The instant that little droplet of blood made its appearance—
Nezuko, who was literally half a second away from throwing herself into Tanjiro's arms... froze solid. Just like that, from full sprint to statue in the blink of an eye.
The hand she'd been using to pinch her nose went slack on its own, her eyes blew wide open, and her pupils shrank into two feral vertical slits.
Her gaze locked onto exactly where Marcus was hiding his hand. Not even a sniper aims with that kind of precision.
It smells... that... SMELLS INCREDIBLE.
Her demon instinct, that sickening thirst for Marechi Blood, steamrolled right over her brotherly affection like a truck with no brakes.
Her brother's pleas? The sweet childhood memories? The family love that had just been reawakened? Yeah, all very cute, all very touching... But there's no willpower in the universe that can hold up against THAT.
And the very next second...
Swish!
She moved at a speed that made absolutely no sense.
Using the momentum of her spin, she launched off the ground like a missile with legs, arms spread wide, letting out an "Mmu!" of pure concentrated joy, and hurled herself straight at Marcus.
"NEZUKO?!!!"
Tanjiro's arms froze in midair and the smile fell right off his face.
Marcus opened his arms and caught her.
"Gotcha!" Nezuko latched onto his neck with everything she had, her little face diving straight toward the bleeding finger, eyes practically screaming "give me that or I die."
Smiling, Marcus ruffled her hair with his good hand and wiped that thin trail of blood on his collar.
!!!
Squealing with delight, Nezuko tilted her little head with a look of pure bliss and started nuzzling back and forth against the crook of Marcus's neck. Exactly like a cat that just found catnip. Completely gone.
Holding her, Marcus looked up at Tanjiro, still standing there like a lamppost, and flashed him a radiant smile. "Looks like little Nezuko-chan... chose me."
"..."
Watching HIS little sister in ANOTHER guy's arms, purring like she was having the time of her life... Tanjiro felt something crack inside him.
And Urokodaki, who'd been watching the whole thing from his corner without a peep, pressed his hand against his mask.
'The days ahead... are going to be the worst.'
And so, ladies and gentlemen, the first round of the Great Nezuko War came to a close.
Result: Marcus, total blowout.
...
On the way back, Urokodaki ran up front at a brisk pace. Marcus followed behind, carrying Nezuko's basket on his back like a little backpack, cool as a cucumber.
And Tanjiro... Tanjiro was in the back. Mouth hanging open, eyes bulging, wearing a face so full of despair it was almost pitiful.
Just like in the anime, this long run from Urokodaki wasn't just for exercise. It was a test. Because if you don't have the guts to survive a mountain run, you sure as hell won't have what it takes to kill demons. Plain and simple. He wanted to see if the kid Tomioka had recommended with so much faith was actually worth a damn.
The result? That run nearly sent Tanjiro to the afterlife. In the original story, the poor guy had to cling to his happy family memories just to keep from collapsing halfway through.
But this time was different.
This time, Marcus was there...
Tanjiro didn't just survive. He was running significantly faster than in canon. Way faster. Almost unrecognizable.
And what was Marcus's magical method for motivating him?
Hehehe...
"Hey bro in law, relax, don't push yourself so hard. If you can't keep up... I'll make sure to take reeeeal good care of Nezuko-chan for you, okay?"
Holy crap...
That line nearly made Tanjiro awaken the Demon Slayer Mark right then and there. Every time he felt his legs giving out, Marcus would drop another little comment and Tanjiro's body would find energy out of nowhere.
Hatred is one hell of a fuel.
Finally, under the glow of the sunset, Tanjiro collapsed to his knees in front of Urokodaki's cabin. Tongue out, panting like a dog.
And as if that weren't enough, turns out Urokodaki had taken several extra laps around the area on purpose to make the route longer.
And Marcus?
He hadn't even broken a sweat. Dry as if he'd been sitting on a couch watching TV.
And to be fair, Urokodaki had slowed down the pace so he wouldn't kill Tanjiro in the process.
The intensity didn't even reach a fifth of what he normally put Marcus through on his daily "walks."
So for him, this was basically a day off.
But that wasn't all.
Because while carrying Nezuko in the basket on his back, he had kept Total Concentration Breathing: Constant active the entire way.
Tanjiro could barely stay on his feet. "Did I... pass...?"
Urokodaki slid the door open and glanced at him. "The test is just beginning. Up the mountain."
"WHAAAAT?!"
Marcus would stay behind, in charge of watching over Nezuko. And yeah, of course Tanjiro was worried, but then...
"Don't worry, Master," Marcus said, wearing a smile Tanjiro didn't like one bit. "I'll take good care of Nezuko-chan. Oh, and please, test him for real. If it turns out he doesn't have what it takes... I'll personally help you throw him out."
"From now on, Nezuko and I will take good care of you!"
"..."
Holy crap...
HOLY CRAP.
A flame ignited inside Tanjiro.
'I HAVE TO PASS THIS TEST NO MATTER WHAT!'
With his fighting spirit burning in his chest like never before, he clenched his teeth and followed Urokodaki up the mountain.
In the cabin, only Marcus and Nezuko remained. She had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Alone... Completely alone.
Marcus stood there staring at her. She had returned to her normal size and was sleeping peacefully.
His hand, as if it had a will of its own, slowly reached out... until his fingertips brushed against Nezuko's lips.
!
But the instant he touched them, his expression shifted and he pulled back.
He looked down at the scar on his finger, the one left from when he'd lured Nezuko, and shook his head hard.
He wasn't an animal.
Obviously he wasn't going to do anything to Nezuko.
What had made him hesitate wasn't what it looked like... What he was actually debating with himself was something else entirely: whether he should give her some of his blood.
He was completely certain. Just a few drops every couple of weeks, or even once a month, and Nezuko wouldn't need to depend on sleep to recover anymore. And not only that... he could form a bond with her. A connection nobody would be able to break.
No matter how you looked at it, it was all upside.
But!
On the way back to the cabin, he'd been thinking a lot. Too much, maybe. Especially about what came next.
His future plans.
First and foremost, obviously, were the system's rewards.
Every woman with potential and strength could grant him rewards across four distinct tiers. The first three were easy to sum up: they all revolved around the woman's presence as a source of combat power.
Tier One: contact gave him an immediate boost in strength.
Tier Two: contact generated continuous growth.
Tier Three: it unlocked breathing technique forms, and with contact, the intensity doubled.
Not much to think about there. The more girls he had around him, the greater his growth potential. Simple as that.
All he had to do was... well, be surrounded by girls. 'Not that I'm complaining....'
What he really needed to analyze carefully was Tier Four. More specifically, its reward.
Because what he got at that tier had nothing to do with the girls, but was tied directly to Marcus's future.
First, the reward from female demons: Devour Blood Demon Art.
Now THAT was something incredible...
Sure, the system imposed a restriction: he couldn't devour the Twelve Kizuki. But even outside that group, there was no shortage of demons with absurdly powerful abilities.
________
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