"My younger brother, Taichi, is four years younger than me."
"That night, our parents went to the neighboring village to help harvest rice, leaving just the two of us at home."
Kumeno Masachika stared at the distant mountain range, his gaze somewhat vacant.
"Everything was perfectly fine at first. I was teaching him the characters I learned at school during the day, and he was listening so intently—then the window suddenly shattered."
"That was the first time I saw a demon with my own eyes."
The youth paused, his throat bobbing slightly.
"Before that, I thought those things were just bedtime stories adults used to scare children."
The memories of that night gradually resurfaced, and Masachika's face darkened progressively.
A demon from out of nowhere, taking advantage of the absence of adults in the house, smashed through the wooden window and barged into his otherwise ordinary life.
A body deformed by sheer muscle, beastly crimson eyes like blood, and that terrifying aura.
It completely paralyzed his young self with fear.
But his younger brother was right behind him.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he barely managed to recover a shred of sanity. He grabbed the billhook machete his father kept in the corner of the wall and stood before the demon.
Even though his body was trembling uncontrollably.
He still wanted to protect his brother.
"Thinking back on it now, it was really foolish," Masachika curled his lip, a bitter smile gracing his face. "A single machete and a child stood absolutely no chance of stopping a demon."
Natsunishi: "But you stepped up anyway."
"Yeah, I did."
Masachika gave a wry smile: "And then I was swatted away by that thing, crashing into the wall."
"Two of my ribs broke, and I couldn't move. I could only lie there like that, watching that thing walk toward Taichi."
"My brother was crying at the time, and then... there was no then."
The mountain breeze blew past, carrying the chill of late autumn.
"By the time I could barely move, dawn was almost breaking."
Natsunishi fell into thought: "That demon—it only took your brother?"
"Yes, that demon came specifically for Taichi."
"Taichi, he was very likely a 'Marechi'."
Masachika touched the training Nichirin Sword: "It abducted Taichi, and we eventually found his... remains in the deep woods nearby."
It was only after coming to Kazami's place to cultivate that he learned about the existence of Marechi.
To demons, it was blood that was far more delicious and nutritionally valuable.
Far superior to that of a useless older brother like him.
That was why, after wounding Taichi, the demon disregarded him like trash.
More than once in the dead of night, he had thought about it.
How wonderful it would have been if the person with the Marechi constitution in the family had been himself, instead of his brother.
When dawn broke and his parents returned with exhausted bodies.
What they saw was a blood-stained, ruined home, along with a immobilized Masachika and a missing Taichi.
His mother fainted on the spot and fell gravely ill afterward.
Meanwhile, his father, with bloodshot eyes, carried him on his back and ran all the way to the nearest clinic.
The younger brother was dead.
Yet the older brother, who had intended to protect him, survived.
Natsunishi stroked his chin.
This honest kid, despite his parents still being alive and well, actually chose this path.
This was quite rare even within the Demon Slayer Corps.
"They didn't blame me, not a single word."
"After my mother woke up, she even held me and comforted me, saying, 'Thank goodness you survived.'"
Unknowingly, the youth's voice cracked slightly with emotion: "But I didn't want that kind of 'thank goodness.' I would rather—I would rather—"
Natsunishi handed over a water flask.
Masachika took it and gulped down several mouthfuls, coughing as he choked on it.
"Later, I inquired everywhere and spent a long time before I found out that the Demon Slayer Corps existed in this world."
He wiped his face, his gaze refocused as he looked toward Natsunishi: "I want to become strong, as strong as you, Senior."
"Strong enough so that the next time I encounter such a situation, I won't freeze again, and I won't fall down again."
"Strong enough to stand in front of others, instead of lying in the back watching."
"And then," the youth squeezed the words out one by one with heavy weight, "I will find the demon from that night. Find it, and decapitate it."
"For Taichi, and also for that... past self who failed to save him."
Natsunishi stood up, brushing the grass clippings off his trousers.
Natsunishi: "Then hurry up and train like your life depends on it."
His tone was calm and direct as he looked at this nominal junior brother of his.
"In your current state, forget about avenging your brother; if you actually get 'lucky' enough to bump into the demon from back then—"
He left the words unfinished, but the implication was self-evident.
A demon that understood the value of Marechi and successfully consumed and digested it would absolutely not be weak.
At the very least, it would be at the level of possessing a Blood Demon Art.
If Masachika encountered it with his current proficiency, he would likely just be delivering a free kill.
Masachika bit his lip tightly; though indignant, he could not refute Natsunishi's words.
"So starting tomorrow, the training volume doubles."
Masachika: ?
"If you don't grind levels with high intensity, how are you going to get stronger?"
"Don't worry, with your senior personally drilling you, the leveling speed will be much faster than under that old geezer Kazami."
Just how high was his cheap master's teaching level anyway?
Did he even understand the gold standard of 'Instruction LV.3'?
"Once these basic trainings are completed, or after you pass the Final Selection, I'll give you private lessons to add some advanced things."
"Combat anticipation, logic, or adjusting the Breathing Style specifically based on your circumstances."
"If you ask me, in our Wind Breathing lineage, barely anyone has made a name for themselves relying solely on the original, unadulterated Wind Breathing."
"It just goes to show how poor that old geezer's educational standards are—"
Masachika: ...
Was it really fine to speak ill of their master so bluntly?
Meanwhile, Natsunishi looked at the status panel. Given Masachika's aptitude, if his training intensity was enhanced later on, he should be able to hold his own against a Lower Rank.
Hmm?
Over the past two days, 'Gathering', 'Medicine-Making', and 'Boxing Theory' had all leveled up?
Natsunishi suddenly recalled the 'Avenger' background he had selected during character creation.
The text generated by the system was very brief: "Younger sister died by a demon's hand."
It was just like the vast majority of swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps.
It resembled a pre-set, one-dimensional background template.
But at this moment, watching Masachika's staggering yet firm departing back, Natsunishi realized something.
Those few simple words on the system panel represented something entirely different for these familiar, flesh-and-blood people before him who could cry and laugh.
Behind them lay countless nights that had genuinely existed, thoroughly soaked in blood and tears.
"Seriously," he muttered to himself, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upwards, "this game... is designed with quite a bit of care."
On the day the Kasugai Crow flapped its wings to deliver a new mission.
Natsunishi was currently grinding skills with Masachika in the woods behind the training hall's mountain.
Specifically, chopping wood.
Even though Kazami had already subtly indicated that the training hall's woodshed was fully stacked and nearly overflowing.
It still could not prevent Natsunishi from dragging his junior brother into the mountains every few days under the grand name of 'Cultivation'.
However, for Masachika, this wasn't entirely grueling manual labor.
Because he noticed that even when he simply watched Natsunishi effortlessly strike the tree trunks with an axe.
He could occasionally derive an inexplicable sense of gain.
It seemed that even his stance and force-exertion techniques for swinging a wooden sword could absorb some insights from chopping wood.
He had once asked Natsunishi about this in confusion.
The youth naturally credited the efficacy of 'Instruction LV.3' to himself.
His teaching methods had already reached a transcendental level.
This was the simplification of great truths, where all paths led to the same destination.
Understand, little Masachika?
"Caw! Kuguruma! New mission, new mission!"
"Subjugation! A subjugation mission, caw! Near Nagoya, traces of a suspected Lower Rank demon have appeared! Caw!"
The crow landed on top of Masachika's head.
While preening its feathers with its beak, it shrieked toward Natsunishi.
Initially, the youth didn't have much interest in this mission. After all, subjugating ordinary demons, even those capable of Blood Demon Arts.
The cost-performance ratio of the rewards wasn't particularly high for him now.
But the phrase 'Lower Rank' entering his ears instantly energized him.
He still vividly remembered Rui's predecessor, Lower Rank Five Mukago, whom he had 'tasted' back in Yokohama, along with those one thousand-plus experience points.
Tsk tsk tsk, the exquisite taste of a demon.
Thus, he glanced at Masachika, who was currently wrestling with the crow, trying to shoo it off his head.
[Kumeno Masachika (Energy Level: 25)] Wind Breathing LV.1
Even if this kid went to participate in the Final Selection now, he should be able to pass. However, there was still more than half a year until the next selection; training for a bit longer would make it more secure.
"Masachika, Nagoya isn't close." Natsunishi casually handed the axe in his hand to his junior brother. "While I am away during this period, do not slack off on your cultivation."
"Regarding the mission, convey it to master on my behalf."
The youth with dot-eyebrows held the heavy axe.
He nodded earnestly and said, "Yes, Senior! Have a safe journey!"
Right after, he watched Natsunishi's figure blur slightly on the spot.
As if swept away by a clear breeze through the forest, he vanished into the layers of tree shadows within an instant.
Even though he had made quite a bit of progress himself...
Was he still unable to clearly perceive even the movement of how his senior departed?
As expected, he still had to work harder, much harder.
He took a deep breath and gripped the axe handle tightly.
Turning around, he looked at the small mountain of neatly chopped firewood piled up beside him.
Speaking of which, the kitchen could no longer accommodate any more firewood. Could it be that he really had to do as his senior suggested?
Stuff these logs into their master's study?
He recalled the casual explanation Natsunishi had given back then.
"Anyway, there are only the three of us in the training hall. That study of the old geezer's is just sitting empty anyway. Utilizing wasted space, what's wrong with stacking some firewood there?"
"This is called optimizing the allocation of spatial resources."
Yes, what Senior said must be correct.
Masachika raised the axe high, aimed at the next segment of log, and struck down with force.