Village

What does one expect from a world that's supposed to be heavily corrupted by a 500 year old demon king that's been amped up on on evil energy shit?

Most likely a dark and gloomy land that's littered with corpses or just lots of destruction everywhere.

"Hmm, not exactly what I was expecting."

Instead, I found myself wandering around a dense forest that looked pretty normal, all things considered. The trees were tall, their branches reaching up to the sky like skeletal fingers, but they were just trees. There was no ominous fog, no flickering shadows that seemed to come alive. The air was stale and cold, but it didn't feel particularly malevolent. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was just a regular, gloomy forest. Nothing special.

Without really knowing where to go, I ended up just wandering around, hoping to find a road or anything resembling a path to get out of here.

The sun was up, so at least no demon would be trying to sneak up and attack me. 

"Guess Muzan's been slacking off,"

"I expected more theatrics."

My footsteps crunched on the fallen leaves, each step echoing in the quiet of the forest. I was on high alert, senses tingling with the faintest hint of magic in the air. But there was nothing overtly threatening. Just the normal sounds of a forest—birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind. It was almost peaceful. Almost.

I continued walking, trying to piece together my next move. If this was Muzan's territory, he was doing a damn good job of hiding any trace of his presence.With the Musashi preset, my senses were amplified to the degree where I could literally hear a leaf fall down and land on the dirt. 

It didn't exactly feel the nicest, but hey it was kinda cool.

I paused, taking a deep breath, letting the crisp air fill my lungs. It was refreshing, in a way, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Too quiet. Too calm. Muzan's influence should've been more apparent, more tangible, especially with him being buffed by the Anomaly.

"Maybe I'm just in the wrong place?" 

That wouldn't be that big of a stretch to, the world of demon slayer isn't confied to a single forest. Not to mentioned Muzan wouldn't exactly make his home base in some random asss forest.

After what felt like hours of wandering, I finally broke through the edge of the forest and found myself staring at a small village nestled in a clearing. It was an unremarkable place, with low wooden houses and dirt paths, the kind of village that would have looked quaint if it wasn't so damn depressing. The buildings were run-down, their roofs sagging under the weight of years of neglect, and the air was thick with the smell of decay.

"Now this is more like it."

As I approached, I noticed the village was eerily empty. No signs of life, no movement in the windows, no sound except for the creaking of wood as the wind blew through the abandoned buildings. It was like the entire place had been frozen in time, left to rot under the uncaring sky.

'Just how long has it been since that final battle? Couldn't have been more then a year or two right?'

I made my way down the main street, stopping myself in front of a house with a large splatter of blood on its side. People had to have died here seeing all the blood, yet why don't I see or smell any corpses?

"Just where the hell is everyone?" 

It didn't take long to find out.

As I rounded a corner, I saw them; a group of figures huddled together near the center of the village. At first, I thought they were survivors, maybe hiding from whatever horrors this world held. But as I got closer, I realized something was wrong.

They weren't moving.

I approached cautiously, my hand tightening on the hilt of my swords. The figures were clothed in tattered rags, their bodies hunched and twisted, but there was something off about them. Their skin was pale, almost grey, and their eyes, those dead, vacant eyes, stared blankly ahead.

They were dead. And they had been for a long time.

"Shit,"

But why were these corpses standing up, no way they could be zombies right?

'Hmmmmmmm...'

Let's not try to figure that out.

I quietly turned around in order to leave them be, but before I could I noticed the light starting to move away from the area.

Wait,

The fuck?

I looked up, only to be met with a horrifying sight.

The fucking sun was disappearing. No, not setting, disappearing. Like someone had drawn a curtain over it, the bright disk shrinking rapidly until it was swallowed by darkness. The forest and village were plunged into shadow, the transition from day to night happening in an instant.

"Fuck, that's not normal."

The air suddenly grew colder, the chill biting into my skin as if the temperature had dropped by thirty degrees in a second. The trees around me began to creak, their branches twisting unnaturally, and the once still village seemed to groan under the weight of a pressing, unseen force.

I took a few steps back, eyes darting around for any signs of movement. Those corpses that had been so still a moment ago were now twitching, their limbs jerking in short, violent spasms. Their heads snapped up in unison, and those dead eyes turned to me.

It was subtle at first, just a twitch of the fingers, a slight tilt of the head. Then, with a sickening crack, the corpse's neck snapped back into place, and it slowly began to rise.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," 

Without warning, the corpses sprinted at me with a unnatural level of speed for well, a corpse.

The first one lunged at me with a guttural snarl, its movements jerky and unnatural. I sidestepped easily, one of my katana flashing as I brought it down in a clean arc, severing its head from its shoulders. The body crumpled to the ground, lifeless once more, but there was no time to breathe. More were coming.

Three more attempted to bite me, but I used my speed to side step them before swinging my other blade down to chop their heads off. But then six more jumped out behind the three I just cut, making me cut them again. 

"This is getting old real fast." 

The problem wasn't their strength, they were weak,and uncoordinated. But they were fast and coming at me in hordes, in theory I could keep fighting but that'd simply be a waste of stamina and who knows when the sun will be back up. Not to mention these corpses keep spawning out of nowhere, I could honestly get hurt and if they are actual zombies, get bitten accidently.

Time to bounce.

With a final, powerful sweep of my katana, I cleared a path through the another ten corpses and bolted toward the edge of the village. The corpses gave chase, but compared to my speed they were slow as shit.

Turning a corner, I quickly used my two katanas to cut down a large wood pillar, making a building collapse, blocking the path I took.

"Damn, they aren't like demons but hella similar..."

They don't regenerate like demons, yet they literally followed every single zombie cliche I know. It seems this Muzan has been experimenting a bit.

I needed to get back to the forest, get some distance between me and this village of the damned. There was no telling what else Muzan had lurking in these woods, but at least I'd have more room to maneuver.

With one last burst of speed, I reached the edge of the village, diving into the underbrush just as a horde of corpses swarmed the spot I'd just been standing. The thick foliage closed around me, blocking their view and muffling their groans. Getting a bit more distance, I leaned against a tree as I tried to make sense of what just happened.

Muzan… what the hell are you up to?

First those corpses, then the sun going poof, just what did he do?

"H-Help!"

"!!!"

Someone calling for help?

Wait someone is alive!

I turned around and tried to sense where the cry for help came from.

"Help!"

My heart skipped a beat. Someone was actually alive in this hellhole? That was unexpected, but not unwelcome. I focused, trying to pinpoint the direction of the voice. It was faint, but it was definitely coming from deeper within the forest, away from the village.

"H-Help! Please!"

The voice was weak, trembling with fear. It could be a trap, so proceeding with caution is a must.

I broke into a run, weaving through the trees with a speed that would have made even the fastest demon slayer jealous. As I sprinted through the forest, my senses sharpened to a razor's edge, I caught a glimpse of movement ahead. A small clearing opened up, and there was a young girl who had her back against the wall.

But there was a small problem.

The girl wasn't alone.

Something was moving straight to her head

Without a second thought, I blitzed over to the girl, bringing up my blades to block the incoming objects. 

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

The blades clashed with a sharp ring that reverberated through the clearing, sparks flying as metal ground against metal. I pushed back hard, forcing the attackers to retreat a step. As the dust settled, I got my first real look at them.

"You shouldn't have done that, human..."