"Xiao… Ying…"
The boy's voice trembled, his entire body shaking as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
Moonlight poured through the hole that had been corroded into the tree trunk. Inside that hollow, a familiar cherry blossom hairpin came into view.
"I'm so hungry…"
A faint murmur drifted out.
Slender vertical pupils.
Sharp fangs.
A small body drenched in blood.
In her hand, she held a thin severed arm, while saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth.
A figure that was both familiar and terrifyingly unfamiliar stood before the boy.
Drip.
Sizzle—
The saliva fell to the ground and immediately corroded the earth, leaving behind a small smoking pit.
"What… what is this… Xiao Ying…?"
"That's you, right?"
"How did you become like this…? You…"
The boy's mind went blank. Fear and confusion tangled together, making his trembling words barely coherent.
But before he could finish speaking, the demon that looked like a little girl suddenly reached out and grabbed toward his neck.
In the next instant—
A white-clad figure appeared between them.
Chiba Yang swiftly lifted the boy and carried him away from the demon.
"So you were hiding inside the tree."
"It seems the children who disappeared earlier were all eaten by you."
Chiba Yang placed the boy at a safe distance before turning around and drawing his Nichirin Blade.
The slender arm still clutched in the demon's hand was clearly that of a child.
"Blood Demon Art — Blood Corrosion!"
Seeing her prey taken away, the Corrosion Demon became enraged.
She clenched her right hand violently, crushing the severed arm in her grasp. The flesh exploded into a thick mass of blood and tissue.
Drops of blood fell to the ground with sharp sizzling sounds.
Under the power of her Blood Demon Art, the flesh had gained terrifying corrosive properties.
With a violent swing, she hurled the mass of flesh toward Chiba Yang.
So this is a demon capable of using a Blood Demon Art…
It's my first time encountering one.
Corrosion must be her ability.
That explains why there were only bloodstains here and no clothing fragments.
Chiba Yang tightened his grip on his Nichirin Blade.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form — Solar Blaze."
A breath of white mist escaped his lips.
The black Nichirin Blade in his hand suddenly turned a blazing crimson. Flames ignited along the blade, spreading outward like a burning mantle.
The temperature of the surrounding air soared instantly.
The entire forest clearing was illuminated as brightly as daylight.
Chiba Yang swung his sword in a circular arc before him. The flames wrapped around his body like a protective cloak.
The corrosive flesh thrown by the demon slammed into the flames.
In the next instant, it was completely incinerated, leaving nothing behind.
"You can go to hell now," Chiba Yang said coldly.
Within the Transparent World, every movement of the Corrosion Demon was already under his control.
The demon snarled and charged toward him, drool dripping from her mouth as she stared at the boy behind him.
"Sun Breathing, Second Form — Clear Blue Sky."
Chiba Yang gripped his sword with both hands and unleashed three blazing slashes forward in a single instant.
"Stop!!!"
Suddenly, the boy behind him screamed and threw himself toward Chiba Yang.
Caught off guard, Chiba Yang reacted quickly and adjusted his stance to avoid being knocked down. However, the boy's interference caused his attack to veer off course.
One of the three slashes grazed past the demon's hair.
The other two severed both of the demon's arms.
The wounds were scorched black by intense heat.
"AAAAAA!!!"
The Corrosion Demon shrieked in agony.
Fear appeared in her eyes as she looked at Chiba Yang.
"She's my sister!"
"Please don't hurt her—cough—"
The boy clung to Chiba Yang desperately, shouting with a hoarse voice. But before he could finish speaking, he began coughing violently.
His throat had been damaged from calling his sister's name for too long.
The reprimand Chiba Yang was about to speak died in his throat.
He glanced back at the demon again.
The figure truly resembled a young girl.
And on her head… was the cherry blossom hairpin the boy had mentioned.
When Chiba Yang first saw the demon, he had immediately entered the Transparent World and focused only on analyzing her movements. He had not paid attention to her appearance.
Now, hearing the boy's desperate cry, he finally realized the truth.
"Please… let her go…" the boy begged in a hoarse voice.
A newly turned demon…
What should I do?
Chiba Yang hesitated for a brief moment.
"These demons were once human."
Tanjiro Kamado's words echoed in his mind.
Now he finally understood what Tanjiro Kamado had meant.
Demons had once been human.
They had once loved others—and been loved in return.
Then another voice surfaced in his memory.
"A demon is a creature that must eat humans to survive. Once they are born, they will inevitably hunt humans as food."
The words of Kyojuro Rengoku rang clearly in his ears.
The ruined village.
The corpses.
And the severed child's arm still clutched in the demon's hand.
Chiba Yang tightened his grip on the Nichirin Blade.
"…When he pushed the monster outside and realized the shadow was actually his mother, how must he have felt?"
"After killing his own mother with his own hands… how painful must it have been to hear his younger brother call him a murderer?"
Genya's story surfaced in his thoughts.
There was nothing left to hesitate about.
Even if this demon had once been human…
She was now a man-eating monster.
And the boy standing before her—her own brother—would always be her first target.
"I'm sorry…"
Chiba Yang looked at the boy with sympathy and regret before shaking him off.
The Corrosion Demon's severed arms could not regenerate.
Terror filled her eyes as she turned and tried to flee.
"Sun Breathing, First Form — Dance."
In the next moment, a flame as beautiful as a crimson sunset flashed across her neck.
"AAAAAA!!!"
The Corrosion Demon let out a final, piercing scream.
Her body collapsed to the ground.
"XIAO YING!!!"
The boy cried out in anguish.
Ignoring everything, he rushed toward the demon's body.
"Don't go near her!"
"The corrosion will kill you!"
Chiba Yang shouted and lunged forward to stop him.
Through the Transparent World, he could clearly see the corrosive substance still covering the demon's body.
If a human touched it, their flesh would be completely dissolved.
Chiba Yang grabbed the boy's clothing.
But the boy slipped out of his outer coat and threw himself onto the demon's body.
Beheaded by the Nichirin Blade, the demon's corpse had already begun turning to ash.
At the same time, the boy's body slowly began to corrode.
"Don't be afraid, Xiao Ying… your brother will stay with you…"
His eyes were hollow.
His hoarse voice murmured softly.
And soon, together with the fading ashes of the demon, he vanished into the night.
Chiba Yang stood there in stunned silence.
A shadow slowly spread across his eyes.