The Demon of the Drum House

After leaving Kinutatsuki Town, the group returning to Mount Sagiri had gained a noisy but indispensable member—Zenitsu Agatsuma. Like a startled sparrow, he made a fuss over every little disturbance around him. In particular, he kept casting curious, slightly fearful glances at the large wooden box Tanjiro always carried on his back.

"Hey... Tanjiro," Zenitsu said, leaning close and lowering his voice as he discreetly pointed at the box. "What's actually in there? You haven't let it out of your sight this whole time... It's not some kind of... dangerous weapon, is it? Or... something even scarier?" Countless tales of ghosts and monsters were already flashing through his mind.

Tanjiro stopped and turned around, his expression graver and more solemn than ever before. Looking Zenitsu straight in the eye, he said, carefully enunciating each word, "Zenitsu, this box is more important than my life. Please don't ask about it again, and please don't ever try to open it."

The weight and resolve in Tanjiro's voice and eyes stopped Zenitsu in his tracks. He had never seen Tanjiro look like that before. It was the resolve of someone who treasured something more than his own existence. Zenitsu shrank back. Though curiosity clawed at him like a kitten, he nodded sheepishly. "O-okay, I get it... I won't ask... Why do you have to be so scary about it?" He stole a glance at the box and muttered to himself, More important than his life? Could it be... gold? No, Tanjiro doesn't seem greedy... Then is it... a family heirloom?

Moyu watched the exchange without speaking. The fewer people who knew about Nezuko, the better, especially when the Demon Slayer Corps' internal rules were still unclear. Though Zenitsu was timid, he was not a bad person at heart, and Tanjiro's warning was enough to curb his curiosity for the time being, though there would be no problem with telling Zenitsu about Nezuko.

The group continued on. The mountain path was rugged, and the sun was sinking. As they passed through an abandoned stretch of mountain forest, they faintly heard an intermittent, muffled but rhythmic "thump... thump..." in the distance, as if someone were beating a huge hide drum. The sound was not loud, yet it had a strange penetrating quality that left them uneasy.

"What's that sound?" Tanjiro stopped, his nose twitching slightly. "I smell a demon... and it's really strong! And... there's human fear mixed in with it, and... the smell of blood!"

Moyu's Six Eyes had already turned toward the source of the sound. Deep in the forest, the outline of an old mansion was faintly visible. In his vision, the mansion seemed to be shrouded in a distorted field of energy. Its spatial structure was extremely unstable, faintly "squirming" to the rhythm of the drums. What drew his attention even more was a demonic aura lurking within. Though it was not among the strongest, it was far denser than that of ordinary demons and had a certain sense of "rhythm" to it. The concentration of Muzan's blood within that aura was also clearly higher than in the Temari Demon and the Arrow Demon they had encountered before.

It's the Drum Demon... Moyu understood. Kyogai, the former Lower Rank Six. His Blood Demon Art allowed him to alter the mansion's spatial structure by striking the drums embedded in his body. He was a troublesome target, but just right for practice and blood collection.

"Let's take a look." Moyu kept it brief and led the way toward the mansion.

"W-wait for me!" Zenitsu was scared to death, but he was even more afraid of being left behind alone. He could only steel himself and follow, muttering nonstop about how he was doomed and didn't want to die, and so on...

As they approached the mansion, the drumming grew clearer, and the dilapidated building looked sinister and terrifying in the twilight. Suddenly, faint sobs came from a concealed thicket beside the mansion. Tanjiro immediately followed the sound and found a brother and sister hiding there. The brother was about eight or nine and was named Shoichi. His sister Teruko looked only six or seven. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and when she saw Tanjiro and the others, she clung to them like a lifeline.

"B-Brother... Brother was taken into that horrible house!" Teruko sobbed, barely able to speak. "There's... there's a monster in there that eats people! Brother was trying to save me... and the monster took him! Please, save my brother!"

From Teruko's halting account, they learned that the siblings came from a nearby village. Their older brother, A Qing, had brought his younger brother and sister out to gather herbs, and they had wandered here by mistake. They had encountered a demon, and A Qing had fought desperately to protect his siblings, only to be dragged into the mansion from which the drumming continued to sound.

"How could it!" Tanjiro burned with anger and gripped the hilt of his Nichirin Blade tightly. "It won't even spare children! Moyu, we have to save that boy!"

Moyu nodded, his gaze sweeping over the mansion's dilapidated entrance. "The demon inside is skilled at manipulating space. We'll likely be separated once we go in. Be careful, everyone, and make saving the boy your first priority." He gave Zenitsu a pointed look. "Protect yourself, and... keep an eye on this boy." He meant Shoichi, who had insisted on coming along because he was worried about his brother.

Zenitsu's face turned green. "Huh?! We're going to be separated too?! And you want me to look after a kid?! I can't do it! There's no way! I'll just hold you back! Let's wait outside for the demon to come out... or go get more people..."

"There's no time. I believe you can do it!" Moyu cut him off. He could already faintly hear sounds of a struggle and a demon's sinister laughter from inside the mansion. "Tanjiro, let's go!"

Without hesitation, Tanjiro said to Shoichi, "Stay close to us!" Then he charged through the mansion entrance, which resembled the mouth of a giant beast. Moyu followed close behind.

Zenitsu watched the two disappear in an instant through the dark entrance, then looked at Shoichi, who was trembling beside him but had a stubborn look in his eyes. He let out a despairing wail. In the end, he pulled a miserable face and took Shoichi's hand. "Waaah! If I die, I die! Stay close to me, kid! Whatever you do, don't let go!" The two of them stumbled inside.

Sure enough, as soon as they stepped into the mansion, a drum sounded from somewhere with a thump, and the space around them instantly twisted and flipped! Moyu felt the ground vanish beneath his feet as an invisible force flung him away, sending him into an entirely unfamiliar corridor. He immediately steadied himself and opened his Six Eyes fully, sensing the spatial structure changing rapidly around him.

"We've been separated... Good." Moyu did not panic. Instead, he began to analyze the situation calmly. "Kyogai himself must be beating his drums in some 'core' room. Tanjiro's sense of smell should be able to track down the scent of a living person. As for Zenitsu... that's up to his luck. And I..." A cold glint flashed through his Azure pupils. "I'll collect some 'samples' first, then go have a chat with that 'former Lower Rank.'"

He sensed several weak demonic auras approaching nearby. They were evidently low-level Demon Servants from the mansion. Moyu gripped the hilt of Azure Star and melted into the shadows of the corridor. Against these small fry, he did not even need to use the forms of a Breathing Style.