Chapter 4: The Demon Slayer Corps and Ubuyashiki
Now was not the time to dwell on other matters. The immediate priority was finding a doctor.
The two young girls who had been injured first, while their wounds weren't immediately fatal, could not afford to wait any longer. Fortunately, the temple was not far from the nearest clinic. With Gyoumei's powerful legs, he could make the round trip in a remarkably short time.
The only one who truly suffered from the journey was the doctor he carried back. As the man's feet touched the ground, his legs trembled uncontrollably, a clear sign of the jarring, high-speed ride he had just endured.
To his credit, the doctor's professional ethics were strong. He quickly composed himself and began treating the two girls' injuries. This kind of penetrating wound, which had thankfully missed any vital organs, wasn't particularly difficult to handle. The only real concern was the mediocre disinfection methods of the era; whether an infection would set in later was entirely a matter of fate.
The two girls had long since fainted from the pain and shock, so the entire treatment proceeded without a single cry or struggle. After briefly tending to the cuts on Gyoumei's body and the gash on Akira's temple—where Kaigaku had smashed him with an incense burner—the doctor hastily settled his bill and fled.
"Just how badly did Gyoumei scare him?" Akira muttered to himself, watching the doctor practically sprint away, unwilling to stay a moment longer. "Did he get dragged out of bed in the middle of the night or something?"
Akira had misunderstood. While Gyoumei was desperate to save the children, he wasn't so brutish as to burst into someone's home and haul a man from his sleep. The doctor's panicked escape was primarily due to the terrifying scene that greeted him at the temple.
A wall had been almost completely shattered. Not far from it, a pit nearly a foot deep was stamped into the earth, vaguely retaining the shape of a human body. And the blind monk who had carried him here, a giant of a man, was spattered with a disturbing amount of blood.
God only knew what kind of violent struggle had taken place here.
If not for the truly pitiable state of the injured children and a sense of medical duty that forbade him from abandoning patients, the doctor would have run the moment he arrived.
Just as the doctor vanished, the government guards arrived. The massive commotion from Gyoumei's battle with the demon had raged from midnight until dawn; it was only natural that the surrounding residents had reported it to the authorities.
Three injured children. A towering, blind monk who was also wounded. A group of visibly terrified kids huddled together. And a scene of utter chaos and destruction.
This was what the officials saw upon entering the temple grounds.
Their eyes were drawn to the suspicious, human-shaped depression in the ground and then to the injured Gyoumei. It was obvious this blind monk had been in a ferocious fight with an intruder. With the children's tearful testimony explaining that Gyoumei was their protector, the officials chose not to make things difficult for a man who looked like he could snap them in half.
However, when it came to the claims that "the monster disappeared at dawn," they could only conclude that the children were overly frightened and hallucinating. Since Gyoumei himself was blind, his version of events was dismissed as well. In the end, the government hastily closed the case, ruling it a simple home invasion where a criminal had committed violence before being driven away.
Akira wanted to complain about the incompetence of this world's so-called government, but at least Gyoumei hadn't been wrongly imprisoned as he was in the original story. Seeing that small victory, he held his tongue.
Instead, a new curiosity sparked within him. With Gyoumei not in prison, how would the master of the Demon Slayer Corps recruit this super-powered combatant?
Akira was certain the Corps would learn of the incident. After all, the figure he'd seen flash past the house earlier was a familiar face from his memories.
At the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, within the Ubuyashiki Estate.
A man wearing a bright yellow, checkered haori was reporting what he had witnessed. He was Kuwajima Jigorō, the former Thunder Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. Though somewhat short in stature, he was renowned as the fastest swordsman among their ranks.
The current Demon Slayer Corps was severely understaffed. While the number of low-level swordsmen was barely adequate, the Pillar-level combatants had dwindled to just himself and the Flame Hashira. The previous Water Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji, had retired to become a Cultivator a year ago; his old age and the accumulation of internal injuries from countless battles had forced him from the front lines.
Even Kuwajima himself was feeling the strain of age, finding it harder to withstand high-intensity combat. Only the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinjuro, remained at his physical peak.
Kuwajima had set out immediately after receiving a report of a demon's appearance, but he had still only arrived at the break of dawn. He had reached the temple just in time to witness the demon disintegrate into ash beneath Gyoumei's relentless assault.
Shocked by the raw power Gyoumei possessed despite being clearly untrained, Kuwajima had confirmed the demon's demise and then rushed back to headquarters to report. Such a promising talent was exactly what the Demon Slayer Corps desperately needed.
"I see... To be able to suppress a demon with his bare hands and fight it until sunrise..." Ubuyashiki Kagaya, the current head of the Ubuyashiki family and master of the Demon Slayer Corps, responded softly. He sat opposite Kuwajima, his voice a gentle murmur. "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kuwajima. You may go and rest. I will handle the rest."
His tone was placid, his joy masked by the deep calm of a true leader.
"Yes, Master." Kuwajima bowed and took his leave.
After he was gone, Kagaya slowly stood and walked outside, accompanied by his wife, Amane.
"Mr. Kuwajima has discovered a child with infinite potential," Kagaya said, his voice now tinged with an excitement he had suppressed in front of his subordinate.
"Are you going to invite him personally?" Amane asked, easily guessing her husband's intentions.
"Of course," he affirmed. "With the proper training, someone like that could quickly become a new Hashira. He is a rare talent for the Corps in its current state. also, those children who witnessed the demon with their own eyes also need to be properly cared for."
The Ubuyashiki family did not just command the Demon Slayer Corps; they also used their vast influence to suppress any news related to demons.
After all, if the wealthy and powerful of the world learned that becoming a demon granted a form of immortality—with the only side effect being a vulnerability to sunlight—Kagaya dared not imagine how monstrously the demon problem would proliferate.
As for the need to feed on humans? When had those people ever cared about the lives of common folk? Even without becoming demons, there was no shortage of nobles who took pleasure in killing for sport or watching others engage in bloody combat for their own amusement.
Shortly after, the group of government guards who had investigated the temple were collectively summoned by their superior.
"Not a single word of what you saw and heard today is to be leaked to the outside world. Not even to me! Do you understand? Otherwise, we will all die!"
That was the first and only thing their superior said before dismissing them.
In the days that followed, every member of that squad died in the line of duty due to various "accidents."
No one cared about the lives of these low-level bailiffs, except for their families.
On the afternoon of the demon attack, the head priest and two other monks who had been away finally returned. Akira noticed a young man accompanying them—he had a gentle, sunny expression, yet carried himself with a natural air of nobility.
'Ubuyashiki Kagaya.'
The face, almost identical to the one in his memories, allowed Akira to recognize the visitor at a glance.
He watched as Kagaya and the head priest chatted amiably, noting the priest's clearly deferential attitude. Akira quickly pieced together Kagaya's plan: start with the priest, learn about Gyoumei, and then have the priest help persuade him to join the Demon Slayer Corps.
The presence of wisteria incense—a known demon repellent—in the temple made it clear that the head priest knew something about demons; he just hadn't shared that dangerous knowledge with those under his care. And the head of a remote little temple naturally had no power to resist the Ubuyashiki family, whose wealth and influence were comparable to that of a nation.
"Head Priest." Upon hearing the familiar voice, Gyoumei rose to greet him.
"Ah, Gyoumei," the old priest said, his voice slightly raspy with age but still kind. "I heard that you fought a monster last night to protect the children. You did well. That kind of creature is called a demon—a man-eating beast that is difficult for ordinary people to kill."
He gestured to the man beside him. "I don't know much about these monsters, but this Mr. Ubuyashiki has a much better understanding. He would very much like to speak with you. Please, take him to the quiet room and host him properly."
It seemed they had already reached an agreement on the road. The head priest immediately arranged for Gyoumei and Kagaya to speak privately.
Akira noticed, however, that as Gyoumei led Kagaya away, the head priest quietly moved in the opposite direction. The old man seemed determined to avoid knowing even a shred more about demons. At his age, all he wanted was to live out his remaining years in peace. Knowing how to avoid the creatures was enough; any further information was a threat to that peace.
In stark contrast to the priest, as Akira saw Gyoumei leading Kagaya away, he began to walk towards them.
Since he had been reincarnated into this world, he might as well do something.
Save some of the people he had come to admire.
And change a few of their tragic fates.
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