Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 25: Debate of death

So I ran to the less scary being which was the man-eating demon living in the Iya Valley. I swiftly ran through the thick forest while Raven flew overhead.

The demon I was hunting put absolutely zero effort into hiding himself. I could sense his bloodlust so clearly that the logical conclusion was that he wanted people to find him.

I could also see him. My eyes pierced through the thick vegetation and locked on his demonic form. I would say that he was awfully human-like for a demon.

In just a few more minutes, I finally reached the demon. He wore a yellow haori with a white scarf on his neck. His clothes were neat and tidy, unlike most demons which gave the impression that he was a human.

But I knew for certain he was not.

"Your time is up demon. Your arrogance had led to your end." I said, my voice echoing in the small clearing I found myself in.

\'It led me to this place.\' I concluded in my mind when I saw the marks of previous battles in the surroundings. This was likely the place where he fought with the Demon slayers that tried to slay him before me.

The demon laughed, I could not see his face since he was turning his back on me but I knew he was genuinely amused.

"It is so convenient this way, I don\'t know why I haven\'t thought of this sooner. My prey delivered themselves to me and I do not even need to hunt them down." the demon said. It was hard to tell but I could make it out from the movement of his throat.

"You have it all wrong Demon Slayer, it is you who rushed to his own end." he said and finally turned to face me.

!!!!!!

He had the face of a young man with three \'X\' scars on his forehead and cheeks. But the thing that instantly caught my attention was the Kanji in his eyes.

四 - the number \'4\' in Kanji, that was written on his left eye.

"...lower moon four." I muttered in surprise before I looked down to hide my face.

"Oh~ are you scared \'Demon Slayer\'? You people have been a bother to my master so he gave us all an order to kill as many demon slayers as possible. I have been staying in this valley, calling them with my presence so that I can slaughter the lots of you." he said, even though I never asked.

"I\'m sorry." the demon said with a crooked smile, veins popped around his eyes and his human teeth turned sharp. His face abandoned all humanity and finally turned demonic.

"Actually, I\'m not sorry." then he shot at me with a burst of speed.

I finally looked up to meet his eyes and I pulled out my sword before swinging at him. His claws met the sharp edge of my blade with a spark of friction and he halted in mid-air. His body tried to overpower me but with refined technique, I resisted.

My usually stoic face scrunched up to show anger.

Because at that moment, I was absolutely pissed - livid even.

Why?

"You just couldn\'t show your ugly face sooner." I said and pivoted on my heels to deliver a backkick at the side of his body.

Steroid Breathing enhanced my physical strength and my kick broke his ribs and tore his liver. A small shockwave erupted and sent the demon flying to the side.

I had every right to be angry at that moment. I had worked so hard to become a Hashira as fast as possible - which required me to either kill one of the Twelve Kizuki or slay 50 demons.

Since I did not know the location of the Twelve Kizuki and because I was still not strong enough to take on the upper moons, I decided to become a Hashira by killing 50 demons.

I nearly succeeded, I had slain a total of 49 demons and he was supposed to be the final demon. But he turned out to be one of the lower moons.

If I had met him earlier, I would become a Hashira instantly without having to grind so hard. He just had to show up when his death would least benefit me.

The feeling was exactly the same as that time in my past life where I studied the whole night for a test, only to find out the teacher was absent the next day.

It\'s silly, I know but goddamn was it frustrating.

"You\'re pretty strong, that\'s a surprise. I guess they would send someone decent after the third time." the demon said and a demonic smile split his face.

"Blood Demon Art : Velocity Burst."

\'That\'s new, I have never seen a demon use blood demon art like tha-\' my eyes shone bright and opened wide in absolute shock.

It was because somehow, the enemy who was at least 5 meters away from me had suddenly appeared in front of me, arms pulled back to deliver a punch. His eyes were demonic red and his smile was straight out of a nightmare.

The wind caused by his sudden appearance blew my hair and dried my eyes, making me want to blink.

I could predict movements perfectly. I knew the language of the body better than anyone and my enemies spoke to me before they even made a single move.

But what I couldn\'t see were spells - blood demon art. And the demon had just used some form of spell to appear in front of me.

Time had slowed down to a crawl as my brain and eyes worked overtime to make up for the shock. I brought my sword up just in time to block his punch.

I would block the hit and the demon\'s arm would be split in half since the sharp edge of my sword was shielding me.

But then something happened again.

A shockwave.

A powerful shockwave erupted from his fist and the force sent me flying away like a ragdoll. I blinked and time resumed like normal. Everything happened in an instant.

*BOOOM!!*

I planted my feet on the ground and slid to a stop. I could not feel my arms properly.

My eyes immediately fell upon the enemy and this time with all the seriousness in the world. All silly thoughts were cast aside and emotions were discarded.

It was no time to joke around. The enemy was strong. He was easily the second strongest being I ever encountered. I could tell that much with a single exchange.

\'So this is the power of a lower moon.\' I thought grimly and took a stance with my sword.

"Good, I like that face better." the demon said and chuckled before he shot at me once more. This time, I was ready so I could see everything that I missed before.

..

..

He was fast. He was easily three times as fast as Jigoro whom I had trouble keeping up with.

How was the demon able to gain such speed with such minimal effort? My eyes revealed the truth to me and answered my question.

Shockwave.

The demon was able to create a shockwave on the bottom of his feet and from his hand - maybe even with other parts of his body but his feet and hand were the only parts he used so far.

A powerful shockwave strong enough to shatter the earth pushed him off. The speed at which he moved was so fast and sudden that his own body suffered internal injuries.

Blocking was out of the option since the enemy could also create shockwaves with his hands so I dodged the body which was coming at me like a meat cannon.

But as the demon flew past me, I could tell from his body language that he had no intention of missing. Instead, he was readying his muscles to deliver another attack instantly.

The twitch of his arm, the rotation of his hips and the side glance he gave me, all of these things told me of his next plan.

I pivoted on my heel and leapt to the side and dodged the following attack before it even happened.

Just as predicted, the demon exploded shockwave at his feet again and changed his trajectory. The sudden change in vector absolutely crushed his body but he was a demon, he didn\'t care.

But by the time the sequence of action was executed, I was no longer where I was supposed to be. The demon was forced to stop his attacks abruptly, his face told me he was surprised.

I can still read him.

"That was...strange." the demon said but then shrugged his shoulder, thinking what I just did was luck or a fluke.

He casually healed all of his muscle tears and internal injuries while cracking his neck. I also decided to get serious and I took a deep breath - blue lighting sizzled as I inhaled and flames came out of my mouth while I exhaled.

Two of the five major breathing styles mingled inside my body.

"Fine, let\'s talk."

And so, the debate of death starts.

..

..

[IMAGE of the Demon]

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