"Xiao Ying…" The boy's voice trembled, his body shaking as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
Moonlight streamed into the hole corroded in the tree trunk, revealing a familiar cherry blossom hair ornament before the boy's eyes.
"So hungry…"
A soft murmur, slender vertical pupils, sharp teeth, a petite body stained with a large amount of blood, holding a slender severed arm, with drool at the corner of her mouth.
A familiar yet strange individual appeared before the boy.
Drip! Hiss—
Drool dripped onto the ground, quickly corroding a small pit.
"What's going on…Xiao Ying…is that you? How did you become like this? You…" The boy's mind went blank, and he asked with a trembling voice, fear and confusion making his words unclear.
However, before he could finish speaking, the ghost, who looked like a little girl, reached out and grabbed his neck.
The next moment, a figure in white appeared between the human and the ghost, picking up the boy and moving him away from the corrosive ghost.
"So you were hiding in the tree. It seems those children from before must have been eaten by you."
Chiba Yo placed the boy a distance away from the ghost, then turned around, speaking as he drew his nichirin blade.
The slender arm held by the corrosive ghost was clearly a child's.
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Corrosion!"
Seeing the boy rescued by Chiba Yo, the corrosive ghost became somewhat enraged. It squeezed its right hand, and the severed arm in its grasp exploded into thick flesh and blood. The blood dripped onto the ground with a hissing sound. Under the enhancement of its Blood Demon Art, this mass of flesh and blood had already become highly corrosive, and then it flung this mass of flesh and blood towards Chiba Yo.
It was the first time he had encountered a demon that could use Blood Demon Art. Its ability should be corrosion. The fact that there was only blood and no clothing remnants in this area must be due to its ability.
Chiba Yo thought to himself, tightening his grip on his nichirin blade.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Solar Halo Dance."
A white rainbow escaped Chiba Yo's lips, and the black nichirin blade in his hand suddenly turned fiery red. Flames spontaneously erupted from the blade, covering it. The surrounding temperature rapidly soared at this moment, and this entire area was illuminated as if it were daytime.
Then, Chiba Yo held his blade and swung it in a circular motion in front of him. The flames on the blade enveloped him like a cloak, protecting him within.
The flesh and blood flung by the corrosive ghost struck the flames around Chiba Yo and then instantly melted away, leaving nothing behind.
"You can go to hell now," Chiba Yo said, looking at the corrosive ghost before him. The corrosive ghost's movements were already completely within his grasp.
The corrosive ghost, seeing its attack blocked by Chiba Yo, let out a low growl and charged towards him, drooling as it looked at the boy behind him.
"Sun Breathing, Second Form: Sky of the Setting Sun."
Chiba Yo held the blade with both hands, then instantly launched three fiery slashes forward.
"No!!!"
Suddenly, the boy behind Chiba Yo shouted and lunged at him.
Chiba Yo was unprepared for the boy. Although he reacted quickly and adjusted his stance to avoid being knocked down, his attack was still thrown off due to the boy's interference.
One of the three slashes grazed the corrosive ghost's hair, and the other two severed both of the corrosive ghost's arms, leaving severe burn marks at the wounds.
"Ah!!!" The corrosive ghost let out a piercing scream, and a hint of fear appeared in its eyes as it looked at Chiba Yo.
"She's my sister! Don't hurt… cough cough…"
The boy hugged Chiba Yo, shouting in a hoarse voice, but before he could finish, he began to cough violently. His throat was already injured from shouting for too long.
Chiba Yo, who was about to scold the boy, swallowed his words. He looked up at the corrosive ghost again; its figure was indeed that of a little girl, and it wore the cherry blossom hair ornament the boy had mentioned on its head.
The moment Chiba Yo saw this demon, he entered the Transparent World and didn't pay attention to its appearance. He also hadn't heard clearly when the boy spoke earlier. Now, hearing the boy's loud shout, Chiba Yo finally realized this.
"Please, let her go…" the boy pleaded hoarsely to Chiba Yo.
Is it a newly formed demon? What should I do?
Listening to the boy's plea, Chiba Yo hesitated for a moment.
"These demons were once human too." Tanjirou's words echoed in Chiba Yo's mind.
Now he could understand what Tanjirou had said to him before: demons were once human, and they too had loved others and been loved by others.
"The monster that attacked your village is a demon, a creature that must eat humans to survive. Once it is formed, it will kill humans as food."
The next moment, Kyoujurou's words also appeared in his ears. The tragic state of the village and the scene of the corrosive ghost holding a child's arm flashed before his eyes.
Chiba Yo tightened his grip on his nichirin blade.
"…When he pushed the monster out of the house and saw the black shadow was his mother, how must he have felt? When he personally killed his mother and had a mental breakdown, then heard his desperately protected younger brother speak ill of him, how did he feel?"
There was nothing to hesitate about. Even if it was once human, it was now a flesh-eating demon. The boy, its blood relative, was its primary target…
"I'm sorry," Chiba Yo looked at the boy with apologetic sympathy, then pushed him away.
The corrosive ghost's severed arms were completely unable to regenerate. Now, it was filled with fear of Chiba Yo and turned to flee.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Setting Sun."
The next moment, a beautiful flame, like a sunset glow, sliced across the corrosive ghost's neck.
"Ah ah ah!!!" The corrosive ghost let out an even more piercing scream, and its body softly collapsed.
"Xiao Ying!!!"
The boy, witnessing all of this, cried out in grief, then rushed desperately towards the corrosive ghost's corpse.
"Don't go! Its corrosive properties will kill you!" Chiba Yo quickly warned him and then swiftly reached out to grab him.
Under Transparent World, Chiba Yo could see that the demon's body surface had the same corrosive substance as its Blood Demon Art. A human body coming into contact with it would definitely be completely corroded.
Chiba Yo's hand successfully grabbed the boy's clothes, but the boy took off his outer garment, then directly pounced onto the corrosive ghost's corpse.
With its head severed by the nichirin blade, the corrosive ghost's body had already begun to turn to ash. At the same time, the boy hugging the corrosive ghost's corpse was also gradually being corroded.
"Don't be afraid, Xiao Ying, big brother will stay with you…" The boy's eyes were vacant, and he murmured hoarsely, disappearing along with the corrosive ghost into the world…
Chiba Yo, witnessing all of this, stood frozen in place, a shadow falling over his eyes…