Crimson blood claimed Teiichi's palm mercilessly, like a rose in bloom. Because he had coughed while eating, individual grains of rice were still visible in his palm.
Teiichi stared at his blood-dripping palm, his eyes filled with confusion and unease. He tried to make sense of this sudden development, but his thoughts felt tangled in a snarl of threads he could not unravel.
Just then, the figure of a girl gradually became clear in his mind. It was Rena. She, too, had once coughed up blood like this.
Teiichi suddenly realized that what he was experiencing now seemed identical to Rena's symptoms before she died.
So this is... an infectious disease? Am I going to die in a few days?
No, that's not right!
If this disease were infectious, Rena's father should have caught it too. But I remember that her father never showed any signs of coughing.
And as someone who knew Rena, Manager Yamamoto also knew the symptoms of her illness before she died. If her father really had caught it, Manager Yamamoto would definitely have noticed and suspected that the disease was infectious.
Teiichi recalled the day he had spoken with Manager Yamamoto. When discussing Rena's illness, the manager had not shown much concern about the disease itself, only briefly expressing his sympathy and regret for Rena.
That meant the disease had not drawn Manager Yamamoto's attention.
In other words, Rena's father had shown no symptoms of coughing, and Manager Yamamoto had not regarded the disease as infectious.
Then, if Rena's father didn't catch it, why did I?
Teiichi's mind began racing as he tried to find clues in every detail.
Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, as though he had thought of something important. He shot to his feet, pushed his lunch aside on the table, quickly put on his clothes, then pushed open the inn's front door and rushed outside without hesitation.
In the woods west of town.
Teiichi stood there alone, his face as pale as paper, his teeth clenched and his hands balled into fists, as though he wanted to crush all his anger and resentment in his palms.
He clenched them so hard that his nails dug deep into his flesh. Blood slowly seeped between his fingers and dripped onto the ground, mingling with the surrounding soil.
Yet Teiichi seemed utterly unaware of any of it. His gaze remained fixed ahead, where two dug-open graves lay quietly among the trees. The headstones before them bore the names Yoshida Rena and Yoshida Tetsuya respectively.
Teiichi had dug open both graves himself. In one lay a middle-aged man, Rena's father, Yoshida Tetsuya. He lay there peacefully, as though merely asleep.
The other grave was completely empty. What should have been Rena's resting place had now become a mystery.
Teiichi stood there, his gaze fixed on that empty grave. Even his intermittent coughing seemed to have been suppressed by the fury inside him. He seemed to have become a statue, with only a raging fire burning in his eyes and guilt hidden beneath that fury.
This demon actually killed Rena, step by step, right in front of me!
As a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, I actually let an evil demon kill someone right before my eyes! What the hell am I doing as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?
A powerful sense of helplessness welled up within him. Why did he always encounter these troublesome demons? Why couldn't he just find demons and destroy them like Tanjiro did?
So, in a way, I was actually the one who got Rena killed?
All kinds of thoughts crowded Teiichi's mind.
After a long while, Teiichi slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner fury. He began to think calmly, trying to work out what to do next.
This disease must be the effect of a demon's Blood Demon Art.
This demon uses its Blood Demon Art to infect people first, then gradually worsens their condition until they finally die of the illness. Once they're buried, it chooses a night to dig them up and eat them.
As long as it fills the grave back in afterward, almost no one will discover it. This method is both cruel and cunning, almost impossible to guard against.
Teiichi could not help letting out a cold laugh. For a demon that lacked strength but wanted to eat people, this really was a useful ability.
Yet at that thought, Teiichi's heart grew even heavier, and he fell silent.
Now that this demon has its sights on me, what am I supposed to do?
Fake my death to lure it out? Or... run?
If I fake my death to lure it out, this disease clearly progresses in stages. Judging by how Rena's illness progressed, I have another three or four days.
No, that's not right. I took Rena to see a doctor. Without seeing one, the illness would probably progress faster. Teiichi assessed his physical condition. The day after tomorrow at the earliest, perhaps. Will I die then?
If I'm going to fake my death, it has to be tomorrow. Otherwise, if I drag it out until the day after, I might actually die.
But if I fake my death tomorrow, will I be able to lure this demon out?
A cold sweat gradually broke out on Teiichi's forehead as his mind kept working.
But... if I don't do it early, will I really be able to defeat this demon with my body so gravely ill by then?
At that thought, his exhausted body seemed to awaken. Weakness kept surging up from every part of him, as though telling Teiichi that something was already very wrong with his body.
Once I leave, I can contact White Feather and have them find a member of the Demon Slayer Corps with strong scouting skills to come and track down this demon. Killing it then will be just the same.
The thought of fleeing swelled rapidly within Teiichi like a landslide and a tsunami.
It's not that I can't beat this demon. I just can't find it. I'll leave first and recover from this illness, then find someone with strong scouting skills to come and kill it.
This demon waits until people are sick enough to appear dead before eating them. As long as I come back quickly enough, I can return before the next target he chooses is about to die!
Yes, that's right. That's exactly it.
Teiichi kept reassuring himself inwardly.
Once he decided it was better to leave first, Teiichi's gaze gradually regained its focus. But the resolve and confidence in his eyes had vanished, replaced by panic and a guilty unease.
His body also began trembling for no apparent reason. Swaying unsteadily, he first approached the grave of Rena's father beside him.
Kneeling on the ground, he moved the coffin lid he had pushed aside back into place. He scooped up the freshly dug earth with both hands and filled the grave back in, handful by handful, trying to restore everything to how it had been.
Then he approached the grave on the left, his hands already moving onto the coffin lid.
Just as Teiichi was about to move the coffin lid back into place, his hands abruptly froze.