The Man He Was Looking for Arrived

Rokuya strode toward the Swamp Demon on his long legs.

With every step he took, the wooden floor let out an unnerving creak.

"D-don't come any closer! You monster!" The Swamp Demon dragged itself backward in terror. The Blood Demon Art it had been so proud of had been cleaved apart, and now even its regeneration had become painfully slow.

The pressure radiating from that boy was even more terrifying than that of the Lower Rank demon it had seen!

Rokuya walked up to it and looked down at it.

"Done fighting? Then off you go."

The blade flashed.

There were no wasted words.

The ghostly blue edge swept through the Swamp Demon's thick neck like a knife through tofu.

Its head rolled to the floor.

Endless regret and terror still lingered in those three eyes.

"No... I can't accept this... I haven't eaten that exquisite girl yet..."

The head uttered one final, unwilling murmur, then dissolved along with its body into drifting ash, vanishing completely.

With the Swamp Demon's death, several unconscious girls suddenly appeared in a corner of the room.

They were the town girls it had abducted earlier but had not yet had time to eat.

Kanae and Shinobu Kocho stared blankly at it all.

Everything had happened too quickly. From Rokuya jumping into the swamp to cleaving open the otherworldly space and killing the demon, less than a minute had passed.

"Lord Rokuya..."

Kanae's voice trembled. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Rokuya's waist, her tears breaking free again.

"I thought... I thought you were dead..."

Shinobu Kocho ran over too. She clutched the hem of Rokuya's soaked clothes and buried her face in his back, sobbing in hiccups, yet still stubbornly refusing to admit her feelings. "Idiot! Who told you to just jump down there? Who's going to guide us if you die?"

Their embrace left Rokuya struggling a little to breathe.

He sighed helplessly, put away the Arcana Blade, and reached out to ruffle Shinobu Kocho's hair before patting Kanae's shoulder.

"All right, what are you crying for? I'm alive and well, aren't I?"

"The demon that bullied you is dead. Go see whether those girls are still breathing."

Only then did Kanae come to her senses. She hurriedly wiped away her tears and ran over to examine the unconscious girls.

"They're all right. They just passed out from lack of air." Kanae breathed a sigh of relief.

The tremendous commotion finally woke the entire inn, and even half the town.

The innkeeper rushed into the building with several pitchfork-wielding workers, all trembling with fear.

When they saw the wreckage strewn across the floor and the missing girls, they were all stunned.

Soon, the girls' families ran upstairs, crying out.

"My daughter!"

"Thank you! Thank you! You're messengers sent by the gods!"

The families knelt on the floor and repeatedly bowed their heads to Rokuya and the Kocho Sisters.

Rokuya stood to one side, watching the system notifications flashing across his retinas.

[Ding-faint gratitude detected. Gratitude points gained: 10!]

[Ding-ordinary gratitude detected. Gratitude points gained: 20!]

[Ding-intense gratitude detected (life-saving debt). Gratitude points gained: 150!]

The dense barrage of notifications sounded for a while before finally stopping.

Rokuya glanced at his balance.

[Current balance: 620 points.]

Tch. Rokuya inwardly curled his lip.

Saving the entire town, plus the lives of several girls, had only earned him a little over four hundred points in total.

He had spent 1,500 buying shoes earlier. All things considered, he had actually taken a loss!

Just as I thought, these random NPCs are stingy with gratitude points. I still need to milk the main cast and major supporting characters.

Rokuya rubbed his chin and reached an exceedingly self-serving conclusion.

Still, having saved the Kocho Sisters, this had not been a loss.

Just then, Rokuya abruptly turned his head, fixing a hawklike gaze on the battered window at the end of the corridor.

Someone was there.

Although that person made no sound of breathing, and even their heartbeat was barely perceptible, Rokuya could sense it: a pair of eyes was watching him from there.

"Who's there? Get out here."

Rokuya curled his hand around empty air again, a ghostly blue light faintly flickering at his fingertips.

Kanae and Shinobu Kocho immediately huddled nervously behind Rokuya.

The night wind blew in through the window, carrying a trace of the mountain forest's chill.

An old man wearing a red Tengu Mask drifted silently through the window like a falling leaf and came to stand in the corridor.

He wore a blue haori patterned with waves, and a sheathed katana hung at his waist.

The old man gazed intently at Rokuya through his mask.

There was scrutiny in that gaze, but also shock.

"No Nichirin Blade."

The old man's voice was somewhat hoarse, yet carried an unquestionable force.

"No use of any Breathing Style."

"With physical strength and that strange weapon alone, you cleaved open a demon's Blood Demon Art space and beheaded it."

The old man slowly took a step forward.

When his foot touched the floor, it did not stir even a speck of dust.

"My name is Sakonji Urokodaki."

The gaze behind the Tengu Mask gradually softened, though a hint of sternness remained.

"Boy, it would be such a waste to squander your extraordinary talent on improvised methods."

"Would you... like to learn the true art of slaying demons?"

Rokuya's pupils contracted slightly.

Sakonji Urokodaki.

The Demon Slayer Corps' former Water Hashira, a Cultivator.

At last, he had found the man he was looking for.

The fog on Mount Sagiri was even thicker than expected.

The closer they climbed to the summit, the thinner the air became. It felt as though an invisible hand were gripping their throats, every breath accompanied by a faint tearing sensation.

"Hah... hah..."

Shinobu Kocho followed at the very back of the group, her petite body trembling slightly. She gasped for breath, her normally fair cheeks now abnormally flushed from lack of oxygen. Her purple eyes remained fixed on the old man wearing the Tengu Mask ahead, her clenched teeth grinding audibly.

"Shinobu, don't push yourself. Give me your hand." Kanae Kocho stopped and gently turned around, reaching a hand toward her younger sister. Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead too. Although her breathing was a little steadier than Shinobu's, it still seemed very labored.

"Sister, I'm fine... I can walk..." Shinobu stubbornly turned her head away, trying to go around Kanae and continue forward. But the moment she took a step, her legs suddenly buckled, and she pitched straight toward the ground.

Just as she was about to make intimate contact with the ground, a large, powerful hand reached out from beside her, seized the back of her collar that held her fate, and lifted her bodily like a kitten.

"Idiots shouldn't push themselves."

Rokuya's slightly hoarse voice sounded above her head. He sighed and casually swung the little Shinobu Kocho onto his broad back, supporting her securely. "If you scar your face falling here, you'll probably cry in my ear about it every day."

"Who... who would cry about it? Put me down, you glowing monster! I'm going to climb up myself!" Shinobu squirmed restlessly on Rokuya's back, clenching her little hands into fists and jabbing hard at his lower back in retaliation.

"Behave. Move again and I'll throw you into the mountains to feed the wild beasts." Rokuya ignored the ticklish force against his waist and turned toward Kanae. "Kanae, can you still manage?"

Kanae lightly touched her chin with her index finger out of habit, then smiled and nodded. "I'm all right, Rokuya. You don't need to worry about me. It's just... that elderly gentleman ahead seems to be walking faster and faster."