A cave hidden in the dense forest; the closer he got, the heavier the stench of blood became.
Ryosuke picked up a stone from the ground, coated it with the wisteria pollen he carried with him, and threw it into the cave.
"Aooo!!!"
A roar tore through the dead silence of the forest.
Immediately after, a black shadow darted out from within.
The demon had a hunched posture, moving on all fours, with rotting grayish-green skin.
Its head was unusually long and narrow, its mouth full of fangs dripping with saliva, its eyes locked dead onto Ryosuke.
"Demon Slayer Corps! You guys really are lingering ghosts!"
"Yo, an old acquaintance."
Ryosuke lowered his stance, and the moment his thumb pushed the sword guard, he turned into a streak of light and rushed straight up!
"Then let's cut the crap!"
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!
Bang!
With a crisp sound, the evil demon actually swung its sharp claws and forcefully blocked this strike!
This was no longer a small fry worth ten days of lifespan; this was a fucking big catch even stronger than the Hand Demon!
Ryosuke was extremely excited. His figure flickered, his sword techniques changed, and lightning violently erupted from the glowing white blade!
"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Thunder Swarm!"
In an instant, countless violent lightning strikes flashed from all directions, following Ryosuke's flickering figure!
Bang bang bang—
The demon desperately defended, but there were too many slashes. In a short time, its entire body was covered in bloody gashes.
"It's over!"
With a loud shout, Ryosuke suddenly dashed out from behind, the Nichirin Sword instantly slashing across the demon's neck.
Ryosuke exhaled a breath of stale air. Just as his tense nerves were about to relax, he realized something was wrong.
There was no system kill notification sound!
Plus, the feeling of the slash just now...
It was too light!
I should have only cut through some skin and flesh!
But its head definitely fell off.
What's going on?!
With no time to think, Ryosuke turned and swung his sword almost on instinct!
Clang—
A piercing screech rang out, and sparks flew everywhere.
He saw that the head, which should have dissipated, had actually bitten onto his Nichirin Sword!
So fast! The distance is too close!
Ryosuke forcefully pushed it back, but a fierce fist wind howled from behind him!
Boom!
A solid punch landed squarely on Ryosuke's back!
Ryosuke's body flew out, crashing heavily against an ancient tree.
He clutched his chest, a look of astonishment on his face.
He saw the evil demon's head floating in mid-air, while its body stood there weirdly.
What the fuck?
A demon that overcame decapitation?
No way, bro! Are you fucking more badass than an Upper Moon?!
"Hee hee hee hee..."
The evil demon's head let out a sharp laugh.
Ryosuke narrowed his eyes, and a monster from Japanese mythology suddenly flashed through his mind.
The characteristics and information of that monster matched it perfectly!
"Damn it! It's actually a Hitouban!" Ryosuke shouted.
In Japanese mythology, a Hitouban's neck can extend, and its head can separate from its body to act independently.
Looking at it now, the Hitouban hadn't overcome the weakness of decapitation; it was actually two demons!
The head and body existed separately, living in a mutual parasitism!
"The head and the body each minding their own business, you sure know how to play..." Ryosuke complained.
A miscalculation of combat power!
This demon was much stronger than expected!
"Heh heh heh..."
The head sneered, and the body lunged forward.
Ryosuke swung his sword, quickly chopping off its arms.
But at this time, the head had already flown to his rear, its bloody mouth wide open.
"Blood Demon Art: Mad Needles!"
With a violent shout, a large cloud of blood mist exploded in mid-air, condensing into hundreds of sharp needles!
Swish!
The sharp needles shot towards him like rain!
Ryosuke's pupils shrank, lightning aura raged around his body, and thunder roared!
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
The glowing white blade carried lightning, turning into five fierce slashes!
Bang bang bang—
The blood needles were all shattered, and at this moment, the arms of the body behind him regenerated and threw another punch!
Ryosuke reacted extremely fast; instead of retreating, he advanced, charging straight for the head!
These two demons were exceptionally difficult to deal with! He had to kill one first!
Slash!
The blade fell. The head panicked and retreated, getting its jaw chopped off.
"Damn Demon Slayer!"
The head roared, flesh expanding as its wounds slowly healed.
"What the hell are you babbling about! Die!"
Ryosuke sheathed his long sword, leaning forward. Violent lightning surrounded his body, and countless flashes of electricity burst forth!
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Threefold!
Boom!
The ground beneath Ryosuke's feet cracked, his body turning into a streak of light, the slash arriving in an instant!
Slash!
The blade swept across, the head unable to dodge in time, split cleanly in two!
Before the body could react, Ryosuke's slash followed immediately!
Hiss—
Amidst a piercing shriek, the body was shattered!
The Hitouban turned into flying ash and dissipated.
As for the revolving lantern memories, Ryosuke had no interest in watching them.
This kind of demon was nothing more than a frustrated pervert who met the trash boss Muzan and turned into a demon.
After that, it ate people to get stronger and felt ridiculously good about itself.
Compared to this, Ryosuke cared more about the system reward.
[Slain High-level Demon Hitouban. Gained 3 years of lifespan. Current remaining lifespan: 4 years and 14 days]
3 years!
A bountiful harvest!
The ten-year progress bar had filled by almost half!
Ryosuke hummed a little tune happily while bandaging his wounds.
In this battle, a few of his ribs were broken. After some simple treatment, he would send a signal for the Kakushi to come over.
At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from a distance.
"Where, where is it! Such a heavy stench of blood! Hold on, I'm coming!"
Hm?
Ryosuke looked up; a young man wearing the Demon Slayer Corps uniform was rushing over quickly.
He glanced past Ryosuke, quickly drew his sword, and looked around in a combat stance.
"You heal your wounds and rest first. That flying head demon is not easy to deal with!"
"No, that..."
Before Ryosuke could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Soma Iwasaki.
"Don't push yourself, you'll lose your life!"
"..."
Let me finish my damn sentence!
Ryosuke stood up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Relax, I've already killed that demon."
"Mm, good... What?!"
Iwasaki widened his eyes, looking at Ryosuke in disbelief.
"You, by yourself?"
"Yeah, got a few injuries, it's so annoying."
Ryosuke rolled his shoulders.
Actually, if the Hitouban hadn't underestimated the enemy, making the Threefold attack effective, he would have been dead already.
"A-Amazing!"
Iwasaki was so excited he was almost incoherent.
"The Kakushi's intelligence said this demon is extremely difficult to deal with, that it can act separately and decapitation is ineffective! Several comrades suffered heavy losses at its hands! Senior, you actually dealt with it alone?! Are you a Hashira? Or Hinoe rank? Kinoto rank?"
"Uh, haha—"
Looking at Iwasaki's excited expression, Ryosuke didn't know how to react.
He silently raised the back of his hand, and as he breathed, the character for "Mizunoto" slowly surfaced on it.
"Mizunoto rank, Ryosuke Yasui, joined the Demon Slayer Corps less than a month ago."
The world went quiet.
The ecstatic and reverent expression on Iwasaki's face froze instantly.
"Mizu... Mizunoto rank?!"
He cried out, his voice even changing pitch.
"H-How is this possible?! That's a demon that even Kanoto rank members find troublesome! You, all by yourself, and you're just a Mizunoto..."
Iwasaki felt his worldview being shattered, and then he suddenly thought of something.
"C-Could you be Yasui? Ryosuke Yasui?!"
"Yeah."
Ryosuke admitted it.
He couldn't help it; he had stood out too much during the Final Selection at Mt. Fujikasane, and he was summoned by Kagaya afterward.
Plus, since he was a Thunder Breathing swordsman, it was normal for Iwasaki to guess it.
Seeing Iwasaki's excited expression, Ryosuke lay down on the ground, not wanting to move at all.
"Um..."
"Iwasaki! My name is Soma Iwasaki."
"Ah, Iwasaki, help me contact the Kakushi. My ribs are broken, I need to go back to Momoyama to recover."
As Ryosuke spoke, he glanced at him again.
"Also, ranks aren't important; as long as the demon is killed, it's fine."