Demon Slayer: I Level Up Alone

Chapter 24

A night in the mountains, quiet to the extreme,

was shattered by Hana Oni's screams and pleas for mercy.

At this moment, the little boy and his father, bound in the dilapidated temple, had awakened due to the end of Hana Oni's blood demon technique.

The two stared wide-eyed at each other.

Tears had smeared the boy's already dirty face, but with his mouth stuffed full, he could only emit muffled "woo woo" sounds.

His father was the same; confusion filled his eyes, utterly unaware of what had happened. Yet before him was his own child, but the ropes binding him rendered him immobile.

He could only squirm like a worm, inching closer to his child.

As for Hana Oni, she was gradually losing consciousness, her physical capabilities severely diminished, and her broken body had nearly lost its self-healing ability.

"Am I... going to die...?"

Hana Oni's gaze became increasingly vacant, the tricolor flower on her forehead had wilted, and her azure eyes lost their focus.

Seeing this, Akito sheathed his knife.

He squatted down beside Hana Oni, carefully observing her condition.

"I didn't expect you to hold on for so long; I've forgotten how many times I've swung my blade."

"However, the regenerative ability of this evil demons is indeed limited. Those who claim infinite regeneration probably lack the ability to repeatedly cut a demon apart..."

The ground was littered with Hana Oni's shredded flesh and blood, resembling a scene from a hellish battlefield, the air thick with a nauseating odor.

"Do you know why I am treating you this way?"

"Whether you willingly became a demon or were forced into it and lost your memory doesn't matter; it's simply a matter of opposing sides. Besides, I just happened to want to verify something, so I apologise, Miss Demon, for your suffering."

Akito smiled.

"Now that my experiment has yielded results, the sun is about to rise. Given your current state, you no longer have the ability to survive. Do you have anything to say, or you could tell me where your kind is, and I can send them to accompany you in hell."

Akito's warm tone and actions seemed to Hana Oni more terrifying than the demon itself.

"You... you... you are the real demon... you are a devil..."

Tears streamed down Hana Oni's face as she looked at Akito with hatred, but soon she fell into silence.

"It seems... this time I really am going to die..."

As she approached death, memories from when she had not yet become a demon flooded back.

Hana Oni's tears flowed uncontrollably, and she kept murmuring, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Yamasaki..."

"The flowers you gave me are really beautiful..."

"They smell so good..."

A beam of light appeared on the distant horizon, and then Hana Oni's body began to gradually turn to ash.

"Hanako, when you grow up, you must become my wife!"

"Okay, Yamasaki-oniichan..."

"Look, Hanako, these flowers are so pretty; wearing them on your head, you will be the most beautiful girl..."

The boy from Hana Oni's memories picked three flowers of different colors and placed them on her head, and Hana Oni smiled with happiness.

The warm sunlight bathed the two of them, like a pair of celestial lovers.

But

that night, everything changed; red, everywhere was red. Hana Oni saw the boy who once promised to marry her; at that moment, he had lost his breath. She wanted to die, plunging a knife into her belly, believing that this way she could die alongside her beloved boy.

In her final memory, Hana Oni reopened her eyes, her body filled with strength. The boy she had once loved dearly was now consumed by her. From that moment on, the world gained a demon flower.

"So it was... me..."

"Yamasaki-oniichan... have you come to take me...?"

"We can finally be together..."

"Let's never be apart again..."

Hana Oni's body finally turned to ash under the sunlight.

"Ding, congratulations on obtaining 500,000 sword strikes."

Hearing the system's prompt, Akito knew that the Demon had been slain by him. At the same time, Akito also noticed the happy expression that Hana Oni revealed at the end, and he vaguely guessed something.

"It's just a different position…"

Thus, Akito left the scene and returned to the dilapidated temple, freeing the two boys from their ropes.

The two immediately embraced each other.

"Father… you finally… finally woke up… wuwuwu"

"I'm sorry, child… you've worked hard…"

Akito did not interrupt their tender moment, and after bidding them farewell, he remained alone in the broken temple.

Clothes were strewn all over the ground, one could only imagine how many people Hana Oni had devoured in the past half month.

"People do things while heaven watches; one cannot live after creating their own sins…"

Akito murmured.

Then, he set the entire dilapidated temple ablaze.

Thick black smoke spread into the sky, and Akito's expression was unusually cold.

At that moment, Ritoruho jumped out of the box behind him, seemingly sensing Akito's inner anger, and licked Akito's hand with its tongue.

"It's okay, Ritoruho, I just didn't expect that as a human, I could do something like this…"

Akito sighed and reached out to stroke Ritoruho's soft fur, then his expression froze.

"Ding, new task released."

Task 1: Comprehend the Light Breathing and create three techniques.

Description: People must learn to grow; you have discovered that the Water breathing does not suit you, so go create your own breathing technique.

Task Reward: 5,000,000 sword strikes, 1 refresh of legendary quality items in the Universal Store, 1 new system function.

Status: Unfinished.

Task 2: Complete three Demon Slayer Corps missions.

Description: You, who have just stepped into the field, can already stand on your own. Follow your heart and complete the missions of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Task Reward: 2,000,000 sword strikes, system deduction function, Mask of Death.

Status: One-third completed.

Deduction Function: Spend sword strikes to deduce the next stage of martial arts and breathing techniques that have reached their limits.

Mask of Death: Has a deterrent effect, can resist mental attacks, and can be fused with specified masks; this mask can gain all attributes of the Mask of Death.

Akito carefully examined the two tasks, revealing a look of surprise on his face.

"The system is really helpful; this can truly solve my urgent problem. My breathing technique and martial arts have now reached the perfected stage, but I can't see the path to the next stage. This deduction function is quite timely…"

"If I have enough sword strikes, does that mean… the Water Breathing can reach a higher level…"

"Perhaps by then, I would have already reached the strength of a Hashira…"

Akito picked up Ritoruho and gave it a big hug.

"Ritoruho, you really are my lucky star!"

Ritoruho, not understanding, simply felt Akito's happy mood and became cheerful as well.

"Ying ying ying~"

"Hahaha!"

The man and the fox laughed out loud in the mountains.

But on the other side, someone was suffering...