The night in the abandoned temple on the outskirts of Yokohama, where moonlight seeped through broken roof tiles, was filled with a peculiar liveliness.
It was thanks to Tamamo's splendid magecraft. She used her skills, Territory Creation and magecraft, to instantly create a space within the temple equipped with modern cooking utensils and a tidy kitchen.
"Master, please wait just a little! This Tamamo, together with Ms. Kiyohime, will serve you the best meal!"
"Hmm, honestly I would have preferred to do it alone rather than with Ms. Tamamo, but since her help was significant, I should yield. If we fight over something like this, even Master Benienma would get angry."
The two moved busily with the ingredients hunted from the back alleys of Yokohama port. Tamamo, who can discern souls, set the criteria for the ingredients. Kiyohime can only discern if the other party lies. Both are having a hard time because of my standards. But, not eating innocent people is my last shred of humanity.
I still want to maintain some measure of a human heart.
Flames soared and a delicious smell began to vibrate inside the temple. But smelling that aroma, I had to first feel the sense of rejection rising from within, rather than the saliva gathering in my mouth.
Hmm, it's clearly human ingredients. Why?
A short while later, a gorgeously decorated steak and a neat hot pot dish were placed before me. Visually, it looked more splendid than any delicacy I had eaten in my human days.
Come to think of it, even though it's the same human meat, I've never eaten it cooked. Originally, I was in no position to afford such luxury, being a vagrant.
I carefully put a piece of meat into my mouth.
"Ugh...!"
The moment I chewed, a disgust as if chewing rotten dirt stabbed my brain. I tried to force myself to swallow, but my stomach screamed and pushed it back. Even though it's human flesh, does my body reject it just because it's cooked? Now that I think about it, I've never seen an oni eat cooked humans.
At my reaction, the complexions of Tamamo and Kiyohime instantly paled.
"Master! Spit it out quickly! I can't believe even cooked food doesn't work. I knew you couldn't eat human food, but to think even cooked food... You said you can't drink sake, tea, or even water. You're too different from the oni we know."
Tamamo bit her lip as if frustrated. Oni were cursed lifeforms that could only use raw human flesh and blood as nutrients.
Animal raw meat could temporarily sate the hunger, but that was merely pouring water into a bottomless pot. It didn't grant power, nor did it alleviate the fundamental starvation.
I can't believe even cooked food doesn't work. A Dead Apostle can at least eat human food. The genuine oni Shuten enjoys sake, and Ibaraki likes snacks more than humans. What kind of oni is this, it's just a zombie.
Ultimately, they hurriedly changed the cooking method. Without using fire and excluding seasonings, they wielded only sharp blades.
"Master, I'm sorry. Instead, I've sliced it with all my heart."
What was placed before me again was neatly arranged raw meat in the form of yukhoe and sliced meat. Though they couldn't even use seasoning, leaving the meat with its red bloody color visible, when I picked it up with the chopsticks Kiyohime handed me and put it in my mouth, this time my stomach accepted it with cheers.
A fishy blood smell stimulated my taste buds, but paradoxically, because of that, I could feel like I was eating proper food.
I liked yukhoe and sliced raw meat in my previous life, if not this one. The fact it's human is a flaw, but compared to before, it still feels more like eating food than eating a human.
A life where I couldn't even drink water and had to drink blood like a beast. Because I possessed human reason, this meal evoked complex feelings. To have to drink blood instead of water or beverages. Even thinking of it as tomato juice, blood in a cup made me feel quite bitter. But I find it delicious without any rejection. Life is bitter.
Tamamo, who had been watching my meal with bitterness, approached my side and knelt down.
"Master, my magecraft is the blessing of the sun and the power of life... But I'm not yet proficient in precisely modifying another's body to change its fundamental nature. I wish I could let you drink even a single cup of tea right now, but the oni of this land are a type of lifeform I'm seeing for the first time. I cannot easily interfere with your body."
She took my hand and showed me a determined look.
"But I promise you. I will capture other oni we encounter in the future and research their body structures and Blood Demon Arts. If combined with my magecraft, someday I should be able to modify your body in a better direction so that you can enjoy food like a human again and walk under the sun."
"Thank you for saying that, Tamamo. Really..."
I gave a short reply to her sincere comfort. Her magecraft is among the pinnacle even in the Fate world. I don't know about being able to live under the sun, but other parts might be possible. Even Tamayo modified herself to be able to drink tea, so she should be more than capable of that much, right?
Of course, magecraft is her specialty, not body modification, so I'm not sure. This area would be the specialty of someone like Medea for magecraft, or Asclepius for divine age medicine.
Kiyohime, who was beside me, also leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered.
"Please focus only on gathering power, Master. We will handle any dirty work, any painful clean-up in your stead."
"Thank you. But I can't just rely on you two. I'll hurry and get stronger too."
After the dinner-that-wasn't-a-dinner ended, I gazed at the dark forest beyond the temple courtyard. The more keenly I felt how painful and miserable it was to live as an oni, the deeper my hatred grew toward Muzan, the root cause of all this.
Separate from my past life memories, this body remembered the warmth of a family.
Parents who were ordinary farmers but warmer than anyone. They were swept away by the calamity Muzan sowed and disappeared without a trace. Fleeing from the Demon Slayer Corps, I couldn't even build them a proper grave, and when I secretly went back later, I couldn't even find their bodies.
"Muzan... Until now, I was solely focused on somehow surviving and getting stronger. Now that I have some breathing room, thoughts of revenge are surfacing. Is it because I left the dangerous Tokyo? Or because today's meal made me feel it more keenly?"
At my low murmur, the eyes of the two women shone sharply. But I had to face reality. My current level was just barely stepping out of being a lowly demon and entering the doorway of a Lower Moon. I couldn't even handle Lower Moon demons, let alone Muzan.
Compared to the former Lower Rank 6, Kyogai, the current me was likely weaker. If I had absorbed a complete Lower Rank 6, I might have become as strong as a Lower Rank 5, but Kiyohime specializes in flames, so there was no helping it.
Moreover, combat with just Kiyohime and Tamamo would be difficult. Of course, their special abilities are incredibly strong, but they're not invincible. An Upper Moon could kill them, and among them, especially Nakime.
Her spatial manipulation is an ability of an incredible level even compared to Fate. If the Upper Moons and Muzan seriously try to kill us using that in combination, we'd die. Especially me. I'm the biggest obstacle. If I die, or if I'm dominated by Muzan, it's all over.
Right now, I must grow stronger.
"There are too many of Muzan's eyes and ears in Tokyo right now. Enduring there and growing power would be no different from suicide. Even if it means not encountering other oni, let's first head to Kyoto as planned."
At my suggestion, Tamamo nodded and continued.
"That's a good idea. Kyoto is a land traditionally strong in spiritual power. There, we'll create a false identity and grow influence as merchants of the night. Building a foundation with money, information, and secretly gathered power."
"Making Kyoto's night into Master's. It's a wonderful plan."
Kiyohime also agreed, smiling while covering her mouth with her fan.
We left the abandoned temple in Yokohama and took to the road heading west again. Leaving the lights of the glamorous port city behind, we melted back into the long, long darkness.
When I return to Tokyo someday, I will return not as a fugitive but as a hunter. With overwhelming power enough to slaughter Muzan and all his subordinates.
And whether I obtain the Blue Spider Lily, or become human again. Someday, I will truly return to an ordinary human life.
To have a family and a peaceful daily life.
To do that, I eat humans. There are hardly any oni outside Tokyo, so even if there are oni in Kyoto, there'd be at most one or two. I can't even dream of a Twelve Kizuki member being there.
Let's aim for rare blood. Or eat that many humans.
In this era anyway, evil people overflow.