The Nichirin Blade was the weapon used exclusively by the swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps. Also known as the "color-changing blade," it was forged from sunlight-absorbing crimson red iron sand and scarlet ore. It possessed the special ability to inhibit demons' regeneration and was the only weapon capable of harming them.
It was a blade made to slay demons.
Looking at the blade, Su Mu felt an instinctive revulsion rise within his body. Even so, he stepped forward and gently picked it up.
The words "Destroyer of Demons" were engraved on the blade. Its colors were strikingly vivid, with a flame pattern adorning the blade and a flame-shaped guard.
From what Su Mu knew of Nichirin Blades, their properties manifested in different colors depending on the demon slayer wielding them. Those with flame patterns and flame-shaped guards like this one generally belonged to demon slayers who practiced Flame Breathing.
His hand tightened around the hilt. He felt a distinct, searing pain in his palm, while his body recoiled from the blade in revulsion and resistance. Clearly, it contained something capable of destroying demons.
Despite his revulsion, Su Mu kept a firm grip on the Nichirin Blade's hilt. As his body recoiled from the blade, his demonic instinct to crave flesh and blood weakened as well.
In fact, because he had never consumed flesh and blood, his body's instinctive craving for them had grown stronger with each passing day.
Throughout these past days, he had relied almost entirely on sheer willpower to suppress it. Yet the urge to devour humans kept growing stronger, placing him under immense mental strain. He had to remain on guard almost every moment. Whenever daylight arrived, he even had to expose parts of his body to sunlight, letting them burn and dissolve. Only through this near-self-mutilation could he ease the relentless desire to devour humans.
Feeling his instinctive craving for flesh and blood ease as he held the blade his body so deeply loathed, he breathed a small sigh of relief.
All this time, he had feared that before he could find the Blue Spider Lily, the urge to devour humans would overwhelm his willpower and drive him to cross a line he could never accept crossing.
Su Mu stood with the Nichirin Blade in hand, looking at the torn Demon Slayer Corps uniform on the ground and the fresh white skeleton still stained with blood. Clearly, these remains belonged to a demon slayer.
Yet the swordsman who should have been hunting demons had instead become a demon's prey, reduced in the end to a chilling pile of white bones.
He gazed at the bones for a long while before carrying the Nichirin Blade deeper into the cave.
Before long, Su Mu reached a stone chamber within the cave.
The rather cramped chamber reeked of blood. A demon sat inside, a trace of weariness on his hideous face, but his scarlet eyes brimmed with excitement.
A massive sword wound gaped in his chest, almost exposing the beating heart within. Several wounds on his arms and thighs were deep enough to reveal bone.
Clearly, the demon had recently fought a fierce battle. A blade had even pierced straight through his chest, yet he paid these injuries no mind.
Wounds that would have been almost fatal to a human meant little to a demon.
Even now, the flesh around his wounds writhed, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Such regenerative power, such a virtually deathless body, demonstrated just how powerful and terrifying demons were. Even a severed arm or a ruptured heart could heal rapidly, given a little time.
Unless their necks were severed by a Nichirin Blade, they were almost impossible to kill.
"You really should have agreed to hunt with me yesterday. If you had, you could have tasted that delicious food too. The flesh and blood of Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen are nothing like those of ordinary people. I can already feel the blood boiling inside me. I can feel myself growing stronger..."
Seeing Su Mu enter, the demon raised his scarlet eyes, his expression tinged with excitement, exhilaration, and mockery. He seemed eager to see regret on Su Mu's face.
But he failed to find the reaction he wanted, which left him intensely displeased. Then a few lingering fragments of memories from his human life suddenly surfaced in his mind, filling him with an inexplicable ache and sorrow.
He had gained a powerful body. He had become more perfect. Yet an emptiness he could never fill and a sorrow he could not describe always lingered within him. In anguish, the demon tugged at his hair.
Su Mu had long since grown accustomed to seeing demons behave this way.
After becoming demons, they possessed extraordinary regenerative abilities, tremendous strength, and nearly deathless bodies. Everything seemed to be moving toward perfection, yet flaws always remained. Besides fearing sunlight and being unable to suppress their desire to consume flesh and blood, they suffered from all manner of mental problems. This was true not only of ordinary demons, but even of the Twelve Kizuki. Most of those problems were tied to their former lives as humans.
"Ha... hahaha. I'm no longer that frail creature I used to be, so why do those pathetic memories still surface from time to time?"
The demon wiped away the tears that had inexplicably appeared in his eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter and stood up. "After devouring that Demon Slayer Corps swordsman's flesh and blood, I feel even stronger. Maybe in the next rank replacement blood battle, I can become one of the new Twelve Kizuki."
"If I can receive more blood from our lord, I'll become even more perfect."
As he spoke, a look of longing appeared on his face. He seemed to be imagining that moment already, his entire being lost in a kind of rapture.
Only after a long while did the demon emerge from his entranced reverie. He looked at Su Mu again. "Last time I invited you to hunt with me, you refused. This time, I'll give you another chance. Work with me, and I'll share some of the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen's flesh and blood with you. Believe me, their flesh and blood work wonders. They can make you much stronger. Once you experience the benefits..."
"Not interested."
Su Mu shook his head. Looking at the demon's sour expression, he hesitated before speaking. "I'd advise you to rein yourself in. Once the Demon Slayer Corps sets its sights on you, given how fearlessly its swordsmen fight, it won't be long before a Nichirin Blade cuts off your head."
Su Mu's words reminded the demon of the Demon Slayer Corps swordsman he had killed yesterday. Even after the demon had driven a claw through his abdomen, even when he had been in unbearable pain, the swordsman had continued attacking him like a madman, headbutting and biting him. Remembering that frenzy sent a faint chill through the demon's heart.
But a moment later, the demon sneered at Su Mu. "If we don't go after
them, will they let us go?"
For a moment, Su Mu fell silent.
"Give up that human identity of yours already. Forget everything you once were. Remember, you're a demon now. Even if you've never devoured a human, they won't listen to your explanations." The demon sneered.
"If we don't grow stronger soon, if we don't become members of the Twelve Kizuki, we'll only end up being hunted by the Demon Slayer Corps. If your strength keeps stagnating, no matter how much you run and hide, you'll still be prey. In fact, those demon slayers will probably cut off your head with a Nichirin Blade before they get mine."
As he spoke, the demon burst into laughter. "Once I've devoured enough flesh and blood and my strength reaches the level of the Twelve Kizuki, even the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira will be nothing but my prey."