"So one of them really is a demon! No wonder I felt something was strange!" The demon's furious shouts continued to come from the head that had been sent flying.
Although he knew demons couldn't be killed this way, seeing it firsthand still felt rather amazing to Lexon.
"Tanjiro, give me the axe." Lexon put the handgun back into his small shoulder bag and held out his hand to Tanjiro.
"Here." Tanjiro didn't know what Lexon was going to do, but he obediently handed the axe over.
Taking the axe, Lexon swung it directly down towards Tanjiro.
Tanjiro was a little surprised, but out of trust, he did not dodge.
Blood sprayed out, staining half of Tanjiro's face red.
"I'm okay?" Tanjiro touched his body and found no wounds. He looked behind him and saw that the demon's severed head had grown hands and was approaching him. Lexon's strike had just cut off the demon hands that were attacking him.
The demon's head let out a blood-curdling scream.
"It's still not dead?" Tanjiro exclaimed. "By the way, Lexon, what was that attack you used from a distance before?"
"I'll tell you later." Without answering directly, Lexon pointed to the headless demon corpse, which had begun to move, and said, "Demons have very tenacious life force. Don't let your guard down."
"You and your sister go deal with that one." Lexon handed the axe back to Tanjiro, indicating that the siblings should handle the headless body. Then he pointed to the demon head, which had grown hands again and was staring at him menacingly. "This one's mine."
After Tanjiro and Nezuko went to engage the demon's corpse, Lexon pulled out a small knife he had "borrowed" from Tanjiro a few days ago and revealed a smile completely devoid of mirth. "Let's see just how you're going to recover."
For some reason, the demon, which was now just a head and two hands, suddenly felt a chill, and its ferocious expression froze...
By the time Tanjiro and Nezuko had dealt with the demon's headless body, Lexon had just finished his own work.
As it turned out, a demon's regenerative ability was not limitless. Damage beyond a certain threshold could indeed destroy a demon. It was just that their life force was so strong that it was basically impossible for a human to exhaust it with their physical stamina, which is why it was said that only sunlight and Nichirin Swords could kill demons.
If this demon hadn't been reduced to just two hands and a head, Lexon really wouldn't have been able to play with it like this. In the end, Lexon even activated his Demonization ability, repeatedly and thoroughly annihilating the demon before its shocked, terrified, and disbelieving face.
"Lexon," Tanjiro walked over. "This man-eating demon should be dead now."
"Yeah," Lexon nodded. "The demon's life force was strong. I had to kill it many times to finish it off."
"It must have been very painful... Isn't there a way to kill them in a single blow?" Tanjiro had no objection to killing the demon, but he still offered sympathy for its painful death.
'This kid...'
Lexon didn't rebuke Tanjiro. Although he wasn't a fan of Tanjiro's way of thinking, he didn't dislike the gentleness that was ingrained in his very bones. Someone who didn't know better might think Tanjiro was a hypocritical bleeding heart, but Lexon understood that these were simply the purest thoughts of a teenager.
"Do not sympathize with a demon that is heavy with sin." A deep, resonant middle-aged voice came from not far away.
The group all looked in that direction and saw a white-haired person wearing a Tengu mask and a blue robe embroidered with white clouds standing there, sizing up Lexon and Tanjiro.
'As expected, no footsteps.'
Neither Lexon's intuition nor the sense of smell he had gotten from Tanjiro had detected this person.
'Is the power gap that big?'
Urokodaki Sakonji!
This former Water Hashira seemed to have been here for a while, clearly having observed for some time before appearing. He only threw Lexon a glance of appreciation mixed with confusion before passing over him to talk with Tanjiro.
'That was a little close.'
Lexon naturally understood the meaning in his eyes. The appreciation was for his decisive, resolute, and calm disposal of the demon without a proper weapon. The confusion was likely because he had smelled the scent of his brief demonization at the end.
After all, Urokodaki Sakonji's nose was also unusually keen. However, he probably didn't see what he looked like when demonized. Otherwise, the first thing he would have done upon arriving would have been to interrogate him, and he certainly wouldn't have glossed over him so easily.
Tanjiro was probably being lectured right now. In Urokodaki Sakonji's eyes, Tanjiro's gentleness was simply indecisiveness.
Giyu Tomioka had previously sent a letter to Urokodaki Sakonji, explaining the situation with Tanjiro and his sister and recommending Tanjiro as the successor to the Water Hashira's lineage.
But Tanjiro's performance had completely failed to meet Urokodaki Sakonji's standards.
'This child won't do.' Through his scolding and questioning, Urokodaki Sakonji became even more certain of his thoughts, unconsciously glancing at Lexon.
'Giyu, you may have misjudged. This one is the truly suitable candidate.'
It wasn't that Giyu hadn't mentioned Lexon in his letter, but he hadn't written much about him.
However, he didn't give up on Tanjiro just like that.
"From now on, let me see if you have what it takes to become a Demon Slaying Swordsman."
"Put your sister on your back and follow me!"
The early morning had already arrived, and Nezuko had already quietly hidden herself inside the bamboo basket.
"Do you want to become a Demon Slaying Swordsman?" Urokodaki Sakonji asked as he passed by Lexon.
"Yes," Lexon nodded in response.
He had already killed a demon; the only thing left for the main quest was to join the Demon Slayer Corps. Once that was done, he could focus on side quests.
"Then you come too." As soon as his voice fell, Urokodaki Sakonji started running.
Even as he ran, Urokodaki Sakonji made not a single sound.
Tanjiro followed with his sister on his back, and Lexon followed leisurely at the rear.
By the time the three of them reached Urokodaki Sakonji's residence at the foot of the mountain, Tanjiro was panting heavily, completely out of breath. Lexon, on the other hand, was in excellent condition, feeling little fatigue.
"Go back up the mountain." The moment they arrived at the door, Urokodaki Sakonji said these soul-crushing words.
"Ah!!" Tanjiro couldn't help but cry out, but he didn't argue or give up. He truly wanted to become a Demon Slaying Swordsman, because that was the only way he could find a method to turn his sister back into a human, and he could also save others. So Tanjiro would not give up.
"You don't have to," Urokodaki Sakonji said to Lexon.
Although Lexon was a little puzzled, he was happy to be spared the extra effort. He helped Tanjiro take off the basket containing his sister and went inside the house.
In Urokodaki Sakonji's mind, Lexon was already qualified to be a Demon Slaying Swordsman, so he didn't need to participate in the upcoming test. But the boy Tanjiro was still lacking and needed to be polished. Moreover, this would prevent Tanjiro from possibly passing the test with Lexon's help later on.
Opening the bamboo basket, he saw Nezuko sleeping peacefully inside. It seemed that the earlier stimulus of human blood and her immense hunger had caused her to enter a state of slumber.
[Water Breathing Mastery: One of the five basic breaths derived from the original breath, Sun Breathing. Members of the Demon Slayer Corps can obtain powerful combat strength by cultivating breathing techniques, which is an important method for fighting against demons.]
This was the skill he had just obtained by "unintentionally" touching Urokodaki Sakonji.
It had to be said, the ability of the sign-in system was abnormally powerful. The moment he signed in for this ability, Lexon's body had thoroughly mastered everything about Water Breathing. Whether it was the execution and use of the breathing itself or the mastery of the sword techniques, he was already extremely skilled. Although it didn't instantly elevate him to the strength of a Hashira, the current Lexon already had the power to contend with a Lower Rank.
From now on, he was no longer an ordinary person.
In this world, Lexon truly possessed the ability to survive. Even against some demons with Blood Demon Arts, Lexon would not be defeated and could even kill them—provided he had a Nichirin Sword, of course.
But this was only his current strength. Lexon would continue to sign in here, staying for a long time, until he had completely fleeced Urokodaki Sakonji.
Lexon placed Nezuko on a bed and took out the instant coffee from his small bag to boil some water.
'I wonder how those people from Zhongzhou Team Four are doing.'
Sipping his coffee, Lexon gazed at the scene outside the door, his thoughts swirling.