It wasn't until Haruto and Genya disappeared at the end of the mountain path that Tanjirou lowered his waving hand.
"Brother." Nezuko looked at him worriedly: "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Nezuko." Tanjirou reached out and stroked his sister's braid: "I was just thinking... what I thought were chance encounters might have been destined in life."
Hinokami Kagura, Father, Nichirin flower-card earrings, Sun Breathing.
All these words pointed his life to that last name—Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Haruto was a very upright person, even though he had previously hinted at the power of the owner of the Nichirin flower-card earrings, and revealed that Sun Breathing had disappeared from the world, and that Tanjirou, who remembered the Hinokami Kagura, was very likely the last person to know it.
But Haruto didn't immediately ask him to demonstrate the Kamado Family's ancestral Kagura dance, nor did he ask Tanjirou to make any promises.
He just stroked the heads of the Kamado Family children one by one, and even Tanjirou's red hair was ruffled.
"You don't have to do anything, Tanjirou."
Haruto told him earnestly: "Life belongs to you; you don't need to live in unease, burdened by someone else's mission."
That night, Tanjirou, for the first time in a long while, didn't get a good night's sleep.
He dreamt of his father, and in the dream, his father didn't scold him for his wavering will.
"Don't blame yourself, Tanjirou."
Father gently patted his head in the dream, his back as straight as a tree: "Doing what you want to do is already enough."
Tanjirou opened his eyes in the dark, sighed softly, cautiously got up and dressed, then shouldered his basket and took his axe, walking towards the forest.
Thump, thump, thump.
He was trying to clear his mind with the monotonous task of chopping wood, but he seemed to hear some distant clamor.
Tanjirou walked to the hillside and looked down; the village below him now seemed somewhat brightly lit.
No, that wasn't lamplight, but raging flames.
Flames darted in the dark, then suddenly swelled, followed by a collapse.
An orderly fire dragon rushed from further away, merging into the village's flames.
Screams and wails were faintly audible in the night wind; Tanjirou's heart sank—something had happened.
Had bandits entered the village?
In recent years, the central areas of Kyoto were bustling beyond belief, but in some remote mountainous regions, there were still groups of thieves who robbed homes.
The people in the village were very kind to Tanjirou, especially after his father passed away; they always vied to buy the Kamado Family's charcoal.
If something really happened, he absolutely couldn't just watch from afar.
Even if he was powerless, he had to get closer to see clearly which gang of bandits was responsible.
Tanjirou thought this to himself and ran towards home.
He put down the basket, only gripping the axe in his hand.
Unexpectedly, Nezuko rubbed her eyes, sat up, and softly said, "Brother?"
"Something seems to have happened down the mountain; I'm going to check... You be careful; if things go wrong, take everyone and hide in the forest."
Nezuko nodded: "Take your nichirin blade; it's good for self-defense."
So Tanjirou dropped the axe, grabbed his nichirin blade, and disappeared out the door under Nezuko's worried gaze... "Murata-senpai, what exactly is going on here?!"
"...I told you, I don't know either!"
Looking at the village engulfed in flames, Murata gritted his teeth and turned to look at the particularly annoying guy in the squad.
He had only joined the Demon Slayer Corps a short while ago, yet he constantly clamored for rapid promotion and told others not to interfere with demon-slaying matters.
His annoyingness was something even a long-time Demon Slayer Corps member like Murata had heard about.
When they received an urgent mission assignment at night and hastily formed a team to rush to the foot of Mt. Kumotori, the place had already become a sea of fire, rendering their torches useless.
Murata followed several members deeper into the village and finally discovered the evil demon that had caused the tragedy and commotion.
It was an evil demon whose palms could spew blood-red flames; it stood high atop a wooden building, clutching something in its demon claws, with an air of looking down on all living beings.
"Heh... Demon Slayer Corps, you've come just in time; I was worried the residents here weren't tender enough."
The flame demon sneered, raised its hand, and threw down the object in its demon claws.
All the Demon Slayer Corps members' faces changed drastically; it was the skeleton of a young child, eaten until only bones remained.
"Delicious! Delicious! Truly delicious!"
The evil demon laughed wildly, leaped down from the rooftop, raised both hands, and spewed flames at the members.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
The guy Murata disliked indeed had some skill; he quickly leaped high, horizontally drawing a circle of waves, directly slashing at the demon's hands.
The other members also used their abilities, escaping the range covered by the flames.
But what they didn't expect was that the demon, which had devoured dozens of humans, reacted so quickly; their swordsmanship and techniques were almost no threat to the demon.
"Damn it! Why does its Blood Demon Art last so long!"
Murata rolled backward, narrowly avoiding the horizontally spewed flames.
The Demon Slayer Corps already had injured members; if this continued, not only would they fail to kill the demon, but their relief team might also perish here.
Their respective Kasugai Crows had fluttered away into the distance, flying to seek help from nearby members or even Pillar-level Swordsmen.
Murata's eyes suddenly narrowed; a glimmer of starlight appeared in his vision.
Could it be?!
His heart was overjoyed; among the Breathing Techniques used in the Demon Slayer Corps, the only one that brought starlight was Haruto, the current Star Pillar, who had passed the selection in the same batch as him!
He didn't expect him to arrive so quickly!
Along with that glimmer of starlight came a raw, low growl: "Breath of the Stars, First Form: Tear of Light!"
The evil demon quickly retreated backward; the flash of the nichirin blade barely grazed its nose, leaving a long bloody gash on its face.
No, it's not Haruto!
Murata's eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately focused to see who had arrived.
It was a short, red-haired boy; he gripped his nichirin blade, gasping rapidly, his face covered in sweat, his entire body trembling.
Who is this...?
"How could this be..."
Tanjirou squeezed a wail from his throat: "Is that Kenichi...?"
He looked at the remains of the young child on the ground, barely able to recognize the familiar child from the short, light-yellow hair that hadn't been eaten.
Evil demons... there really are such evil demons in this world!
Trampling on others' happiness, taking pleasure in harvesting others' lives... Genya was right; there really are demons other than him in this world, and demons are harming humans.
He tremblingly gripped the hilt of his nichirin blade, forcing himself to remain calm amidst the fear.
Destiny... Tanjirou Kamado!
This is your destiny!
Posted October 11 at 5:12 PM
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