Circling high in the midnight sky, the Hawk Demon peered down through the dense canopy. When his eyes landed on the pink-haired girl wandering between the mountain trees, his first instinct was primal:
That woman looks delicious! She must be so firm and chewy!
Well, in a sense, he wasn't wrong. With eight times the muscle density of a normal human, she was certainly as "firm" as they came.
The Hawk Demon swallowed hard, desperately trying to suppress the gnawing hunger that was driving him to the brink of insanity. He beat his wings, dropping his altitude slightly to get a better look at his prize.
Indeed, as he drew closer, the image became clearer.
The girl, crowned with striking pink hair and dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, walked aimlessly through the woods. She looked utterly bewildered, the very picture of a lost traveler.
He couldn't believe his luck. Truly, he couldn't.
At this hour, in a place like this, to encounter someone so lost, so isolated—and a woman who appeared so utterly harmless!
To stumble upon such a find while he was this starved felt like a gift from the heavens themselves. She was a delicacy delivered on a silver platter.
High above, the Hawk Demon salivated uncontrollably. Driven mad by the void in his stomach, he was on the verge of losing all restraint. He wanted to tuck his wings, plummet like a stone, and devour her instantly to silence the screaming in his gut.
However...
The Hawk Demon was no fool.
The moment he allowed a flicker of cold reason to return, he realized something was off.
A lone, weak woman appearing in the depths of a mountain forest in the middle of the night—especially right when his hunger was at its peak? It was too convenient.
This wasn't a coincidence; it felt like a calculated move. Her presence felt like a deliberate attempt to lure him down from the safety of the clouds.
The realization hit him: the woman below wasn't just prey. She was a decoy—a lure specifically designed to hook him.
If I fly down to eat her, I'm walking right into their hands!
Forget landing; he suspected that if he even dipped too close to the forest floor, he would be cut down in an instant.
Such an obvious plan. Such blatant bait. Do you really think I can't see through you!? the Hawk Demon spat internally.
But even as he saw through the ruse, what could he do?
He hadn't eaten in more days than he could count. The hunger was a physical weight, a madness clawing at his mind. The fact that he could still maintain a shred of logic was a miracle in itself.
At this breaking point, the appearance of a defenseless woman was like placing a royal banquet in front of a man who hadn't eaten in a week. Knowing it was a trap was one thing; having the willpower to resist it was another entirely.
He circled restlessly, his mind a battlefield where logic and hunger tore at each other.
Should I go down? Should I take the risk?
There was no doubt it was a trap. Going down meant grave danger. But if he didn't eat, he was certain he would wither away and die of starvation regardless.
The Hawk Demon finally understood the nature of the situation.
This wasn't a hidden conspiracy; it was an "open scheme." It told him plainly: This woman is a decoy. Yet, because of his extreme hunger, he was forced to take the bait even while knowing the hook was there.
To go or not to go? To dive or to stay?
The agonizing hunger made the choice for him. His eyes turned a bloodthirsty red as he reached his breaking point.
I'll do it!
I'll take the gamble!
So what if she's a decoy? I'll swallow the bait and leave the hook behind! What can you do then?!
He formulated a plan: he would use his maximum burst of speed, dive like a lightning bolt, snatch the pink-haired woman in his talons, and immediately retreat back into the safety of the sky.
He would devour her in mid-air, far beyond the reach of any swordsman on the ground.
He couldn't take it anymore. The hunger had finally snapped his sanity.
With a face twisted by desperation, the Hawk Demon flared his wings, creating a localized gale in the high altitude. Then, with an explosive burst of speed, he turned his beak toward the forest floor and plummeted toward the woman.
How fast was his dive?
It was a blur, a streak of darkness that exceeded the tracking capabilities of the human eye.
So, where was Horitake during all of this?
Horitake had already sensed the Hawk Demon's movement. He watched the creature's rapid descent from his hiding spot within the deep shadows of a massive tree, but he remained perfectly still.
He wasn't just being a spectator; he simply knew that now that the demon had committed to the dive, his intervention wasn't necessary. The rest was up to Mitsuri.
By now, the truth was clear. The "decoy" wandering the forest floor was none other than Mitsuri Kanroji.
To play the role perfectly, she had traded her standard Demon Slayer uniform for simple, domestic clothing, ensuring the demon above wouldn't be spooked by the sight of a Nichirin Sword.
Her disguise had worked perfectly. She had successfully lured the monster from his perch.
As she walked, Mitsuri maintained her act—shoulders hunched, eyes darting left and right with feigned trepidation, stopping occasionally as if startled by a shadow.
Of course, it was all a performance.
Despite her fragile appearance, she had been tracking the Hawk Demon's trajectory the entire time. Beneath her nervous exterior, her battle instincts were sharp and cold.
Such a fast dive... this demon isn't ordinary. I'll have to get a bit serious if I want to take him down cleanly.
As the thought crossed her mind, the Hawk Demon arrived. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, his razor-sharp talons extended, aiming directly for Mitsuri's shoulders.
The demon's plan was simple: grab her, lift her, and dine in the clouds.
It was a beautiful plan. Reality, however, was far more cruel.
Mitsuri's speed was not inferior to the demon's, and her reflexes were honed to a razor's edge.
When the diving demon was less than ten meters away, Mitsuri finally moved.
She spun around with startling fluidity, facing the descending monster head-on. As she did, she flashed a wide, radiant smile.
It was a bright, sunny expression—the kind of smile that would normally fill anyone who saw it with warmth and joy.
But to the Hawk Demon, that smile looked like a death warrant.
Crap! I've been had!
This wasn't a weak, defenseless girl. This woman was a monster in her own right!
He had assumed she was merely the bait and that the "hook"—the real enemy—was hiding nearby. He never imagined that the bait was the hook.
Panic-stricken, the Hawk Demon tried to bank, flapping his wings violently to regain altitude.
But how could he instantly reverse such a high-speed vertical plummet?
The ten-meter gap vanished in a blink. Amidst a flurry of frantic wings and loose feathers, the demon's momentum carried him right into Mitsuri's reach.
Still smiling, Mitsuri reached out and caught the Hawk Demon's massive talons firmly in her hands.
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