The next day came. Warm sunlight seeped through the gaps between tall trees, lighting the sparsely snow-covered ground. White clouds drifted lazily across the pale blue sky.
Crisp breeze flowed gently early morning across the mountains and plains, making even getting out of bed burdensome. But it does not matter how low the temperature gets. The farmers have to get up to till their farms. Merchants and vendors need to prepare goods for another busy market. Samurai and warriors still train relentlessly. No matter the day or the season, life will never be easy. Nature won't show mercy. And...
The demons won't stop hunting.
"Mom! Look up. Is that someone flying?"
"What are you saying, Sato? It must be a bird," the lady said and looked in the direction her son was pointing. Her body froze in an awkward position, with her waist half-turned as she looked at the sky. Her eyes were so wide, they were practically popping out.
"Kami-sama! Dear, come here. Natsuki-san, come out...," she started calling out the names of every villager.
Because in the sky, a figure wearing a black haori floated slowly, lost in thought.
If one looked closely, one could see what can only be the most beautiful, flawless face in existence.
It was Nior, flowing over the village.
Hearing the commotion below, he looked down to see many villagers - old and young - kneeling on the ground in worship. He thought for a bit and waved his hand casually. A golden ripple covered the entire village. Wherever the light passed, the lands turned fertile, crops and trees grew more lush, and humans were healed of even the oldest of their injuries.
Unknowingly, he created another legend that will go down in the history of this world.
"A little goodwill is hardly any effort. I need to work on improving my Faith Manipulation before I return to Asgard. It's one work after another. Let's see if I can gain some powerful souls in this world." He sighed and changed the direction of his flight.
"Japan isn't that big. If someone is dead set on finding you, there is no way you can hide permanently."
At this moment, he sensed something and turned towards the source.
"Finally, some entertainment. I have been working since coming here. Due to my enhancements, even Kie spends most of the day training. Nezuko always sleep, and I get bored taking care of her all day."
Seeing the girl with pink hair with light green ends practising, Nior grinned wildly.
---
(Kanroji Mitsuri POV)
"Fwaah... "
"Swoosh..."
"Haaah... Uwu, I can't seem to learn Breathing Styles, no matter how hard I try. But they are so cool. I need to work hard to find a husband," I say, pumping my fists.
"You need a different Breathing Style. Flame Breathing isn't suited for you."
"Kyaaa!"
Startled, I jumped and raised my hands to punch backwards, "Go away, bad demon!"
"How am I a demon? And why are you punching, even if I were a demon?" My punch got blocked by his hands, and he made fun of me in the same sweet voice of his, along with a laugh.
I opened my eyes to see the person who blocked my attack. And––
'Ahhh~ So handsome'
I froze, my eyes never leaving his beautiful face.
"Hello, Earth to beautiful lady?"
I snapped back and then realised.
'Hehe... he called me beautiful, and he is stronger than I am. He is also so pretty. I... I wuv him~'
"Yes, I am Mitsuri Kanroji. Please marry me," I blurted out suddenly.
---
"Yes, I am Mitsuri Kanroji. Please marry me."
Nior was a little speechless. First being called a demon, then getting a marriage proposal, was way out of anything he imagined.
By now, Mitsuri realised her slip of tongue and was blushing madly.
Nior looked at her and smirked. His boredom is solved.
"Sure, why not?" he said in a low voice and brought his face so close to her that they could breathe the same air.
"Eh? You don't mind? Then, if... if I am not too much of a burden, we can contact our parents," she fidgeted and held the hem of her skirt.
Hahaha...
Her flustered expression was too much for Nior to hold back. He bent forward, clutching his stomach and laughed loudly.
"Mou... You meanie. Don't tease me like that," Mitsuri said, puffing her cheeks like a hamster and hitting his chest with her soft fists.
"Okay, okay. Stop. How about we first become friends?" Nior stopped laughing and said.
Then, taking a step back, he flashed a smile and added, "You have a beautiful name, Mitsuri. I am Nior. Would you like to be my friend?"
'Ho... how charming! And he used my first name... hehehe'
Seeing his extended arm, Mitsuri took hold of his hands.
"I would be happy to be your friend, Nior-san," she replied with a smile.
Feeling her soft hands, Nior was truly happy.
'What a beautiful soul. I must get her no matter what'
Typically, ordinary souls are dull and tainted with different colours, representing different traits. Among them, vampires prefer the souls of virgin women, which are the least tainted.
A living being is very complex. Every factor can influence another and vice versa. And if the magical nature is also taken into consideration, the complexity takes another level of difficulty.
In the case of powerful demons, if souls are the engine of a car, with emotions as gears. Heightened emotions can force these engines to produce different qualities of life energy, which demons can digest.
It's the same case for Vampires, the nature of souls can affect the vitality of a being, and that can affect the taste of blood. Happy and young individuals generally have sweet blood, with other emotions adding different flavours.
But this was the case for mortals. Higher beings have glowing souls, corresponding to their powers. Gods have golden, continuously shining souls. Nior has a pure black soul that emits blinding dark light. It does not mean that he is evil or corrupted, but that he has absolute dominion over darkness.
Mitsuri has a white soul with tints of other colours, predominantly pink. Her soul does not glow, but it is at least clean. Yes, those who can see souls often find most beings disgusting.
Nior does not care about her virgin body; human blood tastes like water to him anyway, though virgin humans' blood is just sweeter water. He prefers the blood of Gods and similar beings.
Her soul is also a rare, strong one, with potential for further upgrades in quality and strength. He can theoretically enchant anything, including souls. It's just that the soul should also be powerful enough to handle his powers. To beings like him, souls are just data files that have preset blueprints tailored for their native universes. Nior can read, delete, and to some extent manipulate and change these data values, just like game character builds.
Mitsuri is a perfect candidate to become a vampire, and she can definitely awaken a unique power. The innate awakened abilities of vampires are the culmination of their talents, skills, memories, desires, and interests. With the boost from Vampiric Energy and Progenitor's blood, these factors can merge to form a power which grows infinitely with the vampires.
"You were practising breathing styles, right? Why don't we start from the basics?"
Mitsuri nodded immediately. Her heart was fluttering without stopping, and all she could think about was spending time with him.
The rest of the day went with Nior training and perfecting her basic sword forms. He also got to learned more about her.
Mitsuri Kanroji came from a wealthy family. Born with unnatural appetite and strength, she was having trouble finding a husband, especially given her height and non-ladylike personality. Mitsuri decided to join the Demon Slayer Corps in search of a strong partner who would accept her.
Since she has just joined, Rengoku, a Hashira, has not yet been assigned to teach her Flame Breathing, which suited her physique.
She could not get used to Flame Breathing's breathing pattern, so she made no progress.
Hearing her story from herself, Nior started planning her future training program, so she could be perfectly prepared to be reincarnated as a Vampire.
Thus began Mitsuri's hel, um, training for the next two years.