Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Bang! Bang!
Crash!
The hulking, green figure moved slowly between the trees.
Ahead of it, a black figure was running with all his might.
"...what is that?"
Not far away from the spectacle, a girl with black hair in twin pigtails watched wide-eyed.
Her pupils were trembling violently as the Hand Demon continued on its way of destruction.
"A demon... is that a demon?"
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva as she tries to steady her breathing.
"Are the demons in the final exam... so powerful?"
She shakily grasped the nichirin blade at her waist. Her gaze then looked at the black figure being chased.
Her short pigtails swayed as her fear colored her face.
She closed her eyes tightly.
'No! I can't save him! I'm sorry!'
Her resolve crumbled at the impossible odds in front of her. The scene of her family being slaughtered by a demon was replaying in her mind.
Her hand still holds the nichirin blade at her waist, but she doesn't have any intention to brandish it.
The girl stared in place as the spectacle continued on without noticing her. Her legs felt like they were filled with lead.
'I... I can't move...'
Tears slid silently down her cheeks and dripped down onto the grass on the ground.
'I... everything I did to become a swordsman...'
'...was it all in vain...?'
"...I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Thus, Kanzaki Aoi experienced the true horror of a demon slayer's life and crumbled before reality.
She covered her ears and squatted behind a tree in fear. She kept shaking from her trauma and muttered constant apologies.
She gritted her teeth to make as little noise as possible while tears constantly poured out of her eyes.
"...I can't... do this..."
---
Drap drap drap!!
Kaigaku panted as he ran with all his might. He paid little attention to the thing behind him and kept running forward.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Why is there such a strong demon here!?'
He turned his head to see behind him. The hulking figure was still wriggling slowly, following him.
Bam! Bam!
"Kid, don't just run away!"
The demon used his enormous hands to crawl and chased after Kaigaku.
"I've been here for 47 years..."
He said unhurriedly, as if catching Kaigaku was a certainty and not fantasy.
"Ever since that damned son of a bitch, Urokodaki, caught me..."
"I've eaten more than 50 people, khe khe khe~."
'50 people!?'
Kiagaku's face was ashen. He gritted his teeth and constantly adjusted his breathing rhythm. His speed was alternating between fast and slow.
'Are the members of the Demon Slayer Corps idiots?'
'How could they let a demon that had eaten so many people be in the final selection exam!?'
"I know what you're thinking."
The demon said as countless arms spread around him, grabbing the ground and trees.
"I only eat one or two people in the selection exam every year to avoid detection."
The Hand Demon grinned hideously and stretched out several arms that melted and joined together like a swollen tumor.
He gathered his strength and aimed it at Kaigaku's fleeing back. "Among them... there were thirteen..."
"The swordsman who wore fox masks, the disciple of Urokodaki Sakonji!" He screamed out his hatred for the man who imprisoned him here for decades.
"Your friends are all in my belly!"
"You will be the fourteenth!"
With that, the Hand Demon laughed triumphantly and stopped chasing. He quietly watched Kaigaku running away, certain that the boy would turn around.
'Be Angry, Avenge Your Friend!'
A hint of excitement flashed through his eyes.
But he found that his usual tactics failed.
...because Kaigaku didn't even look back anymore and continued his run further and further away.
'???'
A rare look of confusion appeared on the demon's face.
'What's up with this little devil?'
In the past, whenever he said those words
The fox imps would all show a nice expression of anger.
Then one by one they lost their minds and charged in recklessly without any plan.
Finally, realizing their mistakes, their expressions would slowly turn to delicious despair. ❤
That's when he ate them.
Even the two guys from a few years ago had died from being eaten by him, though one of them escaped.
Still, eating that guy had increased his strength by a large margin.
So he was looking forward to this year's meal.
Except,
The Hand Demon looked at Kaigaku's back, who kept getting farther and farther away; he couldn't help but feel indignant.
"You shouldn't have done that, you little brat!"
The Hand Demon screamed angrily. Rage veins popped all over his body as he slammed the palm of his fused arm into the ground.
Bam!
Puchi!
His fused arm bursts into several little arms and shoots straight toward Kaigaku.
Each hand opened like a net trying to catch a fish.
With a whoosh, Kaigaku's ears twitched slightly. He turned his head and looked behind him, quickly analyzing the situation in his mind.
He almost subconsciously begged for his life.
Crunch!
Before he could think more, one of the hands grabbed him on his left arm.
"Gah!"
As if struck by a boulder, the demon's hand gripping him instantly twisted, and Kaigaku's muscles and bones let out an audible crack.
Pain exploded his brain nerves as cold sweat broke out, and Kaigaku took damage from the demon attack.
Just its gripping strength alone was enough to break his bones!
Then, Kaigaku felt his body moving toward the demon as the hands pulled him closer and closer.
"No!" Kaigaku gritted his teeth. He forces his mind to think fast.
Recalling that this Hand Demon has a grudge with Urokodaki, he shouted out desperately.
"I'm not Urokodaki's disciple!"
The demon's hand gripping him stopped moving, hearing his confession.
Kaigaku quickly scanned his surroundings. The severe pain in his left arm helped him pump adrenaline through his whole body.
'If this goes on, I'll definitely die!'
Click!
With only his right arm functioning, Kaigaku pulled his nichirin blade out of its scabbard.
He glanced at his left arm still being gripped by the demon. His breathing became extremely rapid by what he was about to do.
'I will survive!'
Puchi!
His blade cut through just above his left elbow and easily severed his left arm from his body.
Kaigaku fell to the ground and coughed a mouthful of blood, but he had no time to feel the pain or feel sorry for himself.
'As long as I live, I will definitely be the winner in the end!'
Kaigaku staggered to his feet. Taking advantage of the Hand Demon being surprised, he tore off a strip of cloth and simply tied his stump of an arm.
His mind was racing at 100 miles a second when he suddenly recalled the mask that his master had given him.
"That mask isn't mine!" He shouted.
A suffocating feeling came from the bottom of his heart; his instinct for survival overrode everything in his mind.
"I killed the guy who wore it and took it from him!" Kaigaku's eyes lit up.
He forced himself to calm down, breathing steadily to recover his strength, and observed the Hand Demon.
Kaigaku swore to himself.
That he must abolish any relationship with Urokodaki!