Looking at the crimson blood sword in his hand.
Not only Takeshi, but even Kanae was stunned.
This ability to use blood as a weapon... it was exactly like the Blood Demon Art used by demons!
Could it be that Takeshi was actually a demon disguised as a human?
Takeshi tightened his grip on the hilt of the blood sword.
There was no physical crossguard; the hilt and blade were a single, seamless entity, yet the grip felt incredibly solid.
Power was feeding back into his body from the blade. Although faint, it tangibly relieved some of the burden brought on by the Breathing Technique.
The pain in his chest did not subside. Takeshi immediately swung the Blood Blade, severing the monster's hand that was impaled in his chest along with its arm!
The demon recovered from its initial shock and became utterly enraged: "Damn you, damn you, damn you! To have no reverence and actually cut off lord mountain god's arm!"
"Cough!"
Takeshi knelt on one knee, nearly fainting from the intense pain.
Nevertheless, he thrust the Blood Blade into the ground to prop himself up, refusing to collapse. He slowly raised his head: "What 'Mountain God'? You're nothing but a demon."
"Waaaah—how dare you insult me! I'll kill you—!"
The enraged demon lunged toward Takeshi.
"It might not be quite right, but it should be like this..." Takeshi took a deep breath. Keeping his form steady, he leapt up in the next instant and slashed toward the demon's forehead—
"Flower Breathing, Fourth Form: Crimson Hanabira!"
This Move utilized the moment after building up breath to form an arc-shaped attack from top to bottom, a two-hit technique in total.
However, it was Takeshi's first time using it, and his lack of proficiency was obvious, so it looked no different from a simple overhead slash.
The moment the blood sword descended, bits of crimson sword energy resembling flower petals scattered through the air.
Chiii—
A flash of blood-red light.
"Aaaaagh—!!!"
A shrill scream echoed through the night sky as a large chunk of the demon's entire shoulder was sliced off.
The demon retreated frantically, its face filled with unbelievable terror: "How is this possible?! My body... my perfect, flawless body was actually..."
It tried to activate its regeneration ability. The flesh at the wound writhed slowly, but as soon as the new buds of flesh touched the traces of special blood remaining on the wound, they let out a faint sizzling sound, as if being burned and suppressed!
"I can't regenerate?! Why, why, why—!"
"The blood sword seems to be able to suppress a demon's regeneration to some extent!" Kanae's voice carried a hint of excitement. "Takeshi-san, attack its neck!"
"Right!"
Although that last strike had nearly exhausted all his strength, and the air in his lungs was incredibly thin due to the release of the Move.
Even so, Takeshi swung his final blade at the demon once more.
Thud—
The demon's head was severed completely and fell to the ground.
The battle—was over!
No, it was too early to say for sure!
To completely slay a demon, one must use a nichirin blade forged from special materials, or wait until dawn... Sizzle, sizzle—
The demon let out a scream of unwilling despair as its head and body gradually turned into burning black smoke and dissipated... Kanae was internally shocked:
The demon was actually... slain!
By Takeshi's blood!
The night returned to silence.
The grandfather and granddaughter huddling nearby had forgotten to cry. They just stared blankly at the back of the strange youth who stood before them, holding a sword of blood-red light.
Takeshi could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground—
"Moshi moshi~ Takeshi-san, aren't you going to wake up yet?"
A gentle voice, carrying a trace of subtle anxiety, tapped lightly against his sea of Chaos consciousness once more.
His eyelids were as heavy as boulders. Takeshi struggled to open a slit, and the first thing he saw was a rough wooden ceiling and the cool morning light filtering through the gaps in the paper sliding doors.
"Where... am I?"
"Ara ara, Takeshi-san is finally awake."
Kanae's voice sounded relieved, carrying a genuine smile. "You really had me worried."
"Kanae... Young Miss?" Takeshi responded in his mind, his voice weak. "I... how long was I out? And that grandfather and granddaughter...?"
"Takeshi-san was unconscious for three whole days!" Kanae replied. "And that old gentleman and the little girl are both safe and sound."
As she spoke, the sliding door was carefully pulled open a crack, and a pair of clear eyes peeked in. It was Shizuko.
When she saw that Takeshi had woken up, she let out a soft "Ah," then hurriedly turned and ran out the door, shouting, "Grandpa, our Benefactor is awake!"
Takeshi tried to sit up, but he felt utterly exhausted.
"Please, please don't Move." The girl named Shizuko quickly and gently helped him up.
"Thank you," Takeshi said.
"No, it is we who should thank you, Benefactor. You saved us."
The old man had been sitting on the tatami, but in the next moment, he prostrated himself before Takeshi in a deep kowtow.
Shizuko followed suit with the same gesture.
Takeshi quickly tried to stop them: "Sir, please, get up quickly."
The old man remained motionless, leaving Takeshi feeling helpless.
A moment later, Takeshi was sipping a bowl of porridge. He had just checked his chest and, to his surprise, the wound there was gradually healing.
"By the way, sir, why did you all worship that demon as a Mountain God?"
The old man's expression darkened, his voice full of helplessness. "Guest, you may not know, but our town is called Wilderness Town. Not long ago, that demon entered the town. After brutally murdering dozens of people, it kidnapped one person from every household. We originally wanted to go out for help, but the demon warned us that if we dared to leave, it would kill the hostages."
"I see."
Takeshi nodded. After all, the demon could only act at night; if these people left during the day, it wouldn't be able to stop them.
"Have all the hostages been found?" Takeshi continued to ask.
A look of pain appeared on the old man's face. "Thanks to you, they were found... however, some were still... murdered..."
"My condolences."
—
Takeshi stayed in Wilderness Town for a week, and the wound on his chest had actually completely healed!
Even Kanae hadn't expected this. "Takeshi-san, this special ability of yours is far too similar to a demon's Blood Demon Art."
"Not just you, even I find it a bit unbelievable," Takeshi said with a bitter smile.
Recovery beyond that of a normal person, and the ability to use blood as a weapon.
Who would believe that?
Takeshi planned to leave Wilderness Town today. Before leaving, he wanted to take a good walk around the town to understand the customs and traditions of this world.
"Heehee, but Takeshi-san, that Move you used that day wasn't actually Crimson Hanabira!"
"Miss Kanae, please stop teasing me. And, just call me Takeshi."
"Then Takeshi-kun, you should call me by my name too. I am Kochō Kanae."
"Mm!"
The relationship between the two became a bit closer, like friends who had just met.
"Speaking of which, Takeshi-kun, do you have any interest in joining the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"The Demon Slayer Corps? Uh..."
To be honest, Takeshi was a bit resistant.
After all, being a Demon Slayer was a very dangerous profession. Dealing with incredibly powerful demons... he wasn't foolish enough to think he was a match for them.
And then there were the Twelve Kizuki... "It's okay, Takeshi-kun, don't feel rushed to answer. I was just shocked that you could master a Breathing Technique without any practice." Kanae understood him.
Walking down the street, Takeshi suddenly heard the sound of crying in the distance.
Driven by curiosity, he followed the sound of the crying.
In an open field, he saw dozens of stretchers laid out, covered with white cloths.
"This is..." Takeshi quickly realized what it was!
These were people who had died after being attacked by the demon but hadn't been eaten yet. Judging by the outlines, some of them seemed to have severed limbs!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault for not protecting you..."
"Waaaah, Mama, Mama, please come back—!"
"I'm sorry, child, it's because Papa didn't protect you!"
The intermittent cries and laments were like cold needles piercing Takeshi's ears.
Kanae's voice echoed in his mind, deeper than ever before, filled with sadness and gravity:
"No matter how many demons we slay, the lives lost can never be brought back. The battles of the Demon Slayer Corps have never been for glory, but to stop tragedies like this... from happening again and again."
Takeshi remained silent. He had originally been very resistant to joining the Demon Slayer Corps. It was dangerous, grueling, and precarious. He was just an ordinary person who wanted to survive.
But at this moment, looking at the scene of desperate wailing before him, feeling the bone-deep sadness and helplessness permeating the air, something quietly changed deep within his heart.
Was just "surviving"... enough?
In this world where demons roamed, could one truly stay safe by only looking out for oneself?
Last night it was Wilderness Town; tomorrow it might be somewhere else. Without power, encountering a demon meant being like these townspeople—lambs to the slaughter—or, if one luckily survived, facing the cold corpses of family and friends.
"Miss Kanae—"
"Yes?"
"I want to join the Demon Slayer Corps. Please, teach me!"