Returning to Asakusa
Not far away, Hakkotsuryo excitedly picked up the severed limb. His mouth immediately split open, revealing fangs like sharp blades and daggers.
He took a fierce bite, and blood flowed out. He used his long tongue to lap it all up, not wasting a single drop.
Hakkotsuryo wolfed down Sanemi Shinazugawa's severed arm. In just a minute or two, he had devoured all the flesh and blood. Then, with a crunch, crunch, he stuffed the bones into his mouth and chewed them to dust.
He was indeed starving.
After being replenished by the blood feast, the madness in Hakkotsuryo's eyes subsided, and rationality returned.
He pushed with his hand, and the heavy Chinese juniper trunk flew backward, landing on the ground with a bang and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Standing up, Hakkotsuryo brushed off the dirt and grass from his body and looked at Kurozawa with surprise and uncertainty in his eyes.
"You, you are?" he asked tentatively.
Having regained his senses, he hadn't forgotten what he did in his frenzied state. He clearly remembered his Blood Demon Art being toyed with for a moment before being easily shattered, and the Kurozawa in front of him was clearly not a Swordsman and had even thrown him the severed arm.
In Hakkotsuryo's eyes, Kurozawa had at least the strength of an Upper Moon ranked in the top three. However, he knew who the Upper Moons were, and Kurozawa was not among them.
So, Hakkotsuryo felt a bit uneasy.
Could a battle among the Upper Moons have happened without him knowing, and someone has been replaced? That shouldn't be right. As Lower Moon One, he should have been qualified to participate, even if he was just beaten black and blue in the past. The important thing is participation.
Kurozawa didn't answer Hakkotsuryo's question but instead asked back, "How do you feel after eating that arm?"
Hakkotsuryo was startled. Only then did he examine his Demon body reflectively.
He flicked a finger, extending a sharp nail, and jabbed it hard into his forearm. The texture was much tougher than before; it took considerable force to break his hardened skin.
Moreover, Hakkotsuryo felt that the limit of his Blood Demon Art seemed to have also increased.
Light appeared in mid-air. Amidst a ripple, another Mirror Demon Kurozawa stepped out and stood beside Hakkotsuryo.
However, Hakkotsuryo knew deep down that he was no match for Kurozawa. He was just testing his Blood Demon Art and had no strange thoughts. After a few seconds, he dispersed the Mirror Demon.
Looking at Sanemi Shinazugawa at Kurozawa's feet with a look of astonishment, Hakkotsuryo licked the corner of his mouth and said, "The blood from that Swordsman's single arm is better than eating dozens of Swordsmen."
"Give me another arm, and I'm confident I can be promoted to Upper Moon!" He could clearly feel his improvement.
Eating humans is one of the effective ways for Demons to increase their Strength, but although a Demon's appetite is infinite, their capacity is limited. For example, Hakkotsuryo's limit was about ten people in one sitting; he couldn't eat anymore after that.
Moreover, most of this blood sustenance was used to replenish stamina consumption, with only a little remaining to increase their foundation. The more flesh and blood a Demon devours at once, the better and more obvious their strength improvement, but the limit is there, rendering them powerless despite their desire.
A single person equivalent to hundreds of people with rare blood is indeed a treasure for Demons.
Sanemi Shinazugawa was not just an ordinary person but a Pillar-level Swordsman. The enhancement his rare blood provided to Demons was even more significant.
"Then it should also work on Upper Moons."
Kurozawa stroked his chin, reached down, grabbed Sanemi Shinazugawa, and hoisted him onto his shoulder.
"Oh, right, you should get ready and report to Asakusa."
After taking a couple of steps, Kurozawa turned back and said to Hakkotsuryo, who was still standing there.
Hakkotsuryo pointed at himself, confused. "What?" He didn't know Kurozawa at all and didn't understand why Kurozawa suddenly gave such an instruction, nor was he willing to obey.
Kurozawa paused his steps, didn't explain, and just walked away.
It's better to wait for Hongyue to issue the direct command to gather the Demons uniformly. My words aren't effective right now.
Four days and four nights later, on a dark and windy night, Kurozawa walked ahead, followed by the silent Sanemi Shinazugawa, and they finally arrived at Asakusa.
Unlike the mostly quiet and gloomy mountains and forests, Asakusa City was brightly lit, with many people and various shops, restaurants, bars, and so on. It was like a massive burning torch on the land shrouded by the night.
"Don't even think about escaping. It's useless."
Looking at the bustling crowd in front of him, Kurozawa warned Sanemi Shinazugawa.
Originally, he could have returned to Asakusa in about three days, but along the way, Sanemi Shinazugawa caused all sorts of trouble, trying every means and scheme to escape.
Because the journey was boring, and Kurozawa wasn't in a hurry, he played a few games of 'you escape, I chase' with him.
With Fighting Spirit Perception locked onto Sanemi Shinazugawa, let alone his current weakness, where he couldn't even maintain Total Concentration: Constant Breathing, even at his peak, he couldn't escape Kurozawa's pursuit.
After a few times, under Kurozawa's playful gaze, Sanemi Shinazugawa probably guessed that Kurozawa had the ability of Fighting Spirit Perception, so he gave up on the idea of escaping on the road and waited for other opportunities instead.
However, Sanemi Shinazugawa had trained with the Stone Pillar, Gyomei Himejima, for a period and knew the special nature and power of Fighting Spirit.
For those who master Fighting Spirit, their enemy detection and pursuit abilities are terrifying. His chances of escape were slim.
"Have you been to Asakusa?"
"Such prosperous cities will become the mainstream in the near future, while mountain villages and towns will gradually disappear."
"Actually, if this human society is allowed to develop for a while longer, so-called Demons will truly only be able to live in the shadows, or even be completely exterminated."
"Whether the Demon Slayer Corps exists or not is actually not important."
Kurozawa said to Sanemi Shinazugawa with some emotion, but because he received no response, he sounded more like he was talking to himself.
On the streets of Asakusa, steel vehicles occasionally drove by. These machines would rapidly grow to a degree unimaginable to people today in the future.
Sanemi Shinazugawa walked among the smiling crowd, feeling somewhat out of place. He slowly said, "Without the Demon Slayer Corps, you would have been rampant and widespread long ago."
The "you" he referred to were the Demons.
Kurozawa smiled faintly and explained, "It seems you don't know that the number of Demons has actually remained roughly constant."
"For every Demon you kill, another one is born somewhere else."
Sanemi Shinazugawa stopped in his tracks and said, "That's impossible, you're lying."
Kurozawa stopped walking and said seriously, "It doesn't matter if I tell you. The Demon King is my partner. No one understands Demons better than I do."
"Compared to the entirety of human society, the number of Demons is just a drop in the ocean."
"Whether the Demon Slayer Corps exists or not, the Demons are there. Their numbers don't increase or decrease. It's pretty much the same either way."
The words above were half-truth, half-lie. Kurozawa was just spouting nonsense.
He didn't know the exact number of Demons; he just wanted to see Sanemi Shinazugawa's reaction.
His words had a convincing Strength, which temporarily confused Sanemi Shinazugawa.
As expected, after hearing Kurozawa's words, Sanemi Shinazugawa furrowed his brow tightly. His usually fierce eyes rarely showed a hint of confusion.
In a daze, he began to question whether everything he had done had any meaning.
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