At the foot of a ravaged mountain, a young man was panting heavily.
Before him, a corpse dozens of meters tall had been dismembered, its head lying to one side, its heart torn out.
But strangely, this "corpse" didn't seem to be completely dead. The severed pieces were still twitching slightly, and even some of the smaller wounds were slowly healing.
"As I thought, I still can't compare to Master. A demon of this level... I'm still unable to kill it completely."
Suzuki Makoto looked at the enormous remains before him and shook his head in disappointment.
The villagers, who had been hiding in the distance, now ecstatically rushed forward.
"Lord Samurai, has the Sukuna Oni been eliminated?"
The village chief's voice trembled as he looked at the massive corpse and the sea of blood that resembled a lake.
"My apologies, the Sukuna Oni has not been completely destroyed. My skills are still unrefined, and for now, I cannot completely destroy its heart."
Suzuki Makoto replied apologetically.
"Th-then what should we do?"
"Drag its limbs and torso a short distance away and bury them. I will suppress its heart here, so it won't be able to revive. After that, I will go find my master. His power is enough to completely destroy the Sukuna Oni."
"Thank you, Lord Samurai."
The village chief immediately prostrated himself on the ground to bow to Suzuki Makoto, and the villagers behind him quickly followed suit, a whole crowd of them kneeling.
"Please get up, everyone, get up. The extermination of the demon isn't over yet. For now, please hurry and bury the Sukuna Oni's body."
After Suzuki Makoto helped the village chief up, the chief quickly urged the villagers to go home and fetch various tools to dig a pit and bury the corpse.
"Lord Samurai, how will you suppress the Sukuna Oni's heart?"
Suzuki Makoto picked up his own sword, stroking it with some reluctance.
[Name: Demon-Slaying Sword (Sukuna-kiri)]
[Status: Awakening]
[Remark: For a sword, the most important thing is not its materials or craftsmanship, but what it has killed—a hero duels the Taiko; even a hand-forged blade can be named Abe-giri.]
This shoddy, half-baked system of his had first appeared when he picked up a kitchen knife. At the time, he was ecstatic, thinking that dump truck had been officially sanctioned, only to discover the system had nothing but a name.
It wasn't until he became an apprentice and killed his first demon that the name of the sword in his hand changed, and two more fields were added—though they were still useless.
After all, to this day, Suzuki Makoto had never successfully awakened a single sword.
The sword in his hand was the one that had been with him the longest without ever breaking. Its name had changed again only after defeating the Sukuna Oni, and its status had become [Awakening].
It seemed that if he could have successfully killed the Sukuna Oni, his sword would have fully awakened.
A pity... his skills were still unrefined.
Sighing, Suzuki Makoto viciously pierced the Sukuna Oni's heart with his sword.
"Just leave it here. If you're worried, you can bury this along with my sword. As long as no one pulls the sword out, the Sukuna Oni will not be able to revive."
Although he was reluctant to part with it, he had to clean up his own mess. Suzuki Makoto wasn't the kind of person who would ignore this demon and these villagers just to keep his sword with him.
Besides, once he called his master over to finish off the Sukuna Oni, the sword would be his again. It would only be sitting here for a little while.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would probably only be separated for ten days to half a month.
Suzuki Makoto clapped his hands and casually chose a blood-free rock to sit on.
Speaking of which, when he first heard the name Sukuna Oni, he had a vague impression of it. Now that he had dismembered the creature, he finally recalled a memory from his childhood.
Wasn't this the two-faced demon from Ultraman Tiga, the one whose head flew off and bit its opponent back?
His master's name also came to mind: Ida Kojuro, the one who assisted Tiga in completely destroying the Sukuna Oni.
Suzuki Makoto now just wanted to praise his luck. To have randomly found a wandering samurai to study under and end up with this master—it seemed that lucky truck really had brought him great fortune.
But this time, it would surely be fine. His master wasn't starving and desperately looking for food; he was having Makoto undergo a trial. Once he called his master back, this Sukuna Oni wouldn't have to be left for the Giant of Light to deal with in the future.
Suzuki Makoto looked down; he felt a little hungry.
Just as he looked up at the village chief, about to speak, a spatiotemporal vortex instantly swallowed him.
The old village chief looked at the heart, which was no longer moving at all, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned his head, wanting to extend an invitation to Suzuki Makoto, but saw no one.
"Has Lord Samurai already departed? I wanted to invite him to have a meal before leaving."
The old man sighed, but his spirits quickly lifted again.
"The great lord will surely return. When he does, we must host him and his master properly!"
--------------------------------------------------
Suzuki Makoto stared blankly at the wall before him, at a complete loss.
Where the hell did it send me?
He stood up and found himself in what seemed to be a town alley. Looking at the straight, vertical wooden walls on both sides, it was clear this was no small mountain village.
And at the alley's entrance not far away, there was even light shining through.
Could it be that the Sukuna Oni had somehow survived, and he had been transported to the future to help Crewman Daigo fight it?
Growl—
Suzuki Makoto's face fell.
Seriously, man? I just killed—okay, not completely killed—such a massive thing. Never mind a meal and a bed, couldn't you at least let me sit by a bonfire? What's this about being thrown into a new map to fight a new monster with no reward and no downtime?
I wonder what game the guy who arranged my transmigration was playing. It's so hard to guess.
Just as Suzuki Makoto was worrying about what to do next, an aura instantly made his gaze sharpen.
This is... a man-eating demon?
In his days following Ida Kojuro, Suzuki Makoto learned more than just swordplay; the art of aura-reading was also of paramount importance.
After all, aside from demon-king-level beings like the Sukuna Oni, many lesser demons hid among humans in plain sight. To root them out, one naturally needed other methods.
It could even be said that Ida Kojuro was stricter and more serious when teaching aura-reading than he was with swordsmanship.
And this aura that had alerted Suzuki Makoto undoubtedly belonged to a demon that had eaten people.
This way!
Despite having no sword, Suzuki Makoto still rushed swiftly toward the source of the aura.
If the opponent was the size of the Sukuna Oni, visible to him from hundreds of meters away, or possessed the same demon-king-level imposing aura, then he would indeed need to act more cautiously, considering whether to bide his time and avoid a direct confrontation.
But a creature with an aura like this, daring to eat people so brazenly...
Me, avoid its edge?
With a few leaps, Suzuki Makoto jumped onto a rooftop, briefly surveyed the terrain, and quickly headed toward the source of the aura.
At that moment, a woman looked at the demon before her, her husband's corpse dangling from its mouth. Tears streamed from her eyes, and her body trembled, yet she still subconsciously protected the newborn child behind her. She clutched her hairpin tightly in both hands, pointing it at the demon—the very one her husband had just bought for her that day.
The demon was clearly in no hurry to claim its prey. It deliberately tore an arm from the corpse in its mouth, shoved it in, and crunched loudly, sadistically watching the woman tremble at the sound.
Yes, just like that. It loved to see the twisted expressions on people's faces—mm-hmm, he would definitely keep her alive for a while to watch him savor her child, bite by bite!
It swallowed the meat in its mouth and opened wide to bite into the thigh—
Bang!
A rain of blood fell inside the room, covering the woman's entire body and face.
But the woman did not have a mental breakdown. On the contrary, for the first time that night, an emotion called hope welled up in her eyes!
Suzuki Makoto stood behind the demon, whose head he had just punched into its chest cavity, his face like ice.
"Be careful! It's not dead yet! Ichiro cut its neck with a sword before, and it grew back!"
The woman screamed, and as she did, the demon's body began to regenerate slowly.
The man had not let his guard down for a moment. Without hesitation, he stomped on the hand reaching for the corpse, picked up the body, kicked the demon away, and placed the corpse next to the woman before turning to face the demon himself.
"Damn Demon Slayer Corps, you're like ghosts that won't go away!"
The regrowing head emitted a distorted, inhuman noise.
Demon Slayer Corps?
Only then did Suzuki Makoto realize he might not be in the future he had imagined, but in some new world where demons were common, and there might even be a systematic organization of demon slayers.
"Wait, who are you?"
The demon looked at Suzuki Makoto, somewhat surprised.
"The one who will kill you."
"Hahahaha—what arrogance! You're not from the Demon Slayer Corps, are you? Without a Nichirin Blade, you can't possibly defeat me!"
The demon twitched its nose, greedily eyeing the bloodstained clothes on Suzuki Makoto.
"So you're already injured... The scent of this blood is truly intoxicating. I'm so lucky to find someone with Marechi Blood today."
Two more new terms: Nichirin Blade, Marechi Blood.
The Nichirin Blade is probably the standard weapon of the Demon Slayer Corps. But, blood?
Suzuki Makoto looked down and saw the blood of the Sukuna Oni on his clothes.
Even in a different world, the blood of a demon king is fatally attractive to these low-level underlings.
"Demon Slayer Corps, Nichirin Blade, Marechi Blood... It seems you're no ordinary fellow. Could you explain them to me?"
"Hahahaha, I'll tell you a story after I've eaten you!"
The demon lunged forward immediately.
As expected, demons don't understand human language.
However—I happen to know a bit of fist and footwork myself.
The man-eating demon opposite him was all talk, but its movements were surprisingly slow. Suzuki Makoto easily dodged its two hands and mouth, then kicked it, sending it flying through the wall.
The woman watched this scene, dumbfounded. It all happened in a blur; the pouncing demon was kicked away by the man.
"Madam, do you have any sharp blades in the house?"
Suzuki Makoto turned and asked seriously.
"Y-yes!"
Trembling, she looked at her husband's hand. Suzuki Makoto followed her gaze and saw the kitchen knife clutched tightly in his hand.
Suzuki Makoto reached out, trying to take the knife from the corpse's hand, but even in death, the man held onto it tightly.
"Lend me your blade—I shall provide for your wife and child, worry not."
The hand clutching the knife suddenly loosened, causing the woman to experience a rush of grief and joy. She threw herself onto the corpse, shaking it.
"Ichiro, Ichiro! You're still alive! You're still alive, right?! Wake up! Open your eyes! Someone is here to save us."
Suzuki Makoto didn't say anything to correct the woman. He just picked up the knife and walked out through the hole.
"Hoh hoh hoh, what strength. A fitting trait for someone with Marechi Blood. If you joined the Demon Slayer Corps, you'd probably learn Breathing Styles in no time, right? A pity you met me before you met them!"
The demon propped itself up with its hands, waiting for its spine to heal while mocking Suzuki Makoto.
"I hear that woman's voice, haha. How could he still be alive? My first bite was on his neck. He sliced my neck with one cut, so my falling head bit open his neck. Fair is fair, right? That kitchen knife is pretty sharp, maybe you can cut my neck open with it too—a pity that cutting it off won't kill me!"
Suzuki Makoto didn't respond, merely settling slowly into a stance.
"Oh, right. Judging by her mood, she must be very excited, full of hope, right? Tell me, if I were to place you, with your limbs eaten off, in front of her, how wonderful would her expression be! Interesting, truly interesting! I've decided! I'll eat that child and woman right in front of you, the would-be hero, and then I'll see your expression!"
The demon roared fanatically, its mouth stretching wider than its own head.
"You think this is fun?"
Huh?
It suddenly froze completely.
"You think this is interesting?"
Wait, this is strange. I've never heard these words before?
Why... why do I have this strange sense of familiarity?
Why would this young man, dressed in the tacky Sengoku-era samurai garb that only old men would wear, instill such fear in me?
A fear that comes from the depths of my cells, from my very instincts?
Suzuki Makoto's anger had always been so restrained, yet so scaldingly hot.
Taking an apprentice to survive? Wielding a sword to surpass others?
What a joke. Was a second life in another world meant for such boring things?
"What do you take human life for!"
A ridiculously plain-looking kitchen knife, with a fierce gleam, instantly stirred up a vast sea of blood.
An unkillable demon?
No such thing exists.
It just means—
you haven't minced it finely enough.
____
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