On a country path, a boy pushing a wheelchair with a basket on his back was making his way forward with great effort.
His sister Nezuko was in the basket on his back, while his elder sister Chika sat in the wheelchair he pushed.
They were heading for Sagiri Mountain.
Tanjirou had been a great help throughout the journey, both carrying and pushing someone, which made Chika feel a bit embarrassed.
Her physical recovery was still far from ideal.
If she pushed herself, she could move briefly, but only for a short time.
Chika estimated it would take about another month to fully regain the mobility of an ordinary person.
Sitting in the wheelchair, Chika lowered her head and sighed.
A month wasn’t exactly long, but it wasn’t short either.
Pushing the wheelchair, Tanjirou quietly looked at Chika seated in it, still somewhat worried about his elder sister’s condition.
After sustaining such severe injuries, was she really okay?
But so much time had passed, and aside from impaired mobility, there didn’t seem to be any other issues.
Could it be that sister, like Nezuko, had turned into a demon or was also affected in some way?
Tanjirou pondered this, but the glaring sunlight from the sky interrupted his thoughts.
Mr.
Tomioka said demons fear sunlight.
Sister shows no sign of fearing sunlight at all.
Really…
I just can’t figure it out.
Tanjirou pushed the wheelchair with one hand while raising the other to scratch the back of his head.
The three continued onward and soon arrived at the foot of a mountain not far from Sagiri Mountain.
“Sagiri Mountain?
To reach that mountain, you have to cross this one first.
Are you planning to carry such a large load and take a girl with limited mobility over it?
It’s dangerous.”
At the mountain’s base, Tanjirou politely asked for directions.
The woman who answered couldn’t help but glance a few extra times at Tanjirou’s unusual setup.
After briefly asking for directions, Tanjirou thanked the woman with a slight bow, then turned to begin climbing the mountain.
After all, time waited for no one; he wanted to find Urokodaki Sakonji quickly and learn his skills.
The sky gradually darkened.
As the glaring sunlight faded, Nezuko’s head “popped!” out of the basket on Tanjirou’s back.
Of course, she preferred being by her sister and brother’s side rather than staying inside the basket.
As the three chatted and advanced, with constant interaction between Tanjirou and Nezuko, the original owner’s vague memories and emotions gradually surfaced in her mind.
Tanjirou kept talking to liven the atmosphere, while Chika closed her eyes and “binge-watched” the memories in first-person perspective at high speed in her mind.
Although this character didn’t exist in the original story, in this world, Kamado Chinatsu was a real person—the eldest daughter of the Kamado Family, who had grown up alongside Tanjirou and Nezuko.
Just as Chika was immersed in her “binge-watching,” Tanjirou suddenly stopped, his eyes trembling as he sniffed the air intently.
“There’s the smell of blood.
The path on this mountain is very narrow; someone must be injured!”
The kind-hearted Tanjirou, upon detecting the scent of blood, immediately wanted to rush over.
But before he could take more than two steps, Chika, who had opened her eyes, stopped him.
“Tanjirou, wait.”
“Sister, someone might be injured!”
“Calm down first.
Didn’t we hear before climbing that people often go missing on this mountain?
The smell of blood plus disappearances—Tanjirou, think carefully.
What do you think would cause such a situation?”
Chika, sitting in the wheelchair, spoke calmly.
She knew what would happen next.
If Tanjirou charged over recklessly, he would encounter the first real demon he’d seen besides Nezuko.
He would struggle with the demon, and the whole process, while thrilling, was not without danger.
If not for his incredible luck, he might have died right there.
Chika’s reminder instantly made Tanjirou think of the existence of “demons.” People going missing at night, combined with a strong scent of blood—the possibility of a “demon” being here was indeed high.
Tanjirou hesitated.
While the chance of a demon was high, the possibility of an injured person was also significant.
If he misjudged and failed to save someone he could have saved, he would feel immensely guilty.
“Then, should we ignore it?”
“Ignore it?
Why would we ignore it?
Of course, we kill it!”
Chika’s answer greatly surprised Tanjirou.
He had originally thought Chika wanted to play it safe and was against checking the situation.
Of course, playing it safe wasn’t wrong, but this was also part of the plot.
Without the strength to break free from or alter the storyline yet, it was best to follow it for a while.
Chika motioned for Tanjirou to lean in and whispered the upcoming tactics to him.
As Tanjirou listened, the expression on his face became quite remarkable.
Ten minutes later.
Tanjirou brought Chika and Nezuko to the source of the blood scent.
It was a mountain Buddhist Hall, with lamplight still glowing inside.
No voices of people could be heard, but it wasn’t exactly silent either.
Tanjirou took a deep breath, pushed open the main door of the Buddhist Hall, and shouted, “Is everything okay?!”
Okay?
Of course not.
Pushing the door open revealed several blood-stained human corpses lying on the ground, with a demon whose hands were covered in blood standing beside them.
Hearing Tanjirou’s shout, the demon turned its head toward the source, muttering impatiently.
“Of course not.
I’m starving right now.
Don’t disturb my meal…”
Thwack!!!
The demon’s words were cut off mid-sentence, its head barely turned toward Tanjirou when a spinning Axe “whooshed!” through the air, flying swiftly toward it.
The thrown Axe hit dead center, embedding itself in the demon’s head with a skull-splitting impact.
The demon…
was stunned.
Low-level demons had regenerative abilities, but they weren’t strong.
They also felt pain like humans, though they were much more numb to it.
However, being suddenly headshot caught it completely off guard, and the pain was indescribable.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
The demon threw its head back, letting out heart-wrenching cries of pain.
But demons adapted to pain quickly; this agony wouldn’t affect it for more than a few seconds.
So…
they had to press the advantage!
Tanjirou widened his eyes, mustered his courage, and charged at the demon with a shout.
Before the demon could fully adjust to the pain, he yanked the Axe from its skull and swung it downward in a wide arc, hacking into the demon’s head once more.
For demons, a headshot wasn’t fatal.
Strictly speaking, there were four ways to kill a demon.
First: Human firearms/gunpowder.
Using special bullets in firearms, piercing a demon’s neck could kill ordinary demons.
Large amounts of black powder were also highly threatening to demons.
Second: Sunlight.
This was the most direct method.
Even the Demon King feared sunlight; direct exposure would cause them to burn to death.
Third: nichirin blades or weapons made of the same material.
These weapons harbored the power of the sun.
Severing a demon’s neck with them would kill it.
Fourth: A demon’s regeneration consumed stamina.
If exhausted, it could no longer regenerate, so demons could be worn down to death.
However, under normal circumstances, a demon’s stamina far exceeded a human’s, making this scenario rare.
But now, Tanjirou intended to use the fourth method.
The demon before him was merely the lowest level.
With a weapon in hand, the fourth method wasn’t impossible to achieve.
Don’t be afraid.
Give it your all!!!
With a shout, Tanjirou leveraged the strength honed from chopping wood and the sharpness of the Axe to deliver rapid, successive blows to the demon’s head.
One!
Two!
Three!
Under the relentless barrage of Axe strikes, the demon was completely incapacitated by Tanjirou.
Everything happened so suddenly that before dying, all the demon could utter besides “Aaaaah!” was still “Aaaaah!”—Tanjirou didn’t even give it a chance to complain.
Tanjirou: Time for slaughter!
Low-level Demon: No…
no honor!!!