Demon Slayer: I am a Demon

Chapter 88 Turning Kanao into a Demon (Part 2 (4/4))

"Bang!"

A dull yet extremely penetrating explosion resounded throughout the cave, making the air itself seem to tremble.

Akaza swung his fist like the wind, the force of which carried a violent fighting spirit as it struck the mountain wall. Almost instantly, the incredibly hard rock crumbled into pieces.

With each punch, the entire cave began to shake, showing signs of collapsing at any moment.

Su Mu protected Kanao and retreated far away, watching this tireless demon.

After an unknown amount of time, Akaza stopped, his fist slightly clenched.

"I'm still too weak. When will I be able to become stronger? I really want to find someone stronger to fight. That would be really interesting."

As he spoke, Akaza looked at Su Mu and said, "You brat, you're really too weak. You're not even qualified to be my sparring partner."

Su Mu remained silent.

Akaza also found it boring, and glanced out of the cave again. It was already daylight, and there was no way he could leave the cave.

I just found a place to sit down.

Su Mu rebuilt the campfire, and the flames were lit again in the darkness. He then set up a new resting place for Kanao to rest.

Akaza opened his golden eyes and silently stood with the demon around the campfire. In the flickering firelight, he saw the demon opposite him write the words "Koi Yuki" (Love Snow) next to the campfire.

These two seemingly ordinary words possessed a magical power that captivated Akaza, making it almost impossible for him to look away.

"Boom!" sounds so familiar.

My whole head felt like it had exploded.

It's as if something extremely important in life has been suddenly awakened.

That once belonged to—human memory.

The fireworks display was very crowded.

Fireworks shot into the sky, their brilliant bursts leaving beautiful trails as they rose high into the heavens—

Akaza, I have come to this lake of forgotten memories.

He looked up at the brilliant fireworks in the sky, familiar yet strange, as if he had experienced them before.

I have seen such beautiful scenery before.

As I watched, a sudden burst of brilliant fireworks vanished from my sight, darkness enveloped my eyes, and a cool sensation spread across my face, while behind my hard back lay a warm, soft surface.

A soft body pressed against his back, covering his eyes with its hands.

"Senior brother, guess who I am?"

A somewhat weak, yet beautiful voice came through.

"Love Snow!"

He blurted it out almost without hesitation.

Such a familiar yet so unfamiliar name was suddenly uttered by him.

"You idiot senior brother, how did you guess it so quickly?"

The soft hand covering her eyes loosened.

Akaza turned around impatiently.

The girl with waist-length hair had a slightly pale face, and her bright eyes were looking at her.

The person I had been trying so hard to recall but couldn't is now clearly appearing in my memory.

"Am I pretty, senior?"

The girl tugged at the hem of her dress and twirled in place, her skirt fluttering. Under the fireworks, a faint blush appeared on her pretty face.

He stared blankly at all of this.

The girl reached out her soft hand and grasped his, the warm touch still vivid in her memory: "Senior brother, will you marry me?"

A sudden sound rang out, like a pebble falling onto a calm lake.

Fireworks suddenly burst open around the two of them.

"I do."

He whispered, "I will keep getting stronger, and I will always protect you."

"Then, senior brother—you must—always remember that!"

The girl's voice became clearer and clearer.

"what!"

Almost roaring, Akaza's golden eyes widened in shock as he looked at that familiar memory, that memory that once belonged to a human.

Those who should never be forgotten, yet have already been forgotten.

Everything seems to be returning to those memories, gradually being recalled again.

As the crowded train was about to arrive at the station, a man dressed in a black suit, with long, jet-black hair cascading down his back and a somewhat pale face, suddenly raised his head, a savage glint flashing in his scarlet eyes.

"Are there any sudden signs of separation?"

-

The man murmured, his eyes closed, as if at that moment he saw Akaza clutching his head in pain.

"Forget it, forget it, why dwell on these painful memories?"

Let everything fade away with the wind.

The man murmured.

"Hey, are you getting in the car or not? You're blocking the way."

A person stepped out from behind and nudged the man.

A savage glint appeared in the man's eyes. He suddenly turned around, a flash of blood, and the person behind him clutched his neck, eyes wide open, seemingly about to die.

"Murder—murder!"

Those nearby screamed in terror upon witnessing this scene.

The man frowned as he watched this scene, then casually flicked a drop of blood into the mouth of the man whose throat had been slit. The man, who was about to die, suddenly had his eyes widen and his teeth become sharp at that moment.

"roar----"

With almost a roar, the man suddenly pounced on a person nearby and began to devour their flesh amidst screams of agony.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

The entire station was instantly plunged into immense panic.

"It's haunted! Ghosts are eating people!"

Someone screamed in terror.

Soon, several swordsmen dressed in Demon Slayer Corps uniforms arrived. After looking around, they only saw man-eating demons.

"It really is a ghost! How did a ghost suddenly appear here?"

A swordsman looked at the demon.

"Kill them first, there are too many people here, it'll be too much of a commotion."

Another swordsman spoke up.

Without saying anything more, the group drew their Nichirin Blades without hesitation and severed the demon's head.

Su Mu shielded Kanao behind him and watched Akaza suddenly clutch his head in great pain. He could clearly see the veins on Akaza's muscles spreading across his body like lines.

--------

This powerful demon seemed to be greatly moved upon seeing the words "Love Snow" written by him.

These two words seemed to possess an extraordinary magic, instantly reminding him of something.

However, Su Mu soon felt a terrifying aura emanating from Akaza, as if it wanted to completely control him.

The aura of Muzan Kibutsuji.

The progenitor of all demons, the first demon, a demon that is infinitely close to being a perfect being.

Sensing this presence, he quietly erased the words he had just written.

As this aura emerged, Akaza suddenly became quiet, and his ferocious eyes gradually calmed down.

"I... I think I've thought of something?"

"What just occurred to me?"

Akaza looked up, her eyes blank: "I think I've forgotten something—"

"I can't remember—"

As he spoke, Akaza looked up at Su Mu, who was sitting by the campfire: "Do you know what I've forgotten?"

Su Mu shook his head, looking at Akaza who was completely bewildered, and felt a chill in his heart.

This demon, which has grown into the Upper Moon Three of the Twelve Demon Moons and is still growing stronger, can still be sensed by Muzan Kibutsuji even though he is not currently facing him.

Even—being manipulated.

A chill rose from the tailbone to the top of the head.

Even though he had become an Upper Moon demon of the Twelve Demon Moons, he was still controlled by Muzan Kibutsuji. It could be said that Muzan could decide his life or death with a single thought.

It's really terrifying.

"What have I forgotten?"

Akaza stood up, but still couldn't remember. He shook his head and said, "Never mind, let's keep training. I want to become stronger, I want to become even stronger!"

"Bang----"

The fist was thrown out and slammed into the mountain wall, causing the entire cave to tremble slightly.

Akaza has started training tirelessly again.

Again and again, Su Mu pulled Kanao to a corner of the cave, silently watching this demon who had forgotten her past memories and was only obsessed with becoming stronger.

A pitiful ghost.

"Uncle, I want to practice swordsmanship too."

A soft glissando came from behind.

Su Mu turned his head, and the girl's pinkish-purple eyes were filled with determination.

Su Mu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Kanao picked up the wooden sword her uncle had made for her, her pinkish-purple eyes fixed on the demon, the girl's pupils shimmering.

Akaza's movements were almost incredibly fast, but Kanao remembered the correct ones.

"Spell Deployment. Destruction Kill. Compass"

"Destruction Kill. Chaos Style"

-

"Destruction Kill. Empty Style"

"Destructive Kill. Leg Stance, Crown Cut First."

"Destructive Shot. Footwork. Flowing Light"

"Destruction Kill. Leg Style. Flying Star Thousand Wheels"

"Destruction Kill. Shattering Style. Thousand Leaf Flash Willow"

"Destruction and Annihilation Style"

"Destruction Kill. Ghost Core Omen Heavy Core"

"Spell Unfolds. Final Move. Azure Silver Chaotic Remnant Light"

As Akaza practiced his techniques, Kanao watched silently from the side. Although her uncle had allowed him to practice swordsmanship, he had not taught her. Seeing the immense destructive power that Akaza displayed even during his practice, Kanao couldn't help but start learning from him.

At first, it was very clumsy, but gradually, it became more and more professional.

While Kanao was memorizing Akaza's techniques, Akaza stopped training at some point and watched Kanao practice with his arms crossed.

"Too weak, really too weak."

Akaza shook his head: "The technique unfolds. Destruction Kill. The compass is not like a cherry blossom. It should be centered on oneself, unfolding a snowflake-like formation towards the twelve positions. The most important thing is to condense one's own energy and use it to sense other energies, just like a compass is attracted by an invisible magnetic force, so that it can sense the enemy's fatal weakness and attack it."

"Yes, you need to raise your hand quickly."

"You need to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground; your steps are too unsteady."

"Sigh, so weak, so incredibly weak—"

Akaza shook his head as he spoke, while Kanao repeatedly corrected his correct statements.

At first, he was very clumsy, but gradually, he began to resemble Akaza in performing his magic.

"Heh—a child like Sakura, her talent is quite good, but her body is too weak."

Akaza shook his head and then looked at Su Mu: "If she becomes a demon, it will make up for many of her shortcomings and make her even stronger. What do you think? Should we turn her into a demon?"

"Need not."

Su Mu refused without hesitation.

"Ha—you weak and pathetic ghost, you really don't understand anything. What's wrong with becoming a ghost?"

Akaza shook his head: "Humans are too fragile. They become weak when injured, and even die when sick. The older they get, the weaker they become, and they may even die of old age, becoming weak creatures like humans. What's so good about that?"

Su Mu looked up at Yiwozuo.

"What, kid? Am I wrong?"

Akaza clenched his fist slightly: "You will die, you will age, but if you become a demon queen, none of that will exist. You can go further on the path to becoming stronger. You can spend ten, a hundred, or even several hundred years honing yourself. But what about you? How much time do you have to hone yourself? And how far can you go on the path to becoming stronger?"

"unnecessary."

Su Mu shook his head. The idea of ​​turning Kanao into a ghost, or even a Sakura seed, had never crossed his mind.

A demon whose life and death can be decided in an instant, a demon whose desires are difficult to control, a demon whose past memories are gradually forgotten, and a demon whose spirit is completely empty—what's so good about that?

However, he couldn't say for sure that the person standing in front of him was Akaza, but who knew if Muzan Kibutsuji could sense him?

That ghost—it was far more terrifying than I had imagined.

If we were to say that Qu Yi's flaw was that he was overly cautious.

"Heh—it seems you still harbor the idea of ​​raising them to eat! Heh—"

Akaza looked at Su Mu, as if he could see right through the thoughts of the little devil, Sakura-headed Tree Heart.

Su Mu wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

"Just like Douma, he likes to eat women's weaklings."

Akaza scoffed, watching Kanao practice relentlessly, as if he were witnessing the same fate as the women who followed Doma.

I remember there was a girl who had been raised by a child for a long time and was then eaten. I think there was another child involved.

Oh, it seems to be a woman named Shizukubi Hirakoto, that effeminate good-for-nothing, who almost let a woman escape from his grasp, it's unbelievable. Although he finally caught the woman, her child ultimately escaped.

Sakura, such a useless piece of trash, is actually Upper Moon Two. What an insult to Sakura, the Upper Moon Three!

"I can't wait for the next battle of positional switching to begin. I really want to twist that sissy's head off."

Akaza clenched his fists, his face full of resentment: "How dare Sakura, a sissy-like good-for-nothing, be above him?"