Chapter 10 — First Kill, Sakonji Urokodaki
"This…" Tanjiro hesitated. Even though Nezuko had already turned into a demon, in his heart she was still the same frail little sister as before.
"Mm-hmm!" Nezuko, however, nodded decisively, indicating that she was willing to take the lead.
"Alright then. Nezuko, be careful. If you sense anything wrong, run out immediately," Tanjiro reminded her.
"Mm-hmm!" Nezuko nodded again.
She stepped forward and pulled open the wooden door. Instantly, an overwhelmingly thick stench of blood rushed out. Even Ken, hiding to the side, could smell it clearly, and it made him slightly nauseous.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Ken switched to breathing through his mouth, staying alert to every movement inside.
Inside the small Buddhist hall, fresh blood was splattered across the walls and floor. Two men and one woman lay in pools of blood, their clothes soaked crimson, long since lifeless.
A man dressed in coarse cloth was crouched there, gnawing on a woman's severed arm, his face smeared with blood.
Clearly—he was a demon.
The wooden door creaked open suddenly, interrupting his meal. The man turned his head toward the entrance.
"What's this about?!" He sensed the same demonic aura coming from Nezuko.
"This is my territory! If you dare cause trouble in my dining hall, you won't leave in one piece!"
Faced with his threat, Nezuko simply stood there quietly. Her gaze drifted somewhere unseen as saliva began to gather in her mouth, as if she were growing excited.
"You're still not leaving?!" the man frowned.
Nezuko remained motionless, staring…
"Forget it. These corpses will last me a while anyway. You can have this arm!"
With that, the man tore off the arm he had been chewing on and tossed it at Nezuko's feet.
Nezuko lowered her head to look at the arm. Saliva dripped from beneath her bamboo muzzle…
An emotion called hunger battered against her reason.
Hidden on either side of the door, Ken and Tanjiro both saw the severed arm land outside. Their eyes widened, pupils contracting sharply.
Yet neither dared make a sound, afraid of alerting the demon inside.
After what felt like a long time, Nezuko forcibly suppressed her hunger and turned to leave.
Seeing this, the man froze, unable to process it for a moment.
"You're not eating it?! Freak!"
He muttered a curse and stood up to retrieve the arm.
Wasting food wasn't a good habit!
As he stepped out of the hall and bent down to pick up the arm, a flash of cold steel descended toward his neck from above.
"Die!" Tanjiro roared, gripping his sword with both hands and slashing down with all his strength.
Damn it—an ambush!!!
Only then did the man notice Tanjiro. His head twisted a full 180 degrees, turning completely backward.
Facing Tanjiro's full-force strike, the man actually opened his mouth and bit down directly on the blade of Hyōrinmaru!
Crack!
Bone shattered!
The blade cut into his mouth, slicing halfway through his head—yet he clamped down with his molars, stopping it from advancing any further.
"How is this possible?!"
Tanjiro was shocked. He tried to push harder, but the blade wouldn't budge.
"It's useless! You only succeeded because you ambushed me once. Do you really think you'll get another chance to kill me? Impossible!"
The man jeered, teeth still clamped on the blade.
To ordinary humans, such a wound would be fatal. To a demon like him, it was nothing. He would regenerate soon enough.
"You talk too much!"
Another flash of steel fell, clean and precise, severing the man's neck.
"How… two… people…!"
His head rolled across the ground, still speaking as it tumbled. Then, together with his body, it dissolved into wisps of black smoke and vanished…
Ken wiped the sweat from his forehead. Delivering that strike had not been easy for him.
Especially after Tanjiro had failed to decapitate the demon in one blow—things could have gone very wrong.
"Phew…"
Tanjiro collapsed onto the ground, still stunned, breathing heavily.
"Brother Ken… we did it!"
[Congratulations, Host, for killing Ordinary Demon ×1. Reward: Basic Lottery Draw ×1]
The system notification rang out promptly, bringing a smile to Ken's face.
"Yeah. That wasn't easy."
Against just a single ordinary demon, even with the advantage of an ambush and weapons, the two of them had struggled this much.
How strong must demons with Blood Demon Arts be?!
I have to get stronger—fast!!!
As Ken resolved to grow stronger as quickly as possible, Tanjiro handed Hyōrinmaru back to him.
"Brother Ken, your sword."
"Mm."
Ken took it just as Nezuko walked over.
"Nezuko did great! Without her, we wouldn't have taken down that demon so easily," Ken praised.
At that moment, a voice sounded from nearby.
"Your timing, swordsmanship, and method of exerting force—none of them were worthy of praise! The only reason you killed that demon was because of your Nichirin Blades and the demon's carelessness!"
An old man wearing a tengu mask approached them. His steps were soundless, and his speed astonishing.
In the span of a single breath, he crossed more than ten meters and arrived before the two humans and one demon.
"However, in such a short time, you devised a workable ambush plan, remained calm, and cleanly executed the demon. You two are quite good," the old man's tone softened from stern to gentle.
"Ken, Tanjiro… and Nezuko." His gaze finally rested on Nezuko.
Ken stepped forward and bowed. "You must be Master Urokodaki! Mr. Giyu recommended us to come here and train under you to become qualified Demon Slayers!"
"Yes. Giyu informed me in advance. Follow me," Sakonji Urokodaki nodded, leading the two humans and one demon down the mountain.
"Keep up with my pace! If you can't even manage that, what right do you have to become Demon Slayers?"
The moment they descended the mountain, Urokodaki quickened his steps. Yet he remained utterly silent as he moved, a testament to his strength.
Ken carried their clothes and rations. Tanjiro carried Nezuko. The two of them sprinted after Urokodaki!
Even though Ken knew a Breathing Technique, his body was still frail, and he gradually fell behind Tanjiro—though he hadn't completely lost him yet.
Tanjiro pushed himself desperately to keep up with Urokodaki, unable to pay attention to Nezuko inside the wooden box.
Several hours later…
Tanjiro followed Urokodaki to a wooden house. Gasping for breath, he turned back and could only see Ken's distant figure still running toward them.
"Huff… like this… do I… qualify?"
"You're still far from it! The real test has only just begun. In a moment, you'll come back up the mountain with me!"
"Huh?!" Tanjiro dropped to the ground, completely dumbfounded.