Chapter 57 – Meeting of the Three
"Gawk! You are almost there!"
"Yeah yeah I got it. Shut up!"
Inosuke shouted angrily. In the distance, amidst the trees he could see the outline of the house.
Huh?
Normally, places with demon have a scent of blood and danger, but not this place.
He found this abnormally strange. The place was too quiet and silent.
Supressing the chill down his spine, he gritted his teeth and went in.
A cold draft automatically blew against him, and with a heavy step he quickly shuttled through the rooms.
However all he discovered was nothing. Despite looking abandoned, there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen on any furniture. Everything was in perfect condition, which even to the wild Inosuke, it felt a little unsettling.
And it was also night time, but there were no humans, or any living creature there for that matter. Not even the presence of blood could be detected.
"Seventh Form: Spacial Awareness." By expanding his sense of touch and incorporating breathing techniques, he could sense every minute thing that is happening across the house.
As his senses spread, he noticed that the house was indeed abandoned. However, when he concentrated at the centre, he saw something, someone.
It was a blue-haired human-looking figure, sitting on the floor in a lotus meditation position. In his lap was a sheathed katana. His hair flowed freely down his back. His eyes were closed, and he was in a harmless state, but just by looking at him sent unprecedented danger signals down Inosuke's back.
He swiftly retracted the technique and stood still.
That's... the demon. I... actually can't win. That thing is too strong. Why is it just sitting there doing nothing. Does it even know I'm here? Forget it. This is something I'll leave to the other demon slayers. The stronger ranks, like whatever those kids said at the test.
He looked towards the centre of the house once again, and turned around and headed for the exit.
But against his expectations, he actually couldn't find it.
Using his special awareness again, making sure to avoid the centre, he searched the entire house but still no exit.
This may have been the first time he started panicking. He stood there and did nothing but quietly breath.
Fuck it I'm going. If I win, then that means I'll just be even stronger than him. I'll be the God of the mountains then. Hahaha.
He steeled his resolve and made his way to the centre.
But then... embarrassingly... he couldn't even find the centre. He made his way in the direction, but got lost in the myriad of doors and rooms.
Well... this wasn't planned.
Even by using his special awareness, he still couldn't find a way there.
This kinda enraged him, and he began to slash at all the doors he passed by, and he started making weird grunting noises.
...
"Just kill me already..."
"For the hundredth time, I won't kill you."
"If you won't then the demons will! I would rather die at a human's hand than a demon's."
"Didn't you mention that you wanted a wife?"
"And that. I'll get a wife first, then you kill me."
"..."
Tanjiro, Nezuko and Zenitsu arrived at the mansion.
Interestingly enough, Tanjiro thought the same things that Inosuke did when he got here – and that was that it was too quiet.
Even with his enhanced sense of smell, he could only smell another demon slayer that's arrived.
There's no blood, so maybe they are still alive?
"Right, we are going in."
"NOO!"
"Yes."
Tanjiro grabbed Zenitsu by the ears and dragged him into the mansion, and Nezuko was just there, vibing and existing in the box.
And soon after they entered, they fell into the same predicament that Inosuke found himself in.
They noticed the strange furniture, and how they couldn't leave. They could only wander about, which caused Zenitsu to almost have a crisis, and Tanjiro had to knock him hard on his head to keep him conscious.
After a while of walking, they also noticed that some doors had scratch marks on them, which scared Zenitsu into a scream, and it was also this scream that echoed throughout the building and was heard by a certain boar.
...
"Snort snort."
"What is that?"
The two parties met in the corridors, one was snorting and squatting on the floor, and the other was standing normally there.
"You two! No, three! You demons. Prepare to die by the sword of the king of the mountain!"
"Wait, we're not dem-"
"Shut up. The one in the centre also looks like a human, but they are definitely a demon! You could be the minions of that thing."
"No, but we're demon slayers."
"Then why is there a demon with you?"
"Because..."
"Exactly. Now taste my wrath! Second form: Slice."
Inosuke attacked and positioned his two swords into an X and sliced down at them.
Tanjiro also drew his sword and parried.
"We really aren't demons."
"Yeah? Well taste my swords anyway. The king of the mountain loses to no one!"
They both attacked each other relentlessly. Well, one attacked and the other defended.
"Hey, some help here!" And Zenitsu was crying and screaming on the side.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Inosuke found an opening and gave him a powerful kick to the chest, sending him tumbling towards Zenitsu, and knocked him out.
And, well. That was a bad idea. Since now, Inosuke had to deal with a Tanjiro and a Zenitsu who can fight.
"First form: Thunder clap and flash." Obviously, since he was a human, Zenitsu wouldn't go for his head, but just the technique alone sent Inosuke flying into another room, breaking many walls in the process.
And even though the house looked limited on the outside, the rooms seemed to truly never end.
And with this, they had a massive scruffle. Furniture was sent flying everywhere, swords were clanging, shouting and screams were heard.
After an hour of rough fighting, only then did the chaos stop.
Both sides were panting hard on the floor, and tired.
And actually, because of this, an indescribable friendship occurred. Inosuke finally realised they were human, so when they recovered enough, he started telling them about what he's discovered about the place.
"So, the rooms seem to never end. You've gone through many rooms but only very few times have you went into the same room twice. There's also a powerful demon in the middle of this place. Hmm, maybe this is the demon's blood demon art, to create never ending rooms to confuse and starve the hunters?" Tanjiro deduced.
"AHH! DEMONS!" Zenitsu was now awake.
A while later, Nezuko became the topic of conversation.
Tanjiro let her come out and introduced her. She received some grunts and a scream, but she, as a demon, was accepted by the trio.
"So, you're saying that whatever you do, you cannot find the centre of the place and you can't leave?"
"Yes."
"Hmm." Tanjiro got up and opened a door. Inosuke also got up to chase the running and screaming Zenitsu, shouting how he was really annoying when he's awake.
"Ummm, Inosuke?"
"What?"
"Could the demon possibly have blue hair?"
"What? Yes, yes it does."
"Well, I think I found it."
"What?"
Behind the door, was a large and open room, and in the centre was the exact person that Inosuke saw earlier.
The door then disappeared and was replaced by a strong suction force.
"Arghh!" Tanjiro was the first to be dragged in since he was the nearest and didn't have any prior warning, followed by Nezuko, then Zenitsu and Inosuke.
...
The four woke up on the ground and they were met with the stare of the figure sitting comfortably in the middle.
"Welcome."
Rimuru opened his eyes and smiled.