Demon Slayer World — Early Morning
The night shimmered with faint glimmers of moonlight. Then, a hundred metres above a silent, uninhabited forest, a white light suddenly erupted.
The white light rapidly expanded, forming a portal. From this portal, a figure was thrown out. Yes, thrown out.
"System! This is not transmigration, this is clearly high-altitude littering!"
Feeling his body plummeting headfirst, Kaito quickly channelled spiritual energy throughout his entire body.
In an instant, it was as though his body had hit a pause button, stopping dead in mid-air. Kaito then controlled himself to slowly rotate upright.
"Phew… Good thing I can fly, otherwise I would have splattered on impact!"
Coming back to his senses, Kaito surveyed the situation below. Although it was night, he was a dignified [Golden Core] cultivator, and night vision was child's play for him.
Below was a small mountain covered in dense vegetation. Judging by the temperature, it was clearly either spring or summer.
Kaito recalled his memories from his previous life and realised this probably wasn't the point when the main plot had begun yet.
Unable to pinpoint the timeline, Kaito decided to find people first.
"Tenkuu, your master needs your help!"
Hearing his master's call, Tenkuu immediately materialised beneath Kaito's feet.
'Which way should I go? Hmm…'
Kaito spread his divine sense outward, a hundred meters, five hundred meters, a thousand meters, until he detected something in a residential area.
'There is someone fighting over there. Let's check it out!'
Sensing the fighting aura, Kaito swiftly flew toward the target.
"Heh heh, you've tried so hard until now. I'll free you soon. I'll take you apart little by little!"
A man with short, light-blonde hair, holding a folding fan, spoke with a gentle smile on his face.
A clear character for "Two" was visible in his golden eyes as he delivered his cruel words in a perfectly soft and gentle tone to the girl below the courtyard wall.
"Even if I die, I'll drag you to hell with me!!"
The girl, wearing a butterfly-patterned haori with butterfly hairpins in her hair and gripping a half-broken Nichirin blade, roared at the figure above her.
Unfortunately, her blood-soaked body and deathly pale face made her roar sound weak and hollow.
That girl was Kanae Kocho, the Flower Hashira, who would later die tragically at Doma's hands.
"Oh dear, you think you can take me down with you? Aren't you a little too naive?"
Doma's figure vanished from Kanae's sight in a flash, reappearing directly in front of her.
'This is bad! He's too fast! There's no time!'
Kanae struggled to raise the Nichirin blade in her hand, but before she could block, a sharp pain tore through her entire body. Her throat sweetened and she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Boom…"
Kanae Kocho's body was sent flying several metres by the folding fan, crashing into the courtyard wall.
"Cough… ah…"
Enduring the intense pain, Kanae propped herself up on her Nichirin blade, leaning against the wall and continuously coughing up blood. Against her beautiful face, the sight carried a heartbreaking sense of tragic beauty.
"Oh my, you can still stand! But it doesn't matter, I'll make you stay with me forever in a moment!"
Watching Doma steadily approach her, Kanae fell into deep despair.
'Is this the end? I really want to see the children at Butterfly Estate again, and my beloved sister. I'm so sorry. I love you all so much. Cough…'
Doma slowly raised the folding fan in his hand as he reached Kanae Kocho. Kanae closed her eyes, awaiting death.
Just as the folding fan was about to reach Kanae's head, a calm voice suddenly reached her ears:
"Oh my, oh my, beautiful lady, do you need some help?"
Kanae snapped her tightly shut eyes open, and the scene before her left her stunned.
Standing there was a young man with short black hair, a handsome face, bright and clear eyes, and a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
His right hand was gripping Doma's folding fan, which had been extended toward her, firmly in place.
"Who exactly are you? How did you come here!"
Doma, still wearing his smile, asked the stranger who had seized his weapon.
Kaito did not answer. He simply exerted a slight force with his right hand and flicked it backward.
Instantly, Doma's body was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the opposite courtyard wall.
[Note from System: The courtyard walls here are remarkably sturdy!]
"Huh?"
Feeling his body shattered with pain, Doma still wore his smile.
"How is this possible! That is an Upper Rank Demon!!"
Watching Doma get effortlessly flung away, Kanae stared at the young man with the mischievous smile, her face filled with disbelief.
'I was sent flying just like that? Is this person from the Demon Slayer Corps?'
Doma, his body slowly regenerating, stood up and looked at the young man who had launched him, still smiling.
This young man was, of course, Kaito, who had flown over on Tenkuu.
Upon seeing Kanae Kocho on the verge of death, Kaito had immediately used [Flash Step] to save her.
[System Note: Don't ask how he knows [Flash Step]. Just know that the [Basic Cultivation Method] is truly something else!]
"Rest for now. I'll take care of this demon first!"
Kaito pointed his right index finger at Kanae Kocho, and a golden light appeared at his fingertip. It followed the direction of his finger and entered her body.
In an instant, Kanae felt warmth spread through her. Her wounds began to close, and her strength slowly returned.
"Thank you, sir. Please be careful. Take this Nichirin blade with you. Without a Nichirin blade, a demon will regenerate no matter how severe the injury!"
Looking at the half-broken Nichirin blade Kanae offered, Kaito couldn't help but think:
'This hand… no, this Nichirin blade is really something!'
"No need, I have my own way to deal with him. You just rest on the side!"
Turning to face Doma, who was still smiling, Kaito looked him over with mild curiosity.
'Speaking of which, this guy really has no emotions. Even after being beaten into the ground, he still wears that expression.'
Kaito, seeing a demon in reality for the first time, was genuinely fascinated.
'What exactly is the structure of these demons? Kibutsuji Muzan can regenerate from a single drop of blood!'
'If this were in the cultivation world, that would be a skill only a Tribulation Transcender could possess! Yet here, even a mere Upper Rank demon can do it. Truly the wonder of this world.'
"Why did you save her? Would it not have been better for her to stay with me forever?"
Doma spoke as he attacked, closing the distance to Kaito in a flash.
Unfortunately for him, his tremendous speed appeared no faster than a crawling snail in Kaito's eyes.
Kaito simply raised his right foot and kicked the charging Doma.
Whoosh… Doma was sent flying back even faster than he had come.
"Boom… Cough cough…"
Doma crashed into the courtyard wall once more and collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.
[System Note: Reiterating, those courtyard walls are truly remarkable!]
'Is he a new Hashira? Should I report to Muzan-sama first, or…'
As Doma pondered his options, Kaito raised his right hand, extended his index finger toward him, and spoke quietly:
"Alright, no more games. Demons belong in hell, especially man-eating ones. Well… except for Benimaru and the others in the future, of course."
"Sky Burial Finger!"
Above Doma, a golden finger tens of metres long materialised and pressed down toward him.
Looking up at the golden finger descending from the sky, Doma wore his gentle smile to the very end:
"Heh heh, humans… truly pathetic…"
"What is pathetic? You, who cannot feel anything at all, are the most pathetic of all."
"Boom…"
The golden finger pressed into the earth, leaving a crater tens of metres deep where Doma had stood. Of Doma himself, there was nothing left.
The mighty Upper Rank Two, without even a chance to use his Blood Demon Art, was completely erased from this world.
Kanae Kocho stared at the spot where Doma had vanished, then looked at the young man standing with his back to her. Her voice trembled as she asked:
"Are you… a god?"
Hearing the question, Kaito turned around to look at Kanae Kocho sitting on the ground.
Seeing the slight fear on her beautiful face, Kaito smiled and extended his right hand toward her:
"I am not a god. I'm just a passing Kamen Rider… Uh, I mean, just an ordinary person. Can you stand now?"
'Close! I almost let my chuunibyou slip out again!'
Looking at the gentle young man before her, Kanae Kocho unconsciously extended her right hand…