*Asura's POV*
"I'm just a wanderer boy. And I know some things. More than you at least." The men replied, chuckling.
I considered those words for a bit. The man certainly wasn't part of the Corps and nothing suggested he was part of the Blacksmiths. In his own words he looked disgusting.
But still he knew things, a bit too much. I had no idea of how rare talents of smell or sight or hearing or any of the others were in the Corps but they must be rare enough that people thought of those with these abilities to have more than human skills.
"Well then if you know about the Corps then you know where I came from? Can't you help me get there? It shouldn't take too long, maybe an hour or three." I requested trying to placate the man.
"Three hours? Pah. I'm a rat but I'm no craven. Tell me boy, how long did you run?" The man asked in contempt.
I didn't answer. I wasn't sure myself, did i continue for half an hour after dawn? Or was it two hours after dawn when I tripped on that branch? It couldn't be a lot of distance.
"It'll take a man with a horse an hour or two to reach back to the outpost you came from. Provided that the Horse will not die from exhaustion and could run at a steady trot throughout the forest." The man said and gave out a sound that might've been a chuckle.
This was.... Unfortunate. I was too far away and needed to start making my way back as quick as I could.
"No need to start crying boy, you're not lost. I saw others from that outpost coming here, atleast three or four dozen equipped to the best. Armed from teeth to toe. As if a sharper sword will help them kill a demon and make the Drinkers afraid." The man continued.
'They must be following the Demons trail as well. Or rather mine, since i doubt the demon left a scent that could be followed now.'
"And what do you think can kill a demon?" I asked settling in.
Whatever had happened was enough for Tanjiro and the others to not go straight after me, I doubted they would've waited for everyone else to prepare before following my trail.
The sky was turning purple from Dusk so more than 12 hours had passed at the very least.
Inosuke must be safe then. No one could've stopped him from going after me but if he was injured then that explained the scent on the demon and also the fact that I wasn't being hunted by my brother in a Boar mask right now.
'That's a leap in logic I suppose but that's the only theory I can give for now.' I thought to myself, amused and a bit relaxed.
"Poison." The man said snapping me out of my reverie.
"What?" I asked wary again.
The stars weren't out yet but the flames flickered in the night brightly.
"You asked what can make the Demons fear. The answer is poison. The other thing a demon fears is a stronger demon. But almost all men fill the quota of that list." The men continued as he settled into a corner as well, his hunched back against the tree.
He seemed to be listening to something, perhaps the sounds of the flame as he spoke.
"But demons can heal themselves and they die from no diseases like men do. Immortal and invulnerable to everything that's not the Sun." I said trying to sound as if I believed those words.
" The answer to that question, boy, is Agony. I've seen Immortal creatures beg like vermin for the oh so sweet feeling of death after just a drop of poison. The Invulnerable to crumple into dust like old men as they age rapidly, experiencing the years they should've had as a human pass through them in a blink of an eye. " The man said, emphasising the last part.
'I suppose he knows about Shinobu and her Poisoned sword then.' I thought downtrodden.
I had tried to sound convincing enough to the man, to appear naive but it seemed he knew a whole lot more than 'some things'.
"And how many demons have died a death like a vermin? How many have experienced this fear?" I asked interested.
"Not nearly enough of them. That's the part with poison I have misgivings with. You crumble them like Vermins but no one is alive to spread the deed and tale along. You leave one of them after the poisioning and Hands erupt from their mouth, killing them in an instant.
Much harder to sow fear in Demons. Planting it one by one is much easier." The man said sagely.
He seemed to almost pity demons, their immortality nothing but a loathing of the fact that he couldn't plant fear in them.
Atleast he had no reservations about answering my questions, I did not care much about his boldness.
He was looking at me from beyond his Black Hat.
'Probably thinks I'll ask for the Poison.'
"I suppose it's for the better that these Poisons remain in capable hands then. I'm not idiotic enough to say that I'll be able to use it for better purposes than killing myself." I said shrugging.
" Capable hands indeed." The man said, pleased. But he continued the sentence without missing a beat.
" Capable but cursed hands. Raising tombs but no children. No heirs but more curses to enshrine the world with." The man said thoughtfully even as the wind shrieked in his voice.
There was a long silence after that statement.
" Why did you help me?" I asked after a while, my body sure was taking its time healing and I felt as if I couldn't even walk a minute or two before having to crawl.
"If I had half a mind I wouldn't have helped you. But I saw you the day before, sneaking past through the mountains with a Child and a Wolf." The man said and my palms turned into fists.
He surely couldn't know that. No way in hell.
"I think you'll have to do a bit better at hiding yourself boy, but I'll admit that it was impressive. The young child gave you away and inevitably he also gave you away to the Giant." The man replied amused.
That was a slap to the face, as I just stared at the man for a few minutes.
"You did not try and hurt them right?" I asked slowly.
"I'm a disgusting looking creature boy but I'm better than a Rat and no one can say I'm a Craven. Your wolf guarded that child as if he was a deity. I couldn't have approached it if I wished." The man said, though I doubted his words.
'Surely a man who can poison demons knows how to poison a child and a Wolf.' I thought worriedly. It did not amuse me to think of how vulnerable I had left them no matter how important the need to do so.
The man was capable, and he was one man. But poison seemed to be more than enough.
"And you know of the Giant?" I asked after a bit letting my lungs fill with breaths of air, smoked from the fire.
"Of course I do. Those damm Monks have cursed me and mine for centuries on end. Yes rats have scurried in there temples as well but mine have always been squashed under their hammers like flies. They hold us useful no longer and I hold them in contempt for it." The man said agitated for the first time.
"And I led this Monk into the outpost?" I asked even though i knew the answer. I had acted like a fool. Too excited for possibilities and too unwilling to take my time.
"Yes. It was you that led the Monk into the outpost, but don't put yourself on a high pedestal, that monk would've found his way to that Outpost anyway. You just made it go an hour or two faster." The man said but not with kindness but with serenity. As if the words didn't matter.
'That was an hour too soon.' I cursed myself.
"And he was looking for something? What was he carrying?" I asked.
"The Blacksmith. But your question should be what more he could've been carrying other than an overgrown weed that calls himself a Blacksmith." The men replied.
"He was there for the Blacksmith right?" I asked more to myself than him in a small voice.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Who can tell with you demons being immortal and planning your games in your holes." The man almost seemed to shrug before starting back into the fire.
"You do not consider me a human then?" I questioned his choice of words.
"There are three kind of things I consider not human. The first is a priest with no god. The second is a beast with no mind. The last is a human with no soul. You fill some of those requirements very well." The men said pointedly.
Maybe it was the Carvings or Tattoos on my body that made him say that or maybe my hair and my eyes or maybe the Regeneration. Perhaps even a combination of them all but the men held faith in those words. He spoke them with conviction.
'Maybe I have ways to go before even being considered human.' I thought darkly.
This was unexpected and blunt but maybe it was true. Even if it wasn't true, the fact that someone had thought to say it was enough to say that it wasn't considered false either.
'My head hurts.'
"Say boy, you'll go after that monk right?" The man said as he got up.
" Yes, unless I'm specifically ordered to not do so then yes I'll go after that demon." I answered immediately.
" Good, then do me a favor and take whatever you can from its body. Some of what he has is interesting to me. Considered it as a way to repay me when we meet again." The man said as he walked a bit away from the fire so the flames cast shadows of him, tall and wide.
'He seems pretty convinced that we'll meet again.'
" You'll make me a grave robber?" I questioned.
" Demons have no graves, boy, and if the world has Poison then it's better that a good man dies drinking it willingly then allow an evil man to kill someone with it unwillingly." The men said with a tone of finality and grievance.
" I'll see what i can do." I answered.
It wasn't the worst thing I could imagine doing. Morally questionable, sure but not anything I wouldn't have done.
"See it done and I'll be indebted to you. The others will be arriving here soon, do not tell them about me and consider that as repayment for saving you here." The man said and disappeared in his own shadow before I could get a word out.
"I couldn't even ask if there was anything specific he wanted. Guess I'm keeping the Demons whole Corpse then." I said, sighing before nestling myself near the flames.
Author's Notes: Still alive, not well, but being alive is good enough. Sorry for the delay in chapters, irl issues have a tendency to fuck schedules over, and well all plans are made to fail [They're not, I'm just shit at making plans]. This was one of my longer chapters, as I'm writing more and more the chapter length is slowly but surely increasing cause I need more words to describe a scene. Funnily enough things seem to be clicking into place, which is nice for whenever I write.
If any of you wish to support me further, head over to my Patreon; Patreon.com/Ashara, every bit of generosity helps me.
Thanks for reading the chapter and your continual support.
Hope everyone has a nice Day/Night.
*Asura's POV*
"I'm just a wanderer boy. And I know some things. More than you at least." The men replied, chuckling.
I considered those words for a bit. The man certainly wasn't part of the Corps and nothing suggested he was part of the Blacksmiths. In his own words he looked disgusting.
But still he knew things, a bit too much. I had no idea of how rare talents of smell or sight or hearing or any of the others were in the Corps but they must be rare enough that people thought of those with these abilities to have more than human skills.
"Well then if you know about the Corps then you know where I came from? Can't you help me get there? It shouldn't take too long, maybe an hour or three." I requested trying to placate the man.
"Three hours? Pah. I'm a rat but I'm no craven. Tell me boy, how long did you run?" The man asked in contempt.
I didn't answer. I wasn't sure myself, did i continue for half an hour after dawn? Or was it two hours after dawn when I tripped on that branch? It couldn't be a lot of distance.
"It'll take a man with a horse an hour or two to reach back to the outpost you came from. Provided that the Horse will not die from exhaustion and could run at a steady trot throughout the forest." The man said and gave out a sound that might've been a chuckle.
This was.... Unfortunate. I was too far away and needed to start making my way back as quick as I could.
"No need to start crying boy, you're not lost. I saw others from that outpost coming here, atleast three or four dozen equipped to the best. Armed from teeth to toe. As if a sharper sword will help them kill a demon and make the Drinkers afraid." The man continued.
'They must be following the Demons trail as well. Or rather mine, since i doubt the demon left a scent that could be followed now.'
"And what do you think can kill a demon?" I asked settling in.
Whatever had happened was enough for Tanjiro and the others to not go straight after me, I doubted they would've waited for everyone else to prepare before following my trail.
The sky was turning purple from Dusk so more than 12 hours had passed at the very least.
Inosuke must be safe then. No one could've stopped him from going after me but if he was injured then that explained the scent on the demon and also the fact that I wasn't being hunted by my brother in a Boar mask right now.
'That's a leap in logic I suppose but that's the only theory I can give for now.' I thought to myself, amused and a bit relaxed.
"Poison." The man said snapping me out of my reverie.
"What?" I asked wary again.
The stars weren't out yet but the flames flickered in the night brightly.
"You asked what can make the Demons fear. The answer is poison. The other thing a demon fears is a stronger demon. But almost all men fill the quota of that list." The men continued as he settled into a corner as well, his hunched back against the tree.
He seemed to be listening to something, perhaps the sounds of the flame as he spoke.
"But demons can heal themselves and they die from no diseases like men do. Immortal and invulnerable to everything that's not the Sun." I said trying to sound as if I believed those words.
" The answer to that question, boy, is Agony. I've seen Immortal creatures beg like vermin for the oh so sweet feeling of death after just a drop of poison. The Invulnerable to crumple into dust like old men as they age rapidly, experiencing the years they should've had as a human pass through them in a blink of an eye. " The man said, emphasising the last part.
'I suppose he knows about Shinobu and her Poisoned sword then.' I thought downtrodden.
I had tried to sound convincing enough to the man, to appear naive but it seemed he knew a whole lot more than 'some things'.
"And how many demons have died a death like a vermin? How many have experienced this fear?" I asked interested.
"Not nearly enough of them. That's the part with poison I have misgivings with. You crumble them like Vermins but no one is alive to spread the deed and tale along. You leave one of them after the poisioning and Hands erupt from their mouth, killing them in an instant.
Much harder to sow fear in Demons. Planting it one by one is much easier." The man said sagely.
He seemed to almost pity demons, their immortality nothing but a loathing of the fact that he couldn't plant fear in them.
Atleast he had no reservations about answering my questions, I did not care much about his boldness.
He was looking at me from beyond his Black Hat.
'Probably thinks I'll ask for the Poison.'
"I suppose it's for the better that these Poisons remain in capable hands then. I'm not idiotic enough to say that I'll be able to use it for better purposes than killing myself." I said shrugging.
" Capable hands indeed." The man said, pleased. But he continued the sentence without missing a beat.
" Capable but cursed hands. Raising tombs but no children. No heirs but more curses to enshrine the world with." The man said thoughtfully even as the wind shrieked in his voice.
There was a long silence after that statement.
" Why did you help me?" I asked after a while, my body sure was taking its time healing and I felt as if I couldn't even walk a minute or two before having to crawl.
"If I had half a mind I wouldn't have helped you. But I saw you the day before, sneaking past through the mountains with a Child and a Wolf." The man said and my palms turned into fists.
He surely couldn't know that. No way in hell.
"I think you'll have to do a bit better at hiding yourself boy, but I'll admit that it was impressive. The young child gave you away and inevitably he also gave you away to the Giant." The man replied amused.
That was a slap to the face, as I just stared at the man for a few minutes.
"You did not try and hurt them right?" I asked slowly.
"I'm a disgusting looking creature boy but I'm better than a Rat and no one can say I'm a Craven. Your wolf guarded that child as if he was a deity. I couldn't have approached it if I wished." The man said, though I doubted his words.
'Surely a man who can poison demons knows how to poison a child and a Wolf.' I thought worriedly. It did not amuse me to think of how vulnerable I had left them no matter how important the need to do so.
The man was capable, and he was one man. But poison seemed to be more than enough.
"And you know of the Giant?" I asked after a bit letting my lungs fill with breaths of air, smoked from the fire.
"Of course I do. Those damm Monks have cursed me and mine for centuries on end. Yes rats have scurried in there temples as well but mine have always been squashed under their hammers like flies. They hold us useful no longer and I hold them in contempt for it." The man said agitated for the first time.
"And I led this Monk into the outpost?" I asked even though i knew the answer. I had acted like a fool. Too excited for possibilities and too unwilling to take my time.
"Yes. It was you that led the Monk into the outpost, but don't put yourself on a high pedestal, that monk would've found his way to that Outpost anyway. You just made it go an hour or two faster." The man said but not with kindness but with serenity. As if the words didn't matter.
'That was an hour too soon.' I cursed myself.
"And he was looking for something? What was he carrying?" I asked.
"The Blacksmith. But your question should be what more he could've been carrying other than an overgrown weed that calls himself a Blacksmith." The men replied.
"He was there for the Blacksmith right?" I asked more to myself than him in a small voice.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Who can tell with you demons being immortal and planning your games in your holes." The man almost seemed to shrug before starting back into the fire.
"You do not consider me a human then?" I questioned his choice of words.
"There are three kind of things I consider not human. The first is a priest with no god. The second is a beast with no mind. The last is a human with no soul. You fill some of those requirements very well." The men said pointedly.
Maybe it was the Carvings or Tattoos on my body that made him say that or maybe my hair and my eyes or maybe the Regeneration. Perhaps even a combination of them all but the men held faith in those words. He spoke them with conviction.
'Maybe I have ways to go before even being considered human.' I thought darkly.
This was unexpected and blunt but maybe it was true. Even if it wasn't true, the fact that someone had thought to say it was enough to say that it wasn't considered false either.
'My head hurts.'
"Say boy, you'll go after that monk right?" The man said as he got up.
" Yes, unless I'm specifically ordered to not do so then yes I'll go after that demon." I answered immediately.
" Good, then do me a favor and take whatever you can from its body. Some of what he has is interesting to me. Considered it as a way to repay me when we meet again." The man said as he walked a bit away from the fire so the flames cast shadows of him, tall and wide.
'He seems pretty convinced that we'll meet again.'
" You'll make me a grave robber?" I questioned.
" Demons have no graves, boy, and if the world has Poison then it's better that a good man dies drinking it willingly then allow an evil man to kill someone with it unwillingly." The men said with a tone of finality and grievance.
" I'll see what i can do." I answered.
It wasn't the worst thing I could imagine doing. Morally questionable, sure but not anything I wouldn't have done.
"See it done and I'll be indebted to you. The others will be arriving here soon, do not tell them about me and consider that as repayment for saving you here." The man said and disappeared in his own shadow before I could get a word out.
"I couldn't even ask if there was anything specific he wanted. Guess I'm keeping the Demons whole Corpse then." I said, sighing before nestling myself near the flames.
Author's Notes: Still alive, not well, but being alive is good enough. Sorry for the delay in chapters, irl issues have a tendency to fuck schedules over, and well all plans are made to fail [They're not, I'm just shit at making plans]. This was one of my longer chapters, as I'm writing more and more the chapter length is slowly but surely increasing cause I need more words to describe a scene. Funnily enough things seem to be clicking into place, which is nice for whenever I write.
If any of you wish to support me further, head over to my Patreon; Patreon.com/Ashara, every bit of generosity helps me.
Thanks for reading the chapter and your continual support.
Hope everyone has a nice Day/Night.
