Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

For Takeshi Taniguchi, the most important thing now is to stall the opponent.

The best way to resolve the battle is to hold off the opponent and wait for your teammates to arrive so that everyone can work together, rather than risking your life alone and putting yourself in danger.

Given the right conditions, the best way to deal with evil spirits is to have multiple people against one.

Therefore, after forcing Su Mu to stop with one strike, Taniguchi Takeshi did not choose to attack again. Instead, he stood not far away, holding his sword, and coldly watched Su Mu.

However, Taniguchi Takeshi's heart immediately tightened because he discovered that the demon was carrying a little girl on its back. This made him realize that things had suddenly become tricky. What if the demon used the little girl as a threat...?

The instant this thought arose, Taniguchi Takeshi saw that the demon had already put the girl down from its back.

"Are you going to use this girl to threaten me? Or are you going to use her as a human shield?"

Almost instantly, Taniguchi Takeshi's face turned terribly gloomy. These cruel demons are always like this.

"call……"

Taking a deep breath, Taniguchi Takeshi's eyes slowly hardened. Although he was reluctant, sometimes sacrifice was inevitable. If the evil spirit escaped because of a moment of reluctance, many more people would sacrifice themselves.

There are far too many examples like this.

Too many Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen escaped because of the despicable nature of demons.

Too many swordsmen have been hampered by such despicable methods, ultimately finding themselves in perilous situations. Not only did those who were saved not survive, but even those who did the rescue died at the hands of the evil spirits.

Gradually, some agreements were established within the Demon Slayer Corps: protecting humans is a given, and so is hunting demons, but when hunting demons conflicts with protecting humans, hunting demons becomes the first choice.

No matter how reluctant you are, you still have to harden your heart.

Su Mu slowly put Kanao down from his back, but his gaze remained fixed on Taniguchi Takeshi. In fact, he had been watching this Demon Slayer Corps swordsman who practiced 'Wind Breathing'. When he learned that the other party practiced 'Wind Breathing', he knew that today's battle was inevitable.

If the opponent tries to stop me, they will be able to slow me down thanks to the speed advantage of 'Wind Breathing'.

However, it would be difficult for him to kill him, since he was practicing the 'Wind Breathing' technique, which was very fast. As long as he didn't want to fight, but only wanted to entangle and delay him, he could retreat or leave whenever he wanted.

Unless you can get close to the opponent and then use the explosive speed of the 'Flying Sword Style' to kill them in one strike.

"Are you trying to threaten me with this child? You filthy monster."

Taniguchi Takeshi looked at the demon who had put the girl down, his face cold: "I will not compromise because of your despicable methods. I will... personally cut off your neck with my Nichirin Blade, even if it means sacrificing the child in front of me."

Su Mu ignored Taniguchi Takeshi and instead looked down at Kanao: "If I die here today, don't hate anything. Just live a good life from now on."

As he spoke, he patted Kanao's head and pointed at Taniguchi Takeshi: "Go over there to your uncle."

Kanao, who is usually very obedient, had a vague feeling that this departure might be forever. Unusually, she did not listen and was unwilling to leave her uncle, her little hands tightly gripping his sleeve.

"obedient."

Su Mu spoke again.

Kanao's body trembled slightly, but the obedient girl would not disobey her uncle's orders in the end. Reluctantly, she let go of Su Mu's sleeve and walked towards Taniguchi Takeshi.

Taniguchi Takeshi's pupils contracted slightly, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. The despicable demon had actually given up using the little girl as a threat, or even as a human shield, and had also given up the idea of ​​taking the little girl hostage. This was completely beyond his expectations.

If he hadn't witnessed all of this happening right before his eyes, he would never have believed it.

But when he saw the girl approaching and already some distance from the demon, Taniguchi Takeshi's face showed excitement.

"Quickly, come here quickly, get away from the evil spirits."

Ideally, the child could be protected while the evil spirits were slain.

While urging the girl to come over quickly, Taniguchi Takeshi watched the demon warily. Sure enough, he saw that the demon had already held the Nichirin Blade horizontally in front of its brow, seemingly about to point the blade at the girl walking towards it.

"I knew it, I knew it, you ghosts have always been despicable and shameless."

Taniguchi Takeshi gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly, his face showing anger mixed with a hint of struggle. He knew that for someone who practiced 'Wind Breathing', speed was his greatest advantage. If he brought this girl along, she would undoubtedly become a burden, and might even put him in mortal danger.

They also knew that one-on-one confrontations were disadvantageous to them.

But how could a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman, who is dedicated to protecting humanity and eliminating evil spirits, bear to watch a girl be killed by a demon right before his eyes?

He clearly had the opportunity to save the girl, but chose to give it up because of his own concerns. This is unforgivable no matter what.

At the same moment, Su Mu also slightly bent down, stepped on the ground, and rushed towards Kanao, raising his Nichirin Blade high towards her.

It looks so ruthless

So ruthless.

………………

………………

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Chapter 42 Baseness and Nobility

Seeing the demon mercilessly slash at the child, Takeshi Taniguchi rushed towards Kanao almost without hesitation.

A gust of wind swirled around them, and Taniguchi Takeshi, who was practicing the 'Breathing of the Wind' technique, moved with incredible speed. Almost instantly, he appeared in front of Kanao, reaching out to pull her away from the vicious blade of the demon behind her.

"Get down."

The evil spirit's cold voice suddenly rang out.

Taniguchi Takeshi was somewhat puzzled, but the rescue of the child did not slow down; on the contrary, it became even faster.

However, just as she was about to grab the child and quickly retreat with Kanao, she suddenly missed.

It was only then that they realized that the moment the demon said "lie down," the child immediately crawled down without any hesitation, obeying the demon's command, which prevented him from catching Kanao.

Instinctively raising his head, he realized that he was only half a body length away from the demon, and he could clearly see the murderous intent flashing in the demon's scarlet eyes.

A sense of foreboding washed over him, and he almost immediately turned to retreat, only to be horrified to discover that the blade that was meant to strike the child was instead aimed at him.

"kill!"

With a low growl from the demon, the blade slashed down at him without any mercy.

So fast!

For a moment, my mind went blank, and I almost instinctively raised my knife to parry.

The demon's charged strike was incredibly powerful, and when it struck his Nichirin Blade, the immense force almost instantly traveled through the blade and into his hand.

Having already been practicing the 'Wind Breathing' technique, Taniguchi Takeshi was already slightly weaker in terms of power. When he was attacked by the demon's charged strike, the force passed through the blade, instantly causing him to lose his grip on the sword, his hands to tremble, and his whole body to become unsteady, staggering backward.

At that moment, the evil spirit sheathed its sword and lowered its body.

"Flying Sword Style: Dragon Hammer Flash".

Holding knives in both hands, the half-crouched demon suddenly leaped up.

Swish!

The blade pierced through Taniguchi Takeshi's chin and emerged instantly from the top of his head, with red and white liquid flowing down the blade and dripping onto Taniguchi Takeshi's hair.

"Hoho~"

Taniguchi Takeshi tried to scream in agony, but the blade had pierced his chin, leaving his mouth unable to close or open any further. Only the 'hoarse' sounds of his throat moving and the blood flowing from his mouth made the scene extremely cold-blooded and cruel.

Su Mu drew his Nichirin Blade without hesitation. Taniguchi Takeshi stretched out his hands, trying to grab him, but his hands were too weak to reach him, and he fell to the ground instantly.

"boom."

Taniguchi Takeshi's body crashed to the ground, and the battle ended in an instant.

The corpse lay on the ground, its lifeless eyes staring blankly ahead. In front of it, Kanao lay on the ground in the same manner, her pinkish-purple eyes meeting Taniguchi Takeshi's lifeless gaze.

The girl's beautiful pinkish-purple eyes froze for a moment.

Having slain the Demon Slayer Corps swordsman with a single strike, Su Mu almost instantly crouched down, picked up Kanao who was still lying on the ground, and ran into the distance without hesitation.

Held in her uncle's arms, her small body bounced as he ran, the girl's head rested on his shoulder, staring blankly at the figure lying on the ground in the distance...

A person who does not move.

Su Mu ran in silence, feeling no joy at killing his enemies. Instead, he felt somewhat depressed, comparing himself to the dead Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen and recalling the despicable methods he had just used.

Admittedly, in a real one-on-one fight, the opponent might not be a match for me, but with the speed of 'Wind Breathing', I might not die so easily, and I might even have a chance.

The other party knew perfectly well that choosing to intervene would be a burden to them.

Even though I know that doing this will be very dangerous for me.

But they still chose to do it, risking their lives to save the child.

But he himself chose to use Kanao as bait, and the child's life as bait.

Admittedly, even if the Demon Slayer swordsman hadn't gone to the rescue, he wouldn't have actually struck.

But compared to the other party's nobility, I seem so despicable.

However, the noble one has already fallen.

And despicable...

But he still stood there.

Su Mu ran in silence, his mind filled with the image of the corpse lying on the ground. The blood on his hands made his grip on the Nichirin Blade feel as if he had been electrocuted.

"I don't want to...die."

Thinking of the other person's eyes before they died, he clenched his fist slightly: "I don't want to die, that's all."

He raised his head, looked at the dark sky, and murmured silently:

"I just don't want to die, so..."

"so……"

"The only option is... your death."

If he doesn't kill the opponent and lets him continue to entangle them until their companions arrive, he will almost certainly die when surrounded by a Demon Slayer Corps squad.

Whether you use righteous means or despicable means, staying alive is the most important thing.

………………

The torch sizzled and crackled, the grease popping and popping in the flames. The flickering light, like a panting breath, cast dappled shadows on people's faces.

Hiroshi Furukawa and a group of Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen caught up, only to find Takeshi Taniguchi's corpse lying on the ground.

Everyone fell silent.