"I've said it before—you monsters are nothing like me. Even as a half-demon, an Oni's blood is leagues above creatures like you who can only cling to life by devouring flesh."
Ren Kuroda stared down at the four-limbed Oni sprawled at his feet. Under the morning sunlight, the thing didn't last more than a heartbeat before its skin began to smoke and peel. A few seconds later, it crumbled into drifting gray ash.
Ren let out a low whistle.
"Seriously… sunlight isn't just poison to these things. It's instant death."
A ridiculous thought flickered through his mind: If I could bring over tech from my old world, couldn't we just make a portable UV cannon? Bam—sunlight on demand. I'd be unstoppable.
Of course, that was just daydreaming. He couldn't even bring his own blade—Oni-Scar—into this world, let alone modern technology.
But the encounter stirred something in him. He really needed a reliable way to kill creatures like this.
The four-limbed demon's strength wasn't anything extraordinary, yet even Ren—far stronger than it by nature—had struggled to finish it off alone. If not for the rising sun, he might still be fighting it.
I can't count on waiting until dawn every time. What if there are stronger ones? Or more of them?
Even if Ren outclassed them individually, he was no immortal monster. With enough of these undead creatures wearing him down, even a half-demon could fall.
Which meant one thing: if he wanted to survive in this world, he needed a weapon designed to kill demons—really kill them.
As the creature's ashes scattered, the winter sunlight washed over Ren's skin, warm enough to chase away the morning chill. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Behind him, the surviving villagers gathered, hesitant at first, then relieved. Everyone knew that man-eating demons could not stand the sun. And Ren… he was standing in it as casually as any human.
The mother and daughter he'd saved earlier hurried over and dropped to their knees before him.
"Thank you… thank you for saving us," the young woman said, trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks.
She silently cursed herself for ever doubting him—for even considering the four-limbed demon's lies that this handsome traveler was one of its kind. Now that she had seen him clearly—his humanity, his fury, his strength—there was no mistaking it. He had saved them. He had nothing in common with monsters.
All around them, the bodies of the dead were gathered for burial. Many villagers wept beside severed limbs, bloody snow, and half-devoured remains. Some survivors had been pulled from the grasp of death only thanks to those very people who now lay still.
Grief filled the air, raw and heavy. But life would go on. And Ren, as the one who stopped the carnage, received gratitude from every direction.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
His intention in coming here hadn't been to play hero. He'd only been searching for clues about this world… until the demon's slaughter had ignited a fury inside him he couldn't ignore.
Human or half-demon, he couldn't watch innocent people be butchered.
Especially when the victims included a mother and daughter. The sight of them trembling had reminded him painfully of his own mother and sister back in his previous life—memories that still lived inside him despite his transformation.
So the villagers' heartfelt thanks… honestly made him a little uncomfortable.
That was when the system chimed in.
Ding!You have arrived in the world of Demon Slayer. Provoked by low-level demons, you decide to demonstrate the true strength of the Oni race.Within two years, slay 100 ordinary demons and at least one demon of "Twelve Moons" class.Reward: 500 Human Reputation, 500 Oni Reputation.
Ren froze.
Demon Slayer. Seriously?
He'd heard of the series, of course—it dominated the anime world back in his old life. But he hadn't followed it, and the anime hadn't even finished airing before he died.
He barely remembered the protagonist's name—Tanjiro? Tantarou? Charcoal Boy? Something like that.
If he had been dropped into a world he actually knew the plot of, he would've had a massive advantage. Instead, he knew almost nothing.
He groaned internally. Why didn't I at least watch a few episodes? Now I'm stuck in here blind.
Still, the system mission gave him one crucial piece of information: he was officially in that world.
Ren stayed in the village for two days—not just to rest, but to gather information. The villagers, out of gratitude, even had their blacksmith forge a long sword for him.
The craftsmanship was rough and the metal mediocre, but when Ren learned the truth—that they had melted down their own farming hoes to make it—he felt something tighten in his chest.
Iron was precious here. Their tools were precious. For them to sacrifice their own livelihood for him…
He bowed his head and accepted the blade with both hands.
In return, Ren used his accumulated reputation points to trade for two Demon Power Talismans at the system's exchange shop. He infused both with his own demonic energy and handed them to the villagers.
"It won't kill a demon," he warned, "but if anything like that thing shows up again, use one and run. It'll buy you time."
The villagers thanked him repeatedly.
Finally, with the handmade longsword at his side, Ren departed on the first leg of his demon-hunting journey.
In truth, the villagers hadn't been able to tell him much—ordinary people knew little of demon slayers, demon hierarchies, or the Twelve Moons.
As he walked away down the snowy path, he let out a long breath.
This is going to be a long hunt.