As evening fell, both of them arrived at the town designated for Tanjiro's mission.
The timing was perfect.
As if by fate, the moment they set foot on the streets, they caught the murmurs of a group of people by the side of the road.
"Did you hear? They took another one last night."
"It was young Satoko, wasn't it? My God... how many does that make now?"
"That's fifteen! One per night for half a month. Fifteen girls have disappeared!"
"It's an absolute nightmare."
Tanjiro's nose twitched immediately and he whispered to Marcus: "There's a demon scent. Very faint, but it smells fresh. Must be from last night."
"Can you track it?"
"Let me see..."
What followed was a scene so completely surreal that it gave Marcus an eye twitch.
Tanjiro dropped to his knees on the ground.
…Literally, face to the dirt.
On all fours with his nose pressed to the dust, he began crawling forward, sniffing the road exactly like a drug squad K-9.
The people nearby fixed their bewildered stares on the dog-boy.
'Wasn't there a more dignified way to do this?!' Marcus backed away in a hurry, pretending not to know him.
However, Tanjiro continued his sniffing route until he came to an abrupt halt, his forehead bumping right into Marcus's boots.
"Senpai, move aside—you're standing on the trail."
Senpai?
These two outsiders are together?
The townspeople's expressions changed instantly, connecting the two strangers and immediately cataloging them as part of the same freak show.
Noticing the looks of bewilderment directed at him from all around, Marcus accepted his fate.
With his face turned into a portrait of pure resignation, he gave Tanjiro a gentle nudge with his boot.
"Don't you have another way of doing this?"
Lifting his head, Tanjiro grinned from ear to ear. "The sun is high and the demon's trail is very faint. Getting down to ground level gives better results."
"..."
Marcus shook his head wearily.
"Keep playing bloodhound. I'll look for it my way."
Tanjiro looked at him, confused. "You have a method for finding a demon?"
"Of course I do, and I guarantee it's a thousand times faster than crawling through the dirt."
Tanjiro rolled his eyes and resumed his inspection in the dust.
Feeling underestimated, Marcus clicked his tongue and set his own plan in motion.
Scanning the street, he intercepted the first local who crossed his path and asked without the slightest hesitation: "Where's the mayor's house?"
The passerby scanned Marcus's black uniform. His white haori with pink stripes and his handsome features softened his presence, though the pair of swords peeking from his waist made it crystal clear he posed a real threat.
Faced with that image of authority, the man pointed in the right direction immediately.
…
Five minutes later.
BAM!
The main gate of the mayor's courtyard blew to pieces after taking a frontal kick, shaking the entire property.
Three servants armed with sticks and farming tools came stumbling out, followed by a pair of guards unsheathing their blades to surround the intruder.
Seconds later, a man in his sixties appeared at the entrance. His gaunt face and red eyes betrayed hours of pure anguish, immediately revealing his identity as the town's mayor.
Upon noticing the two swords at Marcus's waist, the mayor frowned, barely maintaining his formal tone. "Excuse me, swordsman... how can I help you?"
"I'm here to exterminate demons."
The mayor blinked, completely bewildered.
"Exterminate... demons?"
"Yes, the kind that eat people." Marcus pointed outside. "Fifteen girls disappeared in half a month. That's the exact number, right?"
"That's correct..." The mayor's expression shifted, looking at him exactly the way one would look at a lunatic who'd escaped from an asylum. "Are you telling me… a demon caused all of this?"
Seeing his baffled face, Marcus asked: "Have you ever heard of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"The 'Demon' what?"
The man's blank face drew a heavy sigh from Marcus. Clearly, he'd been stuck dealing with a man trapped in ignorance.
The hunter organization operated in absolute secrecy, remaining completely independent from official authorities. Even so, most leaders tended to be aware of certain rumors about its existence.
But exceptions were always the order of the day.
Certain bureaucrats lived completely isolated from the horrors of the real world. For this kind of person, every murder was always the work of a human criminal, and mangled corpses were immediately attributed to attacks by hungry bears or wolves.
In their view of reality, demons belonged solely and exclusively to stories meant to frighten children.
Since he was dealing with people like that, he didn't bother with explanations.
Under the tense gazes of the servants and guards, he walked straight toward an enormous rock in the center of the garden and planted himself firmly in front of it.
And catching everyone off guard, Marcus drew his blade in one fluid motion.
A flash of violet-pink appeared for an instant.
CRACK… BRUMMM!
The massive stone, weighing several tons, split cleanly in half and collapsed against the earth with a brutal crash.
The jaws of the mayor and his employees hit the floor. They went white with shock.
Satisfied with the forcefulness of his message, Marcus nodded and laid out his demands.
"Make up a believable excuse right now and put together a list of every young woman in this town between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four."
"Filter out the married women and the less attractive ones. Gather all the rest here, under your roof, for the night—and I'll use that gathering to draw the demon out."
"Wha..."
By this point, the mayor was already starting to believe what Marcus was saying.
After all, if he could cleave a giant rock in a single stroke, that was clearly beyond the reach of anything human.
Before, although he hadn't believed in demons, he had heard rumors.
Now, seeing the inhuman Marcus…
He believed in demons too.
Even so, this young man's tactic… was absolute madness.
"But if I organize something like that, what happens to my reputation? And the honor of all those girls?"
Marcus frowned, losing his patience completely at this man's absurd priorities.
"You have exactly one night. Tomorrow I leave for somewhere else to hunt more demons. If it doesn't happen tonight, it doesn't happen ever."
"Wh... what do you mean by that?"
"I mean all you have to do is wait for the demon to eat everyone slowly." Marcus fixed his eyes on the man with a cutting coldness. "Looking on the bright side, you've got some luck. This monster has a pretty exclusive palate. Once it's done chewing through every attractive young woman in this place, it'll move on to another territory with a fresh menu."
Every pretty young woman—devoured?!
Panic paralyzed the mayor's body from head to toe.
"Move it! Notify every family in town! Tonight I want every woman who fits those conditions in this hall! Bring them all!"
"Right away, sir!"
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