Capítulo 6: 06. The Final Selection Days
Author's note: I'm sorry guys, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever attacked me a week ago. Somehow, I couldn't write properly on my laptop cuz my head became dizzy the longer I am in front of my laptop. stay healthy.
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"You're... a girl with a metal bat."
Tanjiro finally put two and two together, recognizing me as the person he talked to before the selection began.
I nodded.
"Umu. You're the first person I met in this selection."
And before I even got a chance to ask his name, he beat me to it.
"My name is Kamado Tanjiro. Err, I was about to kill the oni, but…"
I waved my hand, signaling for him to spill the beans.
"You should go, Tanjiro. That thing is my prey. I wanted to play with it a little bit since it seemed to be the strongest oni in this mountain."
"But, it's so strong. We should work together…"
"Nah. I'd win."
*Roar!!*
Before Tanjiro could spit out the rest of his words, I cut in, and the oni suddenly roared in anger. In that split second, Tanjiro assumed his stance.
*Bang!*
The massive oni landed right in front of us menacingly, its eyes blazing with fury. It glared at me like I owed it money. Even Tanjiro couldn't help but shudder, but he kept his stance intact.
"Woah, you've got a real talent for intimidation. How'd you like my little wallop earlier?" I quipped with a chuckle. Yeah, I purposely poked the oni. If it was ticked off at me, it would go all out, but its attack moves would be as clear as daylight. And that was exactly my game plan.
"You damn little girl. That hurt like hell!!"
"I know, right? My weapon was made from the same stuff as those demon slayer swords. Obviously, it's gonna sting. Ehehehe."
Tanjiro's eyes widened when he caught wind that my metal bat was fashioned from the same materials as the Nichirin Sword. He was probably itching to know where I snagged those materials, but I couldn't care less if he was curious or not.
The oni's anger flared, and it bellowed at me, "Damn! I'll munch on you, little girl! Relish your flavor while you wallow in despair!"
I shuddered upon hearing its words, but that only seemed to get the oni a bit more amped up.
"Hehe. Feeling antsy already? Don't fret; I'll savor you nice and slow so you can relish every moment."
I couldn't take it anymore. I pointed straight at it.
"Damn it! You're so disgusting! How can you be such a perv? Can't believe there's a horny oni like you lurking in this world. Tasting me? I'll dial up the intergalactic FBI to lock you up in the midst of macho men!"
"Huh?"
"..."
Even though they probably didn't grasp the full meaning of FBI and got a bit thrown off by my English outburst, they still caught onto the 'horny' and 'perv' bits. They couldn't help but be rendered speechless.
I yanked on Tanjiro's clothes and said, "You're on, buddy. Go handle another oni for me!" Without waiting for his reply, I promptly chucked him in a certain direction where I sensed another oni after utilizing my [Area Perception]. Then, I turned my attention back to the oni in front of me.
"Enough with the games. Initially, I just wanted to use you to fine-tune my fighting sense. But, it seems you're itching for a death wish."
"What did you say? What did you just say to me?"
I didn't bother responding; instead, I swung my bat.
"Bonk Style, Third Bonk: Hornies are meant to be bonked!!"
I powered up my legs for speed, but I refrained from enhancing my arms or infusing my weapon with magic power because I wasn't planning to finish it off just yet. In the blink of an eye, I dashed forward, landing a solid hit on its front.
*Bonk!*
It was tossed backward in a < shape, but I maintained my momentum, swiftly circling behind it and delivering a swing to its back. Then, I smoothly moved to its left side, followed by swings to the right, then the front, and back again... and the final blow came from above. Once satisfied, I approached it slowly.
I could see a glimmer of fear in its eyes, and it didn't seem to be attempting regeneration, even though I hadn't targeted its neck. That's when I noticed something.
'Heh, so that's how it is.' I smirked as I approached.
"Hey, how about you pick your poison? I've got a few moves up my sleeve I haven't unleashed yet. Fancy a Fatality, Mortality, or Brutality? Take your pick."
Out of nowhere, some hands sprouted from the ground and clutched my petite form. "Hehehe, gotcha," chuckled the Hand oni as it successfully grabbed and squeezed me. However, I didn't let my expression waver. "How's that? Even if you're powerful, you're useless if you can't finish me. Plus, watch this!" The oni regenerated its body, restoring it to a fresh state.
"See that? I should be the one asking you how you want to die. Hahahaha." Despite his annoying high-pitched laughter, I couldn't help but pity him for not knowing who I really was.
"Sigh." I shook my head.
"What's with the sigh? Have you already given up?"
"Well, it looks like we're playing a game of outsmarting each other. You may think you've outsmarted me, but I've already outsmarted your outsmarting with my outsmarting." With that, I activated "[Predator]." My human form melted away as I transformed back into my amorphous or slime body. A flexible, jelly-like substance started wrapping around the oni's body.
"What—what is this? What are you? You're not human?"
"In the first place, I never claimed to be human, you know. My sole purpose is to chow down on you to get stronger."
"Dammit! Let go of me!"
Despite the oni's frantic struggles, I held firm. In fact, I had already bound it with my [Sticky Thread] to prevent any chance of escape.
Once I had devoured it entirely, I reverted to my human form as someone was approaching. It seemed I couldn't acquire any skills from onis, though. I wondered why.
"Hey. Are you alright? Um…"
Naturally, it was Tanjiro. He seemed genuinely concerned that I might have met my end at the hands of that formidable oni.
"Of course, I'm alright. That oni was too foolish and fell into my trap so easily. Its attacks become predictable when all it can think of is killing its prey easily. Handling its berserk state is quite manageable."
"You make it sound so easy…"
I chose not to respond. When you don't have a substantial difference in strength against your enemy, anything is possible. But when facing absolute strength, your only hope is "luck."
"Since this final selection is still ongoing, I'll find more onis to kill. Bye!!"
Just as I was about to leave, Tanjiro called out to me.
"Wait!"
I turned around and asked, "Hmmm, what's up?"
He seemed hesitant, and I knew it must be about his sister. But I just waited for his question.
"Do you think an oni could turn back into a human?" he asked. He knew this question sounded absurd, but it seemed Tanjiro felt something different about me. Perhaps because I didn't act like a little girl, or I looked reliable after I killed a strong oni in his eyes, or maybe my charisma affected him.
"Oh, what an interesting question. Then, what do you think?" I put a smile on my face.
"I don't know…" He shook his head.
"Do you want my honest answer?"
Tanjiro nodded at my question.
I said, "As far as I know, only some dudes could turn a human into an oni."
Before I could elaborate, Tanjiro let out his voice. "Huh? Some?" This time, Tanjiro was stunned.
"Oh, is my answer not satisfying enough?"
"Teacher Urokodaki said only one person can turn a human into an oni. And that person is Kibutsuji Muzan."
"Eh, you've got enough knowledge to swim in the oni pond. And yep, that dude is the oni overlord. Normally, he's the one holding the keys to turn a human into an oni. However, there should be 12 strong onis under him. I reckon some of them could turn a human into an oni. After all, they've got a hearty dose of Muzan's blood, so sprinkling a bit of that elixir into a human could do the trick. Voila, a new oni pops up. And since it's sourced from Muzan, only the big boss can pull off the reverse transformation. But, imagine pleading with Muzan for a turnaround? That's like asking a lion to go vegan, right?" I explained with a little bit of metaphor.
I didn't know whether those 12 onis could actually pull off turning a regular Joe into an oni. But, I'm throwing it out there based on my Sherlock-level analysis, even though I'm not exactly Einstein when it comes to this anime world.
After dropping that knowledge bomb, I clocked Tanjiro looking all sorts of frustrated, squeezing his katana like it owed him money.
"I don't get why you're hung up on that. But, you see, anything impossible or absolute is just a fairy tale. Well, unless we're talking about big shots like One Above All or One Below All, of course."
Tanjiro wanted to ask about who One Above and One Below were. But, that wasn't the point.
"You think it's possible to turn an oni into a human without Muzan's involvement?" he asked.
"Hell yeah, there could be some ways. But, brace yourself, there might be a smidge of Muzan in the mix. Let me brainstorm. Hmm. First up, yank out Muzan's blood and then infuse the human blood according to blood type. But the risk is too high. Second, injecting an antivirus to suppress or counter Muzan's blood. But you'll need a truckload of samples and some serious lab action. Third, creating an artificial body. But, let's be real, that's probably a pipe dream. I only know those three. Although I know there should be more than that."
Tanjiro shot me a look of utter disbelief. The poor guy couldn't wrap his head around the fact that someone who looked like they hadn't hit puberty yet was dropping knowledge bombs.
"You serious? Can you... you know, reverse an oni back into a human?" he threw at me, half-hoping I held some secret medical knowledge.
"Nah," I shot back without missing a beat, all casual. Deep down, though, I thought, 'Not yet, at least. I might pull it off in the future, given I can store a soul in my stomach. The only missing piece is whipping up an artificial body.'
"But, you're so amazing. You can even conclude that as long as you can do something about the Muzan blood in the oni's body, you can turn the oni back into a human."
"Thanks to Resident Evil, I guess," I threw in, flashing a grin. His puzzled look told me he didn't quite catch the reference.
"Resident…what?"
"Don't worry about it. I just talk to myself sometimes. Now that I've spilled the beans, can I go now?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"No need for apologies, man! Catch you later!" I chirped, and with a blink, I vanished.
"Ah. Thank you! Sorry for disturbing…she's gone."
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A day later, I stumbled upon the fierce gal, Kanao. Well, not exactly stumbled upon – more like ninja-watched her from afar while she casually played whack-a-mole with onis, decapitating them like it was a piece of cake. The girl was a beast. I'd put her attack power at a solid High 8-C level, you know, that sweet spot between 8-C and 8-B. Even if she caught wind of my lurking presence with those special eyes of hers, I wasn't losing any sleep over it. I was just there to learn her Flower Breathing Technique, no harm, no foul.
After playing the spy game for a good while, I pretty much had a mental scrapbook of all the forms she flaunted. Of course, translating the theoretical into practical? That was the next mission on the agenda.
Then, I cruised through the mountain to find my target, Zenitsu, while killing onis along the way.
Two days before the final selection wrapped up, I finally zeroed in on him after catching wind of his classic scream, "AAHHHHH, I'M GOING TO DIE!" Classic Zenitsu.
The guy was hauling ass away from an oni, and it was both amusing and expected. Suddenly, plot twist alert! He tripped, face-planted like a champ, and passed out. But here's the kicker – the dude woke up, and his vibe transformed into a stormy thundercloud.
"Kaminari no Kokyū, Ichi no Kata: Hekireki Issen!" (Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash)
In that split second, a satisfying click echoed through the air as he smoothly unsheathed his katana, vanishing from his original spot.
*Slash!*
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared on the opposite side, effortlessly sliding his katana back into its sheath.
Honestly, I gotta hand it to him; his technique was beyond cool. Not to mention, his mastery of iaijutsu was top-notch. From what I gathered, his Thunder Breathing skills involved syncing his breath to unleash the full potential of every muscle and blood vessel in his legs. This resulted in movements too swift for any regular Joe to catch, the air pulsating with thunderous vibes, and his footsteps echoing like distant thunderclaps.
After beheading the oni, he snapped back, glancing around in utter confusion. "AAAHHH!!" He leaped back only to find it had crumbled into ashes, dissipating into the wind.
Then, as if he perceived me through his ears, he turned in my direction. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR SAVING—" His words trailed off upon laying eyes on me. It seemed my appearance left him stupefied, and I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy under his gaze.
In a sudden move, he appeared right in front of me, seizing my hand and hollering, "PLEASE! I BEG YOU! I BEG YOU, PLEASE MARRY ME! I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'LL DIE, SO PLEASE MARRY ME! I BEG—!"
*Bonk!*
I lightly tapped his head with my metal bat.
"AUCH, AUCH, AUCH! WHY??"
I shot him a disgusted look and retorted, "Say something like that again, and I'll kick your ass immediately!"
"IT WILL BE MY PLEASURE!"
My brain momentarily ceased to function.
But then, I raised my bat, infused it with my magical power, and swung it down beside him.
*Bang!*
"HIII!!!" Zenitsu couldn't contain his fear after seeing a deep pit on the ground caused by my swing.
"If you keep pestering me, your fate will be the same as this ground," I said with an evil grin while approaching him. "Understand?"
"Y-YES!!"
"Good boy. Don't ever think about marrying me again! Else, you might end up in the middle of macho men, butt naked." Zenitsu shuddered at the thought.
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