Exiting the cave, the cold dawn air, heavy with the forest's moisture, pierced my lungs. Perhaps because I had just defeated an oni and absorbed its power, the fatigue in my body had cleared and my senses sharpened, but my heart remained heavy.
Well, becoming a second Muzan, creating my own world—such grandiose futures were a luxury for me.
After becoming an oni, my single remaining goal was to eke out each day quietly with Kiyohime, avoiding Muzan's gaze and the blades of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Kiyohime possesses powerful flames, but she is ultimately a being who shares the oni's weaknesses. I too am just a novice who has only just awakened my abilities. While I don't think Kiyohime would lose to just anyone, I can't rule out the possibility.
Especially against a level like Kokushibo or Muzan, there was a possibility Kiyohime could be killed through various factors like carelessness. No, actually, the chance of me dying first is incredibly high. By Demon Slayer world standards, Kiyohime is a top-tier powerhouse, and if she uses her dragon flame form, she would be the strongest.
But me? I'm weak. A level that can't even compete with a Lower Moon. That's why I must be careful. Moreover, no matter that Kiyohime is a Servant. From now on, we are to be lovers; I can't leave all the hard work to her.
"Master, the sun will rise soon. We must find a place to hide our bodies before that unpleasant sunlight shines."
Kiyohime whispered, hanging onto my arm. Her voice was also tinged with instinctual anxiety. Worry for me. And Kiyohime herself is also weak to sunlight. Because she was summoned by a Blood Demon Art, perhaps she shares the weakness.
But that makes me curious. If my neck is cut by a nichirin blade or I die by sunlight, what happens to Kiyohime? Would Kiyohime also have to die for me to die, like the Shabana siblings? Or is it a case like Hantengu, where if the main body, me, dies, Kiyohime disappears too?
Not that I want to test it, though.
Leaning on each other, we moved our steps back into the forest's darkness.
"Kiyohime, can I ask you one thing?"
Walking under the forest's shadows, I stopped my steps and looked back at her.
"I have lost the name I had when I was human. Both my previous life and this life, parts of my memory have holes. An effect of becoming an oni. So, I'd like you to give me a name. A name to live by with you in this land."
Kiyohime widened her eyes in surprise for a moment, then blushed, unable to hide her joy. She seemed to ponder carefully, covering her mouth with her fan and sinking into thought, before answering in a soft voice.
"Akira (曉)... It means the light of dawn. Although we are wandering the night now, it's from my wish for us to greet a peaceful morning someday."
"Akira, huh? Sounds good. Thank you."
With a name, I finally felt like I had a place in this world. Akira. It means dawn, but paradoxically, for me, an oni who burns to death in sunlight, it was the name of the time I yearned for most.
We decided our destination would be Kyoto.
Currently, Muzan is fixated on Tokyo. He is concentrating his oni forces there to pursue traces of the doctor who made him an oni and to find the Blue Spider Lily.
Tokyo is glamorous, but equally, Muzan's eyes and ears are spread everywhere, and it's practically a battlefield where full-scale war with the Demon Slayer Corps unfolds.
Since oni are mainly in Tokyo, the Demon Slayer Corps also operates there. Of course, oni don't exist only in Tokyo. There are a few in other regions as well. Muzan wouldn't have stayed holed up only in Tokyo for that long. He must have visited other places too. He's lived over a thousand years; would he have only been in Tokyo?
It's presumed to be around the Heian period, back then Tokyo (Edo) was a non-mainstream area. So, I think he probably lived elsewhere besides Tokyo and created oni. Honestly, would someone with five brains think the Blue Spider Lily is absolutely only in Tokyo? It's just the most likely place.
"Tokyo is too noisy. If I, who escaped Muzan's control, loiter near there, I'll be found out quickly."
The same goes for the Demon Slayer Corps. I had not the slightest thought of getting involved with them and playing hero. There's no way they would understand an oni like me, nor did I want to risk my life getting caught up in their fierce battles.
"Kyoto is now a city pushed from the center. Old temples and traditions remain, making it perfect for hiding and living. There probably aren't zero oni, but it will be far fewer than Tokyo. Let's create a suitable identity and settle down there."
"If that is Master's will, anywhere is fine. Kyoto's serene atmosphere suits us better than a noisy place like Tokyo. I will diligently assist you and prepare the foundation for us to live quietly."
Kiyohime's eyes still held a maddened obsession, but she gladly accepted my proposal, which sought an ordinary daily life.
Until now, it was burdensome for me to go far, so I stayed only near Tokyo, but not anymore.
The journey to Kyoto was made strictly at night. We spent our days in forests or abandoned buildings untouched by human eyes, shared each other's warmth, and sated our hunger by abducting and eating criminals from some village jail.
The oddity that hunting oni doesn't sate my hunger. Is it because of the Blood Demon Art?
Even if it doesn't sate hunger, for the sake of power, we hunted the oni we encountered while traveling. Each time I absorbed their power through , I felt my body become slightly lighter. But there was no sign at all of summoning other heroic spirits as I had hoped.
How to put it... It doesn't feel like I'm using magical energy or anything, and seeing as Kiyohime has no problem manifesting, it's not a system that consumes magical energy. It doesn't seem to require anything specific. Kiyohime doesn't particularly feel hunger either.
Perhaps as a trade-off, it seems I need to stockpile a lot of power to summon other heroic spirits.
My current level is superior to the average Demon Slayer Corps member, but compared to the monsters of the Twelve Kizuki, I'm no different from an ant. Kiyohime also, while her firepower is tremendous, would be at great risk fighting the Upper Moons with their superior speed and close-combat abilities. Strength E, Endurance E. The biggest problem is that her durability is at human level.
If she became a fire dragon from the start, she could probably win, but that's a last resort.
Ultimately, the best we can do now is to hide thoroughly, living quietly while steadily building our foundation bit by bit.
Upon arriving in Kyoto, the first things to do are to create a new identity, secure a house and money. We must find a way to blend in among humans and live an ordinary life.
"Kiyohime, when we get to Kyoto, I'll have your cooking then. The ingredients won't be great, though."
"Fufu, it's alright. I don't care what happens to anyone other than you, Master."
She laughed playfully and pulled on my arm.
I decided to set aside, for a while, the complicated memories of my past life and the bloody fate of being an oni. I just wanted to live quietly at the tail end of this Meiji era, as a single man, and as a woman's husband.
Following the mist-shrouded highway, we headed west. We needed no splendid myths, no grand throne. Just the peace of being able to open our eyes together again tomorrow night—that was enough.
"Master, then~ shall we have some outdoor play tonight?"
"Uh, yeah, I'll give it a try."
Well, it's a bit troublesome that she's more... enthusiastic than I imagined.
But I had no idea.
Who would have thought I'd meet a Lower Moon before completely leaving Tokyo.