Aka no Hana's death left Kokushibo and Yoriichi grieving for a long time. It also finally plunged the head of the Tsugikuni Family into remorse as he read his wife's final letter amid his sorrow.
Perhaps he should have given Yoriichi a better environment from the start.
At the same time, Kokushibo learned that the weak younger brother he was supposed to protect was actually a genius. Their father would surely switch their positions, sending him to live in that shabby room before eventually sending him to a temple.
This added unease and jealousy to Kokushibo's grief.
But when he learned that his brother absurdly intended to leave and cherished that broken flute, Kokushibo found it even harder to understand.
At dusk, Muzan saw Yoriichi being sent out through the side gate and immediately followed.
Yoriichi, who was supposed to be headed for a temple, did not follow the arrangements. Instead, he went far away.
Only seven years old, Yoriichi carried nothing but a little dried food and a sword as he walked step by step toward an unknown destination. Muzan followed from afar.
Elsewhere, Kokushibo also found his mother's diary.
"Yoriichi is someone beloved by the gods." And Yoriichi pressing against Mother's left side had not been him acting spoiled as Kokushibo had imagined—it had been Yoriichi supporting her. It was as if it were telling him—You are inferior to Yoriichi!
The veins in Kokushibo's hands bulged as he gripped his mother's diary, his fingernails digging deeply into it.
He seized his sword and headed for the place outside where he practiced.
His face was twisted, his pupils bloodshot, and the veins in his hands stood out. Gripping the hilt, he hacked madly at the training dummy, letting out one beastlike growl after another:
"Why?! Why?!
I worked so hard for so long! Why did it have to be that bastard in the end?!"
He had no idea how many times he had struck. The dummy's surface was covered in blade marks, but because he was still so young, the cuts were only superficial. Yet his younger brother could easily split the dummy apart!
Exhausted, Kokushibo thought of this, and jealousy and resentment surged endlessly from within him. His face twisted to the extreme.
He hurled his sword viciously to the ground, then staggered toward Tsugikuni Yoriichi's cramped room, gasping heavily.
Bang!
The door was yanked open roughly and slammed hard against its frame.
Kokushibo stormed in and searched around.
Had that bastard hidden himself?
Then he caught sight of a note on the table. He strode over and snatched it up.
His rage-twisted expression gradually calmed. Confusion appeared in his eyes, and he blankly put the note back on the table.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi had really left?
Then Kokushibo suddenly rushed outside.
No!
He could not accept such charity!
He did not need it!
Sooner or later, he would surpass Yoriichi!
Come back!
Sooner or later, he would become the greatest warrior in the world!
Kokushibo wanted to bring Tsugikuni Yoriichi back. If Yoriichi left like this, they might never see each other again. Then he would live forever beneath Yoriichi's shadow. He had to find Yoriichi!
But after blindly chasing for a long time, Kokushibo finally realized that Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already gone far away.
He stood there blankly, his face filled with helplessness.
Meanwhile, as the days passed, Yoriichi's food dwindled. He had no idea where he was when a stretch of fields appeared before him.
The fields were deserted. As he walked through them and looked into the distance for a long while, a figure entered his sight.
It was a strange girl, standing blankly in the field while holding a wooden basin.
Their eyes met.
"You..."
Because it was daytime, Muzan could only hide in the distant woods and watch their encounter from afar. With his superhuman hearing and sight, he saw the two exchange a few words before deciding to travel together.
Uta led Yoriichi toward her home.
Muzan hurried after them.
His chance to find the Blue Spider Lily had come!
It was already evening. The last traces of sunlight began to fade, moonlight rose, and night fell.
Muzan suddenly sensed some creature approaching from behind.
He instantly went on guard.
The next moment, a nearly two-meter-tall "monster" charged toward Yoriichi and Uta from the other side.
Because it was still far away, neither of them noticed it.
The monster was a Half-Demon.
The Half-Demon had spent a long time devouring people and pinning the blame on him. Its sudden appearance now made its intentions obvious.
Muzan flashed forward and seized the Half-Demon by the throat.
A Half-Demon was just a Half-Demon.
Perhaps it was an invincible man-eating monster to ordinary people, but in Muzan's hands, it was nothing more than trash he could kill at will.
The Half-Demon clearly had not reacted in time. Terror filled its face, and under the shadow of death, it let out a shrill scream. Muzan's arm suddenly transformed into a giant maw and swallowed it whole. Muzan hoped devouring the Half-Demon would give him its memories, so he could find out what exactly this thing was.
Naturally, the Half-Demon's scream also caught Yoriichi and Uta's attention in the distance. They turned around and saw only Muzan's grotesque arm of flesh and blood swallow something, writhing as though chewing. A pool of blood was all that remained on the ground.
Even if he had not been valued, Yoriichi was still the son of the Tsugikuni Family and naturally knew of Maneating Demons. He immediately understood that the evil demon before him had eaten someone.
Moreover, the instant he saw that evil demon, he realized that it was dangerous!
It was the Demon King!
His mission, granted by his extraordinary talent, was to kill the thing before him!
But he was only seven years old.
And the two of them were merely seven- or eight-year-old children facing an evil demon...
Yoriichi hurriedly pulled Uta behind him. "Uta, run!"
I'll hold it back!
Even though Yoriichi possessed extraordinary talent with a sword and could defeat adults, he was still only a seven-year-old child. He was nowhere near enough to face an evil demon.
Yoriichi drew the sword nearly as tall as himself in one motion and raised it at Muzan.
Muzan: "..."
Uta timidly hid behind Yoriichi. Though she was afraid, she did not want to abandon him.
Muzan wanted to explain, but he suddenly sensed more Half-Demons attacking.
Eight Half-Demons took advantage of Yoriichi's attention being on Muzan and fiercely attacked Uta from behind.
Muzan could no longer spare a thought for Yoriichi's guarded stance and hurriedly rushed forward.
Damn Half-Demons!
Ruining my plans!
Though the Half-Demons attacked suddenly and in great numbers, they were still no match for Muzan.
In an instant,
Yoriichi only thought that the evil demon before him was attacking him. He swung his sword to block Muzan, while Muzan flashed over and appeared before Uta behind Yoriichi.
Yoriichi's heart trembled. He hurriedly turned around and swung his sword at Muzan.
But what entered his sight were the eight evil demons attacking from behind, as well as Muzan's back.
The next instant, Muzan drew the long sword from his back and sent several attacking Half-Demons flying with a single swing.
But at the same time, Yoriichi's sword could not stop in time and slashed into Muzan's back.
Skin that even Demon Slayer Corps members could not cut was cleaved open by Yoriichi, leaving a huge wound several millimeters deep.
"Hiss—" Muzan could not help sucking in a breath. It hurt!
Fortunately, the sword in Yoriichi's hand was only an ordinary blade. The next second, Muzan's back returned to normal.
Yoriichi also seemed to realize something was wrong. He held his sword toward the empty air, looking somewhat at a loss.
Muzan glanced back at the two of them, then suddenly rushed out and beheaded the Half-Demons with a single swing.
Only after dealing with those Half-Demons did Muzan finally let out a breath.
He suddenly felt that the Half-Demons did not seem merely stupid. Instead, they were more like an ant colony.
Those individual Half-Demons might be useless, but behind them was an intelligent existence coordinating and planning everything.
For example, just now, it had used one Half-Demon not only to draw his attention, but also to make Yoriichi recognize him as an evil demon in a moment of carelessness. Then, while Yoriichi was distracted, it attacked Uta.
And the reason it attacked Uta was naturally to cut off Muzan's plan to follow Uta and find the Blue Spider Lily.
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