The Pursuit Of Power

"SQUAWK! SLAYER YUUKI GO NORTH-EAST. 34 DEMON SLAYERS HAVE GONE MISSING IN SEARCH OF A DEMON!" His crow screeched next to him.

Exiting the mountain quickly, Yuuki was not able to say goodbye as his mission was urgent.

Yuuki was rather surprised that his mission was as high-level as it was. Normally was he not meant to work his way up the ranks? Where were his piles of low-level missions? It was obvious that his case was special, Sakonji definitely had a part to play in this.

Surprisingly he was right because standing in the Demon Slayer headquarters was a man with light skin and shoulder-length black hair. However, the upper half of his face looked like it was rotting, because of this his eyes were unable to move due to the 'rotting' taking over. Nevertheless, he did not seem to be in any discomfort while a non-forced smile rested on his face.

Wisps of his breath lingered in the air before him while his big smile extended even further. Though, his hands which hung at either side of him were clenched somewhat tightly.

Without a doubt, this was due to the contents of the letter that was read out to him.

Faintly, his lips parted as words only he could hear left them.

"Sakonji found a supposed prodigy on the likes of the creator of the Breath of the Sun, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Back then, he almost ended Muzan's life, if my instinct is correct, Sakonji isn't lying. But is he enough? No matter, who knows what the future can hold, Yuuki Satoshi?" The man, Kagaya Ubayashiki was the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps.

---

[ Current Volume of blood insufficient for Blood Wine Production ]

Not more than an hour after Yuuki left the mountain range did he come across some demons. Morbid stenches overwhelmed Yuuki's sense of smell whenever he entered the vicinity of a demon that had consumed human flesh.

Unsheathing his sword, he breathed in and disappeared from his original position after the sound of what seemed to be thunder. It was then that the demon's heads had been separated from their bodies, before they disintegrated, however, their blood suddenly poured out, defying physics as it flew towards the [ Bloody Wine Gourd ] within Yuuki's hand. It was a weird scene for Yuuki but he quickly got over it and moved on.

Continuing towards the North-East, his mind contemplated the Breathing Methods he already knew and the styles of swordsmanship he would be able to encounter and then assimilate them before incorporating them into his own style.

The diversity in each of the Breathing Methods allowed for unique elements to be included.

In a couple of seconds, the [ Bloody Wine Gourd ] had completely s.u.c.k.e.d in all of the blood yet its weight had not increased even after absorbing the litres of blood within the bodies of the Demons.

[ Insufficient surplus of blood to concoct wine - 14.2L/5000L

[ 14.2L - E Rank Blood ]

Travelling non-stop, Yuuki eventually arrived at a village.

Grievance occurred in mass congregations as graves numbered in nearly triple digits had been dug.

These graves were not the deceased Demon Slayers'. These were solely the villagers'.

Immediately, something stood out when looking at the villagers. All of them showed signs of severe dehydration.

Upon seeing Yuuki entering the village, one man nudged the shoulder of a stubby man who had a face resembling that of a squirrel. His eyes were empty, like two bottomless pits, the eyes of somebody who'd given up.

"So they've sent you now?" His exceedingly deep voice contrasted the shortness of the man.

"What's the situation?" Yuuki asked.

"Don't bother, so far nobody has been able to kill the demon. I doubt they ever will."

"Tell me what's going on. How do you know if the demon will not be killed if you never let anybody try?"

Looking at Yuuki, the man could sense... confidence. It was very different from the arrogance within the Demon Slayers who's bodies had now grown cold. But he was so young. What if he failed? Yet again, he would be sending a young man who should be living a happy life to their death.

"Listen, kid, you're young. I mean, look at me now... I'm old, I have lived my life, I don't mind losing it. But you? You should cherish the things you have in your life, the small things and the big things.

"Isn't it weird that we only miss things when they're gone? Or that we feel regret over things that happened in the past? Nevermind, I'm just babbling on... anyway-" The man didn't breathe almost as he spouted words from his mouth. Though his expression remained the same, like a dead fish.

"Your wife died... your son too. I see, my condolences but I need to stop these innocent people from losing those close to them and me being young has nothing to do with my ability or how many things I've seen." The air around Yuuki was unique as it changed multiple times. Right now, he seemed like an old general who'd been in a thousand wars and won them all.

Inhaling deeply, the stubby man nodded his head as he made a decision.

"It's our water. On the way here, you must've seen the river. Well, what's left of it anyway. Our supply has been cut off because of the demon in the cave from which the water flows. At first, the river's level decreased before it completely disappeared one day. The cave is around 2 kilometres west of here.

"My wife, she went to get water and never came back. My son went looking for her impulsively, he was only 12 yet he had more courage than all of the men in the village... including me. Please just end this horrible demon already. Our people are going to die if we can't get any water." This man was surely the village chief.

Heading in the direction the Chief told him, Yuuki burst with speed. His figure quickly became small as the distance between the two became bigger.

"This should be the cave?" Kneeling, Yuuki's fingers felt the soil around the cave entrance. Standing up, he felt the moisture of the dirt and instead of his Sword, he pulled out the Leviathan Dagger as the cave would likely restrict his usage of a long weapon like his Katana.