Master Blacksmith in Demon Slayer

Kotetsu was already waiting outside the door, and he had brought not only the brand-new Nichirin Blade that had been shown to Kawahara Chintetsu, but also the address of the Butterfly Estate.

Tetsu no Sosuke memorized the address, then placed the Nichirin Blade into the Sword Case he had prepared long ago.

He put on his conical hat, ruffled the brat's head, and amid the child's protests, set off for... the Butterfly Estate!

"So, are you going to tell me the answer this time?"

Chapter 15: First Encounter with a Demon

The journey was a bit farther than he had imagined.

According to the route Kawahara Chintetsu had given him, traveling by day and resting by night, it would take three days to arrive.

But Tetsu no Sosuke was anxious. Though he knew traveling at night was far from wise, he was more worried about Kochou Kanae's safety.

So, in a single day and night, without rest or sleep, he covered two days' worth of road.

His good luck was that he didn't encounter any demons. His bad luck was that a sudden rainstorm hit.

The downpour blurred the mountain path, and instead of reaching a village before dark as planned, Tetsu no Sosuke could only find a dilapidated building to take shelter in before nightfall.

This place had once been a shrine, but what deity it had enshrined was unknown.

The statue was gone, and there were several holes in the roof. Tetsu no Sosuke made do with what was available, borrowing an old brazier meant for offerings and gathering some debris from the building to light a fire for warmth.

He watched the rain pouring down from outside and through the roof, muttering to himself about his bad luck.

"First night, I walked all night without meeting a demon. Tonight shouldn't be that unlucky, right?"

He mumbled under his breath, at the same time unstrapping the Heavenly Crafting Hammer from his back and setting it down beside him.

He had brought quite a lot with him this time.

Besides Kanae's new weapon, there was a bundle containing two boxes—one exquisite, one plain.

Inside the exquisite box were rice balls prepared for Kochou Kanae.

The plain one... was naturally his own rations.

And on top of that, there was the Heavenly Crafting Hammer.

He didn't know why, but before leaving, he had subconsciously brought it along.

He'd treat it as a self-defense tool, for now. Whether it would be useful was another matter.

As for Kanae's new weapon, he had no intention of using it. Even if he really did run into a demon, he wouldn't touch it.

For no other reason than that he didn't know how to use it.

A man who knew no swordsmanship, swinging this blade with all his might, would very likely snap the edge.

Only a swordsman could truly bring out its proper power.

Tetsu no Sosuke understood this very well. So if he really did encounter a demon and the Heavenly Crafting Hammer proved useless, he only had one option left... run!

Rather than ruining this hard-forged weapon with a Sharpness Level of 3, he would rather flee until dawn.

After all, his stamina was extraordinary now. Even maintaining a high-speed sprint, he could last until daybreak.

"But I shouldn't dwell on this too much. After all, my luck can't be that bad. Yeah, I definitely won't meet a demon! I'm the Lucky Sovereign!"

He adjusted his mindset, opened the bundle on the ground, took out a box, and grabbed a rice ball.

Just as he was about to eat, he noticed a figure standing in front of the shrine.

Though standing in the pouring rain, the figure seemed completely oblivious to it.

When Tetsu no Sosuke's gaze landed on him, the figure suddenly looked up!

Crimson eyes, ashen skin, vicious fangs, bulging veins on his forehead, and a tongue that lolled out like a snake's—forked!

"What... the hell!"

Tetsu no Sosuke's face changed instantly. A demon!

What else could look like that but a demon?

Was the universe really going to slap him in the face this hard? He'd just said his luck was good, and now heaven had sent him such a generous gift!

The next second after his mind made a decision, he suddenly froze and couldn't help cursing under his breath: "Damn it!"

Earlier, focused only on escaping the rain, he hadn't thought things through. Now he realized his current position was in the inner corner of the shrine, with walls on both sides—nowhere to run.

The nearest escape route had been a window, but for some reason, it had been bricked up.

So there were only two exits: one was a window quite far away—if he was fast enough, he could jump out before the demon charged—and the other was the doorway where the demon stood.

That was a no-brainer. He had to go for the window.

Forgetting the rice ball on the ground, he grabbed the Heavenly Crafting Hammer and dashed toward the window.

But at almost the same moment, the demon moved too.

Heading for the same window. Though Tetsu no Sosuke seemed a bit faster, the demon was closer to it.

Both charged at full speed, and their paths collided.

Seeing that the collision was inevitable, the evil ghost immediately laughed smugly. "You still think you can run... ah!"

With a dull thud, the man and the ghost slammed heavily into each other. The evil ghost was sent flying on impact, its entire form lifted off the ground, and with a splash, it flew out through the window. The rest of its words naturally went unsaid.

As for Tetsu no Sosuke, he felt as though he had crashed into a block of iron. While he had indeed sent the other flying, his own steps faltered and staggered backward, ultimately landing on the ground with a thud.

With a snap, the strap of the Sword Case suddenly broke.

His expression shifted. He quickly stood up and turned, intending to lift the Sword Case from the floor, but just then, he heard a gust of wind rushing at him from behind. He instantly knew the evil ghost had returned.

His face darkened. Realizing the situation was hopeless, he simply grabbed the Heavenly Crafting Hammer with one hand, spun his body sharply, and swung the iron hammer with all his might!

"Go to hell!!!"

The hammer arced through the air. The evil ghost's furious face was almost upon him, but it didn't even glance at the incoming strike.

Just an ordinary person's blow—nothing to worry about.