Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 1 I - Not Going to School
Cold—shivering—

The chill was like kicking off a blanket in winter, quietly waking a sleeping person.

When the victim opened his eyes, his upper body was lying on the bed, and his lower body was also lying on the bed, sleeping very restlessly.

The eyeballs turned to vibrate, indicating the location; the caller ID light flashed in the darkness; and the ringtone broke the morning silence.

The boy didn't answer the phone immediately. Instead, he covered his throat. Just a few breaths earlier, his throat had been cut open by a sharp blade, and blood spurted more than two meters high, which was extremely horrifying.

Thankfully, it was just a dream.

At least for now, it's just a dream.

Incidentally, the hissing sound of blood rubbing against the air is very similar to the sound of bubbles bursting when a carbonated drink is first opened.

Fumbling to pick up the flip phone, it was an absolute relic for someone born after the millennium. But in this strange new world, it was a genuinely trendy new product.

Open the flip cover to quickly set up automatic connection.

"..." There was a long silence.

"Yujianming, if you're listening, please don't pretend to be profound." A slightly tired, hoarse female voice came from the phone; it was a husky voice.

"Onizuka-sensei?" The boy called Mitsurugi Akira spoke slowly, his tone unsteady, with a considerable portion of his consciousness still remaining in the dream.

"Hey hey hey, this is Shizuka Onizuka, the pathetic female teacher who's been stood up three times." Despite saying this, the person's voice didn't sound really angry.

"Yujian, two weeks have passed since the start of the semester. When do you plan to come back to school?"

"today?"

"Hey, don't answer questions with questions," Onizuka Shizuka raised her voice, unconsciously using a trilled "r" sound.

Although he couldn't see the other end of the phone, Yu Jian automatically pictured someone standing on a chair, yelling into the phone.

"Today," the boy said again.

"Hey, you don't sound very energetic. Still not over your insomnia?" At this point, Onizuka Shizuka's tone softened a bit, which had been aggressive just moments before.

"Almost done," Yu Jian replied briefly.

"...Don't be reckless."

"will not."

A few seconds after hanging up the phone, Yu Jianming suddenly got up and drew back the curtains.

With a whoosh, bright sunlight flooded into the dimly lit room, illuminating a bloody and cruel hellish scene.

The gaunt ronin wields a rusty blade, the armored demon wears a horned helmet, and numerous lifelike evil spirits and monsters seem to leap off the page. It is a huge scroll that occupies an entire wall and even extends to the ceiling, pieced together from dozens of hand-drawn sketches.

Despite the messy and hasty brushstrokes, the spirit conveyed is extremely real, as if the artist had not imagined it but had actually seen the monster's true face.

Regrettably, most of the paintings have been damaged, with crimson ink marks resembling flowing blood, turning into crosses and covering them.

Only the armored demon occupying three large sheets of paper in the center remained intact.

Staring at the picture of the evil spirit, the boy muttered to himself.

"Indeed, it'll be ready soon."

He swept his white bangs back, couldn't help but stretch, and his expression finally became more lively, as if painted with color.

Let me introduce myself.

Yu Jianming, sixteen years old, is a student and also a time traveler.

Forty-nine days have passed since I came into this world, or perhaps sixteen years. The forty-nine days belong to the transmigrator who has just awakened his past life memories, while the sixteen years belong to this life in which he was reborn as a newborn.

Getting back to the main point, Yujian, who was supposed to be heading to high school, has recently encountered some minor problems. The mystery of her birth has been silently shattered, and her past life has manifested as a dump truck in her memories, smashing everything in this life to pieces. Along with this, she comes with a cheat code that has no instruction manual, no system panel, and no after-sales service.

This cheat function is very simple, basically described as 'leveling up by fighting monsters in dreams'. It seems to be of little use in modern society, but it can be used as a VR game console or a dream fitness machine for fun.

But on the very first day of flying, he noticed that the taste was off.

First, the difficulty level is at the Soul Game standard.

Secondly, it is 100% realistic.

Most importantly, this game can't be paused or quit! Did you make this, Kayaba Akio?!
He died horribly thirty times in one night, the completely real killing continuing until dawn, when he finally awoke from this Asura dream as the sun rose on his sword.

This ordeal nearly drove him to a mental breakdown. He was forced to fight whenever he fell asleep, and he couldn't get any rest at all. It seemed that sudden death was inevitable. But people often don't realize how powerful their potential is until they are driven to the brink.

Life always finds a way out. Holding onto the belief that since it's a game, he can definitely beat it, Yujian begins his tenacious struggle as a transmigrator.

Hehe, I want to survive!

They spent the entire summer vacation plus two weeks of school fighting against a cheat code. Now, a glimmer of hope is finally beginning to appear.

It is precisely because we see hope that we are qualified to think about the future. Yu Jian decided to go to school. He had no choice; his cheat-like abilities couldn't generate any gold coins, and even a transmigrator needs to eat. If he didn't go to school, was he supposed to swim across the Pacific Ocean and become a homeless American?

Come to think of it, does this count as taking time off to play games...?

With a mental rant, Yu Jian sat sideways on the stair railing and slid down.

In the past, he would never have done something so childish and dangerous. Now, the phrase "death is always with me" is no longer a childish statement. The repeated brushes with death have ultimately shattered and rebuilt that mortal who was once content with mediocrity.

As for what it will be recast into, only God knows.

In short, not only his physical abilities, but also his sword-wielding mindset has undergone a slight upgrade.

Life is already difficult enough, so why not live it a little more freely?

At the very least, be true to yourself.

Brushing his teeth and washing his face, he headed out to school. Leaving his long-dormant, dark lair, Yujian surveyed the street scenes with great interest.

The country I live in this life is called Higashijima, officially known as the "Joint Domain of the Far East Morito Islands", also called "Higashikoku" or "Hijima". From its administrative system to its social customs, literature, animation, and movies, it is very similar to Japan in my previous life. The only difference is the course of history, otherwise the word "domain" would not have been retained in the country's name.

Compared to 2024, the world is still in the pre-millennium era, with a social background similar to the 1980s and 1990s, but with different science and technology, creating a wonderful feeling of both new and old.

At this moment, although there are no RGB scrolling lights on the street, it is filled with colorful neon lights. The Internet has begun to be promoted, but smartphones have not yet been launched. Most enterprises and institutions are still using landline phones.

Because of his three-no cheat ability that caused so much harm, Yu Jian hadn't paid attention to the outside world for a while, but now he had the leisure to look around and found everything new and interesting.

Before I knew it, I was going to be late.

"Students, if you don't want to be late, start running!" The school gate slowly closed, and the tall physical education teacher cupped his hands in front of him like a megaphone.

"..." Down the slope, Mitsurugi looked up at Shinkiin High School built on the mountain, his expression quite subtle.

Was the person who chose this location suffering from some serious illness? Why build the school on a mountain? Also, how could there be a mountain in the city center of Tokyo, such a modern metropolis? Was it due to preconceived notions?
Countless complaints turned into a sigh.

"What a nuisance." Yu Jian lightly tapped his toes and then disappeared from the spot.

On the other side, the PE teacher's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. That tall, white-haired delinquent who was late and had dyed his hair in violation of the rules had first dragged his feet up half the hill, only starting to run when the school gates were about to close—but how could he be so fast?!
Japanese Drama Running~
The wind whistled past my ears, its sound ever-changing, like a wild and unrestrained rock and roll song of youth.

Blood rushes through the body, and the heartbeat is strong and powerful, like an energetic electronic music beat.

Muscles tensed, and power rose from the ground, coursing through the entire body and twisting into a single force, transforming the body into an arrow, charging forward at breakneck speed!
Unleashing the abundant energy accumulated within his youthful body, he traversed the remaining distance in three steps as if teleporting, and then, like an eagle taking its first flight, soared over the school gate.

*Thud*, I leaned forward slightly to dissipate the impact. What the heck? I'm actually pretty fast, how come I couldn't dodge that sword yesterday? It's really baffling.

The physical education teacher, who witnessed the whole thing, was speechless for a long time.

What should he say? "Classmate, school rules don't allow dyeing hair?" No, that's not the point.

Recalling what had just happened, the physical education teacher felt his blood boil and vaguely saw the championship trophy of the six-school track and field league lying obediently in the school history exhibition hall.

"Student, you absolutely must join the track and field club!" He practically shouted these words.

"Huh?" Yu Jian looked at the PE teacher in astonishment.

Fifteen minutes later, he admitted that getting rid of the strong lock-on man from the big, muscular gym teacher was more tiring than fighting a monster.

"So, that's why you almost got late?"

Looking up at the problem child who hadn't been to school for a long time, Shizuka Onizuka had a very strange expression.

As the teacher (homeroom teacher) of Class 7 in the first year of high school, she had spoken to the other party on the phone several times, but today was the first time she met him in person.

Admittedly, this kid has a tall and slender figure with excellent looks. His left profile is described as unparalleled elegance, while his right profile is that of a superstar in troubled times. If you convert his looks into fighting power, he's practically a Super Saiyan 4 Son Ooku who can take down any street. If he walks down the street, he'll be mistaken for a super new star idol that some agency is about to launch.

Even with dark circles under her eyes, she'd be mistaken for a visual kei rock singer with deliberately smoky eye makeup—that's so unique.

"Hmm." Yu Jian nodded casually, pondering how to defeat the stuck boss, just like a problem student addicted to video games.

He has thoroughly explored the initial map, and any safe spots similar to the campfire could only be in the unexplored area behind the boss.

I suppose I'll be able to get a good night's sleep once I reach a safe point.

He had no other desires.

“The track and field club, that’s not bad. Anyway, school rules require you to join at least one club, why don’t you just join?” Onizuka Shizuka suggested. “I’ll think about it.” Mitsurugi snapped out of his reverie and expressed his refusal in a very adult manner.

"What? You're not talking like a student at all." Complaining, Shizuka took out a cigarette and her gaze moved to Mitsurugi's face, whose brows were slightly furrowed and made no attempt to hide it.

"May I?"

"I reject."

"Why are you suddenly not being so tactful now?"

"Because I hate the smell of smoke," Miken said very frankly.

"Heh, thank goodness I quit smoking as soon as I became a teacher." Onizuka Shizuka tore open the cigarette with a mischievous grin; it turned out to be a quiz chocolate for the pitiful master.

Yu Jianming looked directly at the homeroom teacher. The teacher had dyed red hair, which was probably against school rules. He didn't look much older than the students, so he was probably a young teacher who had recently graduated. Perhaps it was precisely because he was young that he retained a lot of enthusiasm, going to great lengths to bring the problem children who were skipping school back to the right path.

But what's with that trilled "r" sound? Yakuza? Delinquent? A former delinquent turned hot-blooded teacher? What kind of school manga is this? It's way too youthful.

He was internally ranting and raving, but Yu Jian's expression remained completely unchanged.

"There's nothing wrong with being honest with yourself, and besides, you look way cooler when you're unhappy than when you were sleepwalking earlier." Click, Onizuka Shizuka took out her phone and snapped a picture with obvious familiarity.

The person involved didn't pay attention to her behavior, but instead turned their gaze behind them.

"Teacher Onizuka, it's illegal to film someone else's image without permission."

A young female voice he had never heard before came from behind, causing Onizuka-sensei's expression to freeze instantly. Like a lively mouse encountering a cat, he awkwardly put away his phone.

"Ahem, let me introduce you. This is our class monitor, Aizen Yurika. Now, I'll trouble her to show you around the campus."

"But shouldn't this be Onizuka-sensei's responsibility?" the girl said.
"Um, please, Aizen-sama." Onizuka Shizuka clasped her hands together, her attitude extremely earnest.

"I just can't do anything with you." The person being asked sighed helplessly, even their complaint was full of tolerance, making one wonder who was actually the older one.

Upon closer inspection, the newcomer appeared to be a young woman dressed in a sailor uniform. The Shinkiin High School uniform was navy blue with parallel black stripes along the edges, a rather understated style, except for the bright red ribbon on her chest.

As the ribbons swayed and rippled, the girl gracefully approached the desk. Her waist-length hair was tied up in a braid behind her, with a loose plait hanging down naturally, making her look quite demure.

The only downside was the old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses on her face, which slightly affected her appearance, reducing her score from 12 to only 9 out of 10.

Yu Jian couldn't help but take a second look; the other person was holding an antique-looking folding fan, which piqued his curiosity.

"Nice to meet you, I am Aizen Yurika, please take care of me." The girl bowed slightly, a faint smile on her face.

“Yujian…Ming.” Yujian frowned as he uttered the somewhat unfamiliar name. Due to the intertwining of two sets of memories, he had not yet fully adapted to his name in this life.

"Is it pronounced 'Akira' as in the writing of Fudo Myo-o?" Aizen Yurika unexpectedly mentioned an old manga reference, which, considering its age, might still be considered new now?
Speaking of which, although the protagonist of that comic gained special abilities after being possessed by a demon, the overall tone was quite dark and profound, which was really not the type of comic girls would read.

"They're all the same." Yu Jian didn't care about that.

This name has been used for sixteen years in this life, but it is still an unfamiliar code name to my past self.

At first, he was even taken aback by being addressed that way. Fortunately, his parents were often away on scientific expeditions, which gave Yu Jian enough time to sort out his memories and start dealing with the problem of his cheat ability going berserk.

At this moment, Mitsurugi was puzzled by something else. He had only noticed it when Aizen Yurika walked up behind him, and for someone who had experienced countless bloody battles, this was truly very strange.

Increasingly curious, Mikken Akira did not refuse the teacher's arrangement and was led by Aizen to tour the new campus.

On the way, the two naturally started chatting.

"Is the white hair of Yujian-kun dyed? It doesn't look out of place."

"Ah."

"Is eye color also determined by genetics?"

"This shouldn't be fake, right?" Yu Jianming blinked, his eyes reflecting a lake-like expanse of emerald green.

"It's hard to say. In the second year of junior high school, there was a classmate who often wore red contact lenses to school and liked to say strange things like, 'My right hand is starting to hurt again. It must be because the seal is loosening.'"

"I'm not a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur)." Yu Jianming said, both amused and exasperated.

"Mmm." Aizen Yurika covered her lips with her folding fan, her eyes filled with a smile.

"Let's just say it's hereditary," Yu Jianming explained roughly.

According to my memories from this life, because my great-grandfather was from the Celestial Empire, the descendants of the Swordmaster family are often tall and have unusual appearances. But people from the Celestial Empire in this world also have black hair and black eyes, so what's with my family's white hair and blue eyes? Is this a special colored Shiny Pokémon?
With his thoughts wandering freely and his body following suit, Yujian, led by Yurika, toured the campus.

Shinkiin High School was founded a long time ago, but most of its school buildings have been renovated in recent years. Only one old school building on the north side has not been demolished, and it is only used as a classroom for some small clubs.

For some reason, Yu Jian felt that the building was unusual. It was hard to describe exactly, but if I had to, it was like facing an abandoned tunnel. Although you couldn't see or hear anything, the darkness made you feel uneasy.

"What club does Mikken want to join?" Yurika's words interrupted his thoughts.

"Many sports clubs are doing morning exercises now, so it's a good opportunity to visit them."

"I also can."

Aizen Yurika asked a question casually, and Mitsurugi Akira gave a casual answer, but the result was an ultimate storm that swept through various clubs.

"A ball speed exceeding 160 kilometers per hour! Is he... is he a professional player from the Major League Soccer?"

"Student, please join our baseball club! Koshien Stadium is calling us from afar!"

"A world-class goal in the first half! Where did this monster come from? You absolutely must join our soccer club!"

"Pointing to 33, are you insulting a Go club with such a long history?!"

"No, impossible! What kind of move is this?! I am utterly defeated! Please accept the position of General of our society!"

A hurricane called "Mysterious Transfer Student" (not really) suddenly descends, bringing a fresh atmosphere to the entire Shinkiin High School. It's not about showing off; it's just that after playing on Hell difficulty for so long, it's time to relax a bit.

Upon entering Class 7 of the first year of high school, the classmates all turned their attention to the rare beast. They had already learned about the new classmate through the school forum, and at this moment, their focus was mostly on the white hair and... face.

The girls were extremely excited and quickly gathered around Lily, asking her all sorts of questions. They would glance at her every now and then and immediately let out a low scream.

Yu Jian didn't react at all; he was busy thinking about strategies and had no time to deal with interpersonal relationships.

Throughout the day, apart from class monitor Yurika, she barely spoke to anyone else.

In short, the campus was unusually noisy and bustling today, but the commotion had nothing to do with Yujian.

As the sky outside the window was dyed red by the setting sun, the traveler couldn't help but recall what Mr. Lu Xun had said: "One cannot simultaneously possess youth and the feeling of youth."

But perhaps someone like him, who has transmigrated and been reborn, could?
"I suppose this is what youth is all about."

"Miken-kun, you unexpectedly look like an old man." Aizen Yurika's voice came from beside her. This time, she successfully got close enough to be noticed.

Yuken looked at Aizen Yurika with increasing confusion. She was slender and possessed the gentle beauty unique to a literary girl. She always had a smile on her face, and there was no indication that she was a master. Could it be an innate talent for low presence? It didn't seem like it.

"Class monitor, is there something you need?" Putting aside his wild thoughts, Yu Jian simply treated the other person as an ordinary classmate.

"Well, besides the Kendo Club, Miken-kun has already visited most of the clubs this morning, right?" Aizen Yurika smiled as she looked down at the new student with her hands behind her back.

"That's not wrong." Yu Jian nodded.

The reason for not going to the kendo club is simple: people who are used to real guns will not be interested in toy guns, and he really has no interest in light bamboo swords.

"So, you didn't like any of them?"

"almost."

"So, would you like to join my club?" Yurika unfolded a poster with cartoon-style cat paw pads drawn on it in colored crayons.

"Cat Paw Unity Society." Yu Jian read out the name beneath the pattern.

"What's that? An animal protection association?"

"Have you ever heard the proverb, 'So busy that you'd even want to borrow a cat's paw'? The Cat Paw Club's mission is simple: to help those in need." Yurika described an organization similar to a volunteer association in just two sentences.

"So there are a lot of cats in the club?" Yu Jian suddenly asked.
"..." Yurika tilted her head, only then realizing that the other person was joking.

Only two people remained in the classroom at this moment. The setting sun reddened the girl's cheeks, and even with her plain black-rimmed glasses covering her face, she still exuded an eerie beauty.

Without giving an immediate answer, Yuriko silently raised her hands to her chest, striking a beckoning cat pose.

"Meow?"

"..."

Yu Jianming remained silent for a moment, then closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and kept repeating "be true to yourself" in his heart.

Finally, the boy answered.

"I'll join!"

New author, new book! Please recommend and add to your favorites! Thank you!
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(End of this chapter)