The darkness of night slowly faded, and a pale streak appeared on the horizon.
Sasuke moved like a solitary shadow through the town's silent streets.
His pace was swift, without the slightest pause.
He left the alley where a battle to the death had just taken place, along with the boy kneeling in supplication and that strange female demon, behind without a trace of reluctance.
Irritation.
A persistent irritation lingered in his heart.
The mission was complete.
But the process had been full of unexpected complications.
Tanjiro Kamado.
And his younger sister, Nezuko, who had become a demon.
The scene of Nezuko spreading her arms to shield a human behind her replayed uncontrollably in Sasuke's mind.
What burned in those pupil-less pink eyes was pure anger on behalf of family.
A demon protecting a human.
That absurd sight clashed violently with the memory of that blood-soaked night deep within his soul.
Bonds...
Those things only bring weakness.
He shook his head, trying to drive those pointless feelings away.
He needed only power.
Absolute power, enough to take revenge on that man.
What did other people's stories, other people's bonds, have to do with him?
He had already decided.
Once day broke, he would leave this town immediately and seek his next prey, something that could earn him "Revenge Points."
The farther he stayed from that fellow named Tanjiro, the better.
He did not want to see that face again, so naive it bordered on stupidity.
Just then.
"Caw-!"
A loud, commanding caw came from overhead.
A Messenger Crow, a size larger than an ordinary crow, with ink-black feathers and eyes as sharp as a hawk's, circled down and landed on Sasuke's shoulder.
This was his personal crow, assigned by headquarters after he passed Final Selection.
It proudly preened its feathers,