"Ahhh! My dear brother, my dear father, please, let me take a bite!"
The severed head rolled on the ground, its bizarrely-shaped ears flapping at its sides, but never quite able to lift the head into the air like wings.
Until a large hand grabbed the head and stabbed a sword into its mouth, silencing the maddening wails.
"My name is Sanemi Shinazugawa, from the Demon Slayer Corps."
Sanemi Shinazugawa looked with interest at Hardy, who was holding a sword in one hand and pinning the headless body with his foot on the table, then glanced at the short-barreled firearm in Uesugi Shin's hand.
"Demon Slayer Corps?"
Uesugi Shin's face darkened as he looked at his eldest son's head.
"So... those rumors were true."
"Oh? So you know about the existence of demons."
Sanemi Shinazugawa spoke up.
"The Uesugi family has access to such information, but until today, I never truly believed the rumors."
Uesugi Shin let his hand with the pistol fall helplessly.
Sanemi gave the pistol another glance, then turned his gaze to Hardy.
Hardy was also watching Sanemi Shinazugawa.
This person's appearance confirmed his suspicions.
This... was the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba!
"That demon is your brother? You cut off his head?"
"So what if I did?"
Hardy retorted.
Sanemi grinned and drew his katana.
Uesugi Shirakawa's mouth, mangled by the blade, began to regenerate, albeit much slower than before.
"That sword won't do. You need a Nichirin Blade to truly decapitate him."
Sanemi said playfully as he walked over to Hardy, then fitted the head back onto Uesugi Shirakawa's body.
Uesugi Shirakawa mumbled incoherently, repeatedly snapping his jaws at Hardy.
Imitating Sanemi, Hardy pressed his own blade against Uesugi Shirakawa's mouth, then reached out to take the Nichirin Blade Sanemi handed him.
"Wait..."
Uesugi Shin suddenly called out to the two of them.
"Is there any way... to turn Shirakawa back... to normal?"
"In a thousand years, there has never been a case of a demon turning back into a human."
Sanemi replied coldly.
Hardy took a deep breath and gripped the hilt of the Nichirin Blade tightly.
Other than the Kamado siblings, who had eaten the Blue Spider Lily before turning into demons, no one had ever turned back into a human.
If you ate the Blue Spider Lily after becoming a demon, you'd only become a demon immune to sunlight.
"What, can't bring yourself to do it? If you can't, I'll do it for you."
Sanemi scrutinized Hardy.
He himself had once had to fight his own mother, who had turned into a demon, to protect his younger siblings. When dawn came, his brother misunderstood him for killing their mother.
And now?
What would this young man do?
To defeat a demon without knowing any Breathing Techniques—currently, only he and Gyomei Himejima of the Demon Slayer Corps had accomplished that. Now, both were among the most powerful of the Hashira.
Even with the help of firearms, this young man clearly had the potential to become a Hashira.
"Hardy."
Uesugi Shin looked at Hardy.
By now, he had regained the composure befitting an outstanding politician.
"Don't let your brother suffer."
With that, Uesugi Shin turned and walked outside.
The police officers from the station had surrounded the place, and as mayor, he needed to go out and explain.
A cold flash of the blade, a spray of blood that turned to ash in midair.
Uesugi Shirakawa's body began to disintegrate, vanishing with a wail.
...
...
After that—
After Uesugi Itai was sent to the clinic for treatment—
The Uesugi household.
As always, they sat on the tatami mats, around the same old table.
On three sides of the table knelt Hardy, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Uesugi Shin.
"Mr. Shinazugawa, thank you for your help. I think it's time my son and I had a proper conversation with you."
Uesugi Shin straightened his back and bowed to Sanemi Shinazugawa. He then carefully placed a cup of tea in front of him, his movements meticulous—one could still faintly see the bearing of a once-great noble family in the Uesugis.
"Ah, that's perfect. I have things I'd like to discuss with you as well."
Sanemi Shinazugawa's manner was rather casual. Draped in a white haori, his muscular physique exposed, he drank his tea with bold, unrestrained movements.
"About Shirakawa… Why did he become like that? What exactly happened?"
Uesugi Shin asked sincerely.
"There are very few demons capable of turning humans into demons. Other than Muzan, the progenitor of all demons, only the six Upper Moons have that power. I came here tracking one of them, but I didn't expect it to actually be an Upper Moon demon."
Sanemi Shinazugawa set his teacup down on the table with a heavy thud, his voice grave.
It probably wasn't Muzan—he had checked Fukui Village himself.
Although the bodies had been gnawed on, with organs rich in muscle tissue like the heart missing, there were also marks left by sharp weapons like swords.
There were similar records of Upper Moon demons in the surviving pages of the Demon Slayer Corps' ancestral texts.
Most likely, that Upper Moon demon passed through the area, got hungry, and picked a random household.
The Upper Moons hadn't changed in over a hundred years.
Based on the past century's experience, even a Hashira alone could not defeat an Upper Moon.
Even though he was confident his own strength was not inferior to those so-called Upper Moons, Sanemi Shinazugawa still reported the matter to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters through his Kasugai crow.
A hundred years ago, it took the combined strength of several Hashira, and great sacrifice, to slay a single Upper Moon demon.
And if it were Muzan himself, even gathering the entire Corps might not be enough to win.
Uesugi Shin kept a close eye on Sanemi Shinazugawa's expression.
The latter made no effort to hide his feelings, and with Uesugi Shin's experience, he could more or less guess what was on Sanemi's mind.
"So, it's one of the top demons? Is it that troublesome?"
"It's not just troublesome. Killing an Upper Moon would require the Demon Slayer Corps to mobilize a large number of high-level fighters."
"I understand. My eldest son went missing in Fukui Village a few days ago. He must have turned into a demon after that. That Upper Moon demon is probably still somewhere near Konan Town. I'll have all the local police cooperate with your investigation, and I'll mobilize the Uesugi clan's influence to assist throughout the Koka region."
"Thank you. If there's any news, just inform the people at Fujiya—the courtyard where you grow the most wisteria."
As Sanemi Shinazugawa said this, his gaze shifted to Hardy.
"Are you interested in joining the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"I'll need to think about it," Hardy replied, raising his teacup to hide his face.
He didn't want to give up the Uesugi family's political influence.
If he could walk both paths, he would surely gain considerable fortune.
But the Demon Slayer Corps was also a complete system, with a clear path from rank-and-file members up to Hashira, and the rare breathing techniques.