Zenitsu's Extraordinary Hearing

The next second, a bizarre and astonishing sight unfolded.

The claw marks on the wounded man's chest, deep enough to expose bone, seemed to come alive. They transformed into a stream of dark red light that raced up Kiyohiko's arm before bursting open on his own chest, instantly staining his clothes with blood. The wounded man's once-fatal injuries, meanwhile, healed at a visible rate, leaving only faint scars.

"Cough, cough..."

Kiyohiko grunted as a tearing pain ripped through his chest. But he merely wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, the cells inside his body surging wildly.

In just two seconds, the horrific wound on his chest vanished amid a cloud of white steam, leaving even his skin as smooth as before.

"I'm... healed?"

The swordsman stared dumbfounded at his own chest, then at the blood-soaked but uninjured demon before him. His worldview shattered to pieces.

[Current target bond value: 40]

Forty? That went up pretty fast, but there's no reward if they're not a major character from the original story. If I run into another injured nobody, I'm definitely not saving them. Otherwise, I might get into trouble myself before I find Tanjiro.

Kiyohiko stood up and shook the blood from his hands.

"All right, you're not going to die. Get moving. Find somewhere to hide, or team up with the others. Don't let me see you again. Next time, I'm charging you."

The swordsman and Kiyohiko exchanged a glance. Though the swordsman was full of questions and fear, his survival instinct sent him scrambling off in the opposite direction.

Even after he had gone a long way, his muttering could still be heard. "W-was that a demon? A demon saved me? Am I already dead and dreaming?"

Over the next two hours, scenes like that played out three more times.

Zenitsu gave directions → they found an injured nobody → Kiyohiko healed them → Kiyohiko complained about Zenitsu → they sent the person away.

Beside a stream, Kiyohiko had just healed an unlucky fellow with a broken leg. Watching him limp away, Kiyohiko finally snapped.

He turned, grabbed Zenitsu by the shoulders, and shook him furiously.

"Zenitsu Agatsuma! Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what 'hardheaded' means?! Huh?! That guy just now was bald! Does bald mean hardheaded to you?! And the one before last, the one with the headscarf-how did he look anything like Tanjiro?!"

Zenitsu foamed at the mouth and saw stars as he was shaken.

"Boohoohoo... but... but their heartbeats really did sound alike! They all sounded like they didn't want to die! I've never heard the voice of the person you're looking for, so how am I supposed to know?!"

Zenitsu burst into aggrieved sobs.

"And you're a really weird demon! You're a demon, so why do you take other people's injuries onto yourself?! It looks so painful! Even though you heal right away... are you really a demon?"

[Current target bond value: 20]

Although Zenitsu was still complaining, his relationship with Kiyohiko had improved considerably.

Boohoohoo, this weird demon is always trying to scare me and bully me, but... he looks like a good demon. Why does he keep helping other people? It looks so painful.

Kiyohiko stopped shaking him and let go, then straightened his collar with some resignation. Frequent use of his Blood Demon Art had left him a little tired, but fortunately, none of the injuries he had encountered tonight had been fatal. His regeneration could easily keep up, and he had forcibly suppressed his craving for blood.

"Good demon, my ass. I just... cough, just don't want to eat spoiled meat. Injured people's flesh turns sour, got it?"

He came up with the excuse in a tsundere manner.

What Kiyohiko didn't know was that, although he hadn't found Tanjiro, his actions had already set off a chain reaction. The people he had saved should have been meeting up in various corners of the forest by now.

"Have you heard? There's a strange demon in the forest..."

"Yeah, yeah! He wears strange clothes, he's handsome, and he even heals people!"

"I ran into him too. He said something weird about charging me next time."

Kiyohiko glanced into the depths of the forest. The night breeze, once carrying the mingled scents of wisteria and earthy soil, was suddenly tainted with a nauseating stench. It smelled like meat left to rot for months in a damp, dark cellar, mixed with old, caked blood.

He knew this smell... all too well.

"He's here..."

He murmured under his breath.

Why has the Hand Demon started moving so soon? I haven't found Tanjiro yet.

"Waaah! It stinks! What is that smell?! It's like something's rotting!"

Zenitsu covered his nose, the stench instantly bringing tears to his eyes. He grabbed Kiyohiko's sleeve in terror. "That's a demon, right? It's definitely a super scary demon, right? We should run, right? Hey, we should run the other way, right?!"

"Zenitsu, let go."

Kiyohiko's voice was low and calm, stripped of its usual teasing tone.

"Listen to me. Find a thick bush around here and hide in it. Hold your breath, and don't come out no matter what you hear. Stay there until the sun rises."

"Huh? What about you? Where are you going? Don't leave me behind!!"

"I'm going to settle a personal grudge."

Kiyohiko offered no further explanation. He violently shook off Zenitsu's hand, his leg muscles tensed, and a ring of dust exploded from the ground beneath his feet. The next second, he shot forward like a cannonball, a black blur racing toward the source of the stench-the mountain of flesh formed from countless arms.

Trees flew past him as the stench grew stronger.

When Kiyohiko burst out of a dense patch of forest into a clearing, he saw an old acquaintance: the Hand Demon.

Across from the Hand Demon stood a boy wearing a fox mask and a cloud-patterned haori, gripping a sword. His body trembled slightly, as though he had been cowed by the enormous creature. Two members of the Demon Slayer Corps lay beside him, their fates unknown.

It was Tanjiro.

"Heeheehee, here comes another one, my little fox."

The Hand Demon let out a chilling laugh. Countless arms writhed, reaching toward Tanjiro like snakes.

"My body still hurts a little... that damned bastard demon really did a number on me, but I can still smell it... the scent of one of old Urokodaki's disciples..."

"Hey, long-arms, watch your mouth."

An unexpected voice interrupted the Hand Demon's monologue.

The Hand Demon's cloudy eyes swiveled sharply, fixing on Kiyohiko as he walked out of the shadows of the trees.

Tanjiro turned in surprise as well, looking at the... demon who had suddenly appeared?

"Your injuries haven't even healed properly, and you're already out here at the buffet? You really don't take your doctor's advice seriously, do you?"

Kiyohiko stood a short distance in front of Tanjiro, hands in his pockets, looking like a reclusive master.

He had originally feared that, because of the butterfly effect, he wouldn't run into Tanjiro if he stayed with the Hand Demon. Yet after he had searched for Tanjiro for so long without finding him, the injured Hand Demon had run into him after taking only a few steps. Was this fate?