You're the Sword's Master, After All.

Outside.

After the sensation of his power increasing faded, Tanjiro finally bent down and picked up the folding knife, which had absorbed enough blood.

He turned and placed the knife into the backpack on the cat's back, then smiled brightly. "I'll have to trouble you to deliver this to Miss Tamayo. Be careful on the way."

He stood and waved.

Hearing that, the cat licked the fur on its paw, turned around, and left with graceful feline steps.

After letting out another meow,

its figure gradually vanished from Tanjiro's sight.

Staring at where the cat had disappeared, Tanjiro murmured inwardly, Is this Mr. Yushiro's Blood Demon Art...?

Coming back to his senses,

Tanjiro looked at the pitch-black forest path and decided not to continue onward. Instead, he planned to rest in the wilderness for the night.

Nezuko also crawled out of the wooden box on his back.

The two leaned against each other and spent the night outdoors. Before dawn broke the next day,

Tanjiro once again carried Nezuko in the wooden box on his back and set off along the forest path.

It was not until noon

that he finally spotted a village. On the path leading into it,

a blond-haired boy was clinging to a girl's waist, tears and snot streaming down his face as he cried out incessantly.

"Please, I'm begging you, marry me!"

"Can you get lost?!"

The girl shoved at him with both hands, but she could not push the blond boy away no matter what.

Before Tanjiro could react to the scene, a sparrow flew toward him as though it had found family.

It landed on Tanjiro's hand and chirped nonstop, as if pouring out its grievances.

Tanjiro seemed to understand what it meant and said with a serious expression,

"Leave it to me!"

With that, he hurried forward.

He grabbed the blond boy and lifted him up, saying angrily, "What are you crying and shouting about? And stop causing trouble for the sparrow!"

The blond boy turned around at those words and noticed Tanjiro's uniform. After examining him closely,

his gaze changed, and his sobbing expression vanished.

"Huh?! You're the one from the Final Selection who wiped out every demon on Mount Fujikasane...

We met before. I'm Zenitsu Agatsuma. You're here to hunt demons too, right? Can you take me with you?!"

There was even a hint of expectation in his eyes.

I might be weak, but if I can cling to someone strong, I'll still have hope of surviving!

As Tanjiro looked at the boy with tears and snot all over his face, he suddenly remembered the filthy, disheveled fellow who had stood beside him before they left Mount Fujikasane that day.

"You're the one from back then..."

Sensing an opening, Zenitsu hurriedly tried to say more.

But in the next moment, Tanjiro mercilessly rejected him.

"The demon you and I need to kill might not be the same one, so I can't travel with you. If we let even one demon run rampant, who knows how many people might die!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Zenitsu immediately began crying out in terror. "No! I haven't gotten married yet! I don't want to die so young..."

That left even someone as kind and gentle as Tanjiro wearing a rather strange expression.

Still, he ignored him and turned to smile at the girl. "It's all right now. You can go home without worry."

The girl returned his smile sincerely.

"Thank you so much. When I saw him squatting by the roadside earlier, I thought something had happened and went to ask if he was okay. I never expected the guy squatting here to be a pervert. Good thing you were here."

After saying that, she ran off without looking back, terrified that that guy would latch onto her again.

"Huh? How could you...? You obviously liked me..." Zenitsu Agatsuma tried to reach out and stop her, but Tanjiro held him back.

"Don't harass her!"

"How is that harassment? I clearly had a chance just now! I only failed because of you, so you have to compensate me!

I could die on a mission at any time! You have to protect me until I get married!" Zenitsu kept babbling away, looking utterly deranged.

Even Tanjiro, who was usually so patient, could not help showing a disgusted expression. Still, he patiently said,

"But Zenitsu, if you're so afraid of dying, why did you become a swordsman? And why are you so shameless?"

"That's way too harsh."

Zenitsu Agatsuma opened his mouth wide and retorted, then began recounting what had happened to him.

In short, he had wanted to find a wife, gotten swindled into losing everything and accumulating enormous debts, then been saved by a trainer and forced to become a demon slayer.

The two chatted briefly.

Once they confirmed they were heading to the same destination, Tanjiro took him along on the journey.

The two passed through the village and walked down the road.

Tanjiro still kindly reminded him,

"Zenitsu, are you really coming with me? It'll be dangerous if you do."

After all, Muzan had his eyes on him, and Tanjiro did not want to drag anyone else into it.

But Zenitsu suddenly looked serious and declared firmly, "You're so strong. I'm sticking with you!"

Inside the blade, Lin Fan watched the lively Zenitsu Agatsuma.

He suddenly felt mischievous.

He began wondering what this guy's reaction would be if he saw the body formed from his Demon Power.

What expression would he make if Lin Fan told him he was a man?

Looking at his current body formed from Demon Power, Lin Fan could only describe it with two words.

Perfect!

But when he thought of their destination this time, it should be that former Lower Rank Six, Kyogai.

He wondered how much Demon Power that guy would be worth.

As for the other two demons, Lin Fan only then realized that they seemed to be the two Tanjiro had killed last night.

The two walked along the road together.

Until they entered the mountains and followed a mountain path.

Tanjiro lightly sniffed the air. The demon's scent was growing stronger and stronger. It should be somewhere not far ahead.

Behind him, Zenitsu let his arms hang limply, looking exhausted. "Tanjiro, I really can't go on much longer. How about we rest for a while first?"

"No. The demon's scent is getting stronger. We're already very close to it." Tanjiro continued forward with a serious expression, even quickening his pace.

Before long,

the two discovered an open area ahead, where a mansion stood.

Who Said You Were the Blade's Owner?

As they approached,

it looked like an ordinary residence, with nothing unusual about it.

But as Tanjiro caught the scent inside, he could not help asking in confusion, "There's a smell of blood in there, but I've never smelled anything like it before."

There was something very strange about the feeling this blood gave off.

Unable to make sense of it, Tanjiro simply asked, "Azumaru, do you think there's a demon in this mansion?"

Lin Fan, who could sense the situation inside the mansion from within the blade, answered unhurriedly,

"There's a demon in this mansion. It should be considerably stronger than the female demon from last night."

"Thank you. I'll be careful."

Tanjiro's expression turned serious as well.

There was no need to mention how troublesome last night's female demon had been. With an even stronger one hiding here, he had no choice but to stay on high alert.

But Zenitsu, standing beside him, pricked up his ears and asked, "Tanjiro, do you hear something?"

As the two spoke,

Tanjiro turned his head and saw two children hiding in the bushes not far away, trembling in terror.

"Children?"

Zenitsu looked over as well.

Tanjiro, meanwhile, walked directly toward them and asked kindly, "What are you two doing in a place like this?"

The two children looked over in terror, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.

Seeing their condition, Tanjiro could only step forward and comfort them.

Only then did the two children gradually calm down.

The slightly older boy began to explain.

"We came here to save our older brother. He was taken away by a monster, but he was injured and left bloodstains behind. The two of us followed the bloodstains here...

This must be that monster's home..."

Hearing that, Tanjiro continued to reassure them.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely save your older brother!"

"Really?"

The boy asked hesitantly.

But before Tanjiro could answer, Zenitsu behind him suddenly spoke with an ugly expression.

"Tanjiro, do you hear an awful sound? It's like... a drum..."

As soon as he said that,

the drumbeats became clearer and more rapid.

Everyone turned to look.

A figure suddenly shot out from a second-floor window and fell straight to the ground, splattering blood everywhere.

Tanjiro had no time to think. He hurried over, picked up the young man, and checked him over.

"Hang in there! You'll be okay!"

As he spoke, he saw the man's wounds. They were nearly deep enough to expose bone, and he had lost an enormous amount of blood.

Seeing that, Tanjiro immediately asked inwardly,

"Azumaru, can you heal him?"

At those words, Lin Fan's calm, tempting voice rang out. "I can, sure. I don't mind. But do you really want me to save him?

You should know that my power isn't limitless. If I use up a large amount of power to save him, you might not be able to defeat the demon inside. When that happens, I won't be able to help you..."

He simply laid out the pros and cons.

Just then, the young man lying in Tanjiro's arms suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. He grew increasingly feeble, as though he might die at any moment.