This was the first time Takeshi had seen Kanae so angry.
Whether it was from the anime or from his understanding during this time.
Kanae was a very, very gentle person; one could say her personality was somewhat similar to Tanjiro's.
Even when slaying demons, she would feel sadness for their plight.
But such a kind person was now so furious.
"The one who gave this boy blood is the same demon who killed me."
When those words fell, Takeshi's pupils constricted.
A demon capable of killing a Hashira?
Only the Twelve Kizuki could do that.
And—
It had to be an Upper Rank!
He didn't expect to encounter one so soon?!
The boy who had turned into a demon forcefully pulled out the knife stuck in his mouth.
He slowly turned around and looked at Takeshi:
Takeshi also looked at him.
The human and the demon stared at each other. After a moment, the demon showed a look of disgust and covered his mouth: "So stinky!"
"...?" Takeshi's expression at this moment was as colorful as it could be.
Kanae, who was still angry, couldn't help but burst out laughing upon hearing this: "Pfft!"
In these three days, he had just taken a bath while passing through a village yesterday. Even if he had been traveling all day today and sweated a bit, he shouldn't be called "stinky," right?!
The demon still covered his nose and mouth as if it were a big deal: "Ahhh, it's too stinky, I really can't stand it! How can there be such a stinky person!"
Takeshi's mouth twitched: "Is there something wrong with you?"
"Ah, I'm going to be stunk to death. Please stay away from me, okay? I don't want to be stunk to death!"
Takeshi's eyelids jumped. He brandished the small knife in his hand: "You'd better still be able to talk in a moment!"
Slash!
The small knife quickly sliced across his palm, and blood immediately gushed out!
"Ah!"
The demon let out a strange cry and immediately took a few steps back!
Kanae finally understood what was going on. "It seems it's your blood."
"My blood? What do you mean?"
Kanae explained: "Everyone's blood is different. Some people have a special Physique; their blood is known as Marechi. This kind of blood is very attractive to demons. I suppose your blood might be another kind, one that is quite loathed by demons?"
"That's not right. Why didn't that demon before have any reaction?" Takeshi thought of the demon in Wilderness Town.
That demon had pierced its hand into his chest.
Kanae didn't know either.
"Forget it, don't think too much about it. The important thing now is to slay the demon!"
The blood in Takeshi's palm began to gather.
"I'm sorry, Takeshi-kun, if possible, could you capture this demon alive? I have questions to ask him!"
Takeshi nodded and agreed: "Okay!"
The boy who had turned into a demon immediately turned and rushed toward an old man upon seeing Takeshi approaching.
It was then that Takeshi realized the people nearby were all indifferent; even though their hands were red from the cold, they had no reaction.
Before the demon could act, Takeshi's Blood Blade pierced directly into the demon's arm.
The moment it pierced through, the demon let out a scream: "Damn it, it hurts!"
The demon couldn't break free, and it could feel a burning sensation coming from its arm!
Kanae had told him before.
After humans turn into demons, they have an extreme craving for human blood.
The reason is that turning into a demon consumes a large amount of physical strength and energy, making them very weak initially.
Furthermore, after two months of intense training, Takeshi was no longer the same as before.
Even slaying this demon was an easy task.
Now it was completely dark, and the bonfire was about to go out because of the heavy snow.
"You should be glad you're still of some use!" There was no hesitation in Takeshi's eyes. To prevent the other from escaping, he directly used the Blood Blade to cut off all its limbs!
"Ah! You brat, what on earth are you doing?! I am the Spokesperson of God! Damn it—why can't I recover!" The demon struggled and resisted, but it was to no avail.
Takeshi picked up the ordinary knife that had fallen on the ground.
This was because he was afraid his ability to turn blood into a blade would scare ordinary people, so he had equipped himself with an ordinary knife. He stabbed the ordinary knife into the demon's throat and then forcefully pinned it to a tree.
Despite his smooth movements, in reality, he was so disgusted he almost vomited.
"I'll move these villagers into the house first, otherwise they'll freeze in a bit," Takeshi said.
"Yes, everyone's safety is important."
Takeshi immediately set to work, gathering the vacant-eyed people into a large room and lighting the charcoal until the room became warm.
After settling the ordinary people, he went back out and found the demon.
"Tell me, what did you do to these ordinary people?"
"Ke-ke, I won't tell you—Ah!"
"It seems you're not willing to talk?!" Takeshi's Blood Blade pierced into the demon's chest, and as Takeshi slowly turned the handle, the demon immediately let out a miserable scream.
If he hadn't come, these villagers might have all perished under this demon's fangs.
Even the gentle Kanae could not empathize with someone who would willingly give up their human status and volunteer to become a demon.
"Still not talking? Let me ask you again, what is the Eternal Paradise Cult?"
"I—Ah!"
Squelch!
"Tell me the name, appearance, and information of the demon who turned you."
"No—Ah!"
Squelch!
"I, I'll talk—Ah—"
Squelch!
"Huh?" Kanae said curiously, "Takeshi-kun, he seemed to have agreed just now."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear him."
Who told it to call him stinky?
Well, it's a demon after all, and it's to get information, so this doesn't count as extrajudicial torture, right?
On the verge of losing consciousness, the demon told Takeshi everything it knew.
After learning the truth of the matter, both Takeshi and Kanae looked at the demon with contempt.
The Eternal Paradise Cult was a very large religion with nearly two hundred followers.
This boy was one of them.
And the Cult Leader of this Eternal Paradise Cult was a demon.
After learning that the Cult Leader was a demon, instead of being afraid, this boy specifically looked for young women and lured them into the Eternal Paradise Cult to offer them to the Cult Leader.
Just because the Cult Leader felt that young girls were more delicious... the Cult Leader appreciated this boy, gave him blood, and allowed him to start a branch.
This boy felt he had received a blessing from God.
And when he came to this remote Luyu Village and saw that it was full of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, as well as people with feudalistic thoughts...
He then used drugs to secretly knock everyone out.
He was afraid these people wouldn't obey him, leading to the failure of his plan.
But he also wanted to become his longed-for 'Spokesperson of God'—that is, a demon—under everyone's gaze.
"This thing is pure evil!" Takeshi couldn't help but complain.
"Yes, it's a good thing we came. But... the Eternal Paradise Cult..." Kanae thought pensively.
"What's wrong?"
"I remember this Eternal Paradise Cult has existed for a long time. I didn't expect the Cult Leader to be a demon. Based on this demon's description and the trait of being fond of girls..." Kanae was basically certain that the Cult Leader of the Eternal Paradise Cult was the demon who killed her!
"Then one last question: what is that demon's name?"
"Dou, Lord Douma..."