Chapter 129: The Perfect Being
[Day 4: You sit on an exposed boulder, gazing at the sunrise on the horizon, silently waiting for death to come.
When the warm sunlight bathes you, you immediately feel the pain of burning fire, and flames engulf your body.
Just as you think you might find relief, your sun-scorched body begins to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
You are shocked to discover that you are now immune to sunlight. Remembering how Nezuko and Tanjiro, after becoming demons, also became immune to sunlight, you roughly guess why this happened to you.
Perhaps, as the rumours suggest, the blue spider lily that Muzan Kibutsuji had searched for millennia without a finding was casually eaten by Tanjiro's family as a side dish.
Thus, after you irrationally devoured the corpses of Tanjiro's family, you absorbed the power of the blue spider lily contained in their flesh, granting you the ability to be immune to sunlight.
Unable to die, you laugh and cry, and finally, with blood-red eyes, you swear to the heavens that in this life, you will personally send Muzan Kibutsuji to hell…]
[Day 18: After more than half a month of research, you realise you might have truly evolved into the perfect being. Not only do you possess extraordinary regenerative abilities, but you are also immune to sunlight, no longer need to eat humans, and can even enjoy various foods like an average person.
During your wandering, you encounter several man-eating demons causing harm. In battles with them, you awaken a Blood Demon Art.
Your Blood Demon Art is called 'Devour Demon,' and as the name implies, it allows you to consume demons, using them to strengthen yourself.
Since you know that Muzan Kibutsuji can see the memories of other demons before their death, to avoid alerting him, you disguise yourself as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps whenever you devour those man-eating demons.
The Demon Slayer Corps is an organization dedicated to hunting demons, and many demons are killed by its blades each year.
Moreover, the demons you devoured were all low-level demons, weaker even than the Lower Moons, so even if Muzan saw their dying memories, he likely wouldn't pay much attention to them.]
[Month 3: After devouring dozens of low-level demons, you realise your strength has increased significantly. You're now at least as strong as a Lower Moon demon.
You decide it's time to start hunting the Twelve Kizuki. You know you're not yet a match for the Upper Moons, so you plan to begin with the Lower Moons.
Based on the original storyline, you know that Lower Moon Five, Rui, who enjoys playing house, is hiding on Mount Natagumo, so you head there.
When Rui first sees you, he thinks you're like the other low-level demons, being pursued by the Demon Slayer Corps and seeking his protection.
Thus, Rui proposes a deal: He will make you his 'brother' and grant you more power.
Faced with Rui's childish behaviour, you pretend to agree, then seize the opportunity to ambush him when he's off guard.
Your strength was already not inferior to Rui's, and with the added advantage of your surprise attack, Rui quickly becomes nourishment for your growth.
Since Rui was a beloved member of the Twelve Kizuki and deeply trusted by Muzan Kibutsuji, the memories from his death catch Muzan's attention.
Muzan finally realises that you are not an ordinary demon slayer but a renegade beyond his control. He immediately issues a kill order against you.]
[Month 6: Since Muzan Kibutsuji issued a kill order to his man-eating demons, you have been continuously hunted.
However, you aren't afraid. Instead, you're excited—who can refuse prey that comes knocking?
To avoid drawing Muzan's suspicion, you suppress most of your strength when killing your pursuers.
The dying memories those demons transmit back suggest that your power is only on par with Lower Moon Five, leading Muzan to believe that you managed to kill Rui through trickery.
Muzan has yet to realise that you're growing more muscular by devouring these demons. He only sees you as cunning, someone who escapes whenever an Upper Moon demon approaches.
While being pursued, you also encounter members of the Demon Slayer Corps and save a few of them along the way.]
[Month 8: Unknowingly, you find yourself on Mount Sagiri and run into Tanjiro, who is training in the mountains.
Tanjiro immediately recognises you and, unable to hold back his rage, hurls curses at you before swinging his sword.
Tanjiro hates you because when he returns home after selling charcoal, he detects your scent among his family's bloodstains.
He believes that had he not saved you and brought you home, his family would not have suffered, and Nezuko would not have turned into a demon. He wishes he could grind your bones to dust or die in apology.
Faced with Tanjiro's attacks, you do not retaliate, allowing him to vent his anger until he is too exhausted to continue wielding his sword.
Seeing that Tanjiro can no longer move, you sit beside him and recount the events in detail from beginning to end.
When Tanjiro learns that Muzan Kibutsuji is the real mastermind behind the tragedy and that you even tried to commit suicide after regaining your senses, his kind heart compels him to forgive you.
Sakonji Urokodaki, who had been watching in secret, also emerges after learning the truth.
Urokodaki had actually arrived earlier, ready to intervene and save Tanjiro. However, upon seeing that you never fought back, he chose to wait.
Given what you said, and considering that a few months ago, you saved several Demon Slayer Corps members and heard other demons calling you a traitor, Urokodaki believes you are telling the truth.
Since you've evolved to become immune to sunlight, Urokodaki realises that if Muzan learns of this, he will stop at nothing to devour you, meaning only one of you can survive.
The Demon Slayer Corps also cannot allow Muzan to devour you, as no one else would be able to defeat him afterwards.
Thus, Urokodaki decides to teach you the Water Breathing technique so you can become more robust and, at the very least, have the power to protect yourself against Muzan.]
(End of chapter)
Advance 50 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/ReidAstrea