In Roy's impression, demons were no scarier than humans; on the contrary… humans could sometimes be more vicious than demons.
But the demons in the Demon Slayer world were different; they were physical monsters, their existence tied to the Demon King—Muzan Kibutsuji.
Empowered by demon blood, their physical bodies were incredibly strong, far surpassing ordinary humans.
However, just like vows and restrictions, great power often came at the cost of "limitations."
Demons were not without weaknesses.
Firstly, their life and death were entirely at the whim of the Demon King.
Secondly, they feared sunlight and would die if exposed to it, so they usually appeared at night. This is why, at the beginning of Demon Slayer, Saburo-ji-san specifically asked Tanjiro to stay overnight, which ultimately led to the tragedy of his entire family being killed, except for Nezuko.
Thirdly, demons were bloodthirsty and had to feed on humans. Prolonged starvation would weaken their strength, but they would quickly recover once replenished.
And this demon before them was very unfortunate; it was a full-strength demon that had become desperate from hunger and had just replenished itself with a meal of blood!
'It's still daytime…' Roy couldn't help but marvel at his 'good' luck.
Thick clouds happened to cover the sun, which was probably why this demon dared to attack the woodcutter amidst the wind and snow.
"Ni-san… what is that?" Tanjiro tremblingly clutched Roy's clothes.
"Didn't you say it… a demon?"
"A demon! There really is a demon! Then why don't we… run!"
"Run? Where to? Are you going to lead it home?" Roy swung his right hand, directly shouldering the hoe, and strode towards the evil demon.
"I…" Tanjiro's body, which had just turned, stiffened. He looked back again.
His Ni-san, without looking back, threw him a single word: "Stay."
In an instant, he stepped with Dark Step, making several consecutive leaps, transforming into a gust of wind, carrying countless snowflakes, and charging straight over.
Three hundred meters was a distance neither too long nor too short.
Enough for the evil demon to notice something amiss.
He dropped the body, which had been mostly gnawed, and stared with blood-red eyes, baring a mouthful of sharp fangs in a grin:
"Nyahahaha… perfect timing!"
"This woodcutter's meat is too tough, not tasty."
"Just in time to add some fat with you two little ones."
The evil demon was overjoyed. Instead of retreating, he advanced, stomping one foot on the ground, creating a snow pit.
Immediately after, he shot forward like a cannonball, charging towards the attacking Roy.
In mid-air, a claw sharper than a blade extended, aiming a strike directly at Roy's head!
The speed was so great it elicited a cry of alarm from Tanjiro!
"Ni-san, be careful."
"Whoosh!" The strong wind almost grazed Roy's neck… At the crucial moment, Roy's figure flickered, and in mid-air, he surprisingly used Limb Bend to change direction, leaving a trail of afterimages, and circled behind the evil demon's lower back, raising his hoe for a powerful, heavy blow!
"Bang!" It was as if his kidney had been directly scooped out!
The evil demon cried out in pain, rolled on the ground, and quickly distanced himself from Roy.
He didn't understand why a human could make movements that defied natural laws. When he stood up again, he had already restored his flesh with the help of the demon blood within him.
Tanjiro, crouching behind a tree, closely watched the situation in the field. When he poked his head out and saw this scene, he was utterly dumbfounded!
He could recover from injuries; how could they fight like this?
But Roy seemed not to notice this. He held the hoe in one hand, twirled it like a sword, and a smile played on his lips, becoming even more excited.
[Prompt: Host's Fighting Experience +1]
[Current Level: Fighting: Lv2 (16/100)]
[Note: Excess fighting experience can be randomly allocated to the application skills mastered by the host.]
[Such as "Dark Step," "Limb Bend," "Snake Living"…]
In that case… was this a demon? This was clearly a moving experience pack!
Roy's eyes lit up, and he gained a deeper understanding of his Nen Ability… What was absorbing nutrients? Besides learning, combat was also a part of absorbing nutrients.
'So the question is, should I kill him quickly, or slowly?'
Roy already had the answer. He pointed the hoe in the distance… The evil demon, ten meters away, seeing his provocation, inexplicably shivered. He didn't know why he suddenly felt an emotion called fear, and immediately became enraged out of shame!
It was hateful that Sato Takeichiro had feared no one in his life; he had even dared to kill the samurai of the great lords. Now, transformed into a demon, he was being pointed at by a child holding a hoe… If that adult found out, he would surely be mercilessly annihilated by them.
They would mock him for being inferior even to a child.
"Nyahahaha… I've really been underestimated." Sato Takeichiro grinned menacingly, flexing his ankles.
The previous probing had made him realize that the opponent was not only fast but also possessed a strange movement technique. In that case… to break the stalemate, he had to be faster and more elusive than the opponent to achieve ultimate victory.
Coincidentally—what Sato Takeichiro was best at was "speed" and "elusiveness"!
"Blood Demon Art—Deadly Leap!" Sato Takeichiro changed… His soles strangely curved into an arc, and with a casual tap on the snow, he flew up as if springs were installed under his feet!
Then, Tanjiro witnessed a scene he would never forget in his life!
Countless figures of the evil demon appeared in the forest… These figures used the large trees as springboards, each bounce bringing a whiff of 腥風!
He was so fast that in the end, Tanjiro rubbed his eyes vigorously but still couldn't find which was his true body!
He could only clench his fists, anxiously worrying for Roy… "Oh no, Ni-san… he can also use clone jutsu like you!"
No… it's different… With his eyes covered by a layer of Nen, Roy directly activated [Gyo], and thus saw more clearly than Tanjiro… The opponent was using the reaction force of the "springs" under his soles on the snow and trees to create illusions, so he was truly fast!
In contrast, Limb Bend utilized the blind spots in human vision, focusing on confusing the opponent… In terms of speed, however, it was far inferior to the opponent.
However, what Sato Takeichiro would never have expected was that he was not facing a martial artist who only knew how to gloat after learning a little martial arts, but rather a—
Nen user who had truly opened his Aura Nodes!
And what was a "Nen user"?
With just [Gyo], one could perceive the aura on the opponent… With just [En], one could focus their mind and remain calm… With just [Hatsu], one could release aura, either forming Nen bullets to attack the opponent, or imbuing objects to enhance the intensity of strikes against the opponent… So… 'My foolish Otouto, let your older brother teach you a good lesson!'
Roy held his breath, focused his mind, and raised his hoe!
He calmly said: "Watch carefully, Tanjiro…"
"Only strength will not deceive your eyes."
With that, he swung the hoe down…