"Death... Death... The Master is dead. The Master is dead."
"Death... Death... The Master is dead. The Master is dead."
"Death... Death... The former Thunder Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima, is dead."
"Death... Death... The Stone Hashira—"
…
The Kasugai Crows flapped their wings through the night sky, their shrill cries echoing far into the distance.
At that moment, every swordsman fighting across the land felt their hearts tremble.
Grief appeared on the faces of each Demon Slayer, and some had already broken down in tears from the sorrow.
…
Mount Sagiri
Soma sat at the entrance of the valley surrounded by blooming wisteria trees. He raised his head and watched the Kasugai Crows fly across the sky while listening to their mournful cries. After a long moment, he lowered his gaze and gently rested a hand on the Nichirin Sword placed before him.
Originally, he had planned to let events unfold naturally step by step.
But his arrival had completely changed the future.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's death, which should have happened many years later, had suddenly occurred today instead. Muzan Kibutsuji had launched his attack on the Ubuyashiki Estate far earlier than expected.
Perhaps the appearance of the Bright Red Nichirin Sword and the Demon Slayer Mark had stimulated Muzan.
Or perhaps the demons slipping beyond his control had made him feel threatened.
The usually cautious and careful Demon King had suddenly chosen to make his move.
It was entirely beyond Soma's expectations.
Still, compared to the pain and grief the other swordsmen felt upon hearing news of the deaths spreading across the country, Soma himself did not feel much.
He admired the sacrifice and resolve of the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen, but that was all.
Kanao sat quietly beside him the entire time, looking up at her uncle in silence. Occasionally, she would also lift her head to watch the Kasugai Crows passing through the sky while listening to their mournful cries.
Tap…
A faint sound came from the darkness in the distance.
Soma, who had been sitting still all this time, slowly raised his head.
A demon had entered the area.
The creature had clearly discovered this place as well. Perhaps after catching the scent of wisteria flowers, it stopped in the distance and stared toward them, noticing both Soma and Kanao.
"I didn't expect a demon to come here too," Soma murmured softly.
"Grrr…"
The demon let out a low growl from afar. Because of the wisteria scent, it feared approaching any closer, yet at the same time, it was unwilling to leave after smelling the blood and flesh of Demon Slayers nearby.
Today was a rare day when that lord had loosened the restrictions.
Normally, every demon lived under strict hunting limits imposed by Muzan. Any demon that exceeded those limits would face punishment from him.
No demon dared disobey Muzan's will.
But today, some of those restrictions had been lifted.
For every Demon Slayer killed, the number of humans a demon was allowed to hunt each day would increase.
Ordinary demons like this one usually only managed to truly feed once every ten days or more. But if it killed a Demon Slayer, it could feed once every five days instead.
And among demons, everyone knew one truth:
Unless they had already reached the limit of their growth, a demon's strength depended on the number of humans it had devoured.
The more humans they consumed, the stronger they became.
…
Soma looked at the demon lingering nearby, unwilling to leave.
Then he slowly stood and stepped out from the valley entrance surrounded by wisteria flowers, walking toward the demon instead.
Kanao silently followed behind him.
The moment the demon saw Soma and Kanao actually leaving the protection of the wisteria-covered area, excitement immediately appeared in its crimson eyes. Its body lowered instinctively, preparing to hunt.
And when Soma completely stepped beyond the wisteria boundary, the demon could no longer suppress the craving for flesh surging within its body.
It lunged straight toward him.
Soma raised his eyes and looked at the demon rushing toward them. Before Kanao beside him could make a move, he stopped her with a slight gesture.
His hand rested on the hilt of his Nichirin Sword.
Then, in a single instant, he swung.
A fiery red arc flashed through the air as the blade sliced forward with enough force to seemingly cut through the wind itself. In the next moment, the demon's neck was severed cleanly apart, and its head flew into the air while blood burst from the wound like a fountain.
As he sheathed his blade, Soma shifted slightly to the side, calmly avoiding the splattering blood. He watched the demon's head hit the ground and saw the disbelief and unwillingness still frozen within its eyes.
Clearly, it had never expected that the hunter would become the prey.
With his current strength, Soma was already no weaker than an ordinary Hashira. Against common demons like this, killing them was effortless.
Constitution +0.1
Strength +0.1
Agility +0.1
Mental Strenght+0.1
His Blood Demon Art, Devour, activated automatically, and the familiar sensation surged through his body once again.
The feeling of becoming stronger was undeniably pleasant.
But Soma was not addicted to it.
If he used it too often, it would easily attract Muzan Kibutsuji's attention.
"Ah!"
A sudden cry came from behind him.
Soma turned around and saw Nezuko unconsciously stepping backward, staring fearfully at the demon's corpse on the ground.
After that brief scream, Nezuko quickly looked up and realized both Soma and Kanao were watching her. Her small face instantly flushed red, and she hurriedly ran over to them.
"Is... is that a demon?"
Standing beside Soma, Nezuko looked at the decapitated demon that was gradually turning to ash and asked quietly.
Aside from Soma himself, this was the first true demon she had ever seen.
"Yes," Soma nodded before casually looking her up and down. "Come to think of it, Nezuko, you've never actually hunted a demon before, have you?"
Nezuko secretly glanced up at him.
The fact that Soma himself was a demon yet was calmly asking her this made her feel strangely conflicted inside.
Beside them, Kanao's beautiful pink-purple eyes were also fixed quietly on Nezuko.
The moment Nezuko noticed Kanao watching her, she immediately remembered how frightened she had looked just now. Her face grew even redder, and she instantly puffed out her chest stubbornly.
"I-I'm not scared of demons at all!"
Even though nobody had mentioned fear, she accidentally exposed her feelings completely.
"If you're not afraid of demons, then why not try hunting one?"
After training her for so long, Soma was honestly curious to see how strong Nezuko had become.
"Eh?!"
Nezuko let out another startled cry.
Her gaze instinctively drifted toward the dead demon nearby. Even though it had already been killed, its horrifying appearance still made her heartbeat quicken slightly.
"Is there a problem?" Soma asked calmly.
Feeling his eyes on her, Nezuko suddenly felt that the way she had acted in front of him today had been terribly embarrassing.
She immediately clenched her fists tightly.
"N-No problem! I'll… I'll cut off a demon's head very quickly!"
As she spoke, Nezuko glanced around the area. Under the dim moonlight, she could not sense any other demons nearby, so she asked softly,
"B-But… there aren't any demons here."
"If you want to lure a demon out, that's easy enough."
Soma chuckled softly before suddenly looking at her seriously.
"But are you truly prepared to hunt demons?"
Nezuko clenched her fists again and nodded firmly.
Still, after a moment, she secretly looked up at him again, hesitating as though she wanted to say something.
"Is there something you want to ask?" Soma said curiously.
"Doesn't… doesn't it bother you, sir?"
Nezuko asked quietly, sounding worried.
"Bother me?"
Nezuko carefully glanced at him once more before quickly lowering her head. In a tiny voice, she muttered,
"Hunting… demons…"
At first, Soma did not understand.
But then he quickly realized what she meant.
She was worried because he himself was also a demon. She feared he might mind her hunting his own kind.
Soma looked at her calmly.
"I am completely different from those creatures that can't even control their own instincts."
He nodded lightly as he spoke.
"I'm not the same as them."
"Never have been."
...
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