Seeing his attack deflected so easily, Hand Demon squinted. On Fujikasane Mountain, he held near-absolute dominance. Anyone participating in the final selection who ran into him barely had a chance to survive.
But this sudden, seemingly random intruder—Reiyu, a disciple of Urokodaki—was giving him an unprecedented sense of danger.
"This brat… something's off about him," Hand Demon muttered under his breath.
With that, he launched another ferocious attack. This time, there was no holding back. In his mind, if he didn't go all out, survival might not even be guaranteed.
But unlike last time, Reiyu didn't simply deflect the attack with a sword technique. Instead, he relied on the Mangekyō Sharingan's uncanny perception, dodging every strike while simultaneously closing the distance between himself and the demon.
As they drew closer, though, even Reiyu's enhanced vision began to struggle. The sheer number of arms Hand Demon had made it nearly impossible to track all movements at once.
With no other choice, Reiyu activated his sword technique.
"Breath of Devouring – Second Form: Spiral Devour!"
The Nichirin blade shimmered with black energy. Just as the dozens of arms threatened to strike him, he swung.
A ring of black sword energy bloomed in midair, slicing every approaching arm and scattering them with the shockwave.
Hand Demon's expression finally hardened. Seeing his attack thwarted so easily, he paused briefly, readying another strike—but Reiyu didn't give him the chance.
"Breath of Devouring – Third Form: Demonic Blaze!"
The blade didn't stop at the arms. With a single, fluid motion, Reiyu struck forward, aiming directly at Hand Demon himself.
"Damn it!"
Hand Demon realized too late. Even though he had raised his arms to shield his head, the black energy of Reiyu's blade, accompanied by faint, sorrowful wails, enveloped him.
From the sword, a long black shadow emerged, with two glowing white eyes—like a demon incarnate.
Reiyu's strike cut through Hand Demon's arms, slashed across his neck, and emerged on the other side.
It was pure domination. From the moment they clashed, Reiyu had held back completely. Yet in the first offensive move he ever made, Hand Demon—the self-proclaimed strongest demon on Fujikasane Mountain—was decapitated instantly. By all accounts, Reiyu had one-shot him.
As Hand Demon's head hit the ground, the system chimed in Reiyu's mind:
"Ding!"
Congratulations, host! You have slain a low-level demon. Combat power increased by 7 points.
Total Combat Power: 448 points.
Overall Rating: Rank 3.
The body and head of Hand Demon began turning to ash midair. His eyes, still full of disbelief, stared at Reiyu.
"Impossible…" he muttered. He had planned to grow strong enough over a day to pass through the Wisteria Grove and finally exact revenge on Urokodaki Sakonji. And now… he was slain by one of Urokodaki's disciples.
"The last thing I see… is a demon hunter's face. How ironic."
As his vision faded, the world around Hand Demon went black.
"It's so dark… why is it so dark? I remember… I used to be afraid of the dark."
"I remember someone holding my hand, lighting my way… who was it?"
"Ah… I remember now! It was my brother! Brother, where are you?"
In this pitch-black world, he reached for his brother—but could never find him. He wanted his brother's hand to guide him, to illuminate the darkness inside him—but it was impossible.
Then he remembered the moments before and just after becoming a demon. After turning, he couldn't resist the lure of human flesh and killed his own brother. Over time, as his memories of being human faded, he couldn't even recall what his brother looked like.
Back in the real world, Tanjirou, who had been watching silently behind Reiyu, suddenly sensed a wave of sorrow in the air—the remnants of Hand Demon's fading consciousness.
After a brief hesitation, Tanjirou stepped past Reiyu, approaching Hand Demon's half-vanished body. Slowly, he extended his hands and grasped the demon's remaining massive palm.
As Hand Demon's hand gently closed around Tanjirou's, the boy pressed it to his forehead.
"God… please bless him. Let him be reborn as a human, and never turn into a demon again."
With that prayer, Hand Demon's body disintegrated completely into drifting ash.
At the same time, within the black void where Hand Demon's consciousness lingered, a faint light appeared, illuminating his form. In the next moment, the darkness transformed into a rural path bathed in lantern light—and there, his brother stood, holding a lantern.
"Brother! Brother! Take my hand!"
In that instant, he was no longer the murderous demon, but the child he had been—afraid of the dark, needing his brother's guidance.
"I can't help it… always afraid of the dark, huh?" The older brother smiled, taking his sibling's hand. Together, they walked toward a nearby house glowing warmly with light. That was their home.
Back in the real world, Tanjirou watched as Hand Demon's body crumbled to ash. A shadow of sadness crossed his face.
A hand landed on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Reiyu standing there.
"You really are kind," Reiyu said, smirking. "Not long ago, he wanted to eat you… and now here you are, pitying him instead."