69. The Strongest Demon Till Now (5)

A Japanese mythological monster, made up of parts from different creatures. In a way, Nue is nothing more than a Japanese version of the Chimera. 

And the demon in front of Kotaro, Kamanue, is able to turn into all the creatures the Nue is made of. 

"H-How did you know?" 

How could he not know when it was shouted out so loudly?! 

"How did I know? Well, that's... it's a secret." 

"You...!!!" 

Kotaro's words made Kamanue lose more composure, and seeing this, Kotaro smiled. The more composure he lost, the more Kotaro was likely to win. 

'Snake, monkey...' 

Kotaro's eyes turned a bit serious despite the smirk on his face as he raised his staff and pointed it at the demon. He'd better find out what other animals this demon could turn into. 

'It's been a while since I've had such a fight.' 

Kotaro licked his lips, looking at Kamanue with sheer fighting intent. Most of his fights ended with one strike, but if they didn't... it meant the demon wasn't just one of the generic weaklings. 

"Even if you know about it, it doesn't matter. Because I will kill you regardless." 

Confidence? Where does that come from? Is it from his strength? Kotaro gazed at the demon's face, once again finding it familiar. Where had he seen this demon before? 

A demon this strong, yet somehow Kotaro couldn't recall where he'd encountered him in his memories. And how could he? This demon was indeed strong, but his screen time was less than a minute. 

The future Lower Rank 6 – Kamanue, dead at the hands of Muzan. 

A character with such low screen time and without much impact at all, there was no way Kotaro could remember such a small fry. 

"Is that so? But I'm still alive." 

Kotaro's words made Kamanue's vein bulge in anger, and he laughed in rage. Truly, this Demon Slayer pissed him off! 

"Don't worry, I'll soon make you dead!" 

Swoosh! 

Kamanue disappeared from Kotaro's sight, only to reappear above him, his punch hurtling down toward him. A punch? He could block that! 

Kotaro swiftly grabbed his staff with both hands and placed it in the path of the fist's trajectory to block it. 

"Got it." 

But then, the fist's trajectory suddenly changed, and the demon flipped in the air, smacking Kotaro's head with his tail, sending him crashing into a nearby tree. 

Kuh! 

"D-Damn..." 

How did he change his trajectory so easily? Then Kotaro looked at the demon and understood his mistake. Kamanue wasn't a normal demon anymore—he was a monkey now. Monkeys had quicker reflexes than humans. 

Not only was he a demon, which was already a pain, but also a monkey, which was better than a human in terms of rapid responses. Simply put, this demon's form—his "hardware"—had changed, while the "software" remained the same. 

"Kekeke! Didn't I tell you? Just because you know doesn't mean you'll win, Demon Slayer!" 

'So, it's like that.' 

That one punch made Kotaro understand it all. Different animals had different specialties. And when this demon shifted into one, he gained that animal's abilities. 

'The injuries sure hurt. But...' 

"It was just a punch. Why are you so happy about it? Didn't I smack your head hard enough to crack it open just a moment ago? I gave you a free punch to make it fair. Now the real fun starts, you monkey demon!" 

[Hamon Mode: Stage One] 

Hamon circulated all over his body, healing the injuries he'd sustained. Rotating his shoulders for a second, Kotaro grabbed his Hamon-infused staff, now ready to fight. 

"Come." 

... 

'Damn! The reflexes are no joke.' 

Kotaro thrust his staff at the demon, but at the last moment, the demon dodged again. Kotaro followed up with a swipe, but the demon jumped, once again evading him. 

However, Kotaro was adapting to the battle. Each of his strikes became more precise than before. Still, the monkey's reflexes were outperforming his moves. 

'If the demon can dodge each of my strikes, then...' 

This time Kotaro thrust his staff at the demon, just like before. 

"Heh! It seems you didn't learn enou—Huh?" 

The demon moved to the right and was about to dodge again, but this time, the staff's trajectory shifted and struck him, infusing Hamon into him. 

"Arrgh..." 

Kamanue jumped back as fast as he could and shifted into another animal to heal his injuries. 

"Finally, I got one." 

If the demon would dodge, then Kotaro would predict his dodge and change his move to land a hit. 

"Huh? This time... a tanuki?" 

Whatever it was, this was the best time to kill him! Kotaro grabbed his staff and, like a game of whack-a-mole, started striking the small tanuki as fast as he could. 

"Damn! Demon Slayer!" 

Unable to do anything, the demon—now a tanuki—just ran left and right, trying to dodge the rain of countless strikes. 

But unfortunately for him, one hit, and the Hamon infused into him once again, forcing him to shift forms. 

Roar! 

And this time, it was a... 

"Tiger?!" 

A huge tiger pounced on Kotaro, slashing his chest with its paw. The strength and sharpness behind the attack tore his uniform and injured his chest. 

"Blood..." 

It had been a long time since Kotaro had bled. For someone else, it might have been concerning, but [Hamon Mode] healed his chest within seconds. 

Kotaro turned his attention back to the demon-tiger, ready to finish it off, but... 

"Huh? Where is it?" 

... 

Pant! Pant! 

"I will die!" 

Kamanue was running through the mountains as fast as he could. There was no way he could defeat that Demon Slayer! He would die if he fought any longer. 

The sense of crisis he hadn't felt at the start was now overwhelming. When he transformed into a tanuki, he understood that he couldn't beat this Demon Slayer. 

That's why he turned into a tiger and, after landing an attack, ran as fast as possible. 

"Are Demon Slayers this strong? He wasn't even a Hashira! If it was a Hashira..." 

Gulp! 

Fear, which had never existed in his heart before, started to form. As strong and ambitious as he was, his desire to live outweighed everything. 

Taking revenge for his hands? Not needed! He needed to escape and hide somewhere to stay alive!

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A/N:

Is the chapter alright? For some reason, I feel like it's a bit rough.