Time flew, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.
With his sturdy chest bare, Kato Teiichi stood tall on the mountaintop, gripping his Nichirin Blade as it gleamed in the sunlight. He was utterly focused, his gaze firm and sharp, as though he had become one with the blade in his hand.
Every swing carried fierce momentum and tremendous force; every movement displayed skill honed through countless repetitions. Sweat streamed down the well-defined muscles of his upper body, dripping onto the blue-gray mountain rocks and splashing into tiny droplets.
Sunlight shone down on Kato Teiichi's unyielding figure. His breathing was steady and rhythmic, echoing the natural rhythms of the surrounding mountain forest. In the stillness, only the sound of his swinging blade rang out, like a stirring battle song.
Far off in the sky, a seagull sped toward him like an arrow, passing through the clouds and flying straight for the summit. Upon arriving, it did not stop to rest, but circled overhead.
"Kato Teiichi! Kato Teiichi! I have a mission to announce!"
The seagull's voice was clear and loud, as though it could pierce the entire mountain forest. Hearing its cries from atop the mountain, Kato Teiichi did not stop moving. He continued swinging his Nichirin Blade, repeating the same moves again and again.
"Head to Yamada Town to the south as soon as possible. Several people have disappeared there over the past month. Find the demon hiding among them and slay it."
"This is your first mission since joining the Demon Slayer Corps. Carry it out with care!"
After delivering the mission, the seagull spread its wings and flew away. Kato Teiichi did not set off immediately, however. He continued swinging another hundred or so times, only slowly putting away his Nichirin Blade once he had finished his practice swings for the day.
"Yamada Town? Then I probably won't get there until tomorrow," Teiichi murmured to himself, recalling the map he had looked at last time.
Once he had settled on his route, he turned and sprinted down the mountain. Back home, Kato Teiichi gave himself a quick rinse, tidied up his appearance a little, then changed into clean, neat clothes before heading out.
The following afternoon, with the sun shining pleasantly, Teiichi arrived in Yamada Town.
A Japanese town was roughly equivalent to a town or subdistrict in China.
At that moment, the streets were empty, with only a handful of people passing through. Though most of the shops along the streets had their doors open, few customers came inside.
Teiichi walked slowly in from the town entrance when a sign for an inn suddenly caught his eye. Without hesitation, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The inn was somewhat dim. Its owner was a slightly portly, middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He had been slumped lazily over the front desk, idly waving a flyswatter and occasionally swatting at the air.
But when he heard the door open, he straightened up quickly as though startled awake, his eyes fixed on Teiichi in the doorway.
At the sight of Teiichi, the innkeeper initially beamed, but his expression turned uncertain a moment later, as though he wanted to say something but held back.
Teiichi found this a little strange, but gave it no further thought. He walked up and said:
"I'd like to check in. How much is a room?"
"One hundred and fifty sen," the innkeeper replied quietly.
Teiichi took 150 sen from inside his clothes and placed it on the counter.
The innkeeper seemed to be undergoing an intense inner struggle. He slowly reached out to pick up the money, his movements unusually sluggish and hesitant.
Finally, after wrestling with himself, the innkeeper registered Teiichi and handed him the key.
As Teiichi started toward his room, the innkeeper finally spoke:
"Young man, what brings you to Yamada Town?"
Teiichi stopped and glanced back at him, answering briefly, "Nothing special. Just here to look into something."
At this, the innkeeper's gaze involuntarily fell on the sword hanging behind Teiichi's waist. A glimmer flashed in his eyes, and he asked excitedly, "Oh? Are you a police officer sent by the authorities? Are you here to investigate those strange things that have been happening in town lately?"
Teiichi shook his head slightly in denial.
The joy instantly vanished from the innkeeper's face, but out of kindness, he still warned him, "Since you're not a police officer, you'd best avoid going out at night for now. Yamada Town hasn't been very peaceful lately. Several people have vanished without any explanation, and no one knows where they went."
Hearing this, Teiichi grew interested and wanted to see whether he could learn anything. He turned and walked back to the front desk, asking curiously, "Oh? Has something happened in town recently?"
The innkeeper hesitated, but ultimately decided to tell him. "Yes, there have indeed been some strange things happening in town lately. Several people have gone missing, and they all vanished without warning. There isn't a single clue."
At this point, the innkeeper hesitated, then said slowly:
"I suspect it might be... a demon!"
"A demon?"
Teiichi repeated the word. He had not expected the innkeeper to know about demons.
For ordinary people, demons generally existed only in legends and stories. One of the important duties of the Demon Slayer Corps' Kakushi division was handling demon-related matters, ensuring that such information did not leak out to the public and cause panic.
"Yes, a demon." Seeing Teiichi's surprise, the innkeeper assumed he knew nothing about demons and began explaining in detail:
"When I was young, I spent some time in Kyoto. One night, I had a bit too much to drink with some friends and decided to take a shortcut home. Then, in a secluded alley, I heard a crunching sound, like someone eating."
"I didn't think much of it and followed the sound. I found someone crouched over there. I went closer, even patted him, and asked what he was eating out there so late at night. But when I saw his face, I was terrified. Only then did I realize it wasn't human at all. It looked human, but its skin was a completely unnatural color."
"What was even more terrifying was that it had been eating a person!" At this point, the innkeeper's voice began to tremble:
"I was so scared I sobered up on the spot. I turned around and ran. That demon reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me, but perhaps the alcohol had given me courage. I didn't even feel any pain, and after struggling a few times, I got away."
As he spoke, the innkeeper rolled up his right sleeve, revealing several scars for Teiichi to see. "These are the scratches it left back then."
Teiichi examined the scars carefully. They did indeed look as though something sharp had scratched him.
The innkeeper continued, "Once I got away, I immediately went to fetch the police. But by the time they went to look, the demon had already fled."
"After investigating, the police said the dead person had been murdered, then gnawed on by a stray dog.
"But only I knew that person had been killed by a demon."
Teiichi nodded, then asked, "Where did the people who recently went missing in town disappear from?"
"All over the place. Some were on the mountain, some were in the streets, and some were in their own homes," the innkeeper answered.
"What sort of people went missing?" Teiichi pressed.
"They were all young people, both men and women," the innkeeper added.
Something stirred in Teiichi's mind, but he remained outwardly calm. "All right, I understand. Thank you for telling me."
Watching Teiichi walk away, the innkeeper could not help feeling suspicious. "Are you really not here to investigate this?"
"No, I was just curious." Teiichi smiled and explained.
The two chatted a little longer before Teiichi returned to his room to rest and recover his spent energy. After all, he would not be getting any sleep tonight.
At night, moonlight spilled over the quiet Yamada Town, coating the rooftops and edges of the streets in a faint layer of silver.
"A miscalculation."
Teiichi stood on the highest rooftop in the village, gazing into the distance with an intent look. He held a piece of dried meat, chewing as he thought.
He had originally planned to find a restaurant and have a good meal. After all, he had been traveling all day, and his stomach had long since begun rumbling with hunger. But as the sun slowly set and night enveloped the entire village, every household shut its doors and windows tight.
Even the inn where he was staying was the same. To avoid attracting the innkeeper's attention, he had climbed over the wall to get out.
In the end, unable to find any food at all, Teiichi could only climb back over the inn's wall and take some dried meat from his bundle to stave off his hunger. Though it was not as tasty as fresh food, out here in the middle of nowhere, being able to fill his stomach was already a blessing.
He patrolled all night without incident.
At the first faint light of dawn, Teiichi climbed back over the inn's wall. After quickly washing up, he left through the front door and found an open area to train.
At noon, Teiichi ate a casual meal at a small restaurant in town. Once his stomach was full, he returned to the inn to catch up on sleep.
Three days passed like this in the blink of an eye.
At noon that day, Teiichi returned to the inn to rest after eating at the restaurant. Just as he entered, he saw the innkeeper standing by the door and waving him over. Something stirred in Teiichi's mind, and he hurried over to ask, "What is it?"
"Listen, another girl went missing yesterday!" The innkeeper's voice carried a trace of anxiety and helplessness.
Teiichi's pupils contracted slightly, and a chill rose within him. He had been patrolling throughout the town last night without hearing even the slightest disturbance. How could someone else have gone missing? He hurriedly asked, "Where did she disappear?"
"I heard she disappeared from her own home," the innkeeper said with a sigh. "Her parents didn't hear anything either. They only discovered she was gone when they went to wake her this morning because she still hadn't gotten up."
Teiichi's brows knitted tightly, and an ominous premonition welled up inside him. He tried to obtain more information about the missing girl from the innkeeper, but the man did not know much.
After returning to his room, Teiichi flopped onto the bed and rolled back and forth with both hands over his head. He was filled with irritation and unease. Running into such a difficult problem on his very first mission left him deeply frustrated.
"Damn it! Why does my very first mission have to be such a pain?" Teiichi cried in distress. "If only I had Tanjiro's nose. Then I could smell the demon as soon as it came out..."