"Please spare me."
A plea came from the middle-aged demon's severed head. The spider-like headless body nearby retracted the sharp claws on its fingers and feet.
Though he was a demon, as long as he retained his sanity, he could still be considered a mutated human.
Kurozawa raised an eyebrow, looked at his bloodshot eyes, and asked, "Spare you? You should know that humans and demons are irreconcilable enemies. So why should I let you go?"
He could ignore the bizarre, grotesque sight of the demon tearing apart his own flesh and face the bloody severed head not because he had been born with strong nerves, but because he had received training from a swordsman in this regard.
When Sakonji Urokodaki killed demons, he would occasionally bring Kurozawa along to watch. The flying flesh and limbs, the spurting blood—each time had made Kurozawa nauseous at first, but after seeing it often enough, he gradually got used to it.
This was a cruel world, and he needed to adapt. Moreover, Kurozawa, who craved strength deep down, had actively sought out this change, and his adaptability was exceptionally strong.
Naturally, he was not wasting words with the middle-aged demon just for fun.
Kurozawa still understood the truth that villains died from talking too much.
Yet Kurozawa still did it.
After studying the Power of Despair, he had found that the moment any living creature died, it produced the Power of Despair.
But since it carried the word "despair," the more desperate an enemy felt before dying, the more Power of Despair it should yield. That was only logical, wasn't it?
Kurozawa was not sure, so he had to test it.
Of course, Kurozawa still did not know what the Power of Despair was actually useful for. After all, all his research had been based on harming weak little ants.
Kurozawa, the Ant Butcher, did not mind letting the middle-aged demon live a little longer, giving him hope before making him experience despair.
That way, he would gain considerably more Power of Despair and speed up his research.
Yeah, I'm really evil. Kurozawa sighed inwardly as he looked at the still-oblivious middle-aged demon, who was trying to shake his resolve with words.
"Would it be enough if I said I've never killed anyone?" Seeing that Kurozawa did not seem to intend to finish him off immediately, the demon's head said anxiously.
"Then how do you explain the bag behind you?" Kurozawa asked calmly.
In the darkness, the long bloodstained leather bag had the outline of a human body.
Hearing a murderous edge in Kurozawa's calm voice, the middle-aged demon hurriedly said, "That person wasn't killed by me. He committed suicide. I found the body at Autumn Leaf Cliff."
"You know Autumn Leaf Cliff, right? Lots of people commit suicide there. After I became a demon, I didn't want to eat people, so I survived by picking up the bodies of those who jumped off the cliff."
He spoke with deep sincerity, his face earnest.
Kurozawa knew of Autumn Leaf Cliff. It was not far away, merely a dozen or so miles from here. The mountains and waters around that cliff were beautiful, and many people whose lives had gone badly chose it as their grave.
He had even heard that people from big cities occasionally traveled there in groups to commit suicide.
So Kurozawa nodded and said, "I believe you."
His expression did not change, making it impossible to tell whether he truly believed him or not.
After saying that he believed him, Kurozawa did not continue speaking. He merely stared into the demon's eyes, seemingly waiting quietly for what would come next.
That silent wait felt like a guillotine hanging over his neck, ready to fall at any moment. It made the middle-aged demon faintly despair, yet because Kurozawa had not truly struck, a trace of hope remained within that despair.
"It's true. Everything I said is true."
"My name is Nita Taku. My home is in nearby Koizumi Town. Besides me, there's also my five-year-old daughter. Because of my daughter, I've been able to resist the craving for blood and survive by feeding on corpses."
"If you don't believe me, you can go ask around in Koizumi Town."
"Please, if I die, there'll be no one to take care of my daughter. She'll have an incredibly, incredibly hard life."
"I'm not begging for myself. I'm only begging you for my daughter."
"She's still so young, so adorable. I don't want to leave her all alone..."
His final words were nearly a murmur.
In Nita Taku's severed head, his eyes revealed an intense desire to live, along with longing whenever he thought of his family.
Kurozawa frowned. "Shut up!"
He did not believe Nita Taku's so-called words.
The first lesson Sakonji Urokodaki had taught him was never to trust any demon.
Demons were extremely cunning creatures. Moreover, no matter what, demons would eventually find it impossible to resist the temptation of flesh and blood and would kill people with their own hands.
The Demon Slayer Corps had records of people who had retained their original hearts after becoming demons, barely suppressing their craving for flesh and blood by eating corpses or animal meat.
Kindhearted swordsmen had confirmed that they truly had not killed anyone and spared them.
Yet before long, murders would occur where they hid.
The craving for the flesh and blood of living beings filled every cell of a demon's body. They could endure it for a short time, but as time passed, that craving would grow stronger and stronger, gradually turning into twisted madness.
In other words, even if Nita Taku had been telling the truth, Kurozawa could not let him go. As for his daughter, Kurozawa would send her to the Demon Slayer Corps, or hand her directly to Sakonji Urokodaki to train her into a demon-slaying swordsman.
The Demon Slayer Corps had a complete process for such matters.
"Everything I said is true! You're from the Demon Slayer Corps, aren't you? Do you kill even kind demons without bothering to distinguish right from wrong?!"
Nita Taku looked at Kurozawa with an earnest expression.
Kurozawa rubbed his chin and paused for a moment as if deep in thought.
Several seconds later, he sighed. "Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen are human too. Human hearts are made of flesh. It truly is hard to strike against demons on the side of goodness."
"Besides, I believe what you said."
Delight appeared on Nita Taku's face as he opened his mouth to speak.
But before words of thanks could leave his mouth, he heard a clear, heavy sound of breathing.
Then darkness fell before his eyes.
Water Breathing: Strong Hand Skull Splitter!
In his heart, Kurozawa gave his move a thunderous shout.
Outside, the muscles in his right arm and palm suddenly bulged explosively.
Tremendous force descended upon the demon's head in his hand.
Crack! Like crushing a watermelon, the demon's head exploded into flying fragments. Flesh, blood, and bone shards splattered everywhere.
But none of it landed on Kurozawa.
The instant he moved, he twisted his body aside, avoiding the red-and-white spray. Then, with his blade flowing like water, he charged toward the headless demon body three meters away.
To his physique, three meters was no more than a single leap.
Two thick streams of breath, like white pythons, appeared from Kurozawa's nose and mouth. At the same time, wave-like blue arcs began to surge along the Nichirin Blade in his hand.
On the other side, the instant Nita Taku's head was crushed, black-red ashes swirled above his headless body. Flesh rapidly intertwined and wriggled, and from the neck upward, a new head grew in the blink of an eye.
Just as Nita Taku recovered from the agony of having his head blown apart, he saw a flash of azure blade light.
Water Breathing: First Form: Surface Slash! A straight, azure hue like the clear lake surface on a windless day filled Nita Taku's vision.
The next moment, his newly grown head hit the ground again with a clang.
"Wh-why... You said you believed..."
His voice came in broken fragments, unable to form a complete sentence.
After being beheaded by the Nichirin Blade, a weapon made specifically to kill demons, Nita Taku's presence faded as swiftly as a candle flame in the wind. Within three seconds, it would disappear completely.
Kurozawa flashed a toothy grin. "I lied."
His tone was calm and utterly unconcerned.
"You! I curse—"
Before he could finish his despair-filled words, his head and body turned into ashes that filled the sky, gradually dissipating into the air.
Watching the scene unfold, Kurozawa felt astonished.
This was not scientific.
Once the ashes had completely dispersed, Kurozawa picked up his Nichirin Blade and blew on its edge, blowing away a speck of dust.
"I, Kurozawa, haven't lost my former flair."
Though he had not practiced sword forms for a year, the Surface Slash he used was still just as cool!
Before you continue