Chapter 7: First Demon
[Seiji's POV]
At the age of 13 years old, I began my journey.
The plan was to direct all of my teenage spite and rebellious phase towards the demons. Since I died at the age of 13 in my past life, the demons were in for two lifetimes' worth of teenage angst.
I pity them.
"I'll be leaving now." I said to my uncle and aunt who had been taking care of me for many years now.
"I know nothing we say is going to make you stay so what else can we do." My uncle sighed, "Good luck in your travels my boy."
"Take care of yourself Seiji, make sure you send us letters. And always remember you have a home with us." My aunt said while wiping tears from her eyes.
I gave them a deep bow to show my respect and appreciation. They were the closest thing I had to a family. We might have even been closer and happier if I just opened up during all these years.
But ever since what happened that night, I put a certain distance between myself and other people. It was because of fear of losing a family again and because of what I wanted to do.
My heart was still too bitter for that kind of love.
"Thank you for taking care of me." I said and bowed just a tad bit deeper.
I hope they live for a long time. I hope they single-handedly increase the average life expectancy of a Japanese which was 45 years old.
After saying farewell, I left the house and then the village.
I did not tell them what I was going to do exactly, only that I was going to leave to travel by myself and that it was an important thing to me. I had told them about it since I was young so they couldn't refute and knew it was inevitable.
In addition, travelling alone like this from village to village was not a rare thing. There were many people who did it for adventure or to find a permanent village where they could settle.
So I was able to leave with their blessing.
I had a katana strapped to my side. It was forged by one of the most famous smiths in Japan and it was given to me as a gift when I finally beat the master of my Dojo fair and square when I was 12.
I also carried a bag with me that had essential tools like first aid, clean water, tools and a few utensils if I ever wanted to camp in the forest. I think there were some canned foods as well that my aunt packed for me.
I bought a map from the city so I was half aware of where I should go. The journey to Mt Fujikasane would take me roughly two weeks if I travelled on foot but I expect to reach the mountain in a month.
This was because I wanted to hunt demons and get experience before entering the final selection. Another reason would be that I just wanted to enjoy the journey.
A question to all my 21st century readers, did you know how beautiful Japan was? Especially during the early 1900s when nature was still virgin, mostly untouched by humans and pollution.
It was insane when I thought about how much we ruined nature in the span of only a century. But for now, the world was beautiful.
And I really like beautiful things.
My eyes could fully comprehend the beauty of nature in all its glory. I could see the air rushing through the forest, a relieving breeze. I could see every reflection of light from the leaves and every moss on the rocks.
I saw colours that had names and those without, colours which a normal person would never see. If people saw beauty like I did, I think everyone would fall in love as well.
It would've been even more beautiful if I was able to travel during the day but alas, I was not perfect.
I slept during the day and travelled during the night. One of the reasons I did it was because I wanted to be attacked by a demon.
But the main reason I slept during the day was because I was deaf. Imagine I slept during the night when demons were roaming around. I hate to admit it but I was a deep sleeper. I was more vulnerable than anyone else when I was sleeping.
So I could only sleep during the day when I knew for certain demons won't attack me. I could only sleep when I knew they were hiding in some dark caves or in a hole.
Not to mistake this to be an absolute weakness though. I trained all of my other senses - especially my sense of smell and touch - to be extremely sensitive so I was still not completely defenceless.
Anyways, during the day I slept and at night I travelled.
People were kind and there were many huts or small villages all over Japan so I would just ask nicely for a place to sleep and they were happy to say yes.
I was not sure if I was lucky or unlucky, but I did not encounter any demons in the first two days of my travel. It was only on the third day, while I was trekking up the mountain of Akihara that I encountered my first demon.
And oh man was it an experience.
...
Mount Akihara was cold all year round but since it was not winter, there was no snow. The mountain was a named one which meant that it was significantly larger than the usual mountains.
People rarely visited the mountain due to its high altitude, harsh condition and because it was not the only route. Actually, it was the longer route compared to the bridge route which led to the same place.
But I remember I chose the mountain route because of two reasons:-
The hope of encountering a demon and the desire to catch sunrise at the peak of the mountain - how beautiful that must be.
The air was extremely thin and it only got worse the higher I climbed. The air was frigid and each inhalation would freeze my lungs and cause a slight discomfort on my nasal cavity. Nevertheless, I was well trained so it barely bothered me.
I did not know if there were animals or insects but I imaged them chirping loudly in the silence and isolation of the night.
There was a small and rugged trail up the mountain which was covered in vegetation because it was rarely used. The trees in the mountains had thick roots and barely any branches in order to endure the strong winds that undoubtedly blew on the mountain all year round.
It was absolutely dark with no light other than the stars and the moon. But the dark never bothered me because, with the transparent world, the world was perpetually visible.
Therefore, I noticed immediately, the sudden change in the wind. There was something rushing at me from my side and the smell of blood and rotten corpse filled my nose.
I stopped.
And right then, a demon came out from the the forest to my left. His body flew across the trail and right past me at a speed that made me raise my eyebrows.
Had I not stopped, his body would've crashed on me and probably break every bone I had. His action was calculated and it also took my footsteps into consideration. It was like a predator leaping at it's prey.
"Well, that was embarrassing." I commented at his monumental miss as his body sprawled to a stop at the side of the trail.
"But don't worry, no one else saw that." I said but he did not appreciate my words. He growled at me like an animal with his veins popping out on his face.
"I promise I won't tell a soul." I said and he lunged at me. It was a pity, if he had not revealed himself he might've stood a chance.
But the brief instance already allowed me to study his body in detail. I already knew how strong he was, what his main strength was and everything in between.
He told me everything already.
His body disappeared in a burst of speed and force, leaving a shockwave behind as he shot at me like a cannon. A series of actions that was painfully slow with my eyes though.
Short burst of power, that was his whole gimmick. He looked like a middle-aged man wearing a white haori and with a pale skin. He had thick powerful legs and bulbous forearms to which spear-like fingers were attached.
I took a single step, bent my knees and leaned back to dodge his second attempt at taking my head. It was a swift and precise dodge and he missed again.
But he did not stop and he landed on a tree horizontally before he quickly pushed himself off the trunk of the tree. Then he bounced around the trees in the mountains at blinding speed - for normal eyes of course.
I think he was trying to confuse me and make it harder to dodge. But it was still painfully obvious to me.
He might not speak with words but actions speak louder than words.
The directions he was looking at, the way he placed his feet after landing, the way his neck muscle tensed and the position of the tree itself told me exactly when he was going to lunge at me or when he was going to jump to another tree like a monkey.
I could easily telegraph his movement.
At last, he shot at me again. His body became a blur of fluttering white and I positioned my body sideways to make him miss me by a hair's breadth.
An explosion of air and dirt followed as the demon planted his hand on the ground. When the dust settled, he was crouching down with a shocked, almost fearful look in his eyes.
He was mere inches beside me so I playfully chopped at his head with my hand.
That was also when his eyes fell on my katana and I saw in great detail how his muscles tightened in fear and his heartbeat took a stark turn. His heart previously beat rapidly in excitement but now it was thumping loudly in fear.
He must've mistook me for a high-ranking demon slayer. He was smart enough to realize that he was in danger.
He pushed himself off the ground in an attempt to flee. Too bad he told me of his plan to run a second before he even moved.
I finally pulled out my katana and right when he thought he had successfully made an escape, I sliced his ankle and when he tried to take another step, his entire foot came off. With the sudden imbalance and misdirected force, he rolled like a doll.
He was weak, pathetically so. He talked a lot as well.
But one thing that was infinitely interesting to me was the difference between a human body and a demon's body. The difference was not obvious but if you looked closely, you could see how they were two entirely different things.
Demon's muscles were thicker and way more active than a man's. They were extremely tight and they moved even at the cost of being ripped apart. That was only the start as demons also had thicker bones and thier blood flow was unnatural. Thier blood did not rely solely on the heart to travel throughout their body.
At a glance, I could tell that with thier healing factor, the limiter in thier brain was effectively removed. It was said that humans were only able to use half one-third of our true strength so that we do not harm our own bodies.
But that was not the case for demons.
They could use 100% of their strength at all times. That was one of the reasons for thier superhuman stregth, other than the obvious magical factor of course.
"Increadible." i said when I saw the way his wound closed. I could see his body heat increase rapidly and his ankle release smoke while it regenerated.
"I have to know more about this." I said and the demon turned back to look at me with evident fear on his face. But there was also a newfound anger and relief.
"You! Your sword, it's not a nichirin blade." He said.
I tilted my head, "Yes, believe it or not, no blacksmith or weapon dealer in Tokyo knew about the nichirin blade. I couldn't find them at all."
"Then-Then you can't kill me!!" He said and a crooked smile came onto his face.
I nodded, affirming his statement.
"Indeed."
His foot healed and then he rushed at me with incredible speed and a newfound confidence at the fact that I didn't have a nichirin, the bane of all demons.
After all, why should he be afraid when I couldn't kill him?
He probably thought he was being sneaky but his body language revealed his sneak attack long ago. I leaned back slightly and tilted my head just enough for his claw to nick the first layer of my skin.
Then I took a sharp breath and used my incomplete breathing style.
Steroid Breathing. (Yes I was serious in naming it that)
My speed doubled and I pulled out my katana with swiftness that the demon could not even behold. My attack was perfect, without any unnecessary energy or movement. It aimed true and it did its job just precisely.
Under his shaking eyes, the demon saw his arm literally being peeled off by my blade.
Cutting them or chopping them would take necessary energy and more than one movement so I simply carved out his flesh from the bone with a circular motion.
It was effective but brutal for the enemy.
Luckily, I was deaf so I did not hear the shrilling scream of agony released by the demon.
He fell on his back, watching in horror at his arm which was only white bone. He was healing but the regeneration seemed extremely painful as he writhed like a worm.
"Yea, I cannot kill you." I said and slowly approached him while he tried to crawl away.
"But you said that like its a good thing for you."
A swift death would've been preferable to what I did to him next.
The demon became my first victim. I used him as a way to vent out years of hatred and bitterness.
I also used him as a way to get myself familiar with a demon's biology - which was vital for the transparent world - and test the limits of thier healing factor.
At one point he prayed for surise.
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Author : How was the chapter? Was it too brutal? If it's not obviously already the MC is lowkey insane.
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