Demon Slayer: The Demon Hunter

Word count: 1622

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Under the soft glow of the moon, Fujino and Rui faced off, the air thick with tension as they remained still, each waiting for the other to make a move. He could feel his heart racing wildly in his chest, his breath quickening.

He was about to confront the most powerful demon he had ever faced. This was the moment he had been preparing for. It was clear to him: he would either emerge victorious or fall that day.

Rui, on the other hand, casually observed the human before him. To him, there was nothing remarkable about Fujino—just another overconfident human. He sensed no real power emanating from him.

In fact, Fujino wasn't even dressed in the typical uniform of those pesky demon slayers. To Rui, he was just another cocky human, destined to meet his end before he even realized it.

The initial phase of the battle was a test of patience, and it wouldn't take long to determine the victor.

Rui swiped his hand, and a thin, nearly invisible string shot out, arcing toward Fujino's neck. The attack was so subtle that Fujino barely noticed it in time, ducking just as the string sliced through the air, narrowly missing him and trimming some of his hair.

'Fast!' but there was no time to reflect as another string was sent his way. He dropped to the side just in time to see it slash into the ground where he had been standing. 'And strong!'

Fujino quickly regained his footing, spotting two strings approaching him from either side. He leaped backward just as they collided, creating an X shape in the dirt below him.

'Those strings are no joke,' he leaned back to dodge one. 'They're not just fast and flexible; but deadly as well' He sidestepped another attack

In this brief exchange, Fujino quickly grasped why Rui was such a formidable opponent. With such a potent blood demon art at his disposal, it was clear why Rui held such strength and was regarded as the "man of the family."

Unfortunately for him, this realization put him on the defensive, forcing him to evade attacks he wouldn't dare to absorb.

Meanwhile, Rui remained in his spot, observing the futile struggle with a calm yet bored expression.

"How pathetic. This human has the audacity to claim it would punish me, yet it can't even get past my threads," he sighed, annoyed by the lowly scum that dared to confront him.

But then again, he shouldn't have expected anything different; all those slayers had made similar boasts, promising him their downfall, and they all met the same end.

As the battle continued, Irritation began to bubble within him; if this opponent was so weak, how had his family fallen to him? How had his father, the one meant to protect him, been defeated? And his sister?

Why the hell would his mother betray the family? Betray him?

Was their bond truly this fragile?

"No," he said, anger flashing across his face. "All of this is because of the human."

With that, Rui sealed Fujino's fate.

Fujino, scrambling to duck under Rui's attack, cursed his situation, finding himself unable to do anything but evade. He executed a backflip as multiple strings struck where he had just been.

'Shit, this fucker has me on the backfoot. at this rate, I might run out of stamina' He glanced at the stamina bar, watching it dwindle with every move he made.

As he landed, something shiny caught his eye. Turning to the right, he noticed an attack speeding toward him. He gasped; this one was much faster than the previous ones. There was no way he could dodge it in time.

In a split second, he drew a blade he hadn't used yet and slashed at the incoming string. He thought it might get caught, but to his surprise, it sliced right through his blade as if it were butter.

Wide-eyed, he watched as the attack barreled toward him. All he could do was tilt his head to mitigate the damage.

[-90 HP]

The outcome wasn't great. He managed to avoid a fatal blow to his head, but his right eye took the full force of the attack.

[Blind (One eye) : -1 (HP/S) - Narrowed vision

Time limit: 4 min

Time for the eye to regenerate: 30 min]

[Health: 360/450 (+2/sec)]

[Stamina: 322/450 (+3.6/sec)]

"AHHHH!" Fujno cried out in agony, dropping to his knees and clutching his eye, blood seeping between his fingers as he whimpered.

He couldn't see anything to his right and was in a dire situation. If he stayed still or dragged out the fight, he risked succumbing to his injuries or being torn apart.

His sword felt useless in this battle; if it could be so easily severed, what good was it? Sure, the borrowed sword had seen better days, and even though he kept it clean, that didn't mean it was as sharp as it used to be.

His only hope lay in a special ability he had just acquired, one he had been saving for a critical moment.

From his remaining eye, he spotted more strings approaching. "Wind blade!" he shouted, unleashing a blade of wind from his sword that sliced through the strings just like his previous strike.

Rui was taken aback to see his attack cut so easily, his eyes slightly widening in surprise. He hadn't expected this at all, especially from the slayer he deemed to be worthless.

"I'm not done yet, brat." Fujino declared, rising from his knees with determination shining in his good eye. "If you think that's enough to take me down, you've got another thing coming! Wind blade!"

Fujino unleashed another arc of wind toward Rui, who, anticipating the attack, leaped off the roof just in time, the blade slicing through the decayed straw roof and causing it to collapse and ruining the house.

'This brat... I can't defeat him from a distance. But that's his strategy, right? Attacking from afar because he can't risk getting close.'

With that thought, Fujino devised a plan to close the gap between them, aiming to get close enough so Rui wouldn't be able to counterattack, allowing him to land the finishing blow.

Fujino charged straight at Rui, who was too absorbed in staring at his ruined house to notice. Silently, he unleashed multiple wind blades, but Rui effortlessly dodged them.

Rui retaliated with even faster strings than before, the one that had previously damaged his eye. "Wind blade!" Fujino shouted again, slicing through them and continuing his advance without hesitation.

As he got closer to Rui, he leaped, predicting that Rui would launch another attack. At the peak of his jump, he aimed his sword at Rui's neck. Although the tip of the blade was broken, the majority of it remained intact.

"Wind blade!" He unleashed another attack as he descended, this time targeting Rui's legs, hoping to immobilize him if he missed the killing blow.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as both attacks were poised to strike—his sword aimed at his neck while a wind blade threatened to slice through his knees. Yet, deep within, Fujino sensed an unsettling feeling, a warning that something was amiss.

Rui remained fixated on the ruins of his home, not yet turning to face him.

'Why is he still staring at his house? Doesn't he care about this fight?' Fujino was baffled by Rui's odd behavior.

But soon, he would find out.

Rui finally turned to him, and even though his hair obscured one eye, the other was visible, and what Fujino saw sent a chill down his spine.

Hate.

That was the emotion reflected in Rui's gaze—pure, unfiltered rage and venom, a hatred that conveyed the pain of losing something precious.

[-200 HP]

Fujino crashed to the ground, his sword clattering beside him, utterly bewildered by what had just transpired. One moment he was airborne, and the next, he was sprawled on the ground, his attack completely missing its mark.

He lay there for a moment, the battlefield eerily quiet, only managing to utter a confused, "What?" He attempted to rise but found himself immobilized... In fact, he couldn't even feel his legs.

Turning to look, he was met with a horrifying sight—a large pool of blood beneath him, and everything below his kneecaps had vanished.

[legless : -4 (HP/S) - Inability to move

Time limit: 10 min

Time required for legs to regenerate: 12 hours.]

[Health: 180/450 (-2/sec)]

[Stamina: 100/450 (+3.6/sec)]

"AAAAAHHHHH" A piercing, shrill scream erupted from him as he writhed and howled, horrified beyond belief at the gruesome reality. This was the worst possible outcome.

A torrent of curses spilled from his lips, aimed at Rui, this mountain, this mission, and himself for his own weakness.

A foot pressed against his chest silenced his cries. Through his working eye, he could see Rui pushing down on him, struggling to catch his breath.

"You... destroyed my home... the place where I live... where my entire family lives... You insignificant, good-for-nothing low-life scum, I will tear you apart." 

Then, the air went still. "Die."

Fujino could only shut his eyes, surrendering to despair as the all-too-familiar feeling washed over him. 'So... this is how it ends, huh? Well, it was a good run while it lasted.'

He knew shouldn't have given up; he should have remained defiant until the very end, fighting with every last ounce of strength. But one undeniable truth held him back.

Throughout the entire battle, Rui had been holding back.

And so he lay there, bracing himself for the inevitable pain and the welcoming embrace of eternal darkness that would follow...

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Taisho-era secrets!

Fujino stood no chance against Rui. In reality, Rui could have wrapped up the fight before it even started, but he chose to toy with him a bit first before killing him

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Game Over.

Nah, I'm just kidding. Scared you, didn't I? Well, the third and (hopefully) last part of this fight will come out soon, as I finally got some free time for myself to write.