Demons, in Roy's view, were no more frightening than humans. On the contrary, humans could be crueler than demons.
But the demons of the Demon Slayer world were different. They were corporeal monsters, extensions of the Demon King—Muzan Kibutsuji.
Empowered by demon blood, their bodies were immensely strong, far beyond ordinary humans.
Yet like Vows and Limitations, power exacts the price of "constraints."
Demons are not without weaknesses.
First, their lives and deaths rest on the Demon King's whim.
Second, they fear sunlight. Light kills them, so they hunt at night. That is why, at the beginning of Demon Slayer, Grandpa Saburo kept Tanjiro overnight—leading to the tragedy where the whole family was slain except Nezuko.
Third, demons crave blood and must feed on humans. Prolonged hunger weakens them, but once fed they recover rapidly.
The demon before them, unfortunately, was a fully fed fiend—starved to desperation, then newly replenished.
'And it's still daytime...' Roy could only marvel at his own 'good' luck.
A heavy cloud bank happened to cover the sun. No wonder this demon dared ambush woodcutters in wind and snow.
"Brother... what is that?" Tanjiro clutched Roy's sleeve, trembling.
"You said it yourself... a demon."
"A demon! It's real! Then shouldn't we... run!"
"Run? To where—home, so you can lead it straight to the house?" Roy swung his right arm, shouldered the hoe, and strode toward the demon.
"I..." Tanjiro's turned body froze. He looked back.
His brother tossed him a line without turning his head: "Stay put."
In the next instant Roy stamped into Dark Step, leaping in quick succession. He became a gust of wind, wreathing up flurries as he charged.
Three hundred meters is neither far nor near.
Enough for the demon to notice.
It dropped the half-devoured corpse, glared with blood-red eyes, and bared a mouthful of fangs.
"Gnyeh-hahaha... Perfect timing!"
"This woodcutter's meat is too stringy. Bad flavor."
"You two brats will do to grease the pan."
Exultant, the demon advanced instead of retreating, stomping a single foot and denting the snow.
Then it launched like a cannon shell, surging straight at Roy.
Midair, its claw—sharper than any blade—raked down at Roy's head!
So fast that Tanjiro cried out.
"Brother, look out!"
A cutting wind skimmed Roy's neck.
At the last split-second, Roy slipped aside and, in midair, used Limb Curve to veer off course, leaving a string of afterimages. He cut behind the demon's waist and swung the hoe in a heavy, crushing blow!
"Boom—" As if he'd scooped the kidneys right out!
Howling, the demon rolled and sprang back to open distance.
It couldn't fathom how a human made such unnatural movements. Rising again, it had already regenerated its body with demon blood.
Peeking from behind a tree, Tanjiro tracked every beat. Seeing this, he went blank.
If it can heal from wounds... how do you fight that?
Roy seemed not to mind. One hand on the hoe, he twirled it like a sword. A smile touched his lips. If anything, he looked more excited.
[Notice: Host +1 Combat EXP]
[Current Level: Combat: lv2 (16/100)]
[Note: Surplus combat EXP may be assigned at random to the host's known application techniques]
[e.g., "Dark Step," "Limb Curve," "Serpentine Life"....]
So... demon? More like a walking bundle of experience!
Roy's eyes lit. His Nen gained a new layer of meaning—
What is it to "draw nourishment"? Beyond study, battle is nourishment too.
'So the question is—kill him fast, or kill him slowly?'
Roy had his answer. He leveled the hoe at the demon ten meters away. Stung by the provocation, the demon shivered for no reason, a new feeling rising—fear—and flew into a rage.
Damn it—Sato Takeichiro had never feared anyone in life. He had slain even samurai of great houses. Now, turned into a demon, to be pointed at by a child with a hoe... If that lord heard of it, he'd be destroyed without mercy.
They'd mock him as worse than a child.
"Gnyeh-hahaha... So you're looking down on me." Sato Takeichiro sneered and rolled his ankles.
The probe just now had told him the opponent wasn't only fast, but used a bizarre footwork. To break the deadlock, he had to be faster, more elusive.
Which happened to be Sato Takeichiro's specialties—"speed" and "unpredictable"!
"Blood Demon Art—Springkill!" Sato Takeichiro changed. His soles curved into arcs. A light tap on the snow and he sprang like his feet held coiled springs!
Then Tanjiro witnessed a scene he would never forget.
The forest filled with countless demon figures...
They used trunks as springboards. Each rebound carried a reek of blood.
So fast that, even rubbing his eyes, Tanjiro could no longer tell which was the real body.
All he could do was clench his fists and worry for Roy.
"Oh no, Brother... he can split into multiples like you!"
No... not the same...
Roy coated his eyes in Nen and invoked [Gyo], seeing far clearer than Tanjiro.
The phantoms came from spring force at the soles, bouncing off snow and bark—so the speed was real.
By contrast, Limb Curve exploits blind spots in human vision, meant to mislead rather than outpace—nowhere near as fast.
What Sato Takeichiro could not imagine was that his foe wasn't some smug dojo brat with a trick, but—
a true Nen user with his aura nodes open!
And what is a "Nen user"?
With [Gyo], you track the opponent's aura. With [Ten], you hold mind and spirit taut, keep calm. With [Hatsu], you release aura—fire it as a Nen projectile, or coat an object to amplify its strike...
So—
'My foolish otouto, let your elder brother give you a proper lesson!'
Roy steadied his breath and raised the hoe.
Calmly: "Watch closely, Tanjiro."
"Only strength keeps your eyes from being deceived."
He swung the hoe down—