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Chapter One - Kaito Tetsu
What is this place…
That was the first question that escaped my mind as I slowly opened my eyes,
I feel like I've emerged from a heavy dream and been suddenly thrown into a strange reality that resembles nothing of my old world.
The forest surrounds me.
Tall trees with their high branches intertwined,
Its dense leaves block out the sky except for a few thin threads of light that creep shyly between the branches.
The ground is covered with a green carpet of moist grasses and creeping moss.
The smell of fresh soil mingles with my breath,
And the night's humidity creeps into my pores,
Making my body tremble even though I still hadn't realized where I was or why I woke up here.
I looked at myself in amazement.
The clothes covering my body were not the clothes I knew,
Rather, a dark black outfit with strict white lines,
A short coat with loose sleeves,
They all look exactly like the outfits of the "Demon Slayers" from the anime I had always watched avidly in my previous world.
A faint smile twitched on my lips.
Impossible... Could I be...?
But there was no time to be surprised,
While my heart tries to deny what I see,
A strange voice exploded in my head,
It didn't come from outside, it emanated directly from within me,
It's like the vibration of an old computer engine as it slowly spins inside your brain.
That monotonous voice would speak clearly:
Name: Kaito Tetsu.
Job: Demon Slayer.
Death toll: zero.
Location: Examination Grounds - Mount Fujikasani.
My eyes froze, and my mouth widened in silent surprise.
It's not a joke anymore,
It's no longer a fleeting dream that I can wake up from in a little while.
I actually woke up at the beginning of the Demon Slayer Exam.
I gasped with suppressed fear,
Then I whispered to myself in a hoarse voice, almost melting into the forest air:
"I have to find a way back…
If you're on this mountain, it means the place is teeming with demons imprisoned by the Demon Slayer Corps."
My voice was trembling as if my words themselves were trembling.
But I suddenly stopped,
Not because my heart is at peace,
But because a deeper realization hit me like a slap:
I don't know the way.
I don't know where to go.
I'm in the middle of the forest with no direction,
It's as if I was deliberately dropped here among endless trees,
They repeat themselves before my eyes like identical mirrors.
I wanted to scream and curse whoever dragged me into this hell.
I loved the "Demon Slayer" in my world,
I was watching it as a safe spectator behind the screen,
Sometimes I cry with the characters and tremble with their fights,
But I never really wanted to be one of them.
This world is one of the ten worst worlds anyone can be thrown into,
A world of blood, darkness and fear,
A world where people are not given a second chance,
Where death is closer than the soul.
I bitterly remembered a clip I watched a few days ago on YouTube,
When someone was mocking, saying:
"Whoever is thrown into the demon world, it is best for him to grab a knife and cut himself quickly,
Death by his hand is easier than being devoured by the fangs of the monsters of darkness.
My body shuddered at that thought,
But I pushed her away forcefully.
No...there has to be a solution.
I wasn't born again to give up after a few minutes.
I took a deep breath,
Then I decided to call up that screen again,
Maybe there's something in it that gives me a little hope.
"Case," she whispered softly.
And indeed... the transparent screen appeared before my eyes again,
The words dance in it as if from a cool blue light.
It was displaying my data quickly,
my name,
Opportunity,
My kill count is still zero,
Then another chapter titled "Skills".
My heart trembled.
I opened that door in a hurry.
If you're really a demon slayer,
I must have some famous breathing technique.
And maybe... if you learn to use it,
I can survive just a little,
I can't die here in a ridiculous way.
The words came out clearly:
Breathing technique: Wind breathing.
I gasped with new surprise,
My heart felt like it jumped out of my chest.
I didn't expect that.
But once I read "Breathing the Wind,"
Until an indelible image of a person flashed through my mind:
His hair is white and flying,
His eyes are sharp like those of a demon,
His constant screaming echoes in my memory.
He is Sanemi, the Wind Hashira.
I smiled despite my trembling.
Maybe that's good...
I said to myself calmly, holding on to him like a lifeline:
"That's good… at least I have wind breathing.
It is one of the most powerful breathing techniques.
I could live here… maybe I could."
I forced myself to stop shaking,
I have to breathe slowly as the episodes I watched taught me,
But the cold air blowing through the trees,
It stung my skin and made my shiver double.
If only it was just a cold…
But the night began to creep in,
And darkness thickens between the trunks,
Announcing that I am at the beginning of the real nightmare.
I didn't want to stay still in the middle of the forest,
So I started walking with hesitant steps,
My eyes never left the screen hanging in front of me.
A screen that only I can see, as I expected.
I read in novels that these interfaces are only revealed to the user himself.
But the question that was tearing me apart:
What should I do?
I'm in the middle of the night,
This means that demons are roaming the place now,
Looking for fresh human meat.
Suddenly, a lightning idea came to me:
I'm not alone.
The Demon Slayer Examination cannot be an individual examination.
There must be others...
A group of candidates scattered across this mountain,
They try to stay like me.
If you can only find one of them,
Maybe together we can survive this long night.
I clung to that idea like someone holding on to a last rope over an abyss.
I continued walking for a whole hour,
I looked around,
I make sure there is no shadow of demons,
I stop at every trunk to listen,
I even watch the branches move in the wind.
But despite all of that,
I didn't find anyone.
No scream,
No footsteps,
No sign of fighting.
The whole forest is a stifling silence,
Silence made doubt creep into my heart like slow poison.
What if they were all dead?
What if I'm the only one left?
Will I be the next victim?
My body trembled more,
I felt that loneliness was harsher than the coldness of the night.
I've read a lot about reincarnation in stories,
But I never imagined I would be one of the "lucky" ones who get to try it.
However... what kind of luck is this?
I was not sent to a royal palace,
I didn't wait for a maid to serve me tea in an elegant dress,
I was not given superpowers or beginnings.
Luxurious
Instead, I woke up in a demon slayer's clothes,
On a cold night,
In the middle of a desolate forest,
Dark ghosts surround me,
The possibility of death looms around me in every corner.
There was only the pale moonlight,
Tree after tree,
And a suffocating feeling of endless loneliness.