Chapter 7
"My first... assignment..." Tanjiro muttered in amazement as he tightened his grip on his swords. It was the moment he had been waiting for, and training for.
"HELL YEAH!" Fairy Tail cheered, feeling the determination of Tanjiro as the scene finally faded to black.
After a moment, the record continued, showing Tanjiro as he dressed himself up in the uniform of the Demon Slayer Corp, a a dark-brown gakuran jacket, a white belt, baggy chocho zubon pants that extend into tabi socks, a pair of zōri with red straps, and bands of white cloth wrapped tightly around his calves resembling kyahan, all beneath his signature checkered haori.
"Have you gotten changed?" Urokodaki asked as he kneeled on the floor behind Tanjiro, making the boy turn around and face his master. At the same time, Nezuko crawled out from under her blanket in the dark bedroom to see her brother.
The members of Fairy Tail could not help but smile as they looked at the young girl, feeling a sense of relief as they acknowledged the fact that she had finally woken up. Still, some could not help but wonder the reason why she had slept for so long, and the possibility of her falling into that kind of sleep again in the future.
"Tanjiro..." Urokodaki gestured for the two of them to sit down. "Now that you're starting out with the Demon Slayer Corps, I'd like to explain a few things to you."
And with that heard, the mages of Fairy Tail straightened themselves up, interested in finding out more about the world and the challenges that Tanjiro and Nezuko were going to have to overcome.
"Right." The dark red haired young man said with a firm nod of his head, kneeling down before his master and listening closely to his words.
"The Demon Slayer Corps outfit you're wearing right now. It's made of a special kind of fiber. The fabric is quite breathable, yet it repels moisture and won't burn easily. A low-level demon's talons or fangs couldn't even manage to tear that uniform." Urokodaki stated.
"So it's like cloth armor. I wonder what are the materials they are using to make his uniform." Erza said with a thoughtful look.
"Don't you have a few of them as well, Erza-chan?" Mira asked, looking at her best friend as she began to walk around the guild to serve some more food and drinks to her guildmates, now that there was a sense of peace. The first few hours of the recording had shown that there were moments and events that they could hardly stomach.
"I do, but they are imbued with protection magic."
"Even the skimpier ones?"
"Even the skimpy ones. How do you think I fight with them without having to worry too much about getting hurt?" Erza replied with a deadpan expression when an older member of Fairy Tail asked, before coughing loudly into her hand to change the topic "So anyway, if his clothes can handle low level demons, that's fine. But that is the problem."
"Oh right, so if there are low level demons, there must be higher leveled demons as well." Levy nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Tanjiro-kun's clothes won't be able to protect him from them, will it?" Erza nodded.
"Better than nothing, I suppose." Gray said with a shrug.
"Said the guy who constantly strips without knowing." Lucy shot back dramatically with a hand point at Gray, as he lost his shirt before anyone could even see him doing it.
"Is it that strong?" Tanjiro said in amazement as he looked down and tugged lightly on his jacket, testing to see how it felt.
"Also," Pausing for a second, Urokodaki then continued in a grimmer tone. "Those Nichirin Swords... The color varies from owner to owner, and each hue has unique properties. But since not many people end up with black blades, little is known about them. So little, in fact, that—"
"Ohhh, it's because Tanjiro is special!" Natsu shot up and exclaimed excitedly. "Who cares about a red blade? If not many people have black blades then it must be pretty unique, right?"
"I mean… we cannot rule out the possibility. Nezuko has already proven herself to be a special demon. Maybe there is something more about the Kamado than they appear." Makarov mused with a thoughtful smile.
Tanjiro interrupted him. "So little is known that... What, Urokodaki-san?"
"Since so little is known about them, black blades are said to be wielded by swordsmen who'll never go far." Urokodaki said.
"Uh…." The smile that Natsu had instantly dropped, and so did the one on the face of the third master of Fairy Tail, as a heavy atmosphere once again fell upon all those who were watching.
"Oi oi, Urokodaki. Is it something you should say to your student before you send on his first mission?" Gray asked with a look of disbelief on his face, with Juvia nodding her head at him in agreement with his words.
"What the heck does that even mean anyway? He is destined to die? Who the hell cares about that!?" Natsu roared suddenly, shocking the other members of the guild "Just watch, he's gonna prove them all wrong and become the strongest demon slayer ever!"
"I don't think becoming the strongest is his priority, but yes, I agree with Natsu. Tanjiro will prove that having a black blade doesn't mean that he will fail to cure his sister." Erza nodded, making Natsu grin broadly at her in response.
"Well, I don't know what we'll do in the Demon Slayer Corps." Tanjiro answered his master with a small smile, glancing at his sister as he said "but I'm going to turn Nezuko back into a human no matter what."
"See?" Erza asked, smiling.
"Still doesn't mean he is not going to become the strongest. Just watch!" Natsu replied to her.
"I have a feeling that it is what he is going to have to become if he wants to cure his sister. It's no small task, after all." Wakaba pointed out as he grabbed another cigar, having a feeling that he's going to need a lot more if he wanted to mentally make it through the entire recording.
"Yes, you're right." Torodaki replied to him, his tone changing back to how it normally was "I have faith that you're going to make that happen."
"Right."
"One more thing." Urokodaki said and turned to the side to pick up the box that had been beside him the whole time to place it down the spot between them, making Nezuko look at it, as if she had already understood what it was for. "Take this."
"Oh! Tanjiro is gonna carry Nezuko in that box, isn't he?" Lucy asked.
"It looks heavy, though." Carla pointed out as she sat watching with Wendy and Happy, who was munching on a fish next to her.
"It's a box for you to carry your sister in during the day. Built out of an extremely light wood called Cloud Mist Pine. I coated it with rock lacquer to reinforce its exterior and to make it even more durable." He explained.
"Ah, so that explains it then." The white Exceed said with a smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"It must be pretty airtight as well if it's going to let Tanjiro carry Nezuko around during the day." Mira said as she tapped her chin thoughtfully "I wonder if she needs to breathe in the same manner as humans."
"Thank you very much!" Tanjiro bowed gratefully to Urokodaki and picked up the box to examine it himself, testing its weight by lifting it up and down "It's so light! It's really light, Urokodaki-san!"
With that said, Tanjiro carried the box over to his sister and told her to get inside. It had taken her a moment as she crawled out from under the blanket and shrunk down in size, but eventually the younger Kamado girl settled comfortably inside the box, allowing Tanjiro to close the door and put it on his back.
"All right. I'll be going now." Tanjiro said, as he stood facing his master outside of his home.
Nodding his head to him, Urokodaki then stepped forward, and said "Hold on. Do you mind?"
Tanjiro just stood there in silence, as Urokodaki went and adjusted uniforms, buttoning up the collar of his shirt properly before double checking the straps of the box. Once that was done, Urokodaki then put his hands on his shoulders and stood there looking at the boy in silence.
And although the old sword master was wearing a mask, the members of Fairy Tail could not help but smile at the scene playing out before them. His face was concealed, but they could feel the pride that Urokodaki had for his student.
Makarov, however, could also feel that the man was worried for his student and his sister, but he was not surprised. The training regime that Tanjiro went through followed him and him only as he worked to master his demon slaying skills and swordsmanship, so they did not get to see how much Tanjiro and Urokodaki interacted over the years outside of training. However, he could tell that the two had bonded over time, with Urokodaki growing to care for Tanjiro much more than just his student.
If the old sword master were not wearing his mask, then they would probably see him looking at Tanjiro like a father looking at his son.
Urokodaki nodded, and that was the moment that Tanjiro turned on his heel to set off on his first mission, waving his master goodbye as it was probably the last time that they would see Urokodaki in a very long time.
The scene changed, and it became that of Tanjiro walking on the same road that he had taken when he first tried to get to Urokodaki's house three years ago. It was a beautiful sunny day.
"Come on, where is the demon?" Natsu asked, sounding impatient as he had always been "I wanna see Tanjiro take on his first mission already!"
"It is broad daylight, flame brain. The demons are probably hiding during that time of the day. Is fighting all that you care about?" Gray scoffed, making Natsu huff in response "Plus, it sounds like he has to travel far to get to his mission location."
"Can he… I don't know, take a carriage or something similar to the location?" Lucy asked, sweat dropping a little as she remembered all the time she had had to walk to her destination to save money for her rent.
"I am sure that Urokodaki-san gave Tanjiro-kun some money for the road… but I am sure he will be fine walking just like that." Mira pointed out with a smile before reminding it to them "Remember that even before training, Tanjiro-kun can already go up and down the mountain of his home to sell coals. He must be pretty strong already."
"Hope he can make it there before sunset though. It would give him some time to gather information about the demon before dealing with it." Erza nodded.
"Nezuko, are you all right?" Tanjiro indirectly asked Nezuko inside the box. He received no response.
A flashback scene of Urokodaki was shown, as the old master theorized that Nezuko was different to other demons, sleeping to recover her strength instead of eating human flesh.
"You know, it makes me wonder if other demons can be the same as Nezuko, and if there are anyone like her."
"I think it's not impossible, but remember that Tomioka has never seen a demon like Nezuko before, and he is one of the leaders of the Demon Slayer Corps." Makarov shook his head and said to Wendy "He must have a lot of experience fighting demons to be in that position. If someone like him thinks Nezuko is special then I don't think we have much hope for Tanjiro to find other demons like Tanjiro, or convince any of them to be like her."
"I think the point of finality must be when they have their first taste of human blood." Mira nodded her head in agreement with the master "Remember Tomioka did say that Nezuko-chan was starving when she attacked Tanjiro-kun and tried to eat him, but never once did she taste his blood. I think… if she had done that back then she would have been just like any man eating demons by now."
"It was fortunate that Tomioka showed up when he did and knocked her out. I know that she protected Tanjiro, but if it's not for him then the human side of her would never have the push to overcome the demon." Erza said "Now that she has regained her strength and is not starving anymore, I don't think her demon instinct is going to be a problem… at least for now."
"I see…" Wendy nodded her head and smiled at them.
The walk after that continued in silence after that for both of them, as Tanjiro continued to make his way towards his destination.
The scenery that was shown around Tanjiro as he traveled was breathtaking and gave a sign of peace, making it hard for the mages of Fairy Tail to believe that this was a world that was terrorized by man-eating demons.
"The Demon slayer corps must have worked hard to maintain this peace." Makarov spoke up, as if to answer the question and confirm the assumption that everyone had in their minds at that moment.
"I hope we get to see more of them soon, especially the Hashira." Erza said. It was a mutual feeling shared by many of her guildmates, as the Hashira was the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, making them possibly some of the strongest. As much as they wanted to follow Tanjiro and his journey to cure his sister, seeing and learning more about the organization that he was working for in order to attain that goal was something they had all been looking forward to.
Eventually, Tanjiro arrived at the town that the Kasugai Crow had pointed him to after crossing a bridge that was built over a huge river. It was a relatively large and crowded town that seemed to be bustling with activities, with children running about and the adults minding their own business.
As the demon slayer made his way into town and walked around looking for a place to rest, he then spotted a young man who looked to be in the same age as he was walking aimlessly on the street in front of him, looking lost and covering in bruises that made the townspeople look at him pitifully.
"What is wrong with him?" Natsu asked with his arms crossed over his chest, while Lucy rubbed her chin in a thoughtful manner while looking at the young man.
"Could it be…"
At first, Tanjiro seemingly noticed him and was about to walk by, until he heard someone mention that the young man was with a girl who was taken the night before. His assumption was confirmed when he heard another group of people whispering to one another about the fact that young girls had been abducting frequently every single night.
"Oh, so he's someone who is related to the disappearance of one of the girls by the demons." Lucy said, feeling bad for the young man already.
"But… night after night? Can anyone try to do something about it?!" Gray asked in surprise.
"I have no doubt that they must have. Also, remember, only the demon slayers are the ones equipped to deal with the demons. Sometimes, just the intention alone is not good enough. They will only get hurt in the end" Makarov shook his head and spoke back to him with a sigh, making Gray nod his head in understanding.
"Kazumi!" Tanjiro called out to the person, making Kazumi stop and slowly turn around to look at him "If you don't mind, I would like to hear your story. Is that all right?"
In response, Kazumi could only look at them tiredly for a moment before nodding and leading them to a different location, one that was less crowded than the rest of the town.
"This is where Satoko vanished. You may not believe me." Kazumi said with a depressed tone.
"I do believe you. I believe you, all right!" Tanjiro said with fierce determination. "I believe you!"
Tanjiro got down on the ground and sniffed the demon's scent using his nose.
"Uh, I know that your nose is strong like me, but that is kinda weird, Tanjiro." Natsu said with a deadpan expression, while many members of Fairy Tial busted out laughing at Tanjiro's pose.
"You used to sniff around in the same manner, flame brain, so don't talk." Gray smirked, making Natsu growl at him.
"You wanna go, ice princess!?"
"I will take you on any time, lame lizard."
"No fighting now, you two!" Erza scolded the two with a stern look, causing them both to sit down and huff at one another.
'There's still a faint trace of demon scent but…" Tanjiro thought in his mind as he sniffed the ground 'there's something strange about it.'
"Wait, does that mean the demon is still lingering around?" Lucy could not help but ask.
"It could be hiding somewhere nearby. It's not that unusual for demons to stay around the place that they last attacked, to catch even more prey." Mira explained it to her with a long look in her eyes.
With that, Tanjiro began to sniff his way around town, not missing even a corner or a wall, making the people around him look at him weirdly. However, the boy did not seem to mind, as he continued to sniff across town, not paying any attention to anyone but the scent that he was following.
Soon, however, the sun started to set, and the townspeople wasted no time to return to their homes, leaving the previously crowded streets fairly empty, with the only thing illuminating the areas being the light emanating from the windows of their houses.
"I know it's not safe anymore, but night time is probably the best time to look for the demons." Erza spoke up.
"Yes, because it's not hiding anymore. If young women have been disappearing every night, then it will most likely leave its hiding place to go look for another." Mira nodded her head in agreement "Tanjiro should be able to find it soon."
"You are gonna keep going?" Kazumi asked as he continued to follow Tanjiro, looking worriedly at the boy as he stood up and looked around to survey the area.
"Yes!" was the simple, but firm answer that Tanjiro gave.
"Look how late it's gotten. I'm flattered that you are so concerned of me, but shouldn't you pick up again tomorrow and get some rest?" Kazumi continued to try to reason with him, but Tanjiro simply ignored him and crouched down to continue sniffing the ground.
"These things are active during the night. So, I can't afford to rest." Tanjiro said before he went back to sniffing, making Kazumi widen his eyes in realization.
"Those things… could it be that you are…" He said unsurely.
"You get that right!" Natsu agreed with a grin.
"So the demon slayers are well known among their society. Interesting." Makarov said with a small smile, although it soon disappeared and the atmosphere grew tense when Tanjiro suddenly shot his head up and shouted.
"There!" With that, the dark red haired young man dashed toward the direction that the scent seemed to be radiating the strongest from.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Kazumi asked in surprise before chasing quickly after him.
"Yeah! The scent just got stronger! The demon's at large!" He replied before taking off, leaping high up into the air before landing gracefully on the rooftop of a nearby house.
"Damn! Now that's what I call a jump!" Natsu cheered excitedly.
"Amazing footwork, I must say." Erza nodded her head in acknowledgement, looking closely at Tanjiro's movements as he ran flawlessly on the sloped roof.
"Aye, and he's doing that while carrying Nezuko on his back as well!" Happy chirped in.
"Go get that demon, Tanjiro!"
Once Tanjiro had reached another dark alleyway, he wasted no time to jump down and scan the area carefully, drawing his sword from its scabbard before taking a stance while looking around, using his nose to find the demon.
'Two different scents. A demon and a female human.'
"But there is no one around. Could it be that the demon…"
"It is under the ground, perhaps?" Levy inquired after Lucy, who nodded her head in agreement. "That must be the strange thing Tanjiro noticed earlier."
After a moment, Tanjiro then pointed his sword downward and placed his palm on the butt of his sword. 'But... they're not here. Although, the spot where the scent is the strongest is…'
With that in mind, he stabbed the sword down, causing a dark, shadowy explosion of water to be released from the spot on the ground that he had stabbed, causing the back of a young girl wearing a bright green kimono to emerge.
Widening his eyes in realization, Tanjiro shot his hand down and grabbed them, pulling out the girl before leaping back, just as the demon under it tried to yank her back by her sleeves, tearing off a piece as Tanjiro landed on the ground several feet away from it.
"Good save!" Gray exclaimed as the mages of Fairy Tail cheered loudly for the young demon slayer, who gazed warily at the arm that stuck up from the dark puddle of water on the ground.
"Right, that is not creepy at all." Lucy shuddered as he looked at the arm, and then a demon as it slowly rose up to glare at Tanjiro. She had thought that the demon was UNDER the ground, not inside it quite literally judging by how deep the puddle of water was shown earlier when Tanjiro reached down to grab the girl.
"A morphed demon?" Tanjiro murmured in his mind with slight shock. His mind then recalled the information about them that Urokodaki had given him when he first received his sword, about the demon who could use supernatural abilities through their Blood Demon Arts.
"Where are those girls you kidnapped?" Clearing his mind of all thought, Tanjiro then asked the demon, his sword at the ready despite still holding the young girl protectively in his arms.
The demon replied with no words, but with gritting his teeth angrily and loudly.
"Someone is angry!" Natsu cried out dramatically with his Exceeds as they both threw their arms into the air. At the same time, Wendy and many members of Fairy Tail shuddered and covered their ears in response to the sounds that the demon was making by gritting his teeth strongly together.
Fortunately for them, it soon ended when the demon submerged back into its puddle.
Kazumi, who finally caught up to Tanjiro, asked worriedly as he looked at the dark red haired young man and the girl in his arms. "Who was that?"
"Kazumi-san, please hold this person and stand nearby. If you're inside of my range of attacks, I can protect you!"
"I mean… shouldn't they find a place to hide from that demon? Wouldn't it be better than trying to fight it out there?"
"Yes, but it might go into hiding, and Tanjiro will have to look for it again." Laxus reasoned with a thoughtful look, with many agreeing with him "Plus, it's unnecessary to drag others into the fight if they seek help. Tanjiro seems to be the only one in the town who can fight that demon, and he can only protect so many people while actively fighting it. Dealing with the demon there in that alley is better."
"Right." Levy nodded her head in understanding, while Gajeel just scoffed for no reason at all at the lightning dragon slayer.
With Kazumi carrying the young girl walking behind him, Tanjiro began to scan the area around him, looking carefully at the ground and even the wall around him. At the same time, he focused his keen sense of smell once again, using it to locate the exact location of the demon as it was still there even after the demon had disappeared into its technique.
"Smart!" Makarov said with a smile. "He paid attention to small details and used his gift to his advantage. The boy is a natural."
"Still, that is some strong ass nose, lemme tell you." Gajeel pointed out "Even we cannot detect someone if they are actively hiding under water, if that is water that demon is hiding inside."
"So it can travel around using it, right?" Levy asked, looking at Mira for confirmation. The white haired barmaid nodded her head in response. "Kind looks a bit like that shadow traveling technique Rogue of Sabretooth has, don't you guys think?"
"Now that you mention it, I think it really does." Lucy nodded, her eyes widening in realization.
"With the only exception that there is no seeable trace on the ground." Gajeel snorted.
"Here it comes!" After his nose had caught the scent of the demon, Tanjiro spun around and charged at a spot on the ground. Before he could strike it with a sword thrust, three puddles of dark water appeared on the ground around him, and from there, three identical demons emerged, looking to grab onto Tanjiro as he slowly descended down upon them.
"There are three of them?"
"No, they look identical. This must be a Blood Demon technique." Erza shook her head and answered hurriedly to Natsu, before they all went silent and watched on closely to the fight that was going to take place before them.
'Settle down…' Tanjiro told himself in his mind as he brought his sword over his right shoulder, just as the triplet demons were about to grab onto his legs "Water Breathing, eighth form! Waterfall Basin!"
With that, Tanjiro brought his sword down as a water effect swirled around it, cutting off the arms of the demons around him.
"Cool!" Natsu roared in excitement as he watched the arms and hands of the demons as they flew around Tanjiro, who stood among several pillars of water as it shot out from the spot where he struck with his technique.
"That was an incredibly strong strike. Those water pillars are just effects, but look at the ground around him." Erza said in amazement, turning everyone's eyes to the area around Tanjiro, who was surrounded by the small rocks and debris that he had knocked up into the air with the sheer force of his strike.
At the same time, however, Erza could not help but feel that he had switched to a different form mid swing, causing his sword strike to be sent out with less force than he probably had intended it to be.
The recording then reverted back to a scene between Urokodaki and Tanjiro, as they sat facing each other in his house.
"Tanjiro, listen to me closely." Urokodaki said in a calm tone. "The type of demon with the blood that can turn humans into demons... There's only one in this world."
"Just one..." Tanjiro repeated.
"The one who was the first to become the demon more than a thousand years ago. In other words, that is your family's enemy. Moreover, I believe he's the one who might know how to turn your sister back into a human."
"That demon's name is... Muzan Kibutsuji!"
"Muzan Kibutsuji." Mira repeated with her eyes widening slightly.
"So that is the name of the demon who killed his family." Natsu gritted his teeth in anger.
"If Tanjiro finds him, then he is one step closer to curing his sister." Gray nodded "But it's not going to be that easy, is it?"
"Chance is, that demon is not cooperative, if it is the progenitor of all the demons in his world." Erza said, causing a tense atmosphere to fall upon the mages of Fairy Tail
Back to fight, once the cloud of smoke disappeared and the water effect had ended, the demons were revealed to be still alive, with only some of their body parts being severed and their blood trickling down from their wounds.
'Too shallow! I missed all the vulnerable spots!' Tanjiro thought as he gritted his teeth in frustration, looking at the demons on the ground as they looked at their severed limbs in surprise "Because Iswitched forms midway through!'
"That's right. If Tanjiro had been more decisive, then he would have been able to behead those demons clean off."
Erza pointed out, having had her previous thought confirmed by Tanjiro himself as she got up and brought out her sword to show everyone what had just happened, demonstrating the movements that Tanjiro just did with some simple sword swings.
"He first tried to stab because he thought there was only one demon, but he switched stance midway to be able to strike with all three at the same time. His form is only halfway through, so the strength is probably only half of what it could have been."
"Damn!" Natsu and many members of Fairy Tail whistled in amazement, feeling thankful that they had someone who was skilled in swordsmanship like Erza to explain it to them.
As the three demons submerged once again, with even their arms disappearing into smaller puddles of dark water that formed at the spots that they landed on, Tanjiro hurriedly leaped back to Kazumi's side and stood protectively in front of him with a defensive sword stance.
'All three of them share the scent. I was told that demons don't band together as a rule, so one demon has dispersed into three.' Tanjiro thought in his mind as he scanned the area once again 'I'm going to protect these two while slashing those three demons! Don't loose your nerve. Make sure to make him tell you about Muzan Kibutsuji, and how to turn a demon back to human.'
'Total Concentration…'
With that in mind and catching on the scent of the demon once again, Tanjiro spun around and slashed the arm that came out from the puddle behind Kazumi, cutting it before it could grab either of them.
"Second form, water wheel!"
"No, too shallow again!" Erza exclaimed as she watched blood shooting out from the wound on the demon's shoulder. If they could survive with their head being cut off by a non nichirin blade, then she had no doubt that a wound like that was nothing to them.
"Could it be… that he's too mindful about the two he is protecting." Laxus mused.
"He could also be trying to not kill the demon. Only incapacitating it." Freed said in agreement with his leader, who nodded in response "Tanjiro wants to get information about Muzan from the demon, so he's probably trying to keep it alive."
"Let's hope that it's not going to be a big mistake." Evergreen muttered.
Instantly, the wound on his shoulder healed, allowing the demon to submerge back into its water before its two copies emerged to attack Tanjiro, who swiftly dealt with them with another form of his water breathing technique. Just like last time, however, his attack did not kill the demon, leaving them alive to heal as they returned to their water.
"You bastard!" One of the demons exclaimed loudly in anger, making Tanjiro widen his eyes in surprise "Back off for crying out loud! That girl's gonna go stale on me, dammit! That girl's already 16, okay? If I don't devour her soon, she's gonna lose flavor by the second!"
"W-What the hell!?" Natsu roared angrily "That is your reason for targeting those girls, you fucking monster!"
Around the bar, many members joined him, displaying their anger and frustration toward the demon. Even Makarov looked at the demon on the ground while feeling himself boiling with anger, his hand gripping the mug in his hand so firmly that cracks had started to appear.
The other demon then showed up behind Kazumi, speaking up in a much calmer tone.
"Calm down, my other self. Hey, so what? There are gonna be nights like this. I've already fed on plenty of 16-year-old girls in this town. They were all quite meaty and delicious. I'm satisfied."
"Ugh… I think I am going to be sick just hearing them talk like that." Gray muttered while covering his mouth.
"So, his technique is so much more than just splitting himself up. Each body seems to have a different personality." Levy took note and wrote it down into a small notebook she had brought out to write down all the information that she had known about demons, just in case it was brought up once again in the future but everyone forgot.
"Well, I'm not satisfied, my other self! I wanna consume more!" The angry demon growled in frustration.
"You monster..." Kazumi spoke up. "Return Satoko to me. The one you abducted the night before!"
Instantly, all three demons, with the last one appearing on the top of the nearby wall, gritted their teeth again in response to Kazumi's demand, causing Wendy to cover her ears while shuddering uncomfortably.
"Satoko? Who are you talking about?" The demon opened his jacket partially and revealed all the accessories their victims had as his collection. Seeing the red bow, he could no longer take it and tears began to well in his eyes. "If her hairpin is among these collectibles, then I've devoured her."
"Y-You… You damn fuck!" Natsu roared and broke a table with his fist, his teeth clenching in anger as flame began to erupt around him. No one stopped him, or scolded him for destroying the table, however, as they were all either too busy covering their mouths in shock, or roaring and exclaiming in anger at the demo, who proudly showcased his trophy to Tanjiro.
"Tanjiro, screw information. Just take him down right now!" Gray shouted.
"That shit is gonna pay for what he has done." Gajeel muttered dangerously as he hardened his fist, imagining holding the demon's head in his hand as he crushed it.
Tanjiro, after hearing what the demon had done to the poor girls, had his face filled with anger. One of the demons suddenly disappeared and reappeared almost in an instance behind him with his claws going toward his face, but his attack was intercepted when the door of the box swung open, with Nezuko emerging from inside with a kick that sent the demon flying with its head being twisted several times at the neck.
"YEAH!" The mages of Fairy Tail cheered, not feeling bothered by the fact that the demon's neck had been snapped in the slightest as it fell down and landed motionlessly on the ground.
"There she is." Mira said with a small smile as she watched Nezuko emerging from her box while glaring hatefully at the demons her brother was facing.
"Why would a mere human be accompanying a demon?" The calm demon asked as he looked at the scene, the veins of his forehead popping as he tried to comprehend what was going on "What's the meaning of this? Who are those two!? Are they a swordsman and a demon working together?"
The demon kept asking himself as Nezuko got out of the box and stood behind her brother, taking a stance with him while paying little to no attention at all to the other two humans in the area.
"The ones who are going to kick your ass, asshole!?" Natsu roared triumphantly as he got up from his seat and cheered for the Kamado siblings. "Show him, Tanjiro! Nezuko!"
But then suddenly, Nezuko walked over to Kazumi and the girl in his hand, her expression softening as she reached out and placed her hands on their heads. The act surprised the members of Fairy Tail greatly, as they could not understand what it meant. Some theorized that she was acknowledging the two, while others believed that they reminded her of herself and her brother.
Whatever was the case, they had no doubt that Tanjiro could finally triumph over the demons, now that he had had his sister at his side.
The scene then played back to Urokodaki, who spoke to Tanjiro while kneeling over Nezuko as she slept "This may only be cold comfort, but while Nezuko was asleep, I used a hypnotic suggestion on her." Urokodaki informed them.
"Suggestion?" Tanjiro repeated in surprise.
"All humans are your family."
"Protect humans."
"The demons are the enemy!"
"What about the demons that don't harm humans? Those like her?" Natsu could not help but ask, breaking the silence that had fallen upon Fairy Tail as they sat watching Nezuko, waiting for her to make her move.
"Never forgive any demon who brings harm onto humans!"
"Oh!" Natsu said with a sheepish smile, before shaking it off and standing up to cheer out loudly alongside his guildmates, who roared in excitement as slowly, with each word being told by Urokodaki, Nezuko approached the demons as they continued to gaze at her in shock on the ground. Her soft look soon disappeared, and was replaced by the angry one as veins appeared on the sides of her head, as she dashed to where they were and jumped into the air to bring her heal down upon them.
"Let's fucking go! Nezuko!"
End of Chapter 7