Two days later.
"Cough... cough..."
With a fit of coughing, the little boy slowly opened his eyes.
The roof beams and crisscrossing wooden rafters came into view.
"Whew-"
Feeling the weakness in his body, the little boy let out a long breath.
With that breath, some of his strength seemed to return, and he laboriously pushed himself up from the bed with both hands.
He looked around. It was a tatami room, filled with a faint floral fragrance. An elegant bamboo blind hung by the window. As a breeze passed through, it swayed gently with a faint rustle.
He turned to look out the window, and a large tree came into view, its branches covered in pale purple blossoms like clouds and mist.
Sunlight shone through the blossoms in shafts, falling onto the ground in patches of dappled light and shadow. The grass on the ground looked especially green under the sunlight.
A breeze blew, and petals drifted down like snow, forming a picturesque scene.
For a moment, the little boy could not help staring in a daze.
Creak~
Seemingly having heard the little boy coughing, a figure came in through the door. Seeing the little boy leaning back on the bed, he smiled.
"You're awake?"
The voice startled the little boy out of his daze. Coming to his senses, he looked at the figure who had entered.
It was a man about 1.7 meters tall who looked to be in his fifties or sixties. His hair was half white, and he wore a blue-green haori with a long sword hanging on his back.
"Yes. Were you the one who saved me?"
At the little boy's question, the man fell silent for a moment, then bowed in apology.
"I saved you, but I'm very sorry. I arrived too late. By the time I got there, your family had already been killed by a demon. Fortunately, I made it in time at the end. Although the demon had started eating you, it hadn't eaten much flesh yet. You should recover after a month or two of rest."
"No, no, no, you don't need to apologize. I should be thanking you. I thought I was going to die. I never imagined I would survive."
"Hiss..."
As he spoke, the little boy tried to get out of bed to bow in thanks, only to pull at the wound on his abdomen. He immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
Seeing this, the man hurriedly told him:
"Your injuries haven't healed yet. You should stay in bed and rest for now."
"All right, thank you. By the way, my parents..."
"I've already arranged for people to bury them. Once your injuries have healed, I'll take you to their graves."
Hearing this, the little boy felt relieved. After all, they were the original owner's parents. Although he had little attachment to them, helping see to their remains was still something he ought to do.
Looking at the little boy, who had fallen quiet, the man asked, "What's your name? How old are you?"
"My name is..."
A name slowly surfaced in his mind, and the little boy spoke it involuntarily.
"Kato Teiichi. Nine years old."
After answering, Teiichi looked at the man before him and asked:
"And you are?"
"My name is Kazeno Shoma. I'm a trainer for the Demon Slayer Corps," the man introduced himself.
"Demon... Slayer Corps?"
Was this... Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba?
Had he transmigrated into the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba?
"Yes, the Demon Slayer Corps."
Seemingly worried that Teiichi would not understand, Kazeno Shoma began explaining.
"Demons really exist!"
"The one that attacked your family yesterday was a demon!"
"About a thousand years ago."
"For some unknown reason, the first demon appeared in this world."
"He is also the ultimate target of our Demon Slayer Corps, the progenitor of demons-Muzan Kibutsuji."
"They say he was once human too, but no one knows why he eventually became a demon."
"After becoming a demon, he gained eternal life, extraordinary physical abilities, and an extremely fast rate of recovery. Injuries that would kill an ordinary person are merely minor wounds to him, healing in the blink of an eye."
"But at the same time, he became unable to satisfy his hunger with anything but human flesh, and he could no longer be exposed to sunlight."
"Starting with him, more and more demons began appearing in this world."
"Like Muzan Kibutsuji, the demons that came after him gained eternal life, extraordinary physical abilities, and extremely fast recovery. Their abilities simply aren't as powerful as his."
"However, along with those advantages, they also suffered the same drawbacks of becoming demons: they need to eat humans and cannot be exposed to sunlight."
"The demon that attacked your family, for instance, was one of the weakest kinds. But even the weakest demon is unbeatable for an ordinary person."
"Not only are they stronger than ordinary people, but even if their heads are cut off with ordinary blades, they can reattach them without dying."
"For ordinary people, there is no way to kill them other than holding them off until daybreak so the sunlight burns them to death."
At this point, Kazeno Shoma drew the long sword from his back and looked at the Nichirin Blade as he said:
"Of course, cutting off their heads with a Nichirin Blade can also kill them.
"But that is because the crimson red iron sand used to forge Nichirin Blades is exposed to sunlight year-round and contains the sun's power. That is why they can kill demons.
"In essence, sunlight is still the only thing that can kill demons."
"Then can you fight demons as long as you have a Nichirin Blade?"
"Of course not. Demons' physical abilities far exceed humans'. Even a master swordsman fighting a demon with a Nichirin Blade could be defeated by sheer strength overwhelming all his skill."
"More importantly..."
At this point, Kazeno Shoma paused, looked at Teiichi, and slowly uttered the words:
"Breathing Styles!"
"Breathing Styles..." Teiichi murmured.
"That's right. Breathing Styles are techniques our Demon Slayer Corps uses to enhance physical abilities in order to fight demons, whose physical capabilities far exceed those of humans."
"By strengthening the heart and lungs, they supply the blood with large amounts of oxygen, greatly enhancing physical abilities in an instant and giving humans the strength to contend with demons."
"The five foundational styles—Water, Thunder, Flame, Stone, and Wind—gave rise to styles such as Sound Breathing and Flower Breathing. The five foundational styles have always been able to produce fighters of Hashira Rank, while the other derived Breathing Styles can only produce one when someone with the right potential appears."
"There can only be nine fighters of Hashira Rank at any one time, and they are also our most important force against demons."
"And I am the previous Wind Hashira."
After saying this, Kazeno Shoma stopped and looked at Teiichi. The two quietly met each other's eyes for a moment.
"I want to kill demons. Can you teach me?"
Hearing the words he had expected, Kazeno Shoma could not help the corners of his mouth lifting.
But he did not agree immediately, even though the events of two days ago had made him very eager to take Teiichi as his disciple.
It was not only because of Teiichi's physical gift, which had allowed him to survive losing so much blood, but even more because of his character.
Even now, when he thought of that day's scene...
When he thought of how Teiichi, on the verge of death, had encountered someone who might be able to save him.
Instead of asking for help, he had chosen to urge that person to flee. It always made him sigh with feeling.
To be honest, although most of what he had encountered in his many years as a Demon Slayer Corps member had been evil demons, he had also seen plenty of human evil.
That was precisely why a boy with such an honest, kind nature was all the more precious.
"The path of slaying demons is destined to be full of thorns. For most people, becoming a member of the Demon Slayer Corps is practically the same as sounding their own death knell.
"Unless you rise all the way to Hashira and are lucky enough never to encounter an Upper Rank, if you keep doing this, death is almost the only outcome."
At this point, Kazeno Shoma paused, fixing his gaze on Teiichi, his words full of gravity and earnestness.
"Even knowing that, are you still willing to learn a Breathing Style and become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Teiichi met Kazeno Shoma's gaze for a moment, then nodded firmly.
"Yes."
Looking at Teiichi's determined eyes, Kazeno Shoma slowly nodded. A slight smile lifted the corners of his mouth, but he immediately suppressed it.
After calming the happiness in his heart, Kazeno Shoma looked at Teiichi and asked with concern.
"How does your body feel now?"
At the question, Teiichi carefully checked how his body felt, then lowered his head in embarrassment.
"I... feel a little hungry."
"Uh... hahaha."
"I expected as much. There's meat broth simmering outside. I'll bring some in for you."