Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

As Su Mu passed the woodshed, he paused slightly. Koya Tsukasa tilted her head and looked at the man, seemingly puzzled as to why he had stopped.

Su Mu glanced at the woodshed, where the body of Kanao Suhana's father lay discarded. He had ended the man's life with his own hands, and he had personally ended Kanao Suhana's only blood relative.

This is undoubtedly cruel for any child who has lost their father. Right now, Kanao doesn't understand the meaning behind it, but will she understand it in the future?

However, he couldn't help but chuckle. What was there for any child to miss about such a father, and what was there for Kanao Aoi to care about?

"Kanao, once you leave, you'll never come back."

Su Mu looked down at the girl who was tilting her head and looking at him.

As the chestnut blossoms fell, Kanao nodded obediently.

Su Mu led Su Hualuo.Kanao out, and from beginning to end, Su Hualuo.Kanao's eyes never once looked at the woodshed where her dead father had been.

Chapter 22 Encounter with the Demon Slayer Corps

Su Mu stopped after taking only a few steps with Kanao Aoi by the hand. The pace was simply too slow. Although Kanao Aoi was trying her best to keep up with him, a human body cannot compare to a demon's.

Moreover, Kanao Suhana was still a frail little girl.

Moreover, it's a long way from here to the town, and traveling such a long distance is really too difficult for a little girl.

"Let me carry you on my back."

Su Mu patted Su Hualuo Kanao's head, then bent down and said, "Come on up."

After a slight hesitation, Kanao climbed onto Su Mu's back.

"Her hands were wrapped around my neck."

Su Mu said in a low voice.

Kanao obediently reached out and wrapped her arms around Su Mu's neck, feeling the broad warmth of the man's back. Under the moonlight, Kanao's eyes sparkled. In the closed emotional world of her young heart, she used to envy those children who had their fathers' love, whose fathers would carry their children like this.

In the depths of her closed-off heart, there was once a longing, a longing for the feeling of being carried like this.

At this moment, the things I once longed for and envied in my closed-off emotional world no longer need to be envied.

The girl gently pressed her head against the man's neck, closed her eyes, and quietly enjoyed and savored the feeling.

Su Mu didn't pay much attention to Kanao Aoi, he just ran quickly. He needed to get to the town as soon as possible, after all, he still needed to go to the Hiko Dojo to learn the 'Hiten Mitsuki-ryu'. After learning it, he still needed to continue searching for the Kamado family's residence.

However, Su Mu stopped running as soon as he left 'Taro Town'.

Because, ahead, came the sounds of fierce fighting and roars.

Among them, one voice was extremely familiar; it was the evil spirit who had been hiding from the sunlight with him in the cave a few days ago.

Those who can fight against evil spirits are obviously the Demon Slayers, whose mission is to eliminate evil spirits and protect humanity.

Su Mu wasn't surprised that the demon who had once hidden from the sunlight with him in the cave would be found by the Demon Slayer Corps. After all, the demon had just hunted down a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman. For the Demon Slayer Corps, which already hated demons, the pain of losing a comrade was enough to drive these swordsmen mad.

Furthermore, the other party is not careful at all and cannot resist the demonic instinct to crave flesh and blood. They often go out hunting, making it easy for the Demon Slayer Corps to find their tracks.

Through the sound that came from the demon, one could sense that the familiar voice of the demon was filled with fear and panic, clearly indicating that the demon had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Almost without hesitation, Su Mu carried Kusuhana and Kanao and turned to run away, without any intention of helping her.

…………

The torches crackled and flickered, their light reflecting off the blades of the Nichirin Blades, creating a chilling glint. Hiroshi Furukawa, wielding his Nichirin Blade, worked in coordination with his companions to attack the demons.

In the firelight, two gruesome corpses could be seen lying on the ground, blood dripping from them and staining the ground crimson.

That's how it is when you hunt demons; swordsmen will always die on the way.

Death can be terrifying and frightening, but for Hiroshi Furukawa, who had long been prepared to die on the path of demon hunting, he was no longer afraid of it. However, he still felt sadness when he saw his companions die in front of him, but more than that, he felt anger and murderous intent towards the demons in front of him.

These cruel demons, these demons who wantonly destroy the happiness of others, these demons who eat people, these ugly monsters, should all be killed, and should all be exposed to the sun to be baked alive.

"Demons deserve to die."

Hiroshi Furukawa gritted his teeth, his eyes cold:

"Breath of Flame, First Form: Shiranui"

In an instant, 'Hiroshi Furukawa' leaped up, his Nichirin Blade carrying a scorching aura, arriving in front of the demon in an almost explosive instant.

"Roar!" The demon roared, almost instinctively trying to resist, but 'Hiroshi Furukawa's' companions attacked almost simultaneously in perfect unison, restricting the demon's movements.

"Shh!"

The blade of the Nichirin Blade slashed towards the demon's neck in an instant, and the demon only had time to slightly shrink its head.

The blade, radiating a scorching heat from the flames, slashed horizontally across the demon's left ear and then cut out from its right ear. Red and white liquid flowed down the back of the blade as the upper half of the demon's skull, bounded above both ears, was almost sliced ​​off horizontally.

Even though half of its head was severed, the demon was still alive. It even reached out and caught the severed skull, then retreated almost at lightning speed, scattering the white brain matter from the severed skull as it ran. The whole scene looked extremely eerie and terrifying.

For the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen like Hiroshi Furukawa, such a scene did not frighten them. They knew that they could not kill these demons unless their necks were severed by the Nichirin Blade. They pounced again almost without pause, intensifying their attack.

A Demon Slayer Corps swordsman severed the right arm of a demon that hadn't picked up its own head.

A member of the Demon Slayer Corps nearly severed most of the demon's right leg bone.

Without pausing, Hiroshi Furukawa, wielding his Nichirin Blade, lunged at the demon once more.

Faced with the demon hunters' fearless attacks, seamless teamwork, and ruthless cruelty, even the wounded demons felt threatened with death.

"If this continues, we will definitely die."

The threat of death almost drove the demon to despair. Just when the demon thought it would surely die by the Nichirin Blade of these Demon Slayer Corps demon hunters today, it suddenly sensed a familiar aura of its kind approaching. And the demon nearby was probably Su Mu, who was still enduring the craving for 'humans'.

Almost instantly, hope surged within his despairing heart. A strong will to survive caused the demon to erupt instantly, risking further injury to force the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen away.

At this moment, the demon felt a surge of joy. If the other party came and joined forces with him, he was confident that he could kill all the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen in front of him.

It should be noted that in a one-on-one fight, none of the demon hunters here could match him. In addition, the demon's powerful body, superb regenerative ability, and near-immortality almost completely overwhelmed these demon hunters. If it weren't for the demon hunters' fearlessness and their tacit cooperation, he wouldn't have been in such a desperate situation.

But if someone helps share some of the pressure, the situation is different.

However, the joy that had just begun to rise was immediately abruptly cut short, because the familiar, kinship-like presence that had been so close was rapidly receding into the distance.

"hateful."

The words almost came out through gritted teeth from the demon's mouth, but facing 'Hiroshi Furukawa' and the other swordsmen attacking again, the demon, filled with hatred, could only turn and flee.

Chapter 23's mission is not over yet.

The branches in the forest stung my face as they lashed against it. The grotesque demon with its bluish-purple face fled desperately, blood seeping from its wounds due to the intense movement.

"Huff! Huff! Huff..."

He was panting heavily, and the fatigue in his body was getting heavier and heavier.

Demons don't normally feel tired, but that's only when they're not injured. When they are injured, their bodies prioritize healing their wounds.

Wounds are nothing to demons; even if someone cuts off an arm or pierces the heart with a knife, it can heal quickly. But if the knife is a Nichirin Blade forged from sunlight-absorbing gorilla sand iron and gorilla crimson ore, then the situation is different.

Wounds inflicted by a Nichirin Blade, which possesses the special ability to limit the regeneration of demons, will heal very slowly.

For demons who haven't felt tired in a long time, the feeling of fatigue can surface in their minds and cause them great panic and fear.

That was the feeling of facing death.

"Escape, escape for your life!"

As this thought crossed her mind, she felt more resentful. She had clearly sensed Su Mu's presence before. If he had joined forces with her, the situation might not have been so bad. They might even have been able to fight back against the group of ghost hunters together. But when he sensed the situation here, he left without hesitation, showing no intention of treating her as a companion or one of his own.

How foolish!

Do you think these demon hunters will let you go after killing me?

How ridiculous.

"Whoosh!"

A flash of light appeared behind him, and the fleeing demon screamed and tumbled to the ground.

However, a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman who had been chasing after them threw his Nichirin Blade without hesitation, slashing it directly at the thigh of the running demon, causing the fleeing demon to lose its balance and fall to the ground.

Hiroshi Furukawa did not disappoint his teammates and charged in without a word, his blade flashing like autumn water.

It's now!

"Breath of Flame, Second Form. Flame Rises."

With his swords in both hands, Hiroshi Furukawa leaped into the air and simultaneously unleashed a powerful slash with his Nichirin Blade. The speed of his grip on the blade exploded in that instant, and the fiery strike aimed directly at the demon's neck.

The evil spirit sensed danger and tried to dodge, but it was too late; the sharp blade instantly pressed against its neck.

The demon felt a sudden lightness in its neck, as if it were flying in the sky. But immediately, it saw its familiar body and the headless neck gushing blood like a fountain.

"So it turns out my head was severed."

His head hit the ground with a dull thud.

At the same moment, Hiroshi Furukawa landed, one hand on the ground holding a knife, half-kneeling and breathing heavily.

Their companions arrived at that moment, and upon seeing the evil spirit vanquished, they all smiled in unison.

A Demon Slayer Corps swordsman looked at the severed head that Captain Hiroshi Furukawa had cut off. Seeing the grotesque skull, and remembering his fallen comrades, he strode forward in fury and stomped on the head repeatedly, his teeth clenched in hatred.

"Damn it, these wretched creatures shouldn't exist in this world."

Hiroshi Furukawa and his companions were all panting heavily, and no one stopped them from venting their anger.

Although its head had been severed, the demon's powerful vitality did not kill it immediately; its eyes could still move, its ears could still hear, and its nose could still breathe.

However, the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen present did not pay much attention. Although demons have strong vitality, once the neck of a powerful demon is severed by a Nichirin Blade, death is only a matter of time. They could see the head of the demon being trampled underfoot slowly dissipating.

As the demon's corpse dissipated, a foul stench began to emanate from the air.

"These vile demons, even in death, are so foul."

The swordsman, who had the demon's head under his feet, kicked it away with a look of disgust.

The dissipating heads rolled among the grass, emitting a foul stench, and the demon's life was gradually fading away.

As life gradually fades away, the memories that were once lost return little by little. Before becoming a ghost, he had a wonderful family, with a gentle wife and obedient children. But as he became a demon, all happiness was destroyed by the smell of blood.

The gentle wife held him tightly, watching him devour her flesh, hoping he would come to his senses. She wept and begged him to spare the child, to only eat her...

These memories, which had gradually faded as he became a ghost, all resurfaced in his mind.