Demon Slayer: I am a Demon

With the full moon high in the sky, Su Mu walked through the pitch-black night and soon arrived at a small town near the Gorge Mist Mountain.

At night, the town is deserted, with every household's doors tightly shut, making it extremely difficult to find someone and ask for information.

As a ghost walking in the darkness, it can only choose to knock on doors late at night, which is undoubtedly a fright for the people whose doors are being knocked on.

The man of the house shielded the woman and child behind him, gripped the hoe tightly with both hands, and looked at Su Mu, who had barged into the room, with a wary expression.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"Ask me some information, tell me, and I'll be going."

"Breaking into my house in the middle of the night just to ask me something? You think I'm kidding? Get out of here right now, or else..."

The man gripping the hoe with both hands stared intently at Su Mu.

"I'm just asking for some information. I'll leave after I answer."

Seeing the wary look on the male homeowner's face and the terrified expressions of his wife and children behind him, Su Mu sighed slightly. He could understand it; anyone would be wary if a stranger sneaked into their room late at night, and might even take action.

The man who owned the house attacked the moment he saw him, but unfortunately, he was knocked down with a single punch. Only then did the man realize the difference in their strength and dare not make another move.

Su Mu didn't care whether the man in the room believed him or not, and instead asked, "Are there any places nearby that sell charcoal?"

The man gripped his hoe tightly, staring intently at Su Mu without speaking. He clearly didn't believe that someone breaking into his house in the middle of the night was just asking about charcoal sales; he felt the man was trying to lower his guard, and then…

The youngest daughter behind him, however, was still quite young and naively thought that the other person was just asking for some information, so she answered softly, "Is it the Machida family at the far east end of town that sells charcoal, or Uncle Kimura's family that sells charcoal...?"

"Oh, think about the charcoal vendors around here, are there any with the surname 'Kamamon'?"

Su Mu's voice also became gentle.

The man of the house still gripped the hoe tightly, but he didn't stop his youngest daughter from answering. Although he didn't think the intruder who broke into the room in the middle of the night was just asking for some information, but... what if?

"no."

The little girl thought for a moment and then shook her head.

"Think about it again..."

Su Mu frowned slightly and tapped the table lightly with his hand.

"No...no."

The little girl shook her head, then looked at her father, perhaps he knew.

The male homeowner clearly didn't trust Su Mu and didn't believe that the other man would break into his home late at night just to ask such a simple question. If he really wanted to ask these questions, couldn't he have asked them during the day? Breaking in late at night must mean he had ulterior motives.

"None of the charcoal sellers around here have the surname 'Zaomen'." The man gripped his hoe tightly. "If you try to harm my family, I'll fight you to the death, even if it means my own demise. I...I will..."

"No?"

Su Mu sighed softly, looking at the man who was clearly terrified but had mustered his courage for the sake of his wife and child behind him, and showed a hint of apology: "I'm sorry to bother you so late at night."

After saying that, Su Mu turned and left.

"They...they left?"

Even after Su Mu's figure had completely disappeared, the male homeowner was still somewhat incredulous. Could the intruder who broke into his room in the middle of the night really have only been there to ask for some information?

And things like this began to happen continuously in the surrounding areas, centered on "Sagiri Mt."

Most small towns have small populations, so this strange incident quickly sparked a lot of discussion. People were curious about why this strange person who broke into their home at night would use such an unusual way of asking questions. Why would they break into someone's home at night when they could ask during the day? What kind of weird quirk was this?

…………

After driving through five small towns, Su Mu stopped and looked up at the sky.

The high-hanging full moon gradually sank, and at that moment, a sense of unease began to rise in my heart.

The sun is about to rise.

He murmured under his breath, his demonic instincts clearly acutely aware of it.

At this moment, he was already far from his original residence, and it was too late to rush back. He needed to find a place to hide nearby to avoid the rising sun.

For evil spirits, this is a matter of life and death.

After searching for a while, he found a basement in an abandoned courtyard in the town and immediately went inside without hesitation.

Before we knew it, the morning light shone through the thin mist onto the earth, the pitch-black night faded away, and sunlight filled every corner.

Su Mu remained hidden in the darkness deep within the basement, watching the world outside shrouded in light, silent.

…………

In front of a family home in the small town, marked by wisteria blossoms.

A man with a Nichirin sword hanging from his waist appeared at the door.

His still-young face had an icy aura that kept strangers at bay, and deep within his sharp eyes lay not only weariness but also a profound sadness.

He was wearing a tight-fitting black outfit, with the character "灭" (destroy) embroidered on the back.

"Come in and rest, your companions are all inside."

An elderly woman came out and welcomed the young man inside.

The man's name is Hiroshi Furukawa. He is a swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps who practices the "Breath of Flames". He had recently bid farewell to the "Flame Pillar" Kyojuro Rengoku after accepting a mission to slay demons.

His demon-slaying squad then began searching the surrounding area in hopes of finding traces of the evil spirits.

For the Demon Slayer Corps' demon slayers, the best time to hunt demons is undoubtedly during the day. If demons can be bathed in sunlight, even the powerful "Twelve Demon Moons" will vanish under the sun.

But in the struggle against evil spirits over thousands of years, evil spirits have always been able to hide themselves well during the day. Now, it is impossible to find evil spirits hiding in the daytime. Even if you do find them, the places where these evil spirits hide are only caves in the mountains or extremely deep underground waterways... places where there is no sunlight at all.

Nowadays, the only time to slay evil spirits is at night.

As Hiroshi Furukawa entered the room, several men dressed in similarly tight black clothes stood up, their faces faintly showing sadness.

"Still haven't found Murayama?"

Hiroshi Furukawa looked at his companions with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

Murayama was part of their squad, but he went missing a few days ago while searching for traces of the demon in the vicinity, and there has been no news of him since.

Several of his companions shook their heads.

Seeing this, Hiroshi Furukawa unconsciously clenched his fists. Everyone knew what it meant to disappear while searching for the demon.

Although I knew when I became a demon hunter that I would die on this path sooner or later, when it actually happened, an overwhelming sadness still welled up in my heart.

"Where was the last place Murayama explored?"

Suppressing his grief, Hiroshi Furukawa questioned his companions. The news of their possible sacrifice did not break him; instead, it strengthened his resolve to slay the demons.

"It's Taro Town."

One of his companions gritted his teeth.

"Head to Taro Town immediately to search; the evil spirit must be hiding nearby."

Hiroshi Furukawa gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes fierce, an endless rage building within him. The only way to quell that rage was to use his Nichirin Blade to sever the demon's neck.