Upper Moon

Word count: 1942

<—>

[-400 HP]

[-10 HP]

[Broken Ribcage: -20% DUR 

Time limit: 50 Seconds]

[Collapsed Lungs: Difficulty Breathing - (-50)% Stamina Regeneration 

Time Limit: 1 Minute]

Fujino slid down the wall of the carriage, blood spilling from his mouth as he struggled to breathe. It felt like his lungs denied his body's order, refusing to expand. He could only gasp and wheeze, desperately trying to regain his breath, but it was futile.

The pain was so intense that even forming a coherent thought was a challenge. His head spun, and a ringing filled his ears, forcing him to hold his breath to conserve the little air he had left.

"Fujino!"

"Fuji!"

Tanjiro and Inosuke stood in shock. One moment, Fujino was walking away, and the next, he was hurled through the air by a demon's attack. The demon now glared at the slayers with a furious expression.

"To think a demon would betray Master-sama and ally with slayers is truly disgraceful," he spat, then turned his fierce gaze toward the slayers.

Both the exhausted tanjiro and stunned Inosuke froze, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. How could they not? The paralyzing terror gripped their hearts and drowned their souls.

The demon was shirtless, his fair muscular body adorned with a pattern of blue lines. He wore loose white pants and a sleeveless dark purple-pink haori. A mop of pink hair crowned his head. He appeared humanoid, unlike the more feral types of demons.

But what truly caught their attention, the source of their fear, were his eyes. The yellow irises bore three words: "Upper Moon" in his right iris and "3" in his left.

This demon, whoever he was, belonged to the Upper Moon, a group of six demons known for their ferocity and strength. None of them had been defeated in over a century, and one had just effortlessly taken out one of their strongest fighters.

His aura... was a suffocating terror to them.

The Upper Moon demon's gaze swept over them, assessing, evaluating, judging, his eyes piercing into their very souls like a judge, jury, and executioner, passing judgment until he finally rendered his verdict.

"Weak."

With that single word, the Upper Moon dismissed the slayers, the soldiers who risked their lives to protect humanity; as weak.

Tanjiro felt the sting of those words deeply, flinching at the harshness, his gaze dropping. Inosuke, however, reacted differently; he tightened his grip on his blades and glared defiantly.

"I'm not weak! You demons are nothing but ants compared to the mighty Inosuke!" he shouted, though fear lingered beneath his bravado, his pride refusing to let him back down.

The demon regarded him with an unimpressed stare. "I loathe the weak, and what I detest even more are weaklings who boast of their superiority. Just the sight of you makes my skin crawl."

The demon stepped forward, and Inosuke immediately fell into a fighting stance, his muscles coiling with tension and readiness. He felt a flicker of fear, but he would never retreat from a battle; his pride and commitment to protect his friend would always drive him forward.

"Beast Breathing, Fifth fang: Crazy Cutting!" Inosuke propelled himself at the demon, unleashing a whirlwind of strikes with his sword, each one aimed at slicing and decapitating his foe.

However, the demon calmly absorbed the onslaught, effortlessly deflecting, sidestepping, and blocking every attack that Inosuke threw his way. The upper moon seemed to take it all in stride.

"Ugh! Just stop moving and stand still!" Inosuke yelled, pouring all his strength into his strikes, desperate to land even a small cut, but once again, his efforts amounted to nothing. The upper moon simply brushed off his attempts.

With a snarl, Inosuke switched tactics."Beast Breathing, Second Fang: Slice!' He swung both blades in an X pattern toward the demon, who casually caught the blades with his hand, not even drawing a drop of blood.

"How—Ack!" Inosuke began to protest, but the demon headbutted him, leaving him dazed. In a swift move, the demon swept Inosuke off his feet, and with a burst of momentum, he landed on his fingertips, bending his knees and driving them straight into Inosuke's stomach.

A pained gasp escaped Inosuke as he was sent flying, landing hard next to the fallen Tanjiro. "Inosuke!" Tanjiro shouted, but his friend struggled weakly to rise.

"Not a single scratch, weakling," the demon taunted, a glimmer of interest in his eyes. "But I've never heard 'Beast Breathing' before, and that piqued my insterest. So here's my offer." He walked up to inosuke and extended his arm.

"Become a demon. You're weak, but you have potential. With time you can become stronger. I can tell that your body is unlike any other human I have ever seen, demon slayers included."

Inosuke, kneeling down, was just about to respond when the Upper Moon whirled around, swatting away invisible arcs of wind that were aimed at him. He then leaped over a barrage of attacks that sliced through the trees nearby.

The source of this chaos was none other than Fujino, who stood tall with his sword drawn. He appeared rugged, his demonic eyes adorned with veins. It was clear to anyone that he was far from happy.

"No one is joining you, asshole," he spat, his eyes filled with anger and venom.

"So, the traitor is still on his feet. I figured a weak demon like you would take longer to regenrate. Guess I was wrong," he said, showing no concern for Fujino's feelings.

"Traitor? I have no clue who you're talking about. I never pledged loyalty to anyone," Fujino replied, but a new realization began to dawn on him from the demon's words. 

'He called me a traitor... Does that imply there's a hierarchy among demons? I had my suspicions... but this clears up a lot of things.'

The Upper Moon visibly bristled at the remark. "What disrespect! Not only do you ally with the Demon Slayer Corps, but you claim ignorance of 'That man'?"

'..."That man"? So there is a hierarchy, which means there must be some kind of demon lord at the top.' He couldn't help but groan. Even in an alternate Japan, the isekai trope was still alive and well with the typical demon lord. What's next, magic?

'Blood demon arts are technically a form of magic. What a pain in the ass. At least now I have a clearer picture of what I'm facing.' That was the silver lining in this whole mess.

Right now, he was facing a demon capable of easily eliminating him, and he needed to concentrate.

'Observe'

[(Observe) Failed]

'...What? It...failed?' Fujino was completely bewildered. Normally, Observe worked on all enemies, even those stronger than him, although it didn't reveal their thoughts or history against more powerful foes, And the stronger they were, the less information were given.

The fact that it failed meant this enemy was so formidable that even Observe couldn't gauge his strength.

[Name: Fujino Yuki 

Level: 56 (8970/34,500) 

Race: Demon (2 minutes) 

Health: 1490/1490 (+19.8/sec) 

Stamina: 1342/1580 (+21.0/sec) 

STR: 180 

DUR: 137 

END: 149 

AGI: 158 

INT: 51 

CHA: 64 

Attributes Points (AP): 33]

At level 48, he was up against Lower Moon 1, Enmu, the strongest demon he had ever faced, who was at level 80 at his peak, and Observe was still worked.

This one, his eyes read "Upper Moon 3."

If that demon's level was that high... Fujino was, essentially, fucked.

[Quest added! 

—> Survive! 

The name says it all, doesn't it? 

Main Objective: Survive until dawn. 

Reward: 20,000 XP]

Totally Fucked.

Fujino was so engrossed by this realization and barely managed to dodge an incoming punch aimed at his face. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, raising his sword just in time to block another punch that sent him staggering backward.

"I won't tolerate disrespect from anyone, including you, traitor," he shot back, launching an attack. Fujino parried with his blade, then blocked another strike before attempting to slice at his opponent. However, The demon effortlessly swatted his sword aside.

Fujino found himself vulnerable as the demon prepared to deliver a high kick. Thanks to his Demonic Assimilation, he managed to duck just in time, though he almost lost his balance and fell.

Later on, Fujino would think back and realize how lucky he was; The Upper Moon's foot crashed down, and with a quick roll, he narrowly escaped. He sprang up from the roll and unleashed Wind Blades at the demon, who effortlessly swatted them away.

'This is not fucking fair! I just want to go home, not get into a life-and-death situation!' he exclaimed as he landed, immediately feeling the pressure as the Upper Moon continued to unleash relentless attacks that he had to fend off. He was grateful that his sword remained intact.

He shuddered to think what would have happened if he had tried to block with his hands; they would likely be broken.

[-140 HP]

"Ugh!" An attack slipped past his defenses and struck him squarely on the nose, breaking it.

[Broken nose: -2% DUR 

Time limit: 5 Seconds]

Despite the pain, Fujino refused to let it distract him. He focused all his energy on blocking or dodging the incoming strikes, which kept getting closer.

That's when he decided to take a risk. With his sword in one hand, he allowed an attack to slip through his guard, which landed hard on his right cheek.

[-30 HP]

He turned with the punch, reducing its impact, and countered with a Precision Strike. His fist connected with the demon's face, feeling like he had hit a concrete wall.

Unfortunately, his gamble didn't pay off.

The demon shrugged off the blow, seized him by the collar, and headbutted him. Then, twisting his leg, he kicked Fujino in the side, sending him staggering. Before he could recover, Akaza quickly grabbed him and delivered a punch to his stomach.

[-75 HP]

[-220 HP]

[-250 HP]

Health: 790/1490 (+19.8/sec) 

Stamina: 1246/1580 (+21.0/sec) 

Fujino hit the ground hard, the air knocked out of him once again. A foot pressed down on his chest, making it impossible for him to breathe.

"Not bad, you've got some tricks, even if they are a bit unusual. And those wind attacks—are they part of your blood demon art? It's no surprise you're working with the slayers. Yours is so weak it wouldn't help the master at all," Akaza sneered, disdain dripping from his words.

Fujino, already on edge from the events of the past hour, felt old wounds reopen at Akaza's taunts. The word "weak" ignited a fury within him that had barely cooled since his encounter with Enmu.

"You don't have the right to call me that! NOT AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE BEEN THROUGH!" he yelled, but Akaza remained unfazed. To him, he just a weakling who would sooner or later die.

"I'll crush your head now; the sun will take care of the rest. Goodbye," Akaza said, lifting one foot high.

Fujino knew he was in a dire situation. His Demonic Assimilation was about to run out—less than five seconds left—and there was no way he could survive without it. The Upper Moon's hold was too strong; even his raw strength couldn't free him.

He couldn't help but wonder if this was the end. First, it was the demon he faced at the start, then the one in the village, followed by Rui, and now this. It seemed the fourth time wouldn't be the charm.

"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorch Sun!" a voice thundered. Fujino couldn't see, but he noticed the demon's expression shift in surprise. A burst of flames erupted, forcing the demon to leap back and evade the attack.

Perhaps, after all, the fourth time really was the charm.

<—>

Taisho-era secrets!

Upper Moon 3 had been lurking in the vicinity ever since the train accident. When he spotted Fujino walking away, his anger flared up. A demon aligned with the slayers infuriated him to no ends, compelling him to ambush him; otherwise, he would have killed Tanjiro.