Chapter 7: The Eternal Paradise Faith
This was the first time Nanaha had ever seen Kanae this angry.
Whether in the anime, or from everything he had learned during this period of time,
Kanae was an incredibly, incredibly gentle person.
You could even say that her personality was somewhat similar to Tanjiro's.
Even when slaying demons, she would still feel sorrow for their suffering.
And yet such a kind person was now this furious.
"The one who gave this boy his blood is the same demon who killed me."
The moment those words fell, Nanaha's pupils contracted sharply.
A demon capable of killing a Hashira?
Only one of the Twelve Kizuki could have done that.
And—
it had to be an Upper Rank!
He had not expected to run into one this soon?!
The boy who had turned into a demon forcefully pulled the sword stuck through his mouth back out.
He slowly turned around and looked at Nanaha.
Nanaha looked back at him as well.
One human and one demon stared at each other, and after a moment, the demon showed a look of disgust and covered its mouth.
"So stinky!"
"…?"
Nanaha's expression instantly became indescribably colorful.
Kanae, who had still been angry just now, could not help laughing out loud.
"Pfft!"
He had bathed just yesterday when passing through a village. Even if he had spent the whole day traveling today and sweated a little, there was no way he should be called stinky, right?!
The demon still seriously covered its nose and mouth.
"Ahhh, it stinks so much, I really can't stand it. How can someone possibly smell this bad?!"
Nanaha's mouth twitched.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Ah, I'm going to be臭 to death. Could you please stay farther away? I really don't want to die from the smell!"
Nanaha's eyelid twitched. He raised the little dagger in his hand.
"You'd better still be able to talk in a minute!"
Slash!
The dagger in his hand swiftly cut across his palm, and blood immediately welled out!
"Ah!"
The demon shrieked strangely and instantly retreated several steps!
Kanae finally understood what was going on.
"It seems to be your blood."
"My blood? What do you mean?"
Kanae explained, "Everyone's blood is different. There is a type of person with a special constitution whose blood is called Marechi. That kind of blood is extremely attractive to demons. Perhaps your blood is another kind entirely, one that demons find especially repulsive."
"That can't be right. Why didn't the previous demon react that way?" Nanaha thought of the demon from Caomang Town.
That demon had shoved its hand straight through his chest.
Kanae did not know the answer either.
"Forget it, there's no point thinking too much about it right now. What matters is slaying this demon!"
The blood in Nanaha's palm began to gather.
"Sorry, Nanaha-kun. If possible, could you capture this demon alive? There's something I want to ask him!"
Nanaha nodded and agreed.
"Alright!"
The boy-turned-demon immediately spun around and rushed toward one of the old men when he saw Nanaha drawing closer.
Only then did Nanaha realize that the people nearby were all completely motionless. Even though their hands were red from the cold, none of them reacted at all.
Before the demon could act, Nanaha drove the blood blade in his hand straight through the demon's arm.
The moment it was pierced, the demon let out a scream.
"Damn it, that hurts!"
The demon could not break free, and it could feel a burning sensation spreading through its arm!
Kanae had told him before this.
After a human transformed into a demon, they craved human blood intensely.
The reason was that after turning into a demon, they expended a tremendous amount of stamina and energy, leaving them very weak.
And after two months of intense training, Nanaha was no longer what he used to be.
Even killing this demon would have been an easy matter for him now.
By now, the sky had gone completely dark, and the bonfire was about to go out under the heavy snow.
"You should be thankful you still have some use left."
There was no hesitation in Nanaha's eyes. To prevent the demon from escaping, he directly chopped off all four of its limbs with the blood blade!
"Ah! You brat, what exactly are you trying to do?! I'm God's spokesman! Damn it—why can't I regenerate?!"
The demon struggled and thrashed, but it was useless.
Nanaha picked up the ordinary sword that had fallen on the ground.
He had kept a normal sword with him because he was afraid that his ability to turn blood into a blade would frighten ordinary people. He stabbed the ordinary sword through the demon's throat, then drove it hard into a tree.
Though his movements looked smooth and practiced, the truth was that he was so disgusted he nearly vomited.
"I'll move these villagers into a house first. Otherwise they'll freeze before long," Nanaha said.
"Mm, everyone's safety comes first."
Nanaha immediately began moving the vacant-eyed villagers into a large house, then lit the charcoal fire until the room gradually became warm.
After settling those ordinary people, he finally went back outside and found the demon.
"Talk. What did you do to these people?"
"Heh heh, I won't tell you—ahhh!"
"So you don't feel like talking?"
Nanaha drove the blood blade into the demon's chest, then slowly twisted the hilt, causing the demon to release a miserable scream.
If he had not come here, these villagers might all have ended up dying beneath this demon's fangs.
Even gentle Kanae could not empathize with someone like this, a creature who had willingly abandoned being human and chosen to become a demon.
"Still not talking? Then let me ask again. What is the Eternal Paradise Faith?"
"I—ahhh!"
Rip!
"Tell me the name, appearance, and every piece of information you know about the demon who turned you into this."
"No—ahhh!"
Rip!
"I-I'll talk—ahhh—"
Rip!
"Hm?" Kanae said curiously. "Nanaha-kun, I think he agreed just now."
"Ah, sorry. I didn't hear him."
Who told him to call him stinky?
Well, he was a demon, and this was for extracting information, so it probably did not count as abusing a prisoner, right?
On the verge of blacking out, the demon finally told Nanaha everything he knew.
After learning the whole story, both Nanaha and Kanae looked at the demon with utter contempt.
The Eternal Paradise Faith was a very large religion, with nearly two hundred followers.
This boy had been one of them.
And the founder of the Eternal Paradise Faith was a demon.
After learning that the founder was a demon, not only was this boy not afraid, he deliberately lured young women into the Eternal Paradise Faith and offered them up to the founder.
All because the founder thought young girls tasted better…
The founder took a liking to the boy, bestowed his blood upon him, and allowed him to open a branch sect.
The boy believed he had received divine grace.
When he came to this remote Luyu Village, he saw that it was full of old, weak, sick, and disabled people with old-fashioned beliefs.
So he secretly drugged all of them.
He was afraid that if they refused to obey him, his plan would fail.
But at the same time, he wanted to become the spokesperson of God he so admired, in other words, a demon, under the gaze of everyone present.
"This thing is rotten to the core!" Nanaha could not help blurting out.
"Yes. It's a good thing we came here. But… the Eternal Paradise Faith…" Kanae seemed to be deep in thought.
"What is it?"
"I remember that the Eternal Paradise Faith has existed for a very long time. I never expected its founder to be a demon. Based on this demon's description, and his obsession with young girls…"
Kanae had basically already confirmed that the founder of the Eternal Paradise Faith was the demon who had killed her!
"Then one last question. What is that demon's name?"
"L-Lord Doma…"