From Demon Slayer, Achieving the Strongest Demon Blade! Chapter 14

Outside.

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

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

He stood up and waved.

Hearing this, the cat licked the fur on its paw, turned around, and walked away 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 chose not to continue onward. Instead, he planned to rest in the wilderness for the night.

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

The two huddled together and spent the night outdoors. The next day, before dawn had broken.

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

It was not until noon.

That he finally spotted a village. On the path before the village.

A blond-haired boy was clutching a girl around the waist, tears and snot streaming down his face as he continuously wailed.

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

"Can you get the hell away from me?!"

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

Before Tanjiro could react to the sight, a sparrow flew over as though it had found family.

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

Tanjiro seemed to understand what it meant and replied with a serious expression.

"Leave it to me!"

With that, he quickly stepped forward.

He grabbed the blond-haired 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 his words and noticed Tanjiro's uniform. After taking a closer look.

His expression changed, and his earlier sobbing face tightened up.

"Eh?! You're the guy from the Final Selection who killed 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 gaze.

Even though I'm weak, as long as I can cling to someone strong, I still have hope of surviving!

Looking at the tear-streaked boy, Tanjiro suddenly remembered the dirty-faced fellow who had stood beside him before leaving Mount Fujikasane that day.

"You were the one from back then..."

Sensing an opening, Zenitsu hurriedly tried to say something more.

But in the next instant, Tanjiro ruthlessly rejected him.

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

As soon as he finished speaking.

Zenitsu's face twisted in terror as he cried out, "No! I haven't gotten married yet! I don't want to die this early..."

The way he said it made even someone as kind and gentle as Tanjiro wear a slightly strange expression.

Still, Tanjiro 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. I saw this man squatting by the roadside and thought something had happened, so I checked on him. I didn't expect the person squatting here to be a pervert. Good thing you came along."

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

"Eh? How could you do this... You clearly 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 moment. You have to protect me until I get married!" Zenitsu kept rambling on, looking especially unhinged.

Even Tanjiro, who was usually so patient, could not help revealing 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 too much, even for you to say."

Zenitsu Agatsuma opened his mouth wide and retorted before recounting his experiences.

In short, he wanted to find a wife, was tricked into losing everything and drowning in debt, then was saved by a trainer and forced to become a demon slayer.

The two chatted briefly.

After confirming that they were headed for 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, do you really want to come with me? It'll be very dangerous if you do."

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

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

Inside the blade, Lin Fan watched the living treasure that was Zenitsu Agatsuma.

He suddenly felt mischievous.

He became curious about how this guy would react if he saw the body formed from his demon power.

What kind of expression would he make when told that he was a man?

Looking at his current body, which had been formed from demon power, Lin Fan could only describe it with two words.

Perfect!

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

He wondered how much demon power that guy was 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 together along the path.

Until they entered the mountains and followed a mountain trail.

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

Behind him, Zenitsu let his arms hang limply, looking utterly exhausted. "Tanjiro, I really can't keep going. 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 grave expression, even quickening his pace.

Not long after.

The two discovered a clearing ahead, where a mansion stood.

Who Asked You to Be the Blade's Master?

As they drew closer.

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

Yet upon smelling the scent within, Tanjiro could not help asking in confusion, "There's a smell of blood inside, but I've never smelled blood like this before."

There was something very strange about this blood.

Unable to figure it out, Tanjiro simply asked, "Ashura Maru, is there a demon in this residence?"

Having sensed the situation inside the residence, Lin Fan replied at an unhurried pace.

"There's a demon in this residence. It should be quite a bit stronger than the female demon from last night."

"Thanks. I'll be careful."

Tanjiro's expression also turned grave.

There was no need to say how troublesome last night's female demon had been. Now there was an even stronger one hiding here, so he could not afford to let his guard down.

But Zenitsu beside him perked up his ears and immediately 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 with fear.

"Children?"

Zenitsu looked over as well.

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

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

Seeing the children in that state, Tanjiro could only step forward and comfort them.

Only then did the two children calm down from their fear.

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 hurt and left bloodstains behind. We followed the bloodstains to get 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 cautiously.

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 finished speaking.

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 rushed over, picked up the young man, and examined him.

"Hang in there. You'll be all right!"

As he spoke, he saw that the young man's wounds were nearly down to the bone, and he had lost a tremendous amount of blood.

Seeing this, Tanjiro immediately asked inwardly.

"Ashura Maru, can you heal him?"

At that, Lin Fan's calm yet seductive 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 great deal of power saving 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.

And just then, the young man lying in Tanjiro's arms suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. His whole body became increasingly weak, as though he might die at any moment.