A Sudden Encounter with a Demon

Yuko lost.

She was not a genius with a naturally Transparent World and Mark like Yoriichi, nor had she undergone systematic training like Kokushibo.

As a girl, she could never have gained her father's permission to practice with blades and weapons.

Most of her time was consumed by the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, leaving her little free time for herself.

Her swordsmanship training was merely an improvised attempt to feel her way across a river by stepping on stones. When a fake style met the real thing, she quickly lost, just as expected.

Kokushibo did not hurt her. Instead, he tied her up.

She cursed angrily, "Kokushibo! You'd better remember this! Don't you dare let me find a chance to escape!"

"Call me Brother." Kokushibo merely corrected Yuko's form of address, completely unmoved.

Kokushibo took her back to the room and had her placed under strict guard.

Yuko still wanted to find a chance to escape, but the next day, Kokushibo put on his armor and brought a group of people, intending to send her to the general's residence.

Yuko was carried into a palanquin. The palanquins here in the Sengoku Era were somewhat like... Yuko found it hard to describe. She felt it was something resembling... a dog cage or a pig cage.

There was a carrying pole on top, and beneath it hung a small box-like compartment where the person sat.

She had no idea why anyone would design something so bizarre. It was practically like carrying a pig cage.

Were all the nobles around here a little sick in the head?

Yuko resisted fiercely, but Kokushibo still forced her into the palanquin as if he were escorting a criminal.

"Tsugikuni Kokushibo! This is the act of selling your little sister! From the moral high ground of humanitarianism, I strongly condemn you!"

Yuko cursed loudly, but no matter how much nonsense she spouted, Kokushibo remained unmoved.

For one thing, he could not understand the incoherent things Yuko was cursing him with.

For another, in Kokushibo's eyes, marrying the general's son was Yuko's good fortune. It was something countless people would never even dare dream of.

He felt no guilt at all about selling his little sister.

Yuko realized she could not get through to him, so she simply leaned back in the palanquin and closed her eyes to rest, waiting for a chance to escape.

Traveling in ancient times was extremely inconvenient. In the mountains and forests, they could not even cover several miles in a day.

As dusk approached, Kokushibo raised a hand and ordered everyone to stop.

"We'll make camp here."

"Yes."

His subordinates immediately got to work, quickly setting up a campfire.

Kokushibo brought some dry rations to the palanquin.

"Eat something."

Yuko angrily accepted the rations. "You lemon! You'd better remember this!"

Kokushibo felt that this little sister of his was always acting strangely, constantly saying things he could not understand.

Seeing that Yuko was not starving herself or trying anything else, Kokushibo did not bother with her anymore.

The ropes around Yuko's hands had been tied in a relatively loose manner, so they did not interfere with eating.

She looked up at the moon obscured by dark clouds and silently prayed in her heart.

You lousy boss, you lousy boss.

It's nighttime. Come out and bask in the moonlight.

Yuko's prayer seemed to receive a response. Suddenly, a figure flashed through the forest, pouncing at one of the subordinates with incredible speed and knocking him straight into the woods on the other side.

"Ah~"

A scream rang out, accompanied by the sound of bones being ground apart and loud gulping.

Only then did Kokushibo abruptly react.

"Enemy attack!"

Everyone drew their long swords and warily watched their surroundings.

Cold sweat trickled down Yuko's forehead.

You really came!

With that kind of disturbance, it couldn't possibly be a wild animal!

"Hee hee hee~" An eerie laugh rang out from the darkness.

Kokushibo raised a torch toward the source of the sound with one hand and gripped his Katana tightly with the other.

Yet just as he stood on guard, ready to strike at any moment, the torchlight illuminated—

a posture that absolutely did not belong to a human.

What the hell is that thing?

Kokushibo's pupils suddenly contracted.

Although battles between Demons and humans were the central theme of Demon Slayer, even when the main story began, Demons were still quite rare.

At the very least, the odds of encountering one were lower than the odds of getting into a car accident while traveling in the modern era.

Thus, even Tsugikuni Kokushibo had never truly encountered one. He had only heard of them in folk tales and popular stories.

He had always thought they were fake.

Until now.

The horn-covered Demon had a smear of bright red blood at the corner of its mouth. It held one of his subordinate's arms in its hand and tore at it with its teeth, as if leisurely eating a chicken wing.

A chill rose in everyone's hearts. Some even began trembling so badly that their legs shook.

It was the instinctive fear carved into living beings.

Kokushibo shouted sternly, "Don't let it frighten you!"

"Stop putting on a show!"

With that, he drew his long sword and launched an attack.

However, the Demon seemed to know that one should bully the weak, so it retreated into the darkness.

Then...

One scream after another rang out. Kokushibo frantically waved his torch, trying to see the Demon's movements.

The darkness placed far too many restrictions on humans. On top of that, the Demon was simply too fast. Kokushibo could only hear his subordinates screaming and see severed limbs flying through the air.

This wasn't an ordinary Demon.

Cold sweat poured down Yuko's face. Taking advantage of the Demon not paying attention to her, she hurriedly picked up the Katana lying nearby and cut through the ropes binding her hands and feet.

On the other side, the dozens-strong group had been reduced to Kokushibo struggling alone.

This Demon's strength was extraordinary. It had probably eaten quite a few people.

Yet under Kokushibo's superb swordsmanship, its arm was quickly severed.

However, before Kokushibo could breathe a sigh of relief, the Demon's arm slowly healed.

Kokushibo's pupils contracted. Reacting with lightning speed, he followed up with another slash, cutting off the Demon's head.

Just as Kokushibo let out a breath, another sight beyond his understanding appeared before him. The Demon actually reached out with both hands, caught its own head, and set it back in place.

Kokushibo's breath caught, and his pupils trembled violently.

The Demon seemed very pleased by his expression. It grinned arrogantly and charged toward Kokushibo.

After breaking free, Yuko looked toward the battle in the distance and unexpectedly hesitated.

She did not know whether she had changed the plot, but if Kokushibo died here, it might be a good thing for him... and for everyone else.

But...

"Tsk..."

Yuko clicked her tongue in displeasure and charged forward with the Katana.

After all, he was her cheap big brother. She still could not bring herself to be that heartless.

Besides, given the current situation, if Kokushibo died, she probably would not escape either.

Trying to outrun a Demon in the darkness was no different from seeking death.

In the moment when Kokushibo froze after seeing that the Demon had survived decapitation, the Demon had already reached him. Its claw-like fingernails were about to tear Kokushibo's body apart.

Yuko rushed forward and stabbed through the Demon's wrist, pinning it to a tree. She shouted, "It won't die even after being beheaded! We have to hold it here until the sun rises!"

Hearing Yuko's words, the Demon's ferocity intensified. The fingernails on its other hand extended like claws and swept toward her.

Kokushibo also snapped back to his senses at Yuko's voice. Reacting extremely quickly, he used his sword to pin down the wrist of its other hand. The two of them and the Demon were locked in a stalemate.

Yuko's arm trembled constantly under the Demon's violent struggles. She was too weak.

The veins on the Demon's cheeks bulged. It grinned at the siblings. "Blood Demon Art..."

Almost simultaneously, the Demon's body suddenly began emitting Red Light.

Kokushibo furrowed his brows as an ominous premonition rose within him.

Yuko's pupils suddenly contracted. "Quick..."

Boom!

A tremendous impact sent the siblings flying at the same time, slamming them into the base of a tree.

Yuko quickly scrambled to her feet, baring her teeth. "Big pot, your armor is so hard."

It had made her back hurt terribly.

Kokushibo grunted and ignored her. After all, someone else's entire weight was pressing down on him.