Cold threads of rain soaked through the Tokyo night.
They also seeped into the body temperature and the dwindling hope of the young girl named Nobuko.
"Ha—ha—ha-un—"
The young girl's ragged gasps and the white mist she exhaled were not particularly noticeable in the curtain of rain, yet she tried her best to suppress every sound she made. She was terrified that even the slightest noise would draw that demon back to her.
That demon used some unknown method to always find her location. Along the way, whether it was the occasional passerby or even the Tokyo night patrols, all seemed to have been slaughtered by that monster. It was an utterly unscrupulous, despairingly powerful man-eating yōkai!
Whether it was the winter night rain or tears of terror, moisture constantly dripped down Nobuko's cheeks. She was almost unable to breathe.
Dammit. If she had known, she never would have left the house tonight! Even worse, she shouldn't have taken that shortcut through the alleyway. Could it be that because she had stolen too many things, even the gods had abandoned her?
She staggered across the large bridge. Her heart hammered so hard it felt like it would explode, and her lungs hissed like a broken bellows. Not long ago, that haunting, terrifying figure—
Had it finally disappeared for a moment?
"I... I made it across—I'm saved—"
She collapsed onto her knees on the ground at the other end of the bridge, heedless of the rain and mud soaking through her clothes. That monster shouldn't have followed her across, right? Perhaps it had run into the rumored "Special Division Nine" that hunted yōkai?
There were rumors in the underworld and the black markets recently that the Metropolitan Police Department had established a new department specifically to deal with yōkai. She had thought it was just idle boastful talk from people with nothing better to do. She never expected to run into the real thing. Except it wasn't the rumored Division Nine mobile unit—it was the yōkai they listed as an enemy!
"What do you mean, 'saved'?"
A chilling voice rang out almost against her ear. In an instant, Nobuko's body went rigid. Goosebumps erupted across her skin, culminating at the crown of her head and leaving her entirely numb.
That demon!
That strong demon wearing a tattered suit with a pale face stood beside her like a ghost, appearing out of nowhere.
"Any further and we enter someone else's 'hunting ground.'"
"I have no desire to bicker with troublesome fellows just for the sake of a dessert."
Nobuko tried to stand up and flee again, but the demon gripped her throat, clearly having no intention of letting her run any further. A sense of total despair welled up within her. The demon's icy fingers pinched her chin with enough force to make her bones creak, forcing her mouth open. Its other hand mutated into a slimy, pitch-black flesh-whip, lunging straight toward her lips.
It always preferred to inject digestive fluids into its prey, waiting for the meat to soften before slowly feasting.
Someone... please save me—
Nobuko let out a silent, desperate wail in her heart. Almost simultaneously, a whistling sound cut through the air. A streak of fire, blazing like a falling star, severed the curtain of rain.
[First Form: Unknowing Fire!]
"Release that girl! Demon!"
The tentacle was severed. Stung by the pain, the demon leaped back several steps in quick succession.
"Who goes there?!"
It looked up to see a boy with hair the color of flames standing gallantly between itself and the girl. He held a katana and wore light-colored robes. Not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps? The demon didn't see the irritating uniform on the boy, causing it a moment of uncertainty.
In this day and age, were there still wandering ronin carrying swords? No, that sensation of pain—it was a Nichirin Sword. The demon's right limb squirmed, and the severed arm regenerated instantly. "Brat, who the hell are you—"
The flaming youth held his sword in a standard middle-guard stance. Upon hearing the question, his voice rang out as loud as a bell.
"My name is Rengoku Kyojuro! I am currently a swordsman in training!"
"A swordsman in training?" the demon muttered, frowning.
Then it noticed another figure had appeared in the rainy night. It was a boy with bandages wrapped around his face and rare heterochromatic eyes. A small white snake was coiled around his neck. He walked behind the blonde youth and helped the girl to her feet, whispering words of comfort. However, the white snake around his neck only seemed to make the girl tremble even more violently.
The boy with the mismatched eyes didn't seem particularly adept at interacting with women. After a few brief words, he shifted his attention back to the flaming youth.
"Kyojuro, if you hadn't spoken just now, you might have already taken its head."
"Well said, Iguro!" Kyojuro responded loudly. "But a swordsman should slay demons fairly and squarely!"
And they weren't finished. Aside from the two boys who gave the demon a faint sense of trouble, a third set of footsteps echoed across the bridge. It wasn't swift like Kyojuro's, nor silent like Iguro's. It was calm and unhurried, stepping slowly through the rain as if taking a stroll.
The demon narrowed its eyes. Another strange fellow. This one wore the uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps, armguards on his wrists, and carried three Nichirin Swords, with various miscellaneous items hanging all over his body. This one was undoubtedly a Demon Slayer.
"Three of them at once? It seems I've been making a bit too much noise lately."
The newcomer acted as if he hadn't heard the demon, looking instead at the flaming youth. "The usual rules."
"But this time, go in together with Iguro."
"The opponent is quite a bit stronger than you, and his ability is space-based. If you face him alone, it will be very difficult."
How does this person know about my Blood Demon Art?!
Had he been watching from the shadows for days? No one answered the demon's internal confusion.
Kyojuro straightened his back. "Understood, Brother Natsunishi!"
Iguro settled the girl by a bridge pier and drew his own Nichirin Sword, stepping forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Rengoku.
"Since Senior Kuguruma has requested it, let us have a long-overdue joint battle, Kyojuro."
The newcomer was Natsunishi, who was staying at the Rengoku residence. The two boys were the "burdens"—rather, the members in need of "tempering"—that the head of the Rengoku house, Shinjuro, had handed over to him.
The former needed no introduction. The owl-like boy was the eldest Rengoku son, Kyojuro, who had grown quite close to Natsunishi recently. The latter was Iguro Obanai, a boy who had been saved by Shinjuro years ago and remained on good terms with the Rengoku family. He was one year older than Kyojuro and had already begun his final Breathing Style training under a cultivator.
Upon hearing that Shinjuro had pulled himself together and that Lady Ruka's condition had taken a turn for the better, Iguro had rushed from his cultivator's place to visit. As a result, Shinjuro had packed him off to be trained by Natsunishi as well.
Natsunishi didn't refuse. Aside from occasionally training them in the Nikaidō style, he would sometimes take them along on demon-hunting missions. Well, every time they encountered a demon, he always let these two boys go up first to warm up. Unless it was a piece of trash so weak it provided almost zero experience, the final blow was usually delivered by Natsunishi himself.
The two had been confused by this behavior at first. But as it happened more often, they grew accustomed to it, assuming Natsunishi's hatred for demons was so deep that he insisted on personally finishing every single one.
Natsunishi's attitude of utterly disregarding it irritated the demon. "Another self-important swordsman?" It bared its fangs in a sneer. "Do you think you're any different from those patrols or the other stupid swordsmen I've eaten? To be so arrogant as to stay back and let two samurai brats test me... how conceited."
Before its voice even faded, its figure blurred and vanished from the spot. A second later, it appeared behind Kyojuro's left side with a cruel grin, its claws lunging straight for his heart.
Beyond basic physical mutations and secreting digestive fluids, its greatest pride was its Blood Demon Art: Hyper-Leap. When it first awakened the art, it thought it merely possessed a speed it couldn't even fathom. But over its long life as a demon, it realized it wasn't just extreme speed; it was truly pushing aside the air and crossing distances—a "Leap" that instantly arrived anywhere within its field of vision. The range was about a hundred meters. Beyond that, it could place a mark on someone and teleport to them regardless of distance.
This was exactly how it had followed the girl this far. Once it used its Blood Demon Art, even those demon-slaying swordsmen couldn't react in time! That was its foolproof experience over many years. So, I'll kill this eyesore of a blonde samurai brat first and make you pay for your arrogance!
However, it didn't expect the blonde youth to react just in time at the critical moment. The Nichirin Sword brought forth a great flow of flames, parrying the ambush.
"Demon! Your ability is impressive!" Kyojuro's sword was being pushed back, but his eyes remained bright. "If Brother hadn't warned us in advance, I might have fallen for it!"
Almost simultaneously, a strike as fluid as the surface of water swept past the demon's back. The demon turned to parry. Its forearm exploded in a spray of blood, but it managed to wedge the blade with its hardened bone. It activated its Blood Demon Art again, escaping the pincer maneuver.
What is with these two brats? Clearly their bodies were weak, yet they seemed to have incredibly rich combat experience. By the pale moonlight, it finally noticed a detail it had overlooked. Aside from the Demon Slayer who hadn't moved yet—why were these two boys covered in bruises and injuries?
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