Soon, the sun set.
The mountain forest was lush with vegetation, and it grew dark much faster than down the mountain.
Fortunately, this small mountain was not as remote as the one Tanjiro used to live on.
This small mountain was frequently traversed by people, and there was even a temple on it.
The path was clear and distinct, occasionally featuring bluestone steps.
However, very quickly, both Tanjiro and Tanjiro’s expressions changed.
“There’s a smell of blood.”
It must be said that in the Demon Slayer World, those who can achieve anything are not normal people.
Their individual characteristics, if placed in a normal world, would be considered supernatural abilities.
In the original work, Tanjiro’s nose could even smell something akin to a death line.
That is, by cutting along the line, one could sever things more easily.
Tanjiro and Tanjiro smelled blood, but Ryo genuinely didn’t smell anything.
“Fujiwara (student), you guard here. We’ll go take a look.”
Ryo and Tanjuro exchanged glances, each grabbing an axe and leaving.
He wasn’t too worried about demons ambushing them in the dark.
Tanjiro and Tanjiro’s senses could detect the presence of demons from a great distance.
There were certainly no demons around.
In a healthy state, Tanjuro, with his Transparent World activated, was much faster than Ryo.
He traversed over a hundred meters along the forest path in one breath.
When Ryo caught up to Tanjuro, he found him in front of a temple, confronting a demon about 1.8 meters tall.
Beside the demon was the corpse of a monk whose arms and legs had already been eaten.
“Seriously, don’t disturb me when I’m eating.”
“This is my rare, peaceful dining hall.”
The demon brazenly gnawed on a human leg, its mouth covered in fresh blood.
Tanjuro tightened his grip on the axe, and for the first time, Ryo saw anger on his usually gentle face.
How terrifying it is when a normally honest person gets angry.
Ryo witnessed it firsthand.
“Hinokami Kagura, Seventh Form: Solar Halo Dragon Dance.”
In an instant, the speed was so fast that Ryo’s naked eye couldn’t perceive it at all.
Tanjuro’s body had already appeared behind the demon.
Blood dripped from his axe.
The next moment, the man-eating demon’s limbs and head instantly fell to the ground.
In a flash, Tanjuro, in the moment of his thrust, used his woodcutting axe to strike five times, severing the limbs and head.
After Tanjuro recovered his youthful and healthy body, he likely already possessed the strength of a Pillar.
But at this moment, the only thing separating him from being a Pillar was a nichirin blade.
Becoming a Pillar the day he wields a blade?
Later, there was also the Mist Pillar, who became a Pillar after two months of wielding a blade, and he also started with an axe.
“I wonder if there’s a ‘woodcutter’ profession; there might be a talent bonus.”
Ryo muttered nonsense in his heart, but his body was not slow at all.
Sun Breathing was activated, a large amount of air entering his lungs and then forcefully pushing into all his flesh and blood.
His physique was enhanced in all aspects, and the axe in his hand easily severed a tree as thick as a bowl’s mouth nearby.
With a few axe swings, the tree trunk became several sharp wooden stakes.
Bang, bang, bang.
The sharp wooden stakes were instantly nailed into the demon’s body, limbs, and head by Ryo.
In an instant, blood splattered, looking quite disgusting.
Upon seeing such a scene, Ryo also felt like gagging.
But without a nichirin blade, this was all he could do against a demon.
Muichiro Tokito did it this way.
Of course, there was an even more intense method, which was to hammer the demon’s head until dawn.
“Is this creature a demon?”
Tanjuro looked at the demon on the ground, his face calm as usual, yet with some disgust.
In the Transparent World state.
This demon was indeed, as Ryo had said earlier, unkillable by normal means.
Its recovery ability was quite astonishing.
“Old man over there, no need to hide anymore, come out.”
Suddenly, Tanjuro turned and looked into the woods not far behind him.
Ryo followed his gaze and saw a man wearing a Tengu mask emerge from behind the trees.
More accurately, an old man.
His white hair, as well as the condition of his exposed skin, all indicated that he was an old man.
Sakonji Urokodaki.
The retired Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps who guarded the nearby area.
He was also the teacher of Tanjiro, the protagonist of the original demon slayer work.
“Who are you? You’re not demons, nor do you seem to be members of the Demon Slayer Corps, yet you possess Breathing Techniques.”
Sakonji Urokodaki looked at the two men in front of him.
More of his attention was focused on the adult man holding an axe.
His extraordinary sense of smell could distinguish humans from demons.
He could also smell corresponding emotions. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
But he found that he couldn’t penetrate the aura of the man with the scar on his forehead.
Even judging him as human was only because he lacked demonic features and killed demons.
Moreover, the strength this person displayed when he acted to kill the demon before him was also quite terrifying.
“Mr. Urokodaki, I am a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, but my nichirin blade was accidentally lost.”
“Mr. Giyu told us to come find you.”
Ryo spoke from the side.
He wanted to try to gain the trust of the original characters, like protagonists in normal Transmigration anime, by leveraging his knowledge of the plot and character settings.
Sakonji Urokodaki did not speak.
Instead, Tanjuro spoke up from the side.
“He can tell you’re lying, Ryo.”
Tanjuro’s gentle voice rang out, startling both Urokodaki opposite him and Ryo beside him.
Urokodaki couldn’t understand how the other party had discovered him while he was wearing a mask; was it mind-reading?
“That’s right, you are lying, though I don’t know how you know my identity and Giyu’s.”
Urokodaki took off his mask, revealing a rather dignified face.
“But Giyu and I are in regular contact. If he were far away, Giyu would send his Kasugai Crow to me with information beforehand.”
“As for my identity, under normal circumstances, a Demon Slayer Corps member of your strength and age wouldn’t possibly know it.”
“However, you two do seem to have no ill intent.”
“It’s not that easy to fool him, after all.”
Ryo was helpless.
Those who could become Pillars, even if their strength wasn’t that high, had very rich experience.
“I am a visitor from another world, swallowed by a spatial rift. You can contact the Demon Slayer Corps through your Kasugai Crow about this.”
“They and our world should have some connection.”
Ryo honestly told the truth.
“I see.” Sakonji Urokodaki nodded: “Indeed, there was information from the Demon Slayer Corps this morning.”
“They asked us to help find a pink-haired girl.”
Sakonji Urokodaki, as a former Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, maintained a very close connection with the Demon Slayer Corps even after retirement.
Very few people knew about the Demon Slayer Corps’ connection with other worlds.
But Sakonji Urokodaki was one of them.
After all, apart from that one hundreds of years ago, no one would think a Pillar would betray them.
“Pink-haired girl.”
Sakonji Urokodaki muttered, walking closer and scrutinizing Ryo up and down.
The atmosphere was somewhat silent.
He really couldn’t connect the young man in front of him with a pink-haired girl.