The Descendant (A Retelling and love story of Demon Slayer)

Fifteen

Sunlight filtered through the shoji doors of a warm and peaceful office at the Kamado main estate. The only sounds were the occasional turn of aged yellow pages bound in a worn brown leather cover. Engraved on its front were the words 'Official Records' rubbed with gold leaf. There were a ton of these books in the room, filling at least three full shelves along the wall, and were gifted to the Kamado family soon after the disbanding of the Corps. It was said that the Ubuyashiki family wanted to leave the horrid memory of the existence of demons in the past by destroying the books, but the Kamado family offered to keep the records to honor the memory of all those who fell in battle.

Akari would often flip through their pages. Reading the old brush strokes of the past Corps leaders made her feel like she had been transported back in time. Giving her insight as to what being a Slayer during the demonic era was like. It had to be more thrilling than being one in the modern era, that was for sure. The books were composed of mission reports and some, the smaller of the books, dated back to the Sengoku period. While the first few books were scant in details, it seemed that the following leaders recognized that defeating the demon king was going to take longer than just a handful of generations, so they began taking down more detailed reports and eventually, the pages were compiled together in bound form.

"Akari-san, dinner is ready." The sweet sound of Hanabi's voice accompanied her entrance to the room. Noting the young girl sprawled out on the rug with a large book, her feet kicked in the air.

"Thank you, Hanabi-san. I'll be there in a few." She smiled at the woman who nodded and took her leave. Akari wanted to finish this page before she took off after her.

'-have dispatched a team of slayers to where the demon was said to be residing. Four rank: Tsuchinoto, and two rank: Kinoto. Our intel suggests this demon is a powerful one, possibly a lower-ranking member of the twelve kizuki. If that proves to be true, the assigned slayers are to retreat and remain on standby for Hashira reinforcement.'

Little Akari nodded along as she read. She liked the idea of sending in more experienced slayers to do reconnaissance because they were more likely to survive if something went wrong. Information is key to forming effective strategies, and having effective strategies is crucial to winning a war. With a grumbling stomach, she read the last part of the report, her appetite disappearing altogether after.

"We've received word from a Kasugai crow belonging to Kinoto-slayer Ginta Banryu that the entirety of their group had fallen in an ambush. Truly an unfortunate incident. He was able to relay to the crow before his death that the demon was a lower moon with the number two engraved on one of its eyes. We dispatched the closest Hashira but the demon had escaped without a trace.'

Akari could only shuffle her food around with her chopsticks that evening, a frown on her face as she thought about the fallen swordsmen. Hoping and praying that their souls found peace with the death of the Demon King.

She knew now however that their peace would be short-lived.

"STAY BACK, BASTARD!" A male slayer swung his sword, trying to ward off the attack of a blood demon art. Shadows slithered and swayed off the ground as though they were a physical thing. Like sharp whips they snapped and cracked at the demon slayer, leaving shallow cuts along his arms and legs. The slayer glanced behind himself, only two of his fellow swordsmen were still standing, fending off their onslaught of attacks from the tentacle-like shadows.

"T-There's no end to them! What do we do Banryu-san?!" One of them shouted, his blade coming down on a dark vine.

"We have to wait it out! I'm sure a Hashira will be here soon!" A woman ranked Kinoto tossed in an optimistic distraction. They were at a huge disadvantage though, anyone with eyes could see that. The moon was casting a plethora of shadows for the demon to use as weapons and three of their comrades were bleeding out on the road.