'Demon Slayer' Slayer

Chapter 37: Nensho

As the sun began to rise, Muzan called us all back to the Infinity Castle. "Well, Nensho? How did it go?"
Of course, Muzan knew perfectly well how it had gone, so he wanted me to repeat myself for the sake of the other Upper Moons. "I talked to Kahane, and she said she'll try to get the Demon Slayers to listen to her. She also agreed to destroy their sources of wisteria poison."

"They have stores of wisteria poison?" Doma asked. What, are you afraid?

"They won't for long. Kahane said she'd destroy them, so that the Demon Slayers have no advantages."

"Where did you tell her I'd be, Nensho?" Muzan asked.

"I told her you'd be in the ruins of the Swordsmith Village. That way, they'll know exactly where to come. I trust Kahane to take care of the rest."

"Very well. We'll just have to see if she comes through for us, won't we?" Muzan's voice sounded even more dangerous than usual.

"Well, she's proven that she's on our side. She made a few mistakes, but she has helped us quite a lot. She has no loyalty towards humans," I said defensively.

"That may be so, but it's not wise to trust anyone but yourself," said Muzan. "I would think that you, of all people, would know this. I want you to know that if she fails to bring the Demon Slayer Corps to the agreed-upon location, we will have to kill her."

"But that doesn't make sense! She's our only informant! And we agreed that if she fails-"

Muzan cut me off. "I will show myself, yes. This is still the plan. After tonight, we'll have no further use of her as an informant. We'll keep her alive until the fight is over. If she kills enough demon slayers, I'll consider making her into a demon. If she doesn't, I'll let you four decide who gets to eat her."

"Great, can I eat her?" asked Doma with a twisted smile. "I've never seen her, but she sounds delicious!"

Akaza punched him in the face. "That's not how you should talk about people!"

"Isn't that insubordination, Akaza?"

"Shut up." Muzan said it quietly, but the other Upper Moons obeyed immediately. "Akaza, Doma, you are both centuries old. Act like it. Nensho, I want you to go and watch the Swordsmith Village. When and if the demon slayers show up, tell me, and Nakime will teleport you back here. She'll have one of the Hashira fight you."

"Okay. I'll go now, then. Nakime!"

Nakime strummed her biwa, and I found myself under an overhang next to the Swordsmith Village. I settled myself in for a long wait, making absolutely sure I was away from the sunlight.

I can't wait to find the Blue Spider Lily. Then I won't have to lose half my life to the sun. Honestly, fuck the sun. I can understand why Muzan's so eager to get the Blue Spider Lily. It would make him- and potentially me- truly invincible.

I hope Kahane manages to prove her usefulness. I'm starting to like having her around. She's nice to talk to. I know I'm not supposed to like her, but she's just a great person. I hope we can be demons together. Then, if we found the Blue Spider Lily and got some for ourselves, we'd be able to live that way forever.

I spent the rest of the time until sunset daydreaming about Kahane. Fighting alongside her, chatting with her about normal stuff instead of battle plans, hunting humans with her... Just wait till she tries human meat. She'll love it.

When the sun finally set, I went out into the open and scoured the rim of the valley. There was a flash of color between the trees, and I looked closer. It was the guy with the two-color haori. Behind him were the other Hashira, including Kahane.

I should ask her whether it's everyone. But how will I attract her attention without showing everyone else where I am? I can't survive an attack by the whole of the Demon Slayer Corps.

I eventually decided to just circle around and check for myself. I edged through the trees to get behind the demon slayers, but they had completely encircled the valley. You know, this was a terrible location for a location that was supposed to be defensible. If the swordsmiths were still here, and the demon slayers were trying to attack them, then it would be all too easy for them to charge down and kill everyone.

But that's not the point. Master, they're here. Kahane came through.

"I can see that. Prepare yourself." And with the strum of a biwa, I was back in the Infinity Castle.

The other Upper Moons waited on thick platforms around the castle. Mine was right below Doma's, close to the main floor that the demon slayers would presumably be fighting on. I wonder which Hashira I'll have to fight. I hope it's not Kahane. I don't want to accidentally kill her.

My platform was fairly wide and made of stone. I'd have some trouble melting it, although I'd still want to be careful. There were several sturdy stone pillars supporting a high ceiling. This will be an interesting environment to fight in.

Just minutes later, Muzan appeared in the middle of the floor, accompanied by hundreds of humans. His sharp whips shot through the crowd, and the Hashira were scattered. I found myself facing the one who'd given me the most trouble when I attacked the Ubuyashiki mansion. It was the guy with the flail, Himejima.

He immediately swung his flail at me, and I ducked, unsheathing my sword. I slashed the chain, but my sword actually broke. I regenerated it, quickly recovering from my surprise.

By the time I looked up, the Hashira was right in front of me, his ax blade headed for my neck. I leaped back, sending a blast of fire at the heavy metal chain. Himejima whipped it out of the way, ducking behind a pillar as I filled the air with fire.

I wish Kahane was around to help. I immediately berated myself for having this thought. I was a demon. I didn't need help from pathetic humans.

Himejima reappeared, and I coated the entire platform in flames, scorching the pillars. Still, he managed to dodge most of it and slam the flail down in front of me, shattering the floor. I leaped back again, throwing my sword at his neck.

Unsurprisingly, he dodged. I created a new sword in my hand and threw that too, filling the air with spinning, flaming blades. I managed to graze my opponent a couple of times, but I couldn't cause any real damage.

Alright, I'll just absorb him then, I decided, running behind several pillars to advance on the demon slayer. His chain wrapped around my neck and tightened, almost taking my head off. I twisted my head free and backed off, genuinely scared.

He poses a very real threat. How did I even survive the battle at the Ubuyashiki mansion? I wondered as I created a new sword. This time, I waited for his advance. That was a mistake. The flail rained blows down on me, nearly obliterating my head.

I backed up again and used Infernal Corona, further damaging the pillars but once again failing to kill my opponent. Fuck this.

When Himejima attacked again, I leaped behind a pillar, but his flail went right through it. I sliced the chain again, but my sword shattered. I fixed it, reinforcing it further. Why'd Muzan assign me this guy?

We had backed up almost to the edge of the platform. I leaped past my opponent, shoving him over the edge. His ax hit the floor and he used it to climb back up. I met his advance with a blast of fire, and he ducked back below the platform.

When he had climbed up fully, I surrounded myself in a dome of fire that took up most of the platform. He'll have trouble reaching me now. My range is wider than his chain is long.

Satisfied with my defense, I began throwing flesh swords at Himejima. He dodged them all and started waving away the flames. Oh, fuck this. I ran forward, covering the rest of the platform in deadly heat. The Hashira just swung his flail, the heavy spiked ball at the end connecting with my neck.