Night had fully fallen.
A biting cold filled the mountain air, seeping through clothing and into the bones. The forest of Tiger Head Mountain stood silent, as if holding its breath.
Sakuragi Rukawa moved slowly through the undergrowth, leaning on his wooden staff. Before retiring, he had once made his living as a hunter. Tracking prey, reading broken branches, sensing danger—these skills had been carved into his body long ago.
Later, when he joined the Demon Slayer Corps, those same instincts had been refined for a far more dangerous target.
Demons.
After days of searching, he finally stopped.
In front of him stood a tree trunk thick enough for a grown man to wrap his arms around. It had been violently snapped, the break jagged and unnatural.
"This isn't human… and it's not a wild beast either."
Rukawa bent down and inhaled lightly.
A faint, fishy stench lingered in the air.
The smell of cannibalism.
The shared scent of demons.
Following the trail, Rukawa pressed deeper into the forest. With every step, the demonic aura grew heavier, pressing against his chest like invisible hands.
Footprints appeared in the grass—deep, distorted, uneven.
"This thing…" Rukawa muttered. "It's losing its humanity."
Most demons had a limit to their growth. That limit was fixed from the moment they transformed.
But some demons, by devouring massive numbers of humans, could break that limit. Their bodies twisted, warped, and leaned toward something inhuman.
These were known as Variant Demons.
They did not possess strange supernatural abilities like Ability Demons, but their physical bodies became monsters—arms, claws, jaws, and muscles far beyond reason.
Worse still, the more they mutated, the more their hunger grew.
If this demon wasn't killed now, it would only be a matter of time before nearby villages were targeted.
Soon, the trail led Rukawa to a narrow ravine.
Hidden within it was a dark cave.
A tiger's den.
This place had once belonged to a fierce tiger many years ago—before Rukawa himself had hunted and slain it, using its hide as a betrothal gift to marry the woman he loved.
Since then, Tiger Head Mountain had known no tiger's roar.
Rukawa stared at the cave entrance.
"So you chose this place…"
The irony was bitter.
But his expression grew grim.
The interior of the cave was cramped and dark—terrible terrain for combat. Entering would mean placing himself at a severe disadvantage.
He hesitated.
Then—
A foul wind slammed toward the back of his head.
Rukawa's body reacted before his mind did.
He rolled forward, narrowly avoiding death, and in the same instant, his Nichirin Blade left its sheath, sweeping upward in a sharp arc.
Whoosh—
For a split second, it felt as if flames roared into existence.
The blade glowed red, as though forged anew by fire.
"Nichirin Blade…?"
A low, hoarse voice echoed through the ravine.
"Demon Slayer Corps?"
Moonlight revealed the attacker.
A massive beast crouched before him—a tiger-shaped demon, as large as an ox. Four limbs pressed into the earth, muscles bulging, posture ready to pounce.
It straightened slowly.
The demon stood nearly three meters tall, its body a wall of flesh and power. Bloodshot eyes fixed on Rukawa with mockery and hunger.
"They sent an old man like you… to kill me?"
Rukawa said nothing.
There was nothing left to decide.
His aging heart began to pound harder, drawing in deep breaths. Oxygen surged through his body, awakening strength he hadn't felt in years.
"Flame Breathing—First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
Rukawa lunged.
His blade burned bright as he thrust forward, the technique compressing all his strength into a single, decisive strike.
He knew the truth.
His old body could not endure prolonged battle.
This had to end now.
The Tiger Demon's instincts screamed danger.
Its fur bristled. Without thinking, it retreated while raising its arms to block.
Crunch—
The sound of steel cutting bone rang out.
The Nichirin Blade embedded itself deep into the demon's arm.
"Haha…!" the demon laughed shrilly. "Old man, your strength is lacking!"
But inside, fear lingered.
If Rukawa had been even ten years younger, that strike would have ended everything.
Rukawa staggered.
The backlash from the breathing technique tore through his body. Breathing styles were not gentle arts—they demanded extreme physical fitness, and his aging frame simply couldn't keep up.
The Tiger Demon seized him by the throat and lifted him effortlessly.
"That hurt," it sneered, sharp teeth gleaming. "How should I repay you…?"
Before it could finish—
CRACK.
A blur of motion flashed.
The demon's vision went black.
Its neck snapped with a clean, terrifying sound, and its massive body was sent flying, smashing through more than a dozen trees like a cannonball.
Rukawa collapsed to one knee, coughing.
"…James?!"
He stared in disbelief at the figure standing before him—and at the destruction left behind.
When did his grandson become this monstrous?
"How are you, Grandpa?" James asked calmly.
Rukawa's mind raced. "Wait—don't kill it like that! You need a Nichirin Blade—!"
His words halted halfway.
The blade was still embedded in the demon's arm.
A broken roar echoed through the forest.
"He's right! You can't kill me!"
The Tiger Demon rose again, its head half-crushed, neck barely holding together.
Demons were immortal.
Unless burned by sunlight or beheaded by a Nichirin Blade, they would not truly die.
James watched silently.
That single kick had already told him everything.
This demon was nowhere near his level.
The Tiger Demon felt fear.
Real fear.
"Damn it… why am I afraid of a human?!"
It yanked out the Nichirin Blade and turned to flee, sprinting on all fours.
"Once I recover… I'll come back!"
It didn't make it a hundred meters.
James appeared beside it and kicked mid-air.
The demon crashed into the ground.
Before it could rise, James mounted its back, one hand gripping its neck, pressing it firmly into the earth.
"Are you… human or—"
THUMP.
The demon's head exploded, collapsing into gore.
James stepped back, flexing his fingers.
He studied the remaining body, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
Without a head… how would it regenerate?
Was consciousness tied to the brain—or the soul?
If such a creature existed in a technological world, it would be priceless.
But reality had rules.
Rukawa approached slowly. "You still need to cut the neck. That's how demons die."
"Only the neck?" James asked, lifting the blade.
"Yes. That's what centuries of blood proved."
The demon's neck tried to regenerate—but failed.
It had reached its limit.
James sighed and acted.
One vertical cut. One horizontal cut.
The connection between body and soul shattered.
The Tiger Demon vanished into nothingness.
Only silence remained.
Rukawa finally exhaled. "You… how did you find me?"
"If I hadn't," James replied bluntly, "you'd be a pile of flesh by now."
He suddenly paused.
Something was coming.
"Another presence," James said.
Before Rukawa could respond—
A figure burst from the forest like a blazing flame.
Fiery red hair. Thick eyebrows. Eyes burning with spirit.
"That haori… that aura…" Rukawa gasped. "Rengoku?"
The young man stopped, relief flooding his face.
"Sakuragi-senpai. I wasn't too late."
James stared at him, surprised.
So this was who answered the old man's call.
The fire of the Demon Slayer Corps had arrived.
And the night… was far from over.
---------------------------------------
Extra chapters available on patreon 🎉🎉🎉
patreon.com/Samurai492
__________________________________