply.
The sun could have set earlier—so why did it insist on hanging there in the sky?
But no matter how anxious he felt…
no matter how desperately he waited…
Time would not move faster because of his urgency.
Nor would it slow because of his impatience.
It advanced at its own steady pace.
And so he could only stand there at the cave entrance, gripping his sword in silence.
The rain grew heavier.
The world grew darker.
At last—
when the final sliver of sunlight vanished from the sky—
Soma burst out of the cave.
The rain poured over him, washing his body clean.
The dried blood covering him, once dark brown, turned crimson again as the water ran over it.
Clutching his Nichirin Sword, he looked around in confusion.
He didn't know where to search.
He didn't know where Kanao had been taken.
He ran wildly in the direction the swordsman had fled—but found nothing.
The rain had washed away every trace.
Water streamed down his face, cold and merciless.
"ROOOAAR!"
He, who usually maintained a stoic silence, finally let out a thunderous howl. His Nichirin Sword slashed wildly through the curtain of rain—a futile, desperate vent of his rage.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning split the black sky, striking a tree nearby and snapping it in half.
For a brief instant, the flash illuminated the scene—
And revealed the demon's dark, grim face.
"Grrr…"
With another hoarse growl, Soma spotted a tall tree and leapt upward.
He climbed swiftly to the top.
Standing among the branches, he looked out across the mountains.
Endless ridges stretched in every direction, swallowed by the storm and darkness.
Until—
he saw it.
A faint light.
A small flicker of fire trembling in the rain, as though it might be extinguished at any moment.
...
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