AN: I decided to go back on my previous decision. I saw the Blacksmith Village Arc and got inspired to write this fic again.
If you're reading this on the future, I was criticized over the fact that this fic was going to diverge from canon, for some reason... I mean, if they want to read the original, go read the original? This is a fanfic, a crossover none the less, so why the hate?
If you guys are wondering, my schedule por future updates, it will be like this:
Unconscious Corruption: Chapter 4. (Name pending)
Anarchy in Freedom: Chapter 8. (Name pending) (Available on Royal Road)
Intertwined Fates: Chapter 5. (Name pending)
The Wandering Fox: Chapter 10. (Name pending)
Well, onto the fic.
Enjoy ;)
The Goddess looked at the still sleeping Nezuko. She has been like this for the past months, breathing ever so slightly and giving a peaceful aura. This allowed her to study Demon biology, analyzing every bit of information she could gather around. Urokodaki saw the many tests Freya did on her, they being blood analysis, tissue meddling and other things that are far above his comprehension.
But they did find a few things. Mainly the fact that every single molecule of Nezuko was destroyed by sunlight, be it a small drop of blood or chunks of meat. This test was somewhat gruesome, but needed. Tanjiro paled at the news, obviously, but after a few reassuring words from both his elders he calmed down, even if a little. That helped Freya understand what she could do to prevent future accidents. She took a few weeks to study the [Runes] she could use to at least make Nezuko be tolerant to the sunlight.
The tests stopped on the first try.
The screams of agony,of anguish, of pain... It was too much to bare. The only thing the Runes did was to buy time before she would eventually cease to exist. Urokodaki immediately built a box where Nezuko could shrink and hide inside, a backpack that Tanjiro could carry around in case he needed to do his deeds without letting the sibling alone.
But even with the setbacks, this gave valuable insight to Freya and her research. She decided that after this Final Selection she is going to visit her old Frigg Clan. They could have answers to some degree. She still is a member in some way, shape or form. Ish... Onto better things! Freya prepared herself, using a spell to create the same set of clothes as her old Regal Vanir Garments, although with boots this time. Can't go barefoot forever.
Tanjiro changed his haori to a similar of Urokodaki and his cloud-like pattern, as well as a Fox Mask. His hair had grown, but didn't cut it for some reason... He looked better with this hairstyle to be honest.
"All good to go?", Freya asked as she grabbed her borrowed Nichirin Sword.
That sword fascinated her. It was the second time she saw this sword, the first being sheathed and protected by Urokodaki. If she analyzed this she could forge swords similarly, albeit weaker. Nothing beats the art of a true Blacksmith. She grimaced remembering Sindri and Brok.
"Yeah, just need to grab my sword.", The boy replied.
The boy picked up the sword, but before he got ready to leave, he glanced at his sister. She was still sleeping, ever so peaceful. He grabbed her hand, his own being so rough of all the training he did in the last year that it was a big discrepancy on the soft and cozy hands of Nezuko.
"I promise. I'll fix this and come back.", Tanjiro whispered.
He got back up, closed the wooden door and left with Freya. A great challenge ahead of him, but he won't travel this path alone. He has his friends, his training and knowledge. He was going to find a cure.
Tanjiro breathed slowly, "Let's do this."
"Wow, look at this. The place is filled with wisterias.", Tanjiro was mesmerized by the beautiful sight.
The many purple wisterias filled the entrance of the exam, giving a somewhat ethereal aura to it. It was quite breathtaking to say the least.
"It reminds me of my home.", Freya comments, looking at the flora.
"Your home? How is it like?"
"How to describe... More vegetative? My home had way more trees and plants, almost being a paradise for biologists. We barely built structures, using the nature as our refuge.", She described in nostalgia.
"It sounds beautiful! Maybe we can visit it?", Oh wait, he is too straight forward! "I-I mean, when this is... uh... over...(?)"
Freya guffawed at the stuttering. He was so innocent she almost felt pity for him. Almost. His antics reminded her of Atreus. She missed him, she missed pretty much everyone, even Mimir, the loudmouth.
"I'm... Afraid it's not possible.", She said with rue, a complete contrast to her previous laugh.
"Oh...", Was all Tanjiro could say.
They walked on the stairs and saw that there were a lot of applicants to the Selection. Some of them are unremarkable, using the swords on there back, others on the waist like normal people. Freya counted only three noteworthy applicants, one of them was a boy using a yellow haori, having a lot of bruises for some reason, another was a guy with a Mohawk for hair and a girl with... a lot of character and etiquette.
A weird bunch, yes, but she saw weirder.
She ignored the various glances she received. They were either questioning themselves why someone so old would be here (by their standards of age) or just drooling over her looks. Either way, she came to stop when a pair of twins appeared.
"Greetings, applicants...", A pair of twins spoke in perfect unison, making everyone perk up and looked at them. "...we thank you all for coming here this night for the Final Selection of the Demon Slayer Corps."
A good introduction. Everyone focused on them, expectant of a clarification. What was uncanny was hoe they are... just smiling.
"There are demons that were captured here on Mount Fujikanase, captured by experienced Slayers, being incapable of leaving.", The white haired twin said.
"That's because the wisterias, the flowers the demons hate, they bloom halfway up the mountain.", The black haired twin completed.
"They hate the wisterias?", Freya mused mentally.
She made a mental note to test with the wisterias after the test.
"But, there are no wisterias from this post forward, meaning that Demons will appear.", The white twin warned, with the same smile the both twins had since their arrived.
"You will have to survive a week here. If you survived by the end of the test, you have passed the Final Selection.", The black twin finished.
"As for now, godspeed, applicants.", The twins speak in unison, bowing to them all.
"Seven days...", Tanjiro gulped.
They split up.
Freya suggested that, since if she could hold on against a Hashira (who was also holding back), she could face a few demons. It's not about herself, but about Tanjiro. He needed to have his own experience, but just to make sure, she gave him a few Runes of Protection and Strength. He was grateful for it.
Tanjiro suggested that they travelled minding the sun's position, so mainly going to the east. A simple plan of directions, yes, but helpful nonetheless. Freya was walking around the place, making sure to stay alert and appear calm. She was still thinking about the biology of the Demons, being similar to various species, but they all had something in common.
All demons were human before.
Not a single experiment she did showed that a Demon was born of natural causes, but rather, they were created. What is the process behind it? Is it instantaneous or a progressive result? Does every demon have similar or different Blood Arts? The power they posses have any influence on their appearance? Lots of questions and no clue how to answer them.
No matter. This Selection will give plenty of time to test it. A week worth of it, in fact. First, why do they hate wisterias so much? They have an effect? Does it alter their philology? It weakens their bodies? She grabbed a few of them and put on her bag and looked for the first... test subject. It's not like they can do much to refuse it, to be honest.
And why does she feel like side stepping?
Freya instinctively dodged the attack of a demon. He had claws coming out of his nails and a terrible face. He just looked... ugly. Feral even. Maybe he's not been eating? Makes sense since they are trapped in here. She unsheathed her sword and the blue metal shined on the moonlight.
"Fast... But you won't survive this!", The demon screamed while making a poor attempt of a rush strike.
Freya boringly blocked the attack, rolling her eyes at this pathetic attack. Even the Einherjar had more might and strength in their attacks. She just pushed the demon aside and grabbed the wisteria on her bag.
"You have one of these?! You think that will save you from me?!?", He growled in starvation.
"No.", She answered plainly.
The demon dashed forward again, not missing her reply. Too hungry to think, too angry to answer. Freya just stretched her hand with the wisteria and despite the bold claim of the demon, he didn't want to be near it. Interesting... What if he is harmed by it?
With a quick slash and a [Restrain Movement] spell, she started to test it. This turned to be a problem, since even though the demon wasn't nourished, he was still regenerating. Annoying, but easy to work with. A big cut and a shive of the wisteria proved that the plant did have some effects on it, but not the ones Freya expected.
It made them... Sleep.
Just... Sleep.
"A surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one.", She commented with a smug.
And that smug tuners into a devilish grin. After all, she just had a perfect test subject available and with little to no resistance or interruption coming her way. She used the [Earth Bending] spell in order to create a small hut that she could safely and uninterruptedly do her experiments.
"Let's see... How does these swords are capable of killing them..."
"Trust your training."
Tanjiro blocked an attack and dodged another. Two demons found him and started discussing with one another at who could devour him, as if he would simply let that happen, yeah.
"Who gest first eats him!", One of the jumped forward.
He calmed himself down. It's just a Lesser Demon, one without Blood Art, he could take care of him. He is in the air and have his feat on is the best option. Dodging his attack, Tanjiro concentrated and breathed slowly.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!", He slashed the demon.
Striking Tide is basically a bunch of horizontal slashes in quick succession, but with great speed and precision. The attack allowed Tanjiro to cut the demons torso, ensuing that shock was in its head, then having the perfect opportunity to decapitate.
"What?!?", The other demon gasped.
"Focus, Tanjiro..."
He landed on the ground, facing he other demon, who leaped upwards with a... ball of fire in his hand? What is that?
He threw the fireball and Tanjiro could only roll away from it but couldn't escape the shockwave it caused, hitting a tree with his back. That's bad, because now he needs to take breaths or risk loosing consciousness. Wait! He could use the thing that Freya taught him! She did say that he had no potential at the start, but maybe he can now? It's been a year, surely he can make it work, right?
Right?
Time to make it count, because the demon is running in his direction, eyes full of fury. Alright, calm down, focus on the mana on your body, feel it flow through your hand, your arm and body, mentalize a river, allowing it to form, to take shape... That's it!
"[Water Bullet]!", He shouted and droplets of water shot off of his fingers in dangerously high speeds. The demon didn't even had a proper time to react as the projectiles made enormous holes in his body. That's his chance!
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!", He jumped and did a full 360 vertical slash to the demon's body, finishing with a horizontal slash to the neck. A bit overkill, but still.
He did it! He used magic! He felt scared but now...! He felt... A bit... tired...? Wow, using magic is quite draining to ones energy. Tanjiro can barely keep his feet straight. No! He need to stay strong and awake! Don't let bad luck flourish!
He looked back at the demons, or what the ashes of them allowed him to. Not even the bones remain. Maybe for the best? He doesn't know for sure. The training he did with this Nichirin Swords, he felt it's worth it to continue improving. He can't relax now, he just started!
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?"
Tanjiro jerked up and looked at a boy, probably at his age running away from something. He got close to it, but immediately hid. He saw a giant monster made of... hands. Giant disgusting hands everywhere, a mountain of them and a face, licking his lips, following the boy. It terrified him, looking at... that thing.
"Seven days...", He whispered, "Seven days..."
"No one told me a mutated Demon would be here!", The same boy shouted in fear.
The Hand Demon carried a corpse with him, casually displaying his previous pray. Maybe for intimidation? Because it sure is working! Tanjiro's hands trembled and he wasn't even the target of the creature! He saw the demon put the full body on his mouth, munching slightly.
His body started to shift and vibrate... increasing in size? What the hell! The boy ran just a few meters before the demon used bis new biomass to extend his arm to unbelievable lengths, picking up the boy as if it was a bunny ready to die. He was going to be eaten!
"Focus! You can save him! Don't be scared!", He breathed deeply, grabbing the handle of his blade.
He jumped with his full force, his mind with an objective.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!", A quick vertical slash to the arm and the boy fell to the ground. Tanjiro landed in front of him and pointed his blade to the monster.
The demon glanced at his arm that was cut off, then stared and Tanjiro, "Oh, another Fox is visiting me? How cute."
He didn't even seemed bothered by the arm, like it was just a nuisance. Nothing but an inconvenience. He was amused by the mask Tanjiro was using. Wait...
"Another?".
"Tell me little Fox, what year of the Meiji Age we are in?", It asked, still amused, his eyes smiling for his covered mouth.
"Huh? We are in the Taisho Era.", He answered, but kept his guard high.
"Taisho?", The wai he said it was if he was still processing the answer, "NOOOOO! THE AGE CHANGED AGAIN, IT CHANGED AGAIN WHILE I TRAPPED HERE! FUCKING HELL!"
Tanjiro and the boy were confused at how to react to this. They should be concerned? Angry? Laugh it off? Their minds never predicted that reaction from this... thing.
"DAMM YOU UROKODAKI! DAMM YOU UROKODAKI!"
"You know Sensei Urokodaki?", He asked, curiosity overcoming his self preservation.
"Oh I do know! He was the bastard who put me here! I will never forget that day 47 years ago! He was still just hunting Demons... In the Edo era... Yes...", His voice became more vicious and obsessed with each word spoken.
"Liar! There shouldn't be a demon this old! The only ones here should be the ones that ate two or three humans! They either die or eat one another!", The boy screamed behind Tanjiro.
"Well well well, I survived this long, and I've ate numerous younglings just like you.", The monster said amused, then he started to count, "11... 12... 13... You are going to be the 14th!"
"What are you talking about?"
"The disciples of Urokodaki, no less!", He gave a devilish smile, cackling at the prospect of killing another student of his nemesis, "I can tell you're his disciple. I've promised to kill every. Single. One. You have the Fox Mask that he made. I know his craft and I find delightful that he enchanted them to be Masks of Protection! Even though I've eaten every single one of its users! Oh, it's like he targeted you to die by my hands... Truly inspiring!"
Tanjiro was fuming. Can this stupid shit-talker demon even more self-centered? Why does he like to make people suffer?! Doesn't he realized what he has done?!?!
Enough.
He dashed forward in blind anger, slashing the arms the demon launched in his direction. He stared at his target, no, his enemy with the intention to kill-
"Calm down you idiot! Your breathing is out of control!"
Sure enough, Tanjiro couldn't dodge a basic punch that was thrown at his ribcage, sending him flying towards the trees of the forest, hitting his back on the process. To top it all, the mask, the symbol of protection, of Urokodaki's faith on him, broke. All because of his short temper.
The boy of before, who was saved, fled the moment he saw the opportunity, while the demon approached with his eyes full of glee.
"Another one of Urokodaki's brats died. Hehehe, how his face will be once he realizes that another one won't come back? I could honestly try escaping here to see it, but those damm wisterias are a trouble. Ah, all in good time I suppose.", He commented as his arm launched at his new found lunch.
Tanjiro jolted back up, rolling away from the arm while back stepping as hard as he could.
"Never give up, Tanjiro. If you stop on your dreams, on your objective, you will only poison yourself."
Freya's voice came in his mind. To hell with this! He would avenge his sensei's honor, avenge the death of his sensei's disciples and take that stupid demon's head off! He would do this, no matter what.
"One who fails to plan, plans to fail."
No, Urokodaki is right. He can't just do this blindly. The arms came at his direction, trying their best to harm him. He cut down the arms, but more and more replaced the ones he cut. He needs to restrain them, but how? This forest is too dense and the only way to-
That's it!
The more arms he uses, the less the Arm Monster has to protect himself! The only thing he needs to do is make the arms knot themselves making him unable to retract them. It's a plan, one hard to make, but better than going in blind like he did before.
Tanjiro dashed forward, luring the arms to follow him. He zigzagged in the maze of trees, going up and down, making the arms stretch as much as they could. The demon squinted at that. If it was by annoyance or something else, he couldn't tell. Not that it mattered, he needed to focus! The plan is working, but it won't take long for this Arm Demon to notice it.
One big hand almost grabbed his entire body, but a quick jump and he escaped. Using the momentum, he started sprinting on the arm, rushing down to slash his neck. Some arms tried to stop his progress, but nothing that the Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow didn't solve. Changing his footwork allowed Tanjiro to minimize the amount of ground his feet covered but also giving a great speed boost. The problem is that this Technique drained stamina at rapid rates. It was quite easy to dodge the arms, it didn't even take that much effort-
*splash*
This smell... The ground?
He jumped on reflex. Surely enough, dozens of arms erupted from the ground making his great run be almost fruitless. The arms grabbed him and started bashing Tanjiro left right and center, crashing in the dirt, rocks and trees. A final punch to his guts made him spurt out the lunch he did before the Selection.
"I saw what you tried to do. Unfortunately, you couldn't possibly diminish the numbers of arms I can infinitely create!", He laughed off at his prey's mistake.
Tanjiro slowly got up, sword trembling in his hand. Even in Urokodaki's training he wasn't hit this hard, not even with Freya there to make things harder! What is this strength? Is this how powerful a demon is who ate dozens of people? This is insane! He respected the Hashira a lot more, since they are meant to be the absolute best of the Slayer Corps.
But still, he had one more thing to try. He didn't have mana, he didn't have the potential not talent necessary to wield such energy. He has a great teacher, sure, but no one can make a bridge out of a stick. He needed to play smart, just like how he was doing it.
This smell... Moist, damp, humid... The forest, it rains a lot here, which means that this place is full of water and life. Freya said that every living thing had magic to some degree. It's a long shot, but Tanjiro just had an idea. If he can use the water of the area as well as the mana of the trees... He took a deep breath and concentrated on the vicinity.
"Feel the leaves, the grass, the branches, the water inside of it all."
"Looks like you can't even stand up properly, youngling. It's a shame, really. Can't say you will be remembered. Better for me! Now die!"
The arms launched to Tanjiro, dozens, hundreds of arms ready to pounce the boy.
"Be formless, shapeless, just like water. It can flow or it can crash. Don't be stationary, always move."
"I got it! [Water Needle]!"
Water erupted from everything and everywhere, taking forms of big spikes around Tanjiro, thrusting every arm, rendering them useless for the time being. The boy changed, not only his aura and demeanor, but his eyes too. One of them, Sky-blue, full of power while the other remained its dark red eyes, basically having heterochromia.
"I-Impossible!", The demon exasperated.
The water however never left, patiently waiting for its next order. Tanjiro extended his hand "calling" the water to it, and surely enough, the water obeyed this unvoiced command. The demon looked at this with wide eyes questioning if that was just an illusion or maybe a dream. But no, he was witnessing this, all colors.
"Total Concentration, Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash, Tsunami!"
This. This made the demon lose his mind, "IMPOSSIBLE! INCOMPREHENSIBLE! HOE COME A HUMAN HAVE BLOOD ARTS???".
The wave carried Tanjiro as he surfed and sliced every attack that came his way, manipulating the water to restrain every bit of moment of the Hand Demon.
"I don't know your nave, not do I wish to, but I will end this senseless death!"
A big jump was enough for him to be face to face with the demon who was cowering behind his makeshift protection of hands, eyes wide in terror at this sudden surge in power.
That night, the Hand Demon met his fate.
"Fascinating!"
Freya tested everything she theorized in her head. For one, as she feared, the only way to truthfully kill a demon is by sunlight, or, sunlight enchanted materials. This explained why the Nichirin related tools and weapons are effective, since the mineral is bathed in the sun as well as enchanted by the Blacksmiths. How they do it it's not something she knows exactly, but she can theorize.
Freya saw Urokodaki enchanting the Masks, so she supposed that it worked as her Runes. Depending on which ones you chose, they could give various effects and results. Even the same rune could be used different, depending on where it was located. A Strength rune on the head had different effect than one on the arm, for example. One gave calmness while the other enhanced attack or overall strength. The only difference between the Runes and Enchantments are that one is written while the other is spoken, like a prayer or something of the like.
She decided to focus on another thing: Blood Arts. Of they are similar to magic as Giyu said, but also unique to each demon as their quirk, it might be something that every demon has in common. But what that could possibly be? There are too many candidates for it. They all regenerate, eat human flesh, are deformed in some way and have this eerie feeling of familiarity yet mystery behind them. Right, let's check what they are different from vampires. They drink blood, their abilities are related to their species inside the Vampirism Spectrum, they regenerate to a certain degree but not every vampire in deformed.
Blood...
Checking the biology, the demons are basically modified humans. That's odd, but also to be expected, since vampires are similar. To a new vampire be formed, the human needs to drink their blood, but Freya thought that any contact with one's blood should be enough to start changing the subject. Like a virus or bacteria that got in contact with a open wound or something along these lines.
Opening the Demon and using her third spell to slow down his regeneration, she saw that, aside from eyes, heart, bones and brain, the demon didn't have organs. That's... not good...? Apparently the flesh they eat is more for them to evolve than actually having nourishment? But why do they have this constant need to eat? And if they do need, where does this nourishment go? The tissues, the layers of skin, flesh and bones are equal to humans, so why?
Well, the only thing she can do now is to see if this demon has a blood art and how it works. Freya got up and prepared for the demon's wake, removing the wisteria and the spell for his regeneration delay.
"That's disappointing."
She sheathed her sword after decapitating her subject. She picked up a book and started taking notes of the things she discovered. One particular entry was makes in bold and big letters.
BLOOD ARTS
Status: Ongoing.
Description: Magical abilities that use the blood of the demons as fuel, akin to fire using a fuel and oxygen.
Manifestations: Varies from subjects. Can either have an enhancement effect or be something that needs more research to fully understand.
Known facts:
The Blood Arts use the stamina of its user, but it can only properly manifest with the help of a still unknown fuel. The more human flesh one eats the more powerful the Blood Art becomes. The Blood Arts are related to not only a Demon's strength but also it's evolutionary potential.
Notes: A lot of questions about it and how one's biology works with it. Need to investigate further.
There were another pages with detailed information and paintings of such topics like, Biology, Physical Attributes, Variations, Behavior... Behind all of this testing and studying, only one real good thing came.
Magic.
Demons had a lot of magic, a lot of mana and a lot of magicules of... Yggdrasil. Why of all things the tree that connected all the realms, she didn't have a clue, truly. This was the first time in her life that Freya didn't have a clue, a book she could read or a path to follow to lead up to an answer. She was, for lack of better term, clueless. She discovered so much, but still lacked crucial information and this reveal of magic being strong on demons didn't help-
Oh, actually, scratch that.
"Time to drain magicules out of demons. I miss my old magic levels. At least this will allow me to use more than ten spells a day.", She mused with a smirk.
Date of Publication: 17th, November, 2023