In Roy's view, demons aren't necessarily scarier than people—if anything, humans can be even more vicious.
But the demons in the Demon Slayer world are different: they're tangible monsters tied to the Demon King—Kibutsuji Muzan.
Empowered by demon blood, their bodies are far stronger than ordinary humans'. Yet as with vows and constraints, power comes with "limits." Demons do have weaknesses:
1. Their lives and deaths lie at the Demon King's whim.
2. They fear sunlight—exposure kills them—so they roam at night. That's why, at the start of Demon Slayer, old man Saburo insisted Tanjiro stay over, which led to the tragedy of the family's slaughter, Nezuko alone surviving.
3. Demons crave blood and must feed on humans. Prolonged hunger weakens them, but once they feed, they recover rapidly.
And the demon before them was, unfortunately, one that had been starving—and had just gorged on blood. It was at full strength.
"It's still daytime…" Roy couldn't help thinking his "luck" was just great. A thick bank of clouds happened to cover the sun—no wonder this demon dared attack woodcutters in the snowstorm.
"Nii-san… what is that?" Tanjiro trembled, clutching Roy's sleeve.
"You said it yourself… a demon."
"A demon! A real demon! Then we should—run!"
"Run? To where—back home to lead it there?" Roy swung his right arm, hefted the hoe onto his shoulder, and strode straight toward the fiend.
"I…" Tanjiro froze mid-turn, then looked back.
"Stay put," his brother tossed over his shoulder without looking.
In a flash, Roy stamped into Silent Gait—several bounding strides—turned into a gust that lifted flurries of snow and shot forward.
Three hundred meters isn't far—or near. It was plenty for the demon to notice.
It dropped the half-eaten corpse, glared over with blood-red eyes, and bared razor fangs.
"Heh-heh-heh… perfect timing! This woodcutter's meat is too tough—stringy and bland. You two brats will add some fat to the pan."
Delighted, the demon didn't retreat but lunged. One stomp punched a pit into the snow, and it rocketed toward Roy like a shell.
Midair, it raked out claws sharper than blades, slashing for Roy's head!
So fast that Tanjiro screamed, "Nii-san, look out!"
A knife-wind skimmed past Roy's neck—
At the last instant he flickered aside, using Rhythm Echo to change course midair, trailing afterimages, circling to the demon's rear flank. He whipped up the hoe and brought it down in a crushing arc!
Thud— Like scooping out a kidney with a shovel.
Howling, the demon tumbled and rolled, opening distance fast. It didn't understand how a human could defy natural motion. Standing again, it had already regrown the mangled flesh with demon blood.
Peeking from behind a tree, Tanjiro watched, stunned—wounds that heal? How do you fight that?
Roy, as if not noticing, twirled the hoe like a sword, smiling—more excited than before.
[Notice: Host combat experience +1]
[Current Level: Combat Lv.2 (16/100)]
[Note: Surplus combat EXP may be assigned to your applied techniques]
[e.g., "Silent Gait," "Rhythm Echo," "The Snake Awakens"…]
So… a demon? More like a walking EXP pack.
Roy's eyes lit up. He understood his Nen a layer deeper: "drawing nourishment" isn't just learning—battle is nourishment too.
So—kill him quick, or kill him slow?
He had his answer. He leveled the hoe at the demon from ten meters away. The demon shivered at the taunt, a sudden, inexplicable fear prickling him—then flared into rage.
He—Sato Takeichiro—had feared no one in life, not even samurai in a daimyo's service. Now a demon, to be menaced by a child with a hoe… If "that man" heard, he'd be executed without mercy—mocked as worse than a kid.
"Heh-heh-heh… looks like I underestimated you." Sato Takeichiro sneered, loosening his ankles. The test told him the boy was not only fast but used a bizarre footwork. To break the stalemate, he'd have to be faster, lighter—ungraspable.
Which just happened to be his specialty.
"Blood Demon Art—Spring-Strike Kill!" Sato changed—his soles curved into arcs; a tap on the snow launched him like a spring!
What Tanjiro saw next burned into him for life:
The forest filled with demons—countless Sato shadows. Using trunks as trampolines, each rebound cut a bloody gust through the air. In the end, no matter how he rubbed his eyes, he couldn't tell which was the real body. He could only clench his fists and fret for Roy.
"Oh no, Nii-san—he can clone himself, like you!"
No… not the same.
Roy's eyes filmed with aura—he invoked Gyo. He saw more clearly than Tanjiro: the phantoms came from spring-loaded rebounds, ricocheting off snow and bark. The speed was real.
By contrast, Rhythm Echo plays to blind spots in human vision—meant to mislead, not pure speed. In raw pace, it lost out.
What Sato could never imagine was that his opponent wasn't some smug novice with a few tricks—but a—
Nen user who had actually opened his nodes.
And what's a Nen user?
With Gyo, you track the aura on your foe. With Ten, you steady your mind and stay calm. With Hatsu, you release aura—fire it as projectiles, or coat an object to hit harder.
So—
My foolish otōto—let your big brother give you a proper lesson.
Roy stilled his breath and raised the hoe.
"Watch closely, Tanjiro," he said evenly. "Only strength keeps your eyes from being fooled."
Then he swung.
~~~
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