Chapter 8: The Rumors of the Drummer Demon
His crow was a frantic, squawking messenger of doom. It landed on his shoulder with a violent flurry of black feathers, its voice a high-pitched shriek of panic.
"CAW! NEW MISSION! DEMON! DRUMMING! CAW! TO THE NORTH! TSUZUMI MANSION! CAW!"
He had a choice. Follow his crow, or wait for Tanjiro and his… well, his canon friends. The thought of Zenitsu and Inosuke was a strange mix of dread and amusement. He knew their personalities, their flaws, their strengths. He could wait for them. He could be a silent partner, a mysterious benefactor. Or he could go it alone. He could follow his own path. He looked at the crow, its frantic eyes a reflection of its panic. Kyogai. The ex-Lower Moon. This is way above my pay grade, but the System wants me to go in alone. The thought of fighting a former Lower Moon by himself, a demon who had once been close to Muzan, was a terrifying one.
He followed his crow. He had to. The System, his strange, almost malevolent partner, had a plan. He could feel it. He felt like a puppet on a string, but the string was tied to his own destiny, and he had to trust it. The village was a collection of silent, terrified faces. They all spoke of the same thing. The drumming. The distant, rhythmic sound, a slow, steady heartbeat of a nightmare.
"He just sits there… drumming… it's terrifying," a local whispered, his face pale with fear.
The System, of course, had its own take on the situation.
[SYSTEM: NEW TASK: SCAN THE DEMON'S EMOTIONAL STATE. FIND ITS CORE WEAKNESS. REWARD: +300 SP, NEW FUNCTION UNLOCKED: 'EMPATHIC ANALYSIS'.]
"Empathic Analysis? Seriously? The System is getting more and more… human. Or maybe it's just a tool for psychological warfare. Either way, it's a new power. A new tool. And a new, terrifying burden."
The System was pushing him, a gentle but firm hand on his back, urging him into the fire. It wasn't just a guide. It was a trainer. A master. He had to trust its guidance. He had to. He was a solo player in a team sport, and he had to be ready.
[SYSTEM: SIDE QUEST: RETRIEVE THE DRUM OF SORROW. LOCATED IN THE THIRD ROOM, SECOND FLOOR. REWARD: +500 SP.]
The drumming, a low, rhythmic thrum, was his only guide. He left the village, a silent, determined figure heading into the heart of the storm.
The mansion was a nightmare. It wasn't just a house; it was a puzzle box. The walls shifted, the floors tilted, and the rooms spun with every beat of the drum. He felt like a mouse in a maze, a toy in a demon's twisted game. He navigated the shifting hallways, his mind a whirlwind of spatial awareness and System data.
"This place is a maze. The System says a left turn is a 'Probability Anomaly.' What does that even mean? Is the house alive?"
He found the room. It was small, dusty, and silent. A single, battered drum sat in the middle of the floor, its leather worn and cracked. The air in the room was heavy with a profound sense of sadness. He reached out, his hand trembling, and touched the drum. The moment he did, the System chimed in, its message a shock to his system.
[SYSTEM: KYOGAI'S EMOTIONAL STATE DETECTED. DOMINANT EMOTION: BITTERSWEET REGRET. SUB-EMOTIONS: LONELINESS, PRIDE, DESPAIR.]
"Bittersweet regret? This is… a whole new level of messed up. I'm a demon slayer who understands his enemy's feelings. This is a game changer. A terrifying game changer."
He stood there, a strange, silent figure, his hand on a drum, reading the sorrow of a demon. He felt a profound sense of loneliness. He was a human who was more machine than man, and he was alone. The humor of the situation, the sheer absurdity of it, was almost too much. He mentally asked the System a question.
"Give me a list of things that will kill me in this house."
The System, with its dry, deadpan tone, answered immediately.
[SYSTEM: ITEM 1: THE DEMON. ITEM 2: THE HOUSE. ITEM 3: YOUR OWN STUPIDITY.]
"Thanks, System. Thanks for the vote of confidence."
The mansion began to shake violently. The walls shifted, the floor tilted, and the drumming grew louder, a frantic, enraged beat. Kyogai, the drummer demon, appeared, his eyes a furious, red glow. The battle was about to begin.
Kyogai was a whirlwind of motion and sound. His drums were weapons, each beat a thunderous blow that tore through the air, sending him flying across the room. He was a powerful, terrifying demon, and Kaito was immediately overwhelmed. He had to use his new ability, his Empathic Analysis, to survive. He didn't fight the demon. He fought the demon's emotions. He dodged the attacks that were driven by rage, and countered the attacks that were born of despair. He saw the cracks in the demon's soul, the weaknesses in its will, and he exploited them.
Kyogai was a broken thing, a demon who had once been a man, a struggling writer and musician who had been abandoned by his art. His voice was a melancholic lament, a sad, broken song.
"My drums are art… but no one appreciates them!"
"He's not evil. He's just… pathetic. A man who wanted to be an artist. A man who wanted to be loved. A man who became a monster instead."
Kaito, with a heavy heart, delivered the final blow. The demon dissolved, its body a shower of fine, golden dust. The mansion fell silent. The air, once heavy with the thrumming of drums, was now still. Kaito stood there, his body aching, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. He had won. But it didn't feel like a victory. It felt like a funeral. The System, his silent, emotionless partner, offered him one final piece of data.
[SYSTEM: INSIGHT: KYOGAI WAS ONCE A HUMAN ARTIST. HIS DESPERATION FOR VALIDATION LED TO HIS DOWNFALL. MUZAN'S PROMISE OF POWER WAS A LIE. REWARD: +100 SP, 'EMPATHY STAT' UNLOCKED.]
The mansion, now quiet and still, was no longer a haunted house. It was a tomb. A monument to a lost artist, a man who had lost his way. Kaito, with the drum in hand, walked out into the cool, night air. He was a slayer, a warrior, but he was also something more. He was a man with a secret, a man who could see into the hearts of demons, and he was alone. He had the drum, and a new understanding of the nature of his enemies. He had a new purpose, and a new, terrible weight to bear. The road ahead was long, and he knew, with a certainty that was both liberating and terrifying, that he would be walking it alone.
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