Guided by the Kasugai Crow's sharp cries, two figures disappeared down the road, their shadows swallowed by the pale edge of dawn.
And with that, the hunt began.
…
Tokyo.
Shinjuku District.
On the outskirts of the bustling city, where the lights thinned and the noise of the streets faded into silence, a young girl in a kimono hurried ho alone.
The road beneath her sandals was empty.
Only the faint glow of the moon lit the narrow street, casting long shadows between the houses. The city should have felt familiar. Safe. Yet tonight, every sound seed too clear—the scrape of her sandals, the rustle of her sleeves, the distant bark of a dog.
The girl clutched the edge of her sleeve and quickened her pace.
"I heard more people have gone missing around here lately," she whispered, trying to calm herself. "If it weren't for my date with Tanaka-kun, I wouldn't have co ho this late…"
She glanced ahead.
Her ho was close.
"It should be fine… right?"
A broad hand clamped over her mouth from behind.
Her scream died in her throat.
"Mmph—!"
The girl's eyes went wide. She struggled desperately, but the hand gripping her was inhumanly strong. Her feet scraped against the ground as sothing dragged her backward.
Behind her, beneath the cold moonlight, a hideous demon leaned close.
Its tongue slid across her cheek.
"Walking ho alone so late?" it rasped, laughing in a low, twisted voice. "Soone ought to teach you a lesson."
The demon's other arm coiled around her waist, dragging her toward a dark alley nearby. Its breath reeked of blood and rot.
"How should I start tasting you?" it muttered, savoring the thought. "A young girl… yes, the organs first."
The girl trembled so violently she could barely breathe.
The demon pressed its mouth near her ear.
"Let tell you sothing. A young girl's liver is especially delicious when it's fresh. I'll carve it out and let you watch eat it."
Tears blurred her vision.
Despair swallowed her whole.
Inside the alley, the demon shoved her to the ground. Her back struck the cold stone, and before she could crawl away, the creature pinned her down. Its jaws opened wide, revealing teeth stained with old blood.
Then—
A figure appeared at the mouth of the alley.
A fox mask.
A checkered haori.
Two swords at his waist.
The mont Tanjiro arrived, his hand had already closed around Asuramaru.
The sword left its sheath with a clean, ringing sound.
Water surged along the edge.
"Water Breathing, Third Form—Flowing Dance."
His body glided forward.
The demon had only enough ti to turn its head.
"Who dares interrupt my al?! You must be tired of living, so die togeth—"
The words ended there.
Tanjiro passed by in a flash of flowing water.
A head flew into the air.
For a heartbeat, the demon's severed head rolled across the ground, its expression still frozen in outrage. It had not even understood what had happened.
Then its body began to crumble.
Ash scattered through the alley.
Tanjiro sheathed his sword and walked to the trembling girl. He crouched before her, then extended a hand.
"It's all right now," he said gently. "Are you hurt?"
The girl stared at him in a daze.
The fox mask hid his face, but his voice was warm, steady, and human. Only then did she realize she had survived.
Her shaking hand reached up and took his.
"Th-thank you…"
Tanjiro helped her stand.
"You're welco. Please be careful from now on. Don't walk alone at night if you can avoid it."
His words were calm, but they carried a strange reassurance. The girl's fear slowly loosened, though her legs still felt weak.
She glanced at the ash scattered on the ground.
"Was that just now… a person?"
"No," Tanjiro answered without hiding the truth. "It was a demon. I am a swordsman who slays demons."
The girl went still.
Tanjiro checked her once more to make sure she was unhard, then turned toward the alley entrance.
"That demon will not appear again. Please go ho safely."
He stepped into the moonlight.
The girl watched him leave, unable to hold back the question rising in her chest.
"Can you tell your na?"
Tanjiro paused for the briefest mont.
Then he continued walking.
"I'm sorry. I cannot."
With that, he vanished into the night.
Alone beneath the dark sky, Tanjiro rushed toward the next location.
He could not waste the ti others had bought for him.
Right now, he was either slaying demons—
—or on his way to slay them.
…
At the sa ti.
Yokohama.
In an abandoned mountain village far from the noise of the city, rumors of man-eating demons had also spread among the locals.
Tonight, several Demon Slayers had arrived.
Among them was the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro.
With him was a young swordsman wearing a fox mask, a checkered haori, Hanafuda earrings, and two swords at his waist.
At first glance, he looked almost exactly like Tanjiro.
The group moved openly through the village beneath the dark sky, making no attempt to hide their presence. Their footsteps echoed through the empty lanes, deliberately loud in the silence.
Soon, they cornered a man-eating demon inside an old warehouse.
The demon froze the mont it saw the masked swordsman.
That clothing.
Those earrings.
The two swords.
The image branded into its mind through Muzan's blood overlapped almost perfectly with the figure before it.
The Demon Slayer that Lord Muzan wanted dead.
The demon's emotions spiked.
Although it could not directly report to Muzan, that sudden surge was enough.
Far away, within the Infinity Castle, Muzan Kibutsuji sensed it.
His awareness shifted.
Through the demon's eyes, he saw the dark warehouse. Moonlight barely slipped through the broken roof, leaving most of the space in shadow. In the gloom, a swordsman wearing a fox mask stood among the Demon Slayers.
Muzan could not confirm the face.
But the clothes and earrings were more than enough.
As for the mask, he did not dwell on it. The lack of information over the past few days had almost driven him mad. Now that a clue had finally appeared, he would not let it pass.
Whether true or false, it had to be confird.
Imdiately, Muzan sent an order to the Upper Ranks.
The closest among them was Upper Rank Five—
Gyokko.
The demon's body was half-hidden within a pot, its shape grotesque beyond reason. Mouths sat where its eyes should have been, while eyes bulged from its forehead and chin. Several tiny, infant-like arms sprouted from its body, wriggling with unnatural excitent.
The mont Muzan's order reached him, one of Gyokko's mouths stretched out a tongue and licked its lips.
The other mouth opened in delight.
"So that Demon Slayer has finally appeared? Wonderful. I shall kill him at once and transform him into a masterpiece worthy of Lord Muzan!"
His body sank into the pot.
The pot slipped beneath the ground, moving rapidly toward the abandoned mountain village.
Inside the warehouse, the swordsman disguised as Tanjiro drew his sword.
Water flowed along the edge.
With one clean strike, he decapitated the demon.
The sight further convinced Muzan.
A cold smile spread across his face.
"Found you."
After slaying the demon, Obanai and the others did not linger.
They withdrew at once, following the plan precisely. Their task was not to fight an Upper Rank head-on, but to draw Muzan's eyes, leave traces, and disappear before the net closed.
By the ti Gyokko arrived at the village, the warehouse was empty.
Only the fading scent of Demon Slayers and scattered ash remained.
Dawn was already approaching.
With the first light of morning near, Gyokko could do nothing but retreat into hiding for the ti being.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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