[Ding!]
[Death-Seeking Mission Released!]
[Task Name: Join the Demon Slayer Corps!]
[Task Details: As a demon, choosing to infiltrate the Demon Slayer Corps means surrounding yourself with hunters. Danger lurks at every corner. The moment you are exposed, you will be besieged!]
[This is a long-term mission with no time limit. The higher your status in the Demon Slayer Corps, the richer the rewards. Wealth and danger go hand in hand, so court death to your heart's content!]
[Phase One: Successfully join the Demon Slayer Corps. You must receive official recognition from the Corps!]
[Reward: Immunity Physique!]
[Immunity Physique: Grants immunity to abnormal statuses, including but not limited to the absolute weakness of demons—sunlight!]
Hearing the damned system's voice echo in his head, Tetsuya cursed its ancestors to the eighteenth generation.
It actually wanted him, a demon, to waltz right into the Demon Slayer Corps!
If he got caught, the Demon Slayer Corps would undoubtedly throw him a massive 'welcome party' featuring every single Hashira!
From the Corps' perspective, a demon murdering the Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, and then hiding its identity to sneak into their ranks would be an unforgivable humiliation.
And what was that about 'the higher the status, the richer the rewards'?
'What, do you think I'm not dying fast enough?!' Tetsuya screamed internally.
Laying low as a nameless grunt in the Corps would be manageable, but the higher his rank climbed, the more eyes would be on him, exponentially increasing the risk of exposure.
Talk about playing with fire!
But the temptation of the reward was simply too great. He could finally cure his fatal allergy to the sun.
'Are you trying to test my willpower with this?'
A pleasant scent drifted past his nose. Tetsuya slowly opened his eyes and realized he was resting comfortably on Kanae Kocho's lap. "How long was I out?"
Kanae smiled softly. "Two hours."
Tetsuya gave her a deep look. Holding that posture for two hours straight was no small feat.
The resilience of a demon's physique was undeniable. After just two hours of sleep, the sheer exhaustion and tension accumulated over the past few days had vanished without a trace.
"Is that enough?" Kanae asked gently.
Tetsuya blinked in surprise. Suddenly, Kanae's eyes slipped shut, and her body swayed backward. He shot up instantly, catching her delicate frame before she hit the floor.
"Haa... Haa..."
Looking closely, he saw her face had gone deathly pale. Her cherry lips parted as she gasped for air. A layer of cold sweat broke out across her smooth forehead, and an unnatural, sickly red glow flickered beneath her skin. Through his hands, Tetsuya could feel her body temperature skyrocketing.
"What's happening?" Tetsuya frowned. 'Could it be... her demonification isn't complete yet?'
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[Hate them! Destroy them!]
A demonic whisper seemed to echo right beside Kanae's ears. The voice was incredibly seductive, aggressively amplifying the darkest, most negative emotions buried deep within her heart.
The morals and values she had spent her entire life building felt as though they were on the verge of collapsing.
This overwhelming urge was trying to twist her into a flesh-eating monster.
"It doesn't matter... I won't lose to it!" Kanae's expression twisted in agony, but her tone was absolute and unwavering.
Slowly, her erratic breathing leveled out.
There was absolutely none of the feral brutality or malice typically found in other demons.
Every time she teetered on the edge of losing her sanity, Tetsuya's silhouette would flash through her mind, instantly washing away the resentment and hatred.
Three hours later, Kanae's skin turned even paler. Faint traces of blood-red mingled with the original violet of her beautiful eyes, and the distinct fangs of a demon poked out from her gums.
"Looks like you kept it under perfect control," Tetsuya sighed in admiration. In the original timeline, Nezuko Kamado had immediately gone berserk upon transforming and nearly killed Tanjiro.
Kanae, on the other hand, hadn't shown a single sign of going feral. It was a true testament to her terrifying willpower.
Kanae offered a faint smile. Tetsuya had done so much for her; she couldn't afford to let him down.
"Tetsuya, I think I need to rest for a bit."
An intense wave of lethargy washed over her. Kanae’s eyes drooped shut as she finally gave in to the exhaustion, falling into a deep slumber.
Their positions reversed. This time, it was Kanae using Tetsuya’s lap as a pillow.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two of them hid out in the remote mountain cabin. With Kanae sound asleep, the room was dead silent, save for the wind whistling through the cracks in the wooden walls.
Occasionally, the distant roar of a black bear or tiger would echo through the forest, yet this little cabin remained peaceful and undisturbed.
Leaning against the wall, Tetsuya rested his eyes, racking his brain on how to actually infiltrate the Demon Slayer Corps.
He had rejected Kanae's invitation earlier because the risks vastly outweighed the benefits.
But now that the damned system had stepped in, the game had changed entirely.
Dying the second sunlight touched him? Who could live like that?
He had to get his hands on that Immunity Physique!
Muzan Kibutsuji had spent a thousand years searching for the Blue Spider Lily in vain. Whether that flower could actually cure a demon's weakness to sunlight was still a complete mystery.
Nezuko Kamado's sun-conquering constitution was a unique genetic mutation. Overall, relying on the system was a far safer bet.
However, he was stuck in a nasty catch-22.
If he could already withstand sunlight, joining the Demon Slayer Corps would be a walk in the park.
The problem was, he couldn't. That was the tricky part.
He couldn't exactly parade around Corps headquarters during the day, and strictly operating at night would raise massive red flags almost immediately.
He needed to join the Corps to conquer the sun!
But he needed to conquer the sun to comfortably join the Corps!
Tetsuya gritted his teeth. 'Stupid system! Couldn't you just give me an advance on the reward?!'
Time passed. After a full day and night, Kanae, the former Hashira, fully completed her transition into a demon.
Simultaneously, an unexpected complication arose.
Kanae needed to sleep, and her periods of slumber were growing progressively longer. Right now, she could only stay awake for one or two hours a day, and even that tiny window was steadily shrinking.
"At this rate, I'll fall into a permanent coma within half a month," Kanae noted.
The Demon Slayer Corps sometimes captured weaker demons for research or to use as training fodder for rookies.
But their research strictly focused on discovering new ways to kill them—like testing the efficacy of Wisteria poisons on demon subjects.
They had almost zero data on the actual biology of a human turning into a demon.
Kanae had no idea what was happening to her own body. She had definitely turned into a demon, but aside from that initial urge, the hunger for human flesh had completely vanished.
"It's entirely possible your body is using sleep as a substitute for consuming humans to replenish energy," Tetsuya analyzed.
That was exactly how Nezuko Kamado operated in the original timeline.
"If that's true, then it's a blessing," Kanae whispered softly. She had zero desire to eat humans.
The conversation lulled, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. The cabin was perfectly quiet.
"I want to join the Demon Slayer Corps," Tetsuya announced abruptly.
Hearing that, a look of profound, unbelievable joy flooded Kanae’s beautiful eyes.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I only want to join to gain strength—specifically, the Breathing Styles used by the Corps," Tetsuya added, not wanting to give her too much false hope.
The bright smile on Kanae's face didn't falter in the slightest. Regardless of his motives, the simple fact that Tetsuya was willing to join the Demon Slayer Corps was more than enough to make her happy.
"Then I'll teach you the basics of the Breathing Styles!"