Since he was eleven years old, Yuu had been helping his father, Tanjuro, chop firewood. He'd also stubbornly carried a small bamboo basket, following Tanjuro to sell charcoal.
After Tanjuro's early death, not wanting his younger siblings to bear the burden and thinking of their growing bodies, Yuu had taken on all the heavy labor himself.
He often ventured alone into the forest to find fresh, edible wild berries for his family.
During these excursions, Yuu had encountered plenty of fierce beasts.
Wild boars, mountain cats, even wolf packs…
But Yuu, relying on the agile physique he'd honed through work and his innate combat awareness, had never feared these wild animals.
Only that other kind of beast—the demon—had left him powerless, beaten into the ground.
"Let me see just how strong this demon body really is."
He clenched his fist, the knuckles cracking sharply.
Though Yuu was desperately hungry and energy-deprived, he could still clearly feel the formidable power contained within this body.
A demon's strength, combined with the combat instincts he already possessed as a human.
Yuu felt that an average demon should be something he could handle.
What he didn't know yet was that the demon he was about to face was far from average.
...
Following the scent trail, Yuu stopped before a cave at the mountainside about ten minutes later.
The cave entrance was well-concealed, hidden by shrubs and weeds as tall as a person. Under normal circumstances, Yuu might never have spotted it.
But the intensely sweet, rich scent of fresh blood emanating from within was like a bright candle in the darkness. It made Yuu's eyes burn crimson, and he almost couldn't restrain himself from charging straight in.
Fortunately, after enduring the torment of that initial bloody scene after his rebirth, Yuu had built up some mental preparation and resistance. He barely managed to suppress the impulsive urge.
"Looking at the claw marks around the entrance… this should be a bear's den."
"This demon… it seems he stole someone else's winter home. How despicable."
Back when he frequented the forest, a bear was the creature Yuu least wanted to encounter.
A bear's nose is keen, able to track scents from kilometers away. Its burst speed is fast, and it can climb trees…
No one would willingly face such a predator.
Previously, Yuu had had a few run-ins with bears. He'd always held a deep respect for their power, giving them a wide berth every time.
But faced with a terrifying creature that shouldn't even exist—a demon—even the forest's apex predator, the bear, could only become a victim.
The moonlight was bright, but it couldn't penetrate the cave's interior.
The bear den before Yuu looked like the gaping maw of a ferocious beast, eager to devour anyone who approached.
However, a demon's eyes possess night vision, somewhat like a feline's.
With just the slightest bit of light, they can see their surroundings clearly.
In Yuu's eyes, what would be pitch black to a human was now laid bare, with no secrets hidden.
"Demons… if they didn't warp your nature, force you to consume human flesh and blood, and couldn't tolerate sunlight… they could really be called a perfect life form."
Yuu consciously slowed his breathing and stepped into the cave without hesitation.
The entrance seemed only wide enough for one person, but as Yuu ventured deeper, the space gradually widened.
No wonder a demon would fight a bear for this cave. The interior was spacious, and the entrance relatively hidden. It would be a perfect place to hide from the sun during the day—a very suitable den.
Yuu couldn't help but entertain the idea of claiming it for himself…
The cave was relatively deep. After walking more than ten meters inward, Yuu stopped where the scent of blood was at its most potent.
He clearly saw a figure with its back to him, tearing at a mangled corpse.
The spilled blood still steamed faintly—the victim had died recently.
The corpse lay horizontally. The demon, positioned at its middle, greedily gnawed away.
From his angle, Yuu could see the corpse's face.
It was a young child, perhaps only twelve or thirteen years old. The small face was frozen in an expression of agony and despair.
Who knew what terror and hopelessness this child had experienced before death.
"An uninvited guest. Don't you know you shouldn't trespass on another's hunting ground?"
Hearing the heavy breathing behind him, Black Wolf Fang stopped eating.
He picked up the fresh heart he held and spoke to Yuu in a menacing tone, "Well?"
Like wild animals, demons have strong territorial instincts. Having another demon intrude into his home made Black Wolf Fang intensely displeased.
Yuu's breathing grew heavier. His eyes seemed glued, as if with adhesive, to the delectable corpse.
This immediate, close-range stimulation was hard for his long-starved body to endure.
Yuu needed a moment to resist and adapt to the blood's temptation, to avoid losing his rationality to his body's instincts again.
Black Wolf Fang turned around. After observing Yuu for a moment, he said with surprise, "You're… holding back?"
Black Wolf Fang had a lean, wiry, and exceptionally agile body. He was bare-chested, revealing sinewy muscles traced with prominent blue veins.
Three fierce claw marks scarred each side of his face. A simple animal pelt was tied around his waist.
His entire appearance radiated a wild, primal strength.
In Black Wolf Fang's hand, he still held the faintly pulsating heart, making Yuu's breathing even more ragged.
Yuu's reaction piqued Black Wolf Fang's keen interest.
"This look…"
"So you're a newborn demon, still holding onto human memories."
"It seems that Lord Muzan appeared nearby recently… How I wish I could see him once more. A pity my strength is still insufficient to deserve a place by his side…"
Black Wolf Fang extended the heart in his hand toward Yuu. "Brat, you want to eat this, don't you? Come here. Come and take it. I'll give you this heart."
Normally, demons are very possessive of their food. But right now, Black Wolf Fang was feeling particularly playful.
A newborn demon—it's rare to encounter one.
This was hilarious—desperately wanting to eat, yet restrained by human memories, hesitating to consume a person.
Watching a newborn demon struggle with its thoughts was truly entertaining.
However, Black Wolf Fang was mistaken about one thing. Yuu wasn't trapped in an ideological struggle. He was being disrupted by the conflict between his body's instincts and his human rationality.
There was a significant difference between the two.
"Brat, how long can you hold out?"
A newborn demon with human memories would typically struggle for a while. But soon enough, their warped psyche would drive them to feast on flesh and blood.
Black Wolf Fang believed this firmly because he had gone through the same process. Though he had hesitated for less than thirty seconds before embracing his nature and joyfully devouring human meat.
When a demon chooses to fully unleash its malice, to make the world feel pain, and then goes on to commit every evil deed imaginable… it discovers that being wicked feels… unbelievably exhilarating!
So Black Wolf Fang really wanted to see how long this demon in front of him could struggle.
To Black Wolf Fang's delight, in less than thirty seconds, Yuu's feet moved.
His eyes fixed on the heart in Black Wolf Fang's hand, Yuu, with crimson eyes, slowly began walking step by step toward Black Wolf Fang.
Black Wolf Fang laughed heartily. "That's more like it! As a demon, eating humans is only natural. Why hesitate and be indecisive?"
"Come, take the heart with your own hands, open your heart, and then eat it."
Although it was a bit of a shame to give away such a delicious heart…
Black Wolf Fang wanted even more to witness a demon's transformation firsthand.
It was like watching his former self…
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