Chapter 12: Survival of the Fittest, Law of the Jungle
Night.
Forest.
Masashi was currently lying on the bone-chilling ground, his body twitching constantly from the intense pain.
His vision was somewhat blurred, the world before his eyes veiled in a red screen—it was his own blood.
And lying on top of him was a hair-raising monster.
This demon was small and thin, with gray skin.
Its back was hunched high, like a stooped beast, and it was currently greedily tearing at Masashi's flesh.
Every bite was accompanied by the teeth-grinding sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing, appearing exceptionally harsh in this quiet forest.
Masashi was an ordinary doctor who ran a small clinic.
Today, in order to find some rare medicinal herbs for several patients in urgent need of treatment, he risked venturing deep into this desolate forest.
Originally, everything had gone smoothly until the sky began to darken, and he still hadn't found a few key herbs.
For the sake of his patients, he gritted his teeth and decided to search a little longer, but he hadn't expected that this momentary lapse in judgment would lead him to encounter this legendary, terrifying existence—a man-eating demon.
"Ugh..."
Masashi wanted to scream, but only a weak groan could escape his throat.
Intense pain surged like waves, striking his nerves, but his heart was filled more with resentment and despair.
The faces of the three patients in his clinic appeared in his mind: one was a child with a high fever waiting for fever-reducing medicine, one was an elderly person with a broken leg in urgent need of bone-setting herbs, and the third was a young mother who was seriously ill and pale.
They were all waiting for him to return, waiting for him to bring back the life-saving herbs.
"Please... spare me..."
Masashi used all his strength to squeeze these words out of his throat.
His eyes were filled with pleading as he looked at the demon currently enjoying his body.
"In my clinic... there are still three patients... waiting for me to treat them... They... cannot do without me..."
The demon stopped its tearing, slowly raising its head.
Fresh red blood and scraps of flesh still hung from the corners of its mouth, and its murky, yellow eyes flickered with a playful and cruel light.
It tilted its head, looking at Masashi's eyes, which were filled with a mixture of despair and hope.
"Saving people?"
The demon's voice was hoarse and harsh, like two rusty iron plates rubbing together.
"You say you want to save people? But... I am about to starve to death right now."
The demon extended its gray, sharp claws, gently stroking Masashi's face, which was twisted in fear.
"Why don't you save me too, okay?"
The demon grinned, revealing a mouthful of uneven, sharp teeth, its smile twisted and hideous.
"I am hungry, very, very hungry.
If you don't let me eat, I will die too.
As a doctor, shouldn't you save the dying and heal the wounded?
Since you want to save those patients, why can't you sacrifice yourself to save me, who is about to starve to death?
Use your flesh, your bones, to feed me full, hehehe."
Listening to these absurd and cruel words, the light in Masashi's eyes gradually faded.
He understood that the monster before him had not a shred of humanity; it was simply a demon that fed on humans.
"No... no..."
Masashi shook his head in despair, tears mixed with blood flowing down his cheeks.
The demon watched as the despair in Masashi's eyes grew thicker, and the pleasure in its heart became even more intense.
It remembered that it, too, had often displayed such a look.
That was the powerlessness and despair in the face of tyranny, hunger, and death.
Later, when it became a demon and gained great power, it found itself deeply infatuated with this look.
Watching weak humans struggle and beg before it, only to die in despair—this pleasure of controlling life and death intoxicated it more than any delicious flesh.
"Yes, that's the look."
The demon excitedly licked its lips, the red light in its eyes intensifying.
"Filled with fear, resentment, and deep despair.
It's truly wonderful; this will make your meat even more delicious."
Having said this, the demon ignored Masashi's pleas and buried its head down again, beginning an even more frantic feeding.
Masashi's consciousness gradually blurred.
Amidst endless pain, he thought of the patients waiting for him one last time, his heart filled with endless regret and remorse.
I don't know how long passed before the forest returned to silence.
On the ground, the once-living doctor, Masashi, was now reduced to an incomplete skeleton and a solitary head.
The demon let out a satisfied burp and reached out to pick up the head on the ground.
The head's eyes were still wide open, pupils dilated, freezing the despair and fear from before death.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a perfect expression."
The demon held the head up before its eyes, examining it carefully by the faint moonlight as if appreciating a rare treasure.
"Look at this desperate gaze, how pure, how moving.
Compared to those who die without any awareness, a soul like yours, carrying strong resentment and despair, has more chewiness when eaten."
The demon stuck out its tongue, licking the remaining blood on the cheek of the head, a look of intoxication appearing on its face.
It not only enjoyed the physical satiety but also enjoyed this Spiritual abuse and devastation.
It seemed as if it could feel the trembling and collapse of Masashi's soul at the moment of death through this head.
"What a pity, the meat is a little tough; perhaps it's because he often went up the mountain to collect herbs and got too much exercise."
The demon evaluated to itself, tossing the head into the grass nearby like trash.
"However, it was passable as an appetizer."
The demon stood up and stretched.
It turned around, preparing to leave this place and search for the next prey.
After all, one thin doctor was not enough to fill its appetite that could never be satisfied.
"Let's go stroll around the nearby town... Perhaps I might encounter a more tender and delicious young girl..."
The demon muttered to itself, taking steps as it walked out of the forest.
Just then, a cold, clear voice sounded behind the demon.
"Demon, stop."
The demon's steps faltered.
It slowly turned around, a trace of violence flashing in its eyes.
Standing under the shadows of the trees not far away was a young girl wearing the Demon Slayer Corps uniform.
She had long black hair, purple butterfly hair ornaments on both sides, and was draped in a colorful Kocho-patterned haori.
Her face was beautiful, and her eyes were clear and gentle, but at this moment, those beautiful eyes were burning with raging anger.
Kanae Kocho's gaze crossed over the demon and landed on the head in the grass that had died with eyes wide open.
"You..."
Kanae Kocho's voice trembled slightly as she gripped the Nichirin Sword at her waist tightly.
"You actually... murdered an innocent person!"
She had always hoped that humans and demons could coexist peacefully, hoping that there would be no more slaughter and tragedy in this world.
Every time she saw such a scene, seeing humans being cruelly killed by demons, her heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife.
She could not forgive this act of wantonly trampling on life, nor could she forgive this brutal behavior of treating humans as food.
"You deserve to die!"
Kanae Kocho raised her head, staring at the demon with a gaze like a torch, the gentleness in her eyes replaced by sharp killing intent.
"To satisfy your own gluttony, you casually deprive others of their lives, causing others to fall into despair... Such behavior is absolutely unforgivable!"
The demon looked at the angry Demon Slayer Corps swordsman before it and did not show much fear.
On the contrary, it tilted its head, a mocking curve hooking at the corner of its mouth.
Although it could feel that the aura emanating from this young girl was much stronger than an ordinary human, and even stronger than an average member of the Demon Slayer Corps, it did not take her seriously.
Because it was not yet full.
"Deserve to die?"
The demon sneered, sticking out its tongue to lick the remaining blood from the corner of its mouth.
"Little girl, your words are truly interesting.
When humans eat chicken, duck, fish, and meat, it is only natural and right.
Why is it that when demons eat humans, they deserve to die?
This is nothing more than the laws of nature: the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest."