"Hotaru…" The boy's voice trembled, his body shaking as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
Moonlight streamed into the hole corroded in the tree trunk, revealing a familiar cherry blossom hair ornament before the boy's eyes.
"So hungry…"
A soft murmur, slender vertical pupils, sharp teeth, a petite body stained with a large amount of blood, holding a slender severed arm, with drool at the corner of her mouth.
A familiar yet strange individual appeared before the boy.
Drip! Hiss—
Drool dripped onto the ground, quickly corroding a small pit.
"What's going on…Hotaru…is that you? How did you become like this? You…" The boy's mind went blank, and he asked with a trembling voice, fear and confusion making his words unclear.
However, before he could finish speaking, the Demon, who looked like a little girl, reached out and grabbed his neck.
The next moment, a figure in white appeared between the human and the Demon, picking up the boy and moving him away from the corrosive Demon.
"So you were hiding in the tree. It seems those children from before must have been eaten by you."
Musashi placed the boy a distance away from the Demon, then turned around, speaking as he drew his Nichirin Sword.
The slender arm held by the corrosive Demon was clearly a child's.
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Corrosion!"
Seeing the boy rescued by Musashi, the corrosive Demon became somewhat enraged. It squeezed its right hand, and the severed arm in its grasp exploded into thick flesh and blood. The blood dripped onto the ground with a hissing sound. Under the enhancement of its Blood Demon Art, this mass of flesh and blood had already become highly corrosive, and then it flung this mass of flesh and blood towards Musashi.
It was the first time he had encountered a demon that could use Blood Demon Art. Its ability should be corrosion. The fact that there was only blood and no clothing remnants in this area must be due to its ability.
Musashi thought to himself, tightening his grip on his Nichirin Sword.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Solar Halo Dance."
A white rainbow escaped Musashi's lips, and the black Nichirin Sword in his hand suddenly turned fiery red. Flames spontaneously erupted from the blade, covering it. The surrounding temperature rapidly soared at this moment, and this entire area was illuminated as if it were daytime.
Then, Musashi held his blade and swung it in a circular motion in front of him. The flames on the blade enveloped him like a cloak, protecting him within.
The flesh and blood flung by the corrosive Demon struck the flames around Musashi and then instantly melted away, leaving nothing behind.
"You can go to hell now," Musashi said, looking at the corrosive Demon before him. The corrosive Demon's movements were already completely within his grasp.
The corrosive Demon, seeing its attack blocked by Musashi, let out a low growl and charged towards him, drooling as it looked at the boy behind him.
"Sun Breathing, Second Form: Sky of the Setting Sun."
Musashi held the blade with both hands, then instantly launched three fiery slashes forward.
"No!!!"
Suddenly, the boy behind Musashi shouted and lunged at him.
Musashi was unprepared for the boy. Although he reacted quickly and adjusted his stance to avoid being knocked down, his attack was still thrown off due to the boy's interference.
One of the three slashes grazed the corrosive Demon's hair, and the other two severed both of the corrosive Demon's arms, leaving severe burn marks at the wounds.
"Ah!!!" The corrosive Demon let out a piercing scream, and a hint of fear appeared in its eyes as it looked at Musashi.
"She's my sister! Don't hurt… cough cough…"
The boy hugged Musashi, shouting in a hoarse voice, but before he could finish, he began to cough violently. His throat was already injured from shouting for too long.
Musashi, who was about to scold the boy, swallowed his words. He looked up at the corrosive Demon again; its figure was indeed that of a little girl, and it wore the cherry blossom hair ornament the boy had mentioned on its head.
The moment Musashi saw this demon, he entered the Transparent World and didn't pay attention to its appearance. He also hadn't heard clearly when the boy spoke earlier. Now, hearing the boy's loud shout, Musashi finally realized this.
"Please, let her go…" the boy pleaded hoarsely to Musashi.
Is it a newly formed demon? What should I do?
Listening to the boy's plea, Musashi hesitated for a moment.
"These demons were once human too." Tanjirou's words echoed in Musashi's mind.
Now he could understand what Tanjirou had said to him before: demons were once human, and they too had loved others and been loved by others.
"The monster that attacked your village is a demon, a creature that must eat humans to survive. Once it is formed, it will kill humans as food."
The next moment, Kyojuro's words also appeared in his ears. The tragic state of the village and the scene of the corrosive Demon holding a child's arm flashed before his eyes.
Musashi tightened his grip on his Nichirin Sword.
"…When he pushed the monster out of the house and saw the black shadow was his mother, how must he have felt? When he personally killed his mother and had a mental breakdown, then heard his desperately protected younger brother speak ill of him, how did he feel?"
There was nothing to hesitate about. Even if it was once human, it was now a flesh-eating demon. The boy, its blood relative, was its primary target…
"I'm sorry," Musashi looked at the boy with apologetic sympathy, then pushed him away.
The corrosive Demon's severed arms were completely unable to regenerate. Now, it was filled with fear of Musashi and turned to flee.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Setting Sun."
The next moment, a beautiful flame, like a sunset glow, sliced across the corrosive Demon's neck.
"Ah ah ah!!!" The corrosive Demon let out an even more piercing scream, and its body softly collapsed.
"Hotaru!!!"
The boy, witnessing all of this, cried out in grief, then rushed desperately towards the corrosive Demon's corpse.
"Don't go! Its corrosive properties will kill you!" Musashi quickly warned him and then swiftly reached out to grab him.
Under Transparent World, Musashi could see that the demon's body surface had the same corrosive substance as its Blood Demon Art. A human body coming into contact with it would definitely be completely corroded.
Musashi's hand successfully grabbed the boy's clothes, but the boy took off his outer garment, then directly pounced onto the corrosive Demon's corpse.
With its head severed by the Nichirin Sword, the corrosive Demon's body had already begun to turn to ash. At the same time, the boy hugging the corrosive Demon's corpse was also gradually being corroded.
"Don't be afraid, Hotaru, big brother will stay with you…" The boy's eyes were vacant, and he murmured hoarsely, disappearing along with the corrosive Demon into the world…
Musashi, witnessing all of this, stood frozen in place, a shadow falling over his eyes…