Chapter 5: Mount Natagumo

The dense forest of Natagumo made it impossible for her to use her eyesight to the fullest. She could smell the fresh blood that lingered in the depths as if it invited her to her death.

Not like Kanao cared about the eerie atmosphere, or rather, she didn't want to acknowledge it. She was there to kill demons and save any survivors she could find. That was her sole mission, and she would complete it.

She kept her gaze forward, scanning every corner of her surroundings. In this dense forest, she could be easily ambushed, be it from small bushes to tall trees. She couldn't slow down her pace, as this was a race against the clock to save the missing slayers. She had to run and look out for herself at the same time.

She stopped as she heard rustling in the bushes. She narrowed her eyes. Was it a demon or a slayer? She had to be cautious.

A blurred figure leaped towards her, its face covered with the leaves of the bushes. She reacted fast enough and raised her blade to block the incoming attack.

A loud clang was heard throughout the forest. Kanao felt herself stumbling backward from the force of the attack.

The figure that ambushed her was a teenage boy that looked strangely familiar yet distant. He had white hair with blue strands and sky blue eyes.

The same eyes as her stepbrother…

For a second, Kanao thought that this boy was related to the Ice Pillar, but she brushed that thought away. This boy lacked the smile and lax posture that her brother always had. This boy seemed serious and tense which differed from Miyamoto Junichiro's volatile nature.

The white-haired boy stopped his assault and lowered his weapon. He scanned her posture from top to bottom. Kanao lowered her weapon as well. This human boy posed no threat.

Neither of them uttered a word as they stared at each other. Kanao wondered why this boy wasn't wearing a Demon Slayer uniform—was he one of the missing people from this mountain?

No, that's not possible. This boy seemed in perfect condition. He had no signs of exhaustion or any injuries that could indicate that he fought in a battle. He also carried a nichirin blade and tried to attack her, a tool no normal civilian should have. This boy arrived at the mountain at the same time, or after her arrival.

He coughed awkwardly.

"Sorry," he said as he looked at her neutrally. "I thought you were a demon."

Kanao showed him her usual plastic smile and nodded. It was a rational misunderstanding, one that she could let slide. In this dense battlefield, it would be hard to distinguish a friend from a foe, and a moment of distraction would mean death.

"I see that you are part of the slayers, so they're already here…" the boy muttered. "Do you guys need a hand?"

Kanao blinked. Wasn't it common courtesy to share their names before talking about their mission?

No, wait, it wasn't. Her sister Shinobu told her that there was a time and place for common courtesy, and this wasn't one of them.

Socializing really is unnecessary…

Should she tell him about the slayers that were losing on the west side of the mountain? This boy didn't seem to wear their usual gear, and the lack of resistance could prove fatal in a battle. Then again, there were some people that chose not to wear it, but those often ended up dying a week later after enlisting.

Rengoku was going north, while Junichiro was catching up to her—at his own slowpoke pace. No one protected the western side.

She had to make a decision.

She grabbed her coin from her pocket and tossed it up.

If it landed on heads, then the boy would come and help them here on the east, but if it landed on tails, then she would tell him about the demons of the west.

The boy sent her a flat look and tapped his foot. Kanao wasn't sure what he meant by that strange look and kept going.

She grabbed the falling coin and when she took a look at it, she took a deep breath and smiled.

"There are slayers fighting on the far corners of the west," she said as she placed her coin back into her pocket. "Please back them up."

The boy said nothing and nodded. He swiftly made his way to the west until Kanao couldn't see him anymore.

She could have questioned the boy whether or not he belonged to the corps but his nichirin blade told her everything she needed to know. Her decision was for the best; with that boy's help, casualties could be minimized until reinforcements came to help.

"Kanao-chan?"

Kanao turned to the voice that addressed her. Miyamoto Junichiro emerged from the bushes and walked towards her. The butterfly girl found herself staring at his brother's eyes, briefly comparing them to the ones from the boy that she stumbled upon earlier.

"Hello, anyone there?!" Junichiro said as she snapped his fingers in front of her face. "You're hypnotized or something?"

Kanao snapped out from her trance and nodded. She would worry about those details later—they had a mission to complete right now.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she said flatly. "I just finished talking to a surviving slayer. He wasn't injured, so I sent him to protect the ones from the west side."

"Yeah, I heard. Who was he, anyway? I swear I had heard that voice somewhere but I don't really remember. Maybe if I saw his face I might've been able to recognize him?" Junichiro mused as he cupped his hand on his chin. He then shook his head. "Ah, whatever, let's just finish whatever lies on the east, then we can go and back everyone up."

Kanao nodded and the two ran towards the east. With the Pillar taking the lead, she could increase the pace she had before.

As they ran, she couldn't help but notice the abundance of spiders scattered over the ground. She wouldn't have noticed it if there were other insect species but the fact that there were only spiders of the same type was concerning.

Kanao found many bodies as she went deeper into enemy territory, most of them past slayers that accepted this mission. Their corpses had their bones broken and presented pustules all over their faces, as well as foam coming out of their mouths, which was a clear sign of getting poisoned.

Could it be that the poison and the spiders could have a connection? After all, there were venomous variants of spiders that had nasty effects on people.

They better avoid them at all costs.

They arrived at a clearing, where the pair came to a halt.

The girl took her time to scan her surroundings for evidence of the clear fight that had happened before.

Trees were cut in half and there was fresh blood splattered on the ground. What caught her attention the most was the wooden house that hung in the air, with strings supporting its massive weight.

This was caused by a demon, no two ways about it since no string was strong enough to maintain a big house midair.

The Ice Pillar grimaced as soon as he set his sights on the aftermath of the battle. There were no signs of dead bodies there; instead, the young slayers met a different, more horrifying fate.

They had shrunk in size, all the way down to a mere insect. Their limbs mutated into that of a spider, replacing their functional human arms with hairy spider legs. The only reason Kanao could distinguish them from normal spiders was that only their heads remained in human form. Their skin had an unhealthy pale color and nearly all of their hair had fallen down.

Their faces were devoid of all emotion like they had given up all hope.

Kanao turned to look at her brother to see that his frown had deepened. His veins bulge out of his forehead.

"I'm getting angrier the more I stay here…"

"The ones who mutated must be delivered to Nee-san. She can treat them better than anyone," Kanao muttered loud enough for the Pillar to hear. "Is there a way to lead them without scaring them off?"

Junichiro grinned and stepped forward.

"Those who want to return to your former selves line up! If you try to leave, then I will place your pathetic selves into a bag and drag by force, understand!"

The mutated slayers shivered but nevertheless complied with the order. After all, no one wanted to get their head dragged on the ground by the Ice Pillar. The man checked every corner with a scowl for anyone that dared to run away from him. The mutated slayers formed a line of ants in front of him.

Junichiro nodded satisfied at his display of crowd control. Apparently, scaring them even further proved to be the simplest solution.

Kanao noticed that the slayers pointed their spider legs towards the house. The Pillar paid no heed to their gestures.

"Alright, I know nothing about medicine, so… Kanao-chan, attend to them while I go look for more injured—"

Kanao ignored her brother's words as she realized what the mutated slayers meant. Not wasting more time, she rushed forward and leaped towards the top of the house. She managed to grab the edge and pushed herself up to the roof.

She narrowed her eyes as she set her sights on a teenage boy who lay on the ground. He had blonde hair and wore a yellow haori decorated with small white triangles.

The boy had shallow breaths and his skin had turned a weird shade of purple. It seemed that the poison had spread into the entirety of his body, but it had yet to take full effect.

"So there was someone else here after all…"

She turned to her side to see that the Ice Pillar had already made the climb. He hummed as he approached the injured boy and started to analyze him. He grinned. "Well, well, well… it appears that this boy is a resilient one, using his own breath to slow down the effects of the venom."

The boy's eyes had a small glint as he looked at Junichiro.

"Are... you... my savior?"

The Pillar crossed his arms and hummed.

"Well, that depends," he drawled, taking out a small case from underneath his haori. He opened the case and revealed a total of five syringes, each one of them with different functions. "I'll be your savior once I figure out how these syringes work…"

Not happening.

Kanao grabbed the Pillar's only arm with an ironclad grip. The sudden movement startled him and he raised his eyebrow as he demanded an answer, only to be given no response by the girl.

The girl took out a yen coin from her uniform, prompting the Pillar to release an exasperated sigh.

"Here we go again…"

If the coin landed on heads, she would kindly ask Junichiro to move away so she could administer the dose. However, if it landed on tails…

She was still going to administer the dose, by telling the Pillar which syringe he should use.

Kanao tossed the coin and—

"Goddammit, if you don't want me to use the syringe you could have said so," Junichiro grumbled as he freed himself from Kanao's grip and caught the coin in midair. He gave the coin to her and placed the syringe back in the case. He stood up and leaped off the house.

Kanao blinked a couple of times before coming back to her senses. That went better than she expected; she thought that the Pillar was going to be stubborn enough because of his pride and he would want to administer the dose.

Or maybe, he just couldn't wait to go and kill the demons already… that would explain why he was in such a hurry.

"Hey Kanao-chan, I found some pretty interesting trails down here so I'm gonna do some hunting!" she heard Junichiro shout from down below. "I already checked the perimeter and found no demons so you're good!"

And with that, she heard the footsteps of his brother vanishing.

Kanao sighed at his overprotectiveness. If Junichiro placed a little more trust in her, then they would have gone their separate ways and made the situation easier for everyone. She was no longer a helpless little girl.

How she wished for her sister Kanae to be here so she could berate him…

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It had been a while since Pochiro got swatted like a fly by the giant demon, and if Inosuke had to be honest, it started to get annoying.

Why was that? It was because he wouldn't be here when Inosuke landed the killing blow, so he could rub it in his face later!

Even if he wanted that to happen, he had to admit that this demon proved to be no easy task. If its skin was sturdy before, then it would be sturdier now that it had shed it.

It looked weirder than before, too. Now it had various red eyes across its face and large fangs that didn't manage to fit in its mouth, making them stand out from the rest of its already big teeth.

This huge demon was known as their father—as the demon girl they ran into earlier told them so—and he managed to get on Inosuke's nerves fast. His skin was harder than a thousand boar tusks combined, making it hard for him to tear him apart!

Its hardened skin was impossible to pierce; its demonic strength would mean that one hit from it would turn his insides into mush.

Killing him wasn't a task Inosuke couldn't handle though.

"Come here boy! I don't need Kentaro to kill you!" he yelled, clashing both of his blades.

The spider demon shrieked and charged towards the Boar Slayer. The ground cracked with each of its steps.

Inosuke grinned. This guy wanted a head-on clash between them, knowing full well who would win. What a moron, easy kill for him.

He leaped forward, blades pointing directly at the monster's neck.

The monster moved its arm to the side. Since Inosuke was coming forward, its large arm would let it land a blow before he could close the distance.

The Boar Slayer expected this.

"Breath of the Beast, Ninth Fang!"

His arms stretched in an unnatural way, making his bones creak from the effort. The ability to dislocate and relocate his bones at will was something he always took pride in.

He jumped up, evading the blow from the giant demon, and tried to slash its neck with his blades.

"The fuck?!"

Keyword: tried.

His arms felt like they reached a dead end when his swords tried to pierce the demon's skin. He grunted as he tried to apply more force to his slash, but the blade did not budge, it felt like he was trying to cut many rocks at once.

The creature roared and spun around many times, shaking the Boar Slayer off its body. Inosuke flew and crashed into a nearby tree trunk, which broke from the force of the impact. He winced from the sharp pain that came from the crash.

He stood up, his arms trembled. If he couldn't cut this guy with his strongest attacks, then who could? Wasn't he the Great Inosuke…? The strongest slayer out there?

The demon began to charge at him with murderous intent, and Inosuke could only stand there and watch at how the demon tore him apart. This is it, this is how he was going to die.

Death because he was weak. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, he would not be able to defend himself from the incoming blow… and it frustrated him to no end!

"Breath of Ice, First Form—"

Inosuke heard the loud clang of a sword that clashed against a hard piece of iron.

He opened his eyes to see the giant spider demon stopped in its tracks. The big guy was struggling to grab his neck, reeling violently.

Inosuke scowled. Why the fuck did this monster stop? It had him right where it wanted him, so why didn't it finish the job?!

He squinted his eyes, his blurry vision started to clear up. What he saw tensed him up.

A white-haired nobody was interfering, and the way he fought made it seem like he was the boss! The newbie caught the demon by surprise like a coward and got a direct hit on the neck. His blade didn't budge on impact. Of course it didn't, if Inosuke himself couldn't, how could this guy—who looked weaker than him—manage?

The demon started to rattle and waggled around, trying to shake the boy off him.

"Gotta help that guy, but how?!" Inosuke said as he knocked his head hard. He let out a grunt of frustration and ran towards the pipsqueak. "Screw it! I'll just grab him."

He curved towards the back of the demon and pulled the boy away with his grip. He began to run towards the forest and blended in with the bushes. He heard the demon chasing after them as the ground shook slightly from its steps.

Inosuke made good use of the bushes and tree branches, blending with the forest and using the sound of roots and leaves to his advantage. When it came to survival inside the forest, he was second to none, because he was both smart and dangerous!

As soon as they seemed to get out of sight, Inosuke threw the white-haired boy in front of him. He sent him an accusatory finger.

"What the hell are you doing stealing my prey like that! Leave this guy in the hands of Inosuke-sama!"

He saw the boy grimace and stand up. He carefully scanned his surroundings without saying a word to him. The Boar Slayer let out a low but audible growl. "Stop ignoring me you dumbass!"

"If it weren't for the branches you threw along the way, that demon would have found us because of how loud you are," the white-haired boy said.

"Huh?! What do you mean I'm loud, I'm not being loud snowflake guy!"

"Shut up!" Snowflake whispered audibly. He then peeked to the outside for any signs of the demon. "First of all, it's not snowflake, it's Kazuki. Second, if you're so eager to rush into a demon that big without a plan, by all means, be my guest."

Inosuke's eye ticked from under his mask; he should not have challenged him like that. He then let out a loud laugh.

"Of course, I'm gonna show you how Inosuke-sama does it!" he yelled and jumped out into the open. He then rushed towards the location where he sensed the big demon. "PIG ASSAULT!"

He heard Kazuma jump out of the bush as well, and chased after him.

"W–Wait! I was being sarcastic!"

"The hell does that mean?!"

Inosuke ignored his warnings and charged towards where he last heard the demon. He plucked the leaves that were on his face and came into contact with the spider monster. He faced the creature directly.

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The monster's eyeballs dilated and it shrieked.

Inosuke readied both of his swords, eager to tear it apart!

"Die already dammit!"

The monster then smashed the ground with its fist and started to throw boulders towards him. Inosuke grinned behind his mask and dodged the incoming attacks. It then took a big step forwards and threw dirt towards him.

The slayer couldn't see anything from the cloud of dirt and swung his swords to clear his vision. However, that single moment when he took his eyes off the demon, he saw a big fist approaching towards him. Too late to escape, the Boar Slayer braced himself for the incoming attack and raised his arms.

"Ice breathing, Third Form: Sheer Cold!"

Kuzuki entered the fray and stabbed all of the demon's eyes as fast as he could blink. The demon cried in pain and placed both of its arms over its eyes. The white-haired boy grabbed Inosuke by the neck and immediately ran backward.

His grip didn't possess that much strength, but he was baffled by the fact that the white-haired boy was skating over the ground. He ran towards the deep forest and blended in with the bushes.

Inosuke then realized that he was still being carried and started to wail. "Let me go Kazuma! Let. Me. Go!"

The boy in question merely sent him a deadpan stare. Once they were out of sight, Kazuma dropped Inosuke to the ground and kneeled to catch his breath.

"Thank you for saving me from the monster that was about to pulverize my guts is what I was expecting…" he mumbled under his breath. He then scanned his surroundings and nodded. "Listen, I think I know a way to cut off this monster's head. I need to find the dead bodies of some slayers and lure the demon—"

Inosuke tilted his head as he heard the boy speak gibberish, something about contraptions and bait and advanced terms he didn't understand.

"Got all that?"

The boar-headed slayer blinked under his mask. "...Eh?"

Kazuki rubbed his temples and shook his head. He then patted Inosuke on the shoulder. "Good luck, Bait-san."

He didn't just do that.

The boar-headed slayer stomped the ground hard and let out a snarl.

"Bait-san?!" he shouted as he leaned towards Kuzuki's ear. "The hell?! My name is Hashibara Inosuke just so you remember!"

The white-haired boy ran towards the forest and immediately fell out of sight. Inosuke growled and chased after him.

"Come back here, I ain't done with you!" Inosuke yelled as he followed the boy.

Just as he was following him, he could feel the ground trembling hard and heard trees falling from behind. He turned around and saw the Spider Demon catching up to him, as it ran fast towards him. Inosuke felt a chill down his spine as the demon extended out its massive hand.

The Boar Slayer ducked and avoided the attack that would have crushed him on the spot. His hands clenched into fists and he growled quietly, like a mad dog about to be released from its leash.

He wanted to kill Kazuma and the ugly monster insisted on getting on his way.

"I. Hate. Playing. Safe!" he said as he let out a loud cry. He then rushed towards the demon with his two blades and took a deep breath. "Beast Breathing, Fourth Form: Slice and Dice!"

The monster tried to slam Inosuke with its own weight, but the Boar Slayer managed to slide down under its crotch and climb upon its back. He used both of his blades to slice up the monster's neck.

"Dammit all!" Inosuke snarled as he applied every ounce of his strength to cut the demon's neck.

The poor force of his attack didn't even manage to pierce its skin and the blades snapped in half the moment they made contact.

Inosuke fell down and his eyes widened the moment he saw the monster swinging down its fist. He rolled away at the last second and avoided the attack.

The demon wasn't done; it swung its foot at the downed Inosuke. The slayer used both of his arms and blocked the attack that would have instantly killed him. Still, the force of the kick sent him flying a few meters away. He landed forcefully on the ground with a thud.

When he recovered his senses, he could get a clear view from his current location.

This particular part of the forest had been oddly shaped. Most trunks were sliced into sharp wooden stakes and lifted up with white strings. They were pointed like spears towards one direction.

While Inosuke inspected the area, he took notice of Kuzuki. He watched as the white-haired boy used his sword to cut off the trees and carved them into stakes. The white-haired boy looked at the boar slayer and scowled.

"Get out of here, I'm not finished yet!" he snapped. "You're going to ruin everything!"

"What the hell are you doing?! These pieces of wood won't even scratch that guy!" Inosuke yelled in the same, defiant tone.

Kazuki shook his head. "You don't understand! Now get out of here before–"

Both boys flinched as they saw the father demon had found them, its eyes constricted, and let out a terrifying, high-pitched shriek which made the boys instinctively cover their ears to avoid being deafened.

"Too late, he's here now!" Inosuke said as he stood up and ran towards Kazuma.

The white-haired boy grimaced and mumbled under his breath. Inosuke ticked a nerve, he swore he heard him say something along the lines of 'boar-headed idiot'.

"Dammit!" Kazuma snapped as he started to back off. "I guess this will do..."

"What now?!"

When Inosuke turned around, he saw that the boy wasn't standing beside him but rather running away yet again!

"Follow me!"

"Wait up dumbass!" the Boar Slayer shouted as he followed suit, his frustrations getting the better of him yet again.

He wasn't running away—The Great Inosuke never runs away—he was just chasing Kazuki so he could kill him later!

He could sense the demon chasing after them as it plowed through all of the stakes with its brute strength, but they couldn't even pierce its skin.

"Hey Kazuma, those stakes aren't doing anything!" Inosuke said as he resisted the urge to punch the white-haired boy's face. "What now?!"

The white-haired frowned and clenched his fist.

"Too wide…" he said.

Kazuma then had a small glint in his eyes and cut a white thread as they passed through with his blade. He pushed Inosuke's head down.

He felt a gust of wind pass over his head.

A wooden stake came down from the branches and propelled right up into the beast's eyes, clouding its vision. Now they could split up, and make the beast lose track of them again. Still, the Boar Slayer couldn't see the point of this. They would simply repeat the process over and over until either one of them died. The demon could regenerate, so no matter how much it hurt its eyes, it would not matter.

"Jump on my signal!"

That made the Boar Slayer blink. Did Kazuma just have the audacity to tell him what to do? His blood started to boil and he gritted his teeth until he finally snapped. "Who the hell do you think you are to order me around!"

He saw the white-haired boy stop and kneel. He, on the other hand, had no intention to stop.

"Now!"

"I said I won't take orders from—"

He choked on his next words as he slipped down and lost his footing. He expected to fall on the ground but what he saw was that the leaves and roots under him broke, and what welcomed was a huge deep hole.

He could easily survive a fall like this, so it wasn't like it was the end of the world. That was if the bottom of the hole didn't have sharp nichirin swords implanted into the ground. His breath became ragged and his heart started to beat fast as he imagined himself turning into mincemeat by the time he fell.

Kurome jumped into the hole and grabbed Inosuke by the hand. The white-haired boy barely made it into the other side by hanging himself on the edge. He then hurled the Boar Slayer to the surface and climbed up himself.

"The hell…"

Inosuke felt the ground shaking as he saw the demon had kept the chase towards them. It had removed the stakes from its eyes and they were slowly regenerating.

However, that split second of regeneration proved to be fatal. The demon fell right into the 5-meter-deep hole.

A loud shockwave could be felt on the entire forest as the demon made contact with the bottom. A couple of swords broke but the rest managed to skewer the demon's skin from its torso, all the way to its face, and even its neck which left a sizable mark. Blood dripped from its wounds and it started to shriek from the pain.

It didn't manage to decapitate it completely, but it was vulnerable now!

Inosuke scratched his mask. Without his swords, there was no way to finish it off. It was frustrating how weak he was at times!

Kazuki then tossed his fancy sword to him and he caught it midair. Inosuke didn't say a word as the boy's face told him everything he needed to know.

He grinned under his mask.

The curved hilt from the sword felt slightly weird to him but it still managed to get the job done.

"With pleasure!" he cackled and threw himself into the hole. He could already see the places he could land without getting hurt by the blades.

He landed on top of the beast's torso.

"Beast Breathing, Third Fang: Devour!"

And sliced its head off in one fell swoop. The monster let out a roar as it felt pain from the move until it finally died down and stopped its twitching.

Inosuke let out a roar of victory. Bathing in the glory of killing a strong demon felt amazing without having to see Kentaro's stupid grin.

The demon's body started to disintegrate and the Boar Slayer jumped towards the surface before he got impaled.

He could see Kazuma letting out a sigh of relief as he took a seat. Inosuke tossed the sword back to him, which he grabbed without hesitation.

"That's one down…" Kazuma muttered.

"Hell yeah, I killed it!" Inosouke said. He had his arms up in the air. "Did you see that?! That means you shouldn't ever underestimate me, Inosuke-sama, The Strongest of All!"

Kazuki seemed appalled, his mouth wide open.

"I gave the means to kill it what are you–" he said while taking deep breaths. He then clapped his hands. "You know what? Fine, you killed it. Congratulations."

Damn right he should congratulate him.

The boar slayer then glanced at the big hole in which the demon fell. Some of the swords that were implanted on the ground broke, but there were still plenty of them left, in impeccable condition.

"How the hell did you think of something like this? This shit is amazing!"

Kazuma blinked and scratched the back of his head.

"Well… I had to go scavenging. A lot of people died here, so it was pretty easy to find high-quality blades. I then went towards this location with the arsenal, found the hole, and implanted the swords on the ground, then disguised the hole with leaves and roots. Then I made wooden stakes by cutting some trees down and positioning them carefully. Yes, I did all of that in five minutes." He explained. He took a deep breath and kept going. "I wanted more time to make more stakes, as I wasn't so sure if I could have blinded it in time before it got here, but I don't have to worry about that anymore. If we couldn't cut off its head with our current strength, then maybe gravity would have done the trick."

Inosuke's head hurt from the amount of information that was given to him, and all he could do was tilt his head. "Gravi–what?"

The white-haired boy closed his eyes and shook his head.

"…Forget it…"

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The contents of the mission stated that there were missing people from around the Chūbu region. They abducted men, women, and children… these demons knew no limits.

So the Flame Pillar knew what to do the moment he set foot on this mountain.

All the clues gathered by the Kakushi led up to the peak of this mountain. However, they failed to mention that the place where the demons kept the victims wasn't just a small hut.

Instead, Kyojuro set his sights on a Pagoda, its worn-out wood planks and broken windows adding an unhealthy and eerie atmosphere that would make rookie slayers cower in fear. Luckily, he was far from being a rookie now.

There was one factor that caught his attention the most.

A foul stench, the damned stench of death.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his rage, the Flame Pillar stepped forward and made his way towards the main door. There was no shōji door to knock on, as the precious parchment that once adorned these beautiful pieces of architecture was now tainted by the stains of blood.

He entered the home and started to analyze his surroundings. The inside of the building was in the state he expected it to be. Worn out walls, creaking floors, and broken furniture. The place held a gloomy aura.

Not like it had that effect on him—the demons would have to do a better job if they wanted to extinguish the flame inside of his heart.

With only the light of the moon to guide him, he had to have all of his five senses in control.

Kyojuro grimaced. It was impossible that the demons had left the place where they keep their food unguarded. He saw claw marks on the wall, fresh ones, and he instantly knew the eyes of the enemy were fixed on him. He needed to be silent and look out for his opponent.

The Flame Pillar didn't work that way.

"Hello! Anyone home!"

His shout echoed throughout the entire building to the point that it made the structure crumble further. Dust started to come out of the ceilings all the way to his nostrils. He coughed.

"I better be careful…" he muttered as he unsheathed his katana. Its beautiful red color shone through the pale moonlight.

He caught sight of a moving silhouette hanging from the ceiling and instantly went on guard. The shadow seemed to catch sight of him, its lifeless white eyes glaring into his own golden ones.

It emitted a low, but audible growl, an animalistic one, akin to a beast seeking out its prey.

He didn't even need to guess he was dealing with a demon.

"You there!" Kyojuro shouted. The force of the yell startled the shadow as he swiftly leaped towards the ceiling. It dashed to the stairs. The shadow slashed two pillars on its side, weakening the ceiling even further.

With his earlier shout and the recent damage, the ceiling collapsed on him. The Flame Pillar reacted in time to slash the pieces of wood. He grinned at the shadow.

"You're going to need something much bigger to take me down, demon!" Kyojuro said as he ran towards the shadow. It jumped towards the hole and climbed up to the second floor.

The Flame Pillar followed suit.

This was certainly a low-ranked demon, as it showed a cowardly way of fighting him despite having close quarters to its advantage.

Kyojuro quickly ran towards the shadow and climbed the stairs. It wasn't long before he caught up with it. The moonlight briefly revealed a part of its head, which made it easier for the Pillar to spot the neck.

He grinned and clenched his sword tightly.

"I got you!"

The Pillar swung his sword without using his breath, as this low-ranked demon didn't even warrant the effort.

He stopped his attack as soon as the demon took out two strange cocoons to defend itself. That oval-shaped object was all too familiar, and unpleasant. He narrowed his eyes and focused on one particular cocoon, and his eyes couldn't believe what they saw.

An eyeball, a human one, could be seen inside of it.

It was at this moment where the Flame Pillar realized where the stench of death came from.

He found himself surrounded by dozens of cocoons, each of them carrying dead–or barely alive–humans, he didn't know, and he didn't want to know. They were trapped inside as means of preservation, and the only way for them to get out would be by killing the demon… or by waiting for supper.

Kyojuro remained still, his eyes covered by his bangs. He gripped his sword tightly until his knuckles were bright white.

The moonlight revealed a woman with a pale complexion. She wore a white kimono ornamented with shapes of cobwebs. She had white hair and red tattoos under both of her eyes. Her white irises gave confirmation that she was no normal lady, but the demon that resided in this house.

The demoness grinned. White threads started to emerge from underneath her fingernails as she moved her hands carefully. She quickly manipulated these threads and started to envelop the Flame Pillar into a cocoon.

"You realized..." the demoness giggled as she walked towards him. She faked a pout. "If you swing your sword in this small room, you will end up killing the people you're trying to save, you know? You don't want to do that, don't you~?"

Kyojuro thought about it for a while. These innocent people—who lacked the skill to fight against creatures this vicious—did not die instantly. Instead, they were kept alive, screaming for help each day as they were slowly digested, yet no one came.

Until this day.

Time to put an end to this brutality.

"You would have to be extremely precise to even reach—"

The demoness's eyes widened as her neck got pierced by the Pillar's sword, which got through her strings with ease.

Kyojuro wasn't insane like Junichiro or a hothead like Sanemi. He didn't let his rage cover his vision while he thought of a way to escape.

The cocoon was shaped like a ball of yarn, which meant that there were many hidden holes inside of it. He just needed to wait for the demoness to get close to deliver a fatal blow.

"You have captured and killed so many innocents... and judging by how your means of 'preservation' works, I can only guess that their death wasn't quick." He spoke in a low, baritone voice. His veins started to pop out of his forehead, and his face became red as a tomato until he finally let it all out.

"Depraved creatures like you shouldn't be forgiven! I'll set my heart ablaze and burn you to the bone!"

Now just needed to twist his blade and—

The demoness shook her hands desperately, putting more cocoons in front of him. Kyojuro gritted his teeth and leaped backward, pulling away from his blade from the demon's neck. He couldn't risk hitting the civilians.

He easily dodged the attacks and kept moving forward, but was slowed due to the number of cocoons that were thrown at him.

The attack stopped. He immediately ran towards the stairs and dashed down towards the first floor, but found no signs of the woman.

"Dammit, I lost track of her..." he said as he punched the wall, leaving a sizable mark on it.

A string knocked down the oil lamps that were hanging on the walls. The reaction between oil and the fire ignited a spark in the room that quickly spread throughout the first floor.

Kyojuro couldn't stop it. Soon the entire building would get enveloped in flames.

He wanted to kill the demon, but priorities came first: he had to get the cocoons out to safety. The people trapped might even still be alive if they were lucky. He took a deep breath and rushed towards the second floor.

If he got killed by the flames, that would be the most ironic death ever.

----------------------------------------

She watched from afar as the entire building started to be enveloped by a great flame.

She gave a sigh of bliss. Nothing felt better than watching your enemies burn from the inside.

A part of her was frustrated because of her inability to protect their food, but Himeno understood that the slayer she fought against had the upper hand in every way. His strength, speed, and swordsmanship were on a whole other level compared to the first group that arrived earlier. He must be one of the high-ranked ones, like the Kinoe or the dreaded Pillars.

She let out a soft giggle, which quickly turned into a full chortle. If you couldn't beat them with sheer strength, then outsmarting them worked like a charm. The slayers were always so selfless and self-righteous, they always claimed to protect their own kind, even if that would mean that they would fail their mission.

Their oath would ultimately lead to their undoing.

Maybe now that she took down a Pillar, she could ask Muzan for blood. Then, she could have a blood battle to join the Twelve Moons. The mere thought of getting out of this mountain and letting Rui get a taste of his medicine made her shiver in excitement. It was time for her to drop this big sister act and finally be independent.

"That's a very bright torch you're gawking at, girl. You sure you ain't getting blind?"

Himeno flinched as she heard a low but mischievous voice beside her. She slowly turned to the right.

"Well, I do admit that it is a flashy display."

She saw a man that had messy long white hair with blue strands tied into a ponytail. He seemed immersed in his thoughts as he placed a hand on his chin and stared intently at the burning house.

She started to tremble and jumped away from the mysterious man, not even daring to attack him. How did he manage to get behind her? She was a demon for crying out loud! Her enhanced senses and the threads she left behind should have alerted her to any possible danger, yet this man managed to get behind her without making a sound.

He could have killed her but decided not to…

Himeno heaved a sigh of relief. Humans could be so strange and stupid at times.

Now that she remained out of harm's way, she could take a good look at the man. Because of that ridiculous black uniform, she knew that this man was a slayer, but what caught her attention the most wasn't his outfit.

It was that his left sleeve waved like a flag, which signaled that he missed his left arm.

She couldn't help but ponder at the ridiculousness of what she saw. Why would the slayers let a cripple go to missions? Didn't they understand that was suicide? She could understand if he was missing an eye or an ear, but his entire arm?

Demon Slayers were known to use two-handed weapons or two one-handed weapons to swiftly decapitate demons. That was the peak which humans were able to get. Cutting one arm from a slayer was one way to get a ticket for retirement, for one arm is incapable of cutting a demon's head off.

Either the slayers were either getting desperate or this man had a loose screw.

This crippled human stood no chance against her.

"You have to be stupid if you think that you can kill me with only one arm."

The man blinked. Good, he was realizing his weakness and uselessness. She resisted the urge to laugh at the stupidity and predictability of humans.

He whistled and let out a condescending smile.

"Please, do enlighten me," he said, not even daring to face her.

The white-haired human wore the most ridiculous expression on his face once those words left his mouth. He mocked her, and she didn't appreciate it one bit.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. "Do you think you can get away after mocking me like that?"

The man looked to each side with a puzzled expression before facing her. "I mean, this is an open forest so I suppose getting away must be—"

Himeno couldn't take it any longer. "It was rhetorical!" she snapped.

She waved her hands and threads started to surround the clearing. Their suitable position should cover any possible angle for attack.

"I won't let a cripple make fun of me…" Himeno said in a low, grave tone. "Especially if you use a two-handed sword with one arm."

The man shook his head and sighed. "Alright, let me beat you without using my weapon at all."

What?

Himeno held her mouth agape, unsure of what the slayer had said. Was he being serious or could he not get through his thick skull that demons could regenerate from any injury if they didn't use nichirin blades?

The man used his only hand and grabbed his sheath from his waist. He proceeded to throw it away to the ground.

She couldn't believe it; this fool was serious, he wanted to fight a demon barehanded.

"Come on, you can't be serious." Himeno grinned. Her smile quickly faltered when he saw the man stretching himself, preparing himself to attack. "Gods, you are serious…"

"Well, I can judge my opponent's strength by looking at them at first glance." The white-haired man said, cracking his neck. "And judging by that turtle-like reaction you showed me earlier…"

He let out a wide grin. "Let's just say it would be a miracle if you make me try!"

Himeno would have snapped at the crippled man's statement if he didn't disappear from her sight before she could blink.

Her eyes widened and started to move her head frantically. She desperately tried to find where the man had gone. His sword still remained on the ground, so she wasn't worried about being killed on the spot.

She felt a tight grip on the back of her head and her blood ran cold.

"On your right my dear~"

He used his only arm to slam the demoness's face into the ground. The land shattered on impact and her vision went black. Her skull must have shattered.

She couldn't believe it. The man's earlier taunts were no mere boasts!

This had to be some kind of mistake… there was no way a human would be that strong with only one arm! The force felt like she was being pushed by thousands of people at once; it felt inhuman.

As her eyes regenerated, she could see that the man's lips moved, but couldn't understand anything due to the impact of the attack that shattered her eardrums. The pain she felt when regenerating felt like nothing compared to the damage to her pride.

He just humiliated her physically and emotionally.

"Come on, is that it? I haven't even broken a sweat!" The man laughed, pulling Himeno by her hair. "You better start trying, you're gonna die!"

The man pulled her from the ground and spun her like a tornado, hurling her into a tree and sending her crashing hard into the trunk.

The demoness's breath became ragged, her eyes widening in fear as she saw the huge figure approaching her with a crazed grin. She whimpered and dragged herself backward as the man was just a meter away from her.

He stopped and his grin vanished. He stared at her for a couple of seconds before he sighed.

"Come on, is that it?" he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "As I thought, underlings like you don't possess that much of a challenge. I really expected some sort of counterattack, or at the very least you could've shown me an interesting Blood Demon Art."

"Don't mock me hum—" She couldn't finish her sentence as the slayer punched her straight in the jaw, which shattered on impact. The demoness covered her mouth as blood started to pour out from her broken teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, 'don't mock me human trash', 'don't underestimate me, 'you are no match for me'. I know the drill for the proud demons, you don't have to repeat it to every human you see. It gets tiring you know?"

No, she couldn't die like this.

She had to put this human in his place, even if it was the last thing she did!

She moved her hands. The strings she placed earlier on the clearing began to move and they began to surround the slayer.

The man merely grinned at the sight of being trapped.

"Finally, you're trying!"

"Shut up already!" she yelled desperately. The strings started to envelop the man into a big white cocoon. He didn't even try to evade it.

Himeno stood up and dusted herself off. She took deep breaths and started to calm down.

She heard rustling coming from the cocoon. It was moving back and forth, and Himeno could hear faint mumbling coming from it.

She grinned. The human must feel desperate to get out, as there was no way out once trapped inside. She felt bliss knowing that she wouldn't be able to hear that man's obnoxious and irritating voice.

"What is it, human, you're done squirming?"

Her grin faltered once she saw a big vertical cut being formed on the cocoon. She couldn't do anything about it as it all happened in the blink of an eye. The cut made the cocoon collapse completely. The inside revealed the human practically untouched, merely covered himself in digestive juices. His clothes were slimy but his skin was still in pristine shape as if he didn't take any damage at all.

The demoness widened her eyes. There was no way he could have gotten out of her trap without a sword! She glanced towards the direction in which he dropped his blade earlier, and to her surprise, it still lay on the ground untouched.

She returned her gaze to the man and she could see that he jiggled a small object between his fingers. A broken pink blade tied onto a small chain that hung around his neck.

"You have to know something important, girl. I didn't reach my rank by being an idiot," he said. "I did say I wasn't going to use my weapon."

In a swift move, he lunged directly at her throat.

She couldn't react to his inhuman movement in time.

She felt the steel pass through her neck in one swift move. She lost all feeling from her body and saw how her head fell down onto the ground.

In that instant, she knew who she was dealing with. That unfathomable strength and durability didn't come from an ordinary slayer. It has to be one of the high-ranked ones.

She could only watch as her body crumbled to dust. She wanted to have one final stand, or at the very least injure the man to wipe out the grin of his stupid face.

She wanted to burn him alive like that golden-haired slayer from earlier.

Why wouldn't things go her way? Why was she destined to always be stomped by the strong? Like these foul men did... like Rui did.

"Oh Kyojuro, you're here."

She glanced towards the blurring figure that approached the white-haired man.

Her will broke once her vision cleared. That was the golden-haired slayer from earlier, the one that she thought she burned alive inside the building! Did he manage to get every single cocoon out of safety, even when the building was falling apart?

Now she understood the people she tried to deal with. These were people that not even the likes of Rui could hope to defeat. These people stood on a mountain, while they were on rock bottom.

It seemed like wishful thinking to try and defeat one of them. Only the likes of the Upper Moons would be able to.

She smiled before her body crumbled to dust. The thought of Rui being butchered by these Pillars soothed her pain.