In the next instant, an eerie and astonishing scene unfolded.
The claw marks torn so deeply across the wounded candidate’s chest that bone could be seen seemed to come alive.
They dissolved into streams of dark-red light that rapidly crawled along Kiyohiko’s arm before erupting across his own chest.
Blood instantly dyed the front of his clothes crimson.
Meanwhile, the swordsman’s formerly fatal wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving behind nothing more than a few faint scars.
“Cough, cough…”
Kiyohiko let out a muffled groan as a tearing pain ripped through his chest.
However, he merely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth while the cells inside his body surged into action.
In only two seconds, the horrifying wounds on his chest vanished amid a cloud of white steam.
Even his skin became smooth and unblemished once again.
“I-I’m… healed?”
The nameless swordsman stared dumbly at his own chest before looking at the demon standing before him—whose clothes were covered in blood despite his body being completely unharmed.
His understanding of the world shattered into pieces.
[Current Bond Value with target: 40.]
Forty?
That rose pretty quickly.
Unfortunately, characters who were not part of the original story’s main cast did not grant him any rewards.
I’m definitely not saving the next random extra I find lying around.
At this rate, I’ll run into trouble myself before I even find Tanjiro.
Kiyohiko stood and brushed the blood from his hands.
“All right, you’re not going to die.
Hurry up and leave.
Find somewhere to hide or group up with the other candidates.”
“Don’t let me see you again.
Next time, I’m charging you.”
The swordsman looked between Kiyohiko and Zenitsu.
Although his heart was filled with questions and fear, his survival instincts ultimately prevailed.
He scrambled to his feet and fled in the opposite direction.
Even after he had run far away, they could still hear him muttering to himself.
“W-Was that really a demon?
A demon saved me?
Am I already dead and dreaming?”
…
Over the next two hours, the same sequence of events repeated itself three times.
Zenitsu pointed the way.
They discovered an injured background character.
Kiyohiko treated them.
Kiyohiko complained about Zenitsu.
Then he chased the rescued candidate away.
Beside a small stream, Kiyohiko had just finished healing an unlucky candidate whose leg had been broken.
As he watched the man limp away, he finally snapped.
He spun around, grabbed Zenitsu by the shoulders, and shook him furiously.
“Zenitsu Agatsuma!
Are you misunderstanding what I mean by ‘hardheaded’?!
Huh?!
That last guy was bald!
Does bald mean the same thing as having a hard head?!”
“And what about the one before that—the guy wearing a headscarf?
In what possible way did he look like Tanjiro?!”
Zenitsu’s eyes spun as he foamed at the mouth from being shaken.
“W-Waaaah… B-But their heartbeats really did sound similar!
They all sounded like they didn’t want to die!”
“I’ve never heard the voice of the person you’re looking for!
How am I supposed to recognize him?!”
Zenitsu burst into tears, feeling terribly wronged.
“Besides, you’re a really strange demon!
Why do you transfer other people’s wounds onto yourself when you’re supposed to be a demon?!
It looks so painful!”
“You heal almost immediately, but… are you really a demon?”
[Current Bond Value with target: 20.]
Although Zenitsu was still complaining, his relationship with Kiyohiko had improved considerably.
Waaaah… This strange demon is always scaring me and bullying me, but… he seems like a good demon.
Why does he keep helping everyone?
It looks so painful…
Kiyohiko stopped shaking him and released his shoulders, then helplessly straightened his collar.
Repeatedly using his Blood Demon Art had left him slightly exhausted.
Fortunately, none of the wounds he had treated tonight had been beyond what his regeneration could handle.
He had been able to keep pace with the damage, and he had forcibly suppressed his growing thirst for blood.
“I just… Ahem.
I just don’t like eating spoiled meat.
Injured humans taste sour.
Understand?”
He awkwardly invented an excuse, refusing to admit he had helped them out of kindness.
What Kiyohiko did not know was that although he had yet to find Tanjiro, his actions had already caused a chain reaction.
The candidates he had rescued were now gathering together throughout different parts of the forest.
“Have you heard?
There’s a strange demon in the forest…”
“Right, right!
He wears strange clothes, he’s handsome, and he can even heal people!”
“I met him too!
He said something weird about charging me the next time.”
At that moment, Kiyohiko gazed into the depths of the forest.
The night breeze had originally carried the fragrance of wisteria and the earthy scent of soil.
Now, however, it had suddenly become tainted by a nauseating stench.
It smelled like meat that had been rotting in a damp, lightless cellar for several months, mixed with the reek of old, dried blood.
Kiyohiko knew this scent all too well.
“He’s here…”
He murmured under his breath.
Why has the Hand Demon started moving so soon?
I haven’t even found Tanjiro yet.
“Uwaaah!
It stinks!
What is that smell?!
It’s like something has rotted away!”
Zenitsu covered his nose as tears instantly sprang from his eyes due to the stench.
He grabbed Kiyohiko’s sleeve in terror.
“That’s a demon, isn’t it?!
It has to be an incredibly terrifying demon!
We should run away, right?
Hey, why don’t we run in the opposite direction?!”
“Zenitsu, let go.”
Kiyohiko’s voice was low and calm, completely devoid of his usual teasing tone.
“Listen to me.
Find some thick bushes and hide here.
Hold your breath, and no matter what you hear, don’t come out.”
“Stay hidden until the sun rises.”
“Huh?
What about you?
Where are you going?
Don’t leave me behind!!”
“I’m going to settle a personal grudge.”
Kiyohiko offered no further explanation.
He abruptly shook off Zenitsu’s hand and tensed the muscles in his legs.
A ring of dust exploded beneath his feet, and in the next instant, he shot forward like a cannonball.
His body became a dark blur as he raced toward the source of the stench—the mountain of flesh formed from countless arms.
Trees flew past him as the nauseating odor grew increasingly intense.
When Kiyohiko burst out of the dense forest and entered a wide clearing, he saw an old acquaintance.
The Hand Demon.
Standing opposite it was a boy wearing a fox mask and a cloud-patterned haori.
The boy held his sword tightly, his body trembling slightly as though he had been overwhelmed by the sheer size of the monster before him.
Two other Demon Slayer Corps candidates lay on the ground beside him, their conditions unknown.
It was Tanjiro.
“Hehehe… Another one has come.
One of my little foxes.”
The Hand Demon released a bloodcurdling laugh.
Its countless arms writhed as they reached toward Tanjiro like serpents.
“My body still hurts a little… That damned bastard demon really did a number on me.”
“But I can still smell it—the scent of that old fool Urokodaki’s disciple…”
“Hey, Long-Arms.
Watch your mouth.”
An unexpected voice interrupted the Hand Demon’s monologue.
Its murky eyes abruptly swiveled around and fixed themselves upon Kiyohiko as he emerged from the shadows beneath the trees.
Tanjiro also turned in surprise, staring at the newcomer who had suddenly appeared.
A… demon?
“You haven’t even fully recovered from your injuries, yet you’ve already come out for an all-you-can-eat buffet?”
Kiyohiko stood a short distance in front of Tanjiro with both hands tucked into his pockets, carrying himself like an unfathomable master who had withdrawn from the mortal world.
He had originally worried that, because of the butterfly effect, he might fail to encounter Tanjiro if he remained near the Hand Demon.
Instead, Kiyohiko had spent half the night searching without finding him, while the injured Hand Demon had encountered Tanjiro after walking only a short distance.
Could this be what people called destiny?
…
TL: Probably around 10 chapters today at least.
I stocked up a bit when I read and translated in the morning.