Crack, crack!
Silver lightning ripped across the sky.
Aoki, running for his life, stopped short. His bow snapped up, drawn tight. In the lightning's flash, the arrow's tip gleamed blue.
His last arrow. His last poison arrow.
Boom!
The arrow flew.
The distance was less than five meters. Kazuhiko couldn't dodge.
He didn't even try. The arrow pierced his head, but he kept running. He reached Aoki, arm whipping around like a spear.
Fast! Brutal! Deadly!
"Die! Just die already! Humans are just food for demons!"
His eyes burned with bloodlust.
The poison was weakening him, but it didn't matter.
He knew how fragile humans were in the face of demons. He'd seen it himself.
Aoki watched the claws coming, sharp and fast. He didn't blink. He threw himself backwards.
The claws, gleaming cold, slashed past his face.
At the same time, he dropped his bow. His hand closed on the knife's hilt.
The hunting knife flashed out, a silver arc in the air.
Thwack!
Blood sprayed. Kazuhiko's right arm, from the elbow down, fell to the ground.
Aoki flipped back, found his balance. He pushed forward, knife a whirlwind aimed at Kazuhiko's neck.
Kazuhiko, stunned for a moment, woke up. He stumbled back.
Too slow. The knife sliced his throat, a deep wound, blood gushing out.
A human would die from that. Unless they were in a hospital, they were dead.
But Kazuhiko was a demon. The wound closed, fast. The severed arm began to grow back.
"Ah!"
Aoki roared. He charged, a fury that wouldn't stop. The knife slashed, again and again.
He couldn't let him heal!
Fighting a demon with strength, with healing... a long fight, a draining fight... that was suicide.
Kazuhiko was pushed back by Aoki's attack. More cuts opened on his body. The healing slowed.
"How? How is he so strong?"
Kazuhiko's face was a mask of shock.
In the house, Aoki had been weak. He could have crushed him with one hand.
What had happened in two minutes?
Distracted, Kazuhiko took another blow. From shoulder to ribs, almost splitting him in half.
The pain twisted his face. He stopped, his regenerating right hand stabbing out at Aoki's chest.
So what if he was stronger?
A fragile human body could never beat a demon!
He could be hurt a hundred times. He only needed one chance to win.
Dodge?
The thought flashed through Aoki's mind. He crushed it.
He looked strong, but it was all Blood Boiling.
He could feel it. Time was running out.
When Blood Boiling faded, he'd be weak. Like meat on a chopping block.
No more waiting!
He had to end it now!
Whatever the cost.
Aoki's eyes burned with a wild light. He barely moved, just a twitch to the side.
Thwack!
Kazuhiko's claws sank into Aoki's chest. Inches from his heart.
But Kazuhiko's face changed. He looked up.
"Die!"
Aoki roared. His left hand grabbed Kazuhiko's arm. His right hand swung the knife, a lightning strike.
Thwack!
Kazuhiko's head flew.
His face still held the cruel hunger.
Aoki turned, pulling away from Kazuhiko's claws. He threw the knife, like a dart.
Thwack!
Bang!
The knife stuck in Kazuhiko's head, pinning it to a tree.
"Bastard! How dare you? I'll kill you!"
Kazuhiko wasn't dead. He cursed Aoki, a mad scream. His headless body flailed, arms reaching.
But he couldn't see.
Aoki dodged easily. He moved behind him, kicked the back of his knees.
Thump!
The headless body fell to its knees.
Aoki kicked again, in the back. He went down, face first. Aoki grabbed a rock, slammed it down.
Crack.
The headless body's right knee shattered. The head, pinned to the tree, screamed.
Aoki raised the rock again.
Legs, arms, heart...
Again, again, again...
Suddenly, Aoki staggered. The rock slipped from his hand. His face was white as paper.
Blood Boiling was over!
Strength drained away like a flood. Pain crashed over him, a tidal wave.
He groaned, sweat pouring down.
Pain!
So much pain!
Aoki looked down.
He'd lost so much blood. Half his body was red.
"Need to stop the bleeding. I'll bleed out if I wait."
He ripped a piece of cloth, pressed it to the wound.
Kazuhiko's body was a mess, but the muscles still twitched.
The head, pinned to the tree, stopped fighting. Its eyes were closed. It seemed unconscious.
That was enough.
Without a Nichirin Blade, cutting off the head didn't kill a demon.
But if he waited for dawn, the sun would burn him away.
Aoki fell silent.
Kazuhiko was gone. Lost. He'd eaten people. The man he knew was gone.
His mind wandered. Images flashed.
A deer-hide boot, appearing in his vision when he was hurt, lying helpless in the woods, waiting to die.
Kazuhiko teaching him to shoot, to trap, to track.
Yesterday, Kazuhiko suggesting he go on a date with Takina, the sad sigh when he refused.
Aoki stopped the thoughts.
"This is Demon Slayer. When I'm healed, I'll find the Demon Slayer Corps. Learn a Breathing Style."
"A demon... beaten by a human?"
A cold voice cut through the air.
Aoki froze. He hadn't noticed...
A black-haired man stood by the tree, near Kazuhiko's head.
He wore a black suit, clean and sharp. A white shirt underneath, spotless. His face was pale, like bone. His eyes, plum-red, were empty.
He picked up Kazuhiko's head.
Kazuhiko woke up, looked at him in terror. "I'm sorry! Please! Please give me another chance!"
The black-haired man looked at him, cold.
Bang!
Kazuhiko's head exploded, blood and flesh flying. His face was frozen in despair.
Then, he turned to smoke, vanishing into the air.
The black-haired man turned to Aoki.
Aoki felt ice in his veins. His mind supplied the name.
Muzan Kibutsuji!
The first demon. The strongest demon.
The one who made Kazuhiko a demon.