Demon Slayer: The Strange Demon

by Blackdrag-rose

Selection: The Final Test

With the boulder test complete Sakonji allowed Tanjiro to rest and recover for a few days, as he needed to be ready for the Final Selection, and Pinkamena joined them, as there wasn't much for her to do besides train and ready herself, though it did give her a chance to learn a few more things while her companion tended to his slumbering sister, some of which she found to be interesting. One of those new pieces of information happened to be the weaknesses of the Demons, where the Corps taught their students to aim for the neck, the most vital area for the demonic creatures, though cutting off their heads with an ordinary weapon, like the axe that Tanjiro had started with, wouldn't kill them, as one needed a special blade to do the job, the Nichirin Blade. Apparently the blades were forged from a special metal that only the Corps knew about, created by a village of blacksmiths who remained hidden for their own good, as if Muzan knew where to find them he would have called for his minions to destroy it, and the blades that he had lent them for their training were, in fact, Nichirin Blades, only they would be returned to him as soon as they returned from the Final Selection. Pinkamena learned that if they survived this test, and she had a feeling that they would do such a thing, both of them would be able to claim some ore that someone in the village of blacksmiths would forge into their personal Nichirin Blades, even though she could see that Sakonji had come to terms with her existence and she hoped the rest of the Corps followed his lead.

Of course Tanjiro didn't stay down and refined his movements for some time, revealing that he had learned how to smell the 'Line of Interval', the slight pause in his opponent's motions that allowed him to lash out and win, though Pinkamena just raised an eyebrow and let him continue with his personal training, as she figured that his enhanced sense of smell might be behind such a thing. In addition to that Sakonji did a few things for them, where the first thing he did was cut Tanjiro's hair back to the short style he had started with, as Tanjiro had stopped cutting it so he could focus solely on figuring out where his mistakes were, while the second was to praise him for being able to slice open the boulder, as while he had thought that Tanjiro had some potential he hadn't been expecting this to happen. After that he handed Tanjiro a fox mask, what he called the 'Mask of Disaster Prevention', meaning it must have been some time since one of his pupils survived the Final Selection, and it happened to have a sun mark or something where Tanjiro's scar was located, sort of like how Sabito's had a mark where his scar was. Sure enough, even though he suspected that she didn't need a mask of her own, Sakonji handed her one as well, a white fox mask that fit over her face and had crimson eyes, where she found a crimson mark in the forehead area, the same mark that was on her hand, confirming that he likely hand crafted each one and personalized them according to who they were being given to.

Once they were sure that Tanjiro was properly rested, and wouldn't collapse once the Final Selection started, Sakonji let the two of them leave his residence, as it was time for them to head to Mt. Fujikasane, an area he had shown them once he was sure that both of them would be taking part in this event, where Pinkamena retraced her steps and lead Tanjiro to the mountain in question. While they traveled she noted the change in Tanjiro's attire, as his haori had been switched for a blue kimono that had a cloud pattern on it, something that was nearly identical to Sakonji's attire and had to reflect that he was a student of the Water Breathing techniques, and he wore the mask on the left side of his head, where she had a feeling that the rope that allowed it to remain in place was hidden by his hair. Pinkamena had also been gifted a new set of attire, as her robe wasn't cutting it anymore, as Sakonji had given her a black sleeveless haori, which had to be common for his female students, and a deep red yukata that had swirling blue lines on it, no doubt reflecting her demonic nature and her position as one of his pupils, where her mask rested over her face. Her reasoning for such a thing was due to the fact that it was possible that some of the other Demon Slayer pupils might figure out she was a Demon at a glance, if they saw her eyes or fangs, and attack her, so this was to remove a problem before it became one, though she felt that this did make them look more formidable.

Mt. Fujikasane, as they soon rediscovered, was surrounded by Wisteria flowers, something that Demons didn't like since it seemed to be poison to them, or at least it happened to be that way for normal Demons, as Pinkamena wasn't bothered by them in the slightest, no doubt due to her true nature, and this was the only place where they bloomed every season, or at least that was Sakonji's lessons on the place.

When they reached the top of the path that was in front of them Pinkamena and Tanjiro discovered at least twenty more young people gathered in what appeared to be the starting area for the Final Selection, all of them appearing to be near Tanjiro's age, where Sakonji had told Pinkamena that her body was eighteen years old and made her far older to her new companion. Each of them looked different from the others, as the clothing they were wearing happened to look like a sea of color from where she was standing, where one had a yellow haori on, another had a purple sleeveless yukata on, and a number of others who seemed to be waiting for something to happen or someone to speak with them, as if they might be waiting for the officials to arrive. In addition to them she noticed two smaller children, possibly eight if her guess was right, who wore purple kimonos over their bodies, even though the one on the right had black hair and the one on the left had white hair, styled in the same manner no less and told her that they had to be siblings, or were trying to make them think such a thing when they stared at them. Interestingly enough none of the other pupils bothered to glance their way, mostly due to their nerves and the fact that they were finally here, at the Final Selection, which gave them time to study each of their fellow comrades as she and Tanjiro came to a stop at the back of the pack, as they happened to be the last ones to arrive, or at least it seemed that way since they had no idea how many were coming this time around.

"Greetings everyone, and thank you for joining the Final Selection tonight," the black haired boy said, as the voice clearly told her that it was a boy and not a girl, meaning he was dressed up in this way because he was either sick and this was to keep him safe or he preferred dressing this way, though his words caused the rest of the trainees to turn their heads for a moment as they focused on him and his sister, "there are a lot of Demons held captive on this mountain, captured by all sorts of Demon Slayers... they are unable to leave this mountain."

"That is due to this mountain's special properties," the white haired girl continued, meaning that one of them likely said something and the other followed it up by adding more information for those that were nearby, though Pinkamena and Tanjiro stood there as all of the other trainees got up from where they were sitting, showing the small children that they were ready for whatever this test entailed, "because from the foot of the mountain, all the way to half way up, there are a lot of Demon repelling Wisteria that bloom all year round."

"However, from this point forward, there is no more Wisteria... only Demons." the black haired boy added, referring to the area that was behind him and his sister, as there happened to be a path leading down into the area that the Corps had put some Demons in, no doubt as a test for those who wanted to join the Corps and protect everyone else on this world, but no one said anything as they listened to him, "If you can survive this place for seven days..."

"...then you pass the Final Selection." his sister finished, informing them that they had to brave the dangers of this place, as in either fighting all of the Demons that were scattered across this mountain or running for their lives and picking when to face their enemies, to which she and her brother bowed their heads a little, why Pinkamena had no idea since the customs of this world were odd to her and she didn't know all of them, "Now, let the Final Selection commence."

With that said she, Tanjiro, and everyone else moved towards the wooden structure that the small children were in front of, where they walked down the path that was in front of them and started to disperse as each person took a direction, all to prove themselves so they could join the Corps, though once more she separated herself from Tanjiro, giving him some time to come into his own as she sought out her own foes. What she discovered was three Demons advancing on Tanjiro's location, two dropping down and attacking him while the third seemed to be in her area, where her companion's were two male demons who seemed to be starving, same for her foe, where the Demon she was advancing on was female and did seem to be wearing a ruined kimono, in the legging area anyway. Her foe noticed her coming and shifted her stance within a few seconds before rushing at her, where Pinkamena stopped for a moment as she played her hand, as she planted her right hoof against the ground as she spun around, accessing her power as she gripped the handle of her weapon, to which any observer could see a vortex of ghostly silver energy form around her. In that moment her foe, too close to get out of the way, was dragged into her attack before she had a chance to escape with her life, where Pinkamena rapidly pulled her blade out of it's scabbard and swung it while continuing her spinning, cutting through the Demon's arms, legs, chest, and the neck, leaving a pile of parts on the ground in the area behind her.

As she came to a stop, and the vortex came to a stop, she smiled for a moment as she found that the Demon's soul had quickly departed from her body, due to the removal of her head, where she sheathed her weapon and gathered the parts so they could be added to the Storehouse, as that was an added benefit to this test, she could gather more food, just in the off chance that different Demons had different tastes to them. She was pleased that her Violent Vortex Slash, which was a technique of her own creation that belonged to her self taught 'Chaos Breathing', had worked so well, making her wonder what might happen if she used the other techniques she had created during her training, though after thinking about that she took a moment to focus on what was going on nearby. Tanjiro seemed to be doing fine right now, even though both Demons did appear to be moving him a little, but due to them fighting over whose meal he was, making them distracted and not at all focused, he was able to utilize the fourth form of Water Breathing, Striking Tide, which was when the user make a number of consecutive slashes while twisting their body and blade in a flowing pattern. Such a thing allowed him to take down the pair of Demons by removing their heads, something that caused him to smile as he realized that he was no longer weak, to which he sheathed the blade and then brought his hands together as he prayed for the fallen Demons, though while both of his eyes were closed she carefully stepped into the area and claimed the bodies, returning to where she was standing as both of his foes joined hers in the Storehouse.

One other thing Pinkamena had discovered during the last two years was that her demonic power evolved and the area that Chaos World covered only seemed to grow, meaning that the more she fed on the stronger Demons the stronger her abilities became, so even Tanjiro's foes, who would have been outside the perimeter if she thought about her base level, were ensnared by her growing power and she took advantage of that.

After that happened, however, both she and Tanjiro paused for a moment as they detected something else in the area of the mountain that they were currently in, even if her companion seemed to smell a rotten object that seemed to be in the middle of moving, though she could tell that it was a Demon and that it was stronger than those she and Tanjiro had slain so far. In the following moments one of the other trainees ran by where Tanjiro was standing, who seemed freaked out as he rushed by, though as that happened Pinkamena found a massive moving form, as tall as the trees that were around this part of the mountain, following after the unfortunate Demon Slayer, who had olive green colored skin and seemed to be covered in hands, as in his entire body appeared to be made up of hands, save for a head that had beady yellow eyes and a cross hatch shaped pupils. In one of it's hands rested a fallen trainee Demon Slayer, one of the twenty that she and Tanjiro had seen upon their arrival earlier, who looked like he was either being chocked to death or was already dead, but the one who was running seemed to think that they had been misled since this 'mutated' Demon hadn't been mentioned to them at all. A few seconds later it didn't matter whether or not the trainee he was holding was alive or if he had been slain, as she and Tanjiro watched as the Demon opened it's mouth, one that was hidden behind two of his massive hands, and shoved the unfortunate trainee into his maw, chomping down on him once he was done, though this did confirm that there would be casualties during the Final Selection.

Pinkamena watched as a slight change washed over the Demon's body, as he seemed to bulk up a little as his hands also became thicker, though in that moment he combined some of his hands into a single mass and sent it towards the runner, snatching the poor trainee up by his left leg, and in a moment to show that he was no longer powerless Tanjiro rushed out of his hiding spot and attacked the Demon, jumping into the air and spinning as he unleashed the Second Form of Water Breathing, Water Wheel, where he spun and hacked through the arm before he and the trainee landed nearby.

"Another sweet little fox has come to me." the Demon stated, where Pinkamena could tell that he seemed excited by what he was seeing, meaning he must have some connection to Sakonji since he clearly recognized the mask Tanjiro wore, and would recognize hers if she joined the battle, but this was Tanjiro's chance to prove that he had all of the skills needed to be a Demon Slayer, "Hey, little fox, what year of the Meiji Era is it now?"

"Meiji Era? It's the Taisho Era now." Tanjiro replied, not that such a thing meant anything to Pinkamena, since she couldn't be bothered to figure out the names of the time periods of this world, as she was busy planning how to kill Muzan and the Demons who followed him, though she had to assume that at least ten years or so must have passed, but she did nothing as Tanjiro made sure the trainee was fine.

"Time has passed into a new era?!" the Demon exclaimed, his tone revealing that he was upset about something, where it was easy for Pinkamena to tell that he must have been stuck here for a long period of time if he thought it was a different era or something, especially since he tore into his own arms and flesh for a few moments, showing them just how angry he was at this situation, "Again, while I've been held prisoner in this place?! How long have I been locked up in this place?! Ah, damn you Sakonji!!! I'll never forgive you! I will never forget that day, forty-seven years ago, when he defeated me and just locked me up in this cursed forest... it was during the Edo Period of the Keio Era!"

"Impossible! You have to be lying... no Demon has lived for that long." the trainee stated, deciding to speak up while they were talking, figuring that the longer they talked the longer he would live through this test and live to see another day, to decide whether or not he wanted to be a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, though he was still terrified by what he was hearing right now, "The only Demons in here should be those who have eaten just two or three Humans... with all of the Final Selections that have taken place, and Demons killing each other in the process as trainees hunt them down, there's no way you could have survived this long... it's impossible..."

"Yes, but I remain alive, trapped in this prison of Wisteria. I've eaten a total of fifty brats like you two." the Demon said, to which Tanjiro and the trainee paused, the former thinking about what Sakonji told him about how the number of Humans a Demon has eaten reflected their strength, while the latter seemed terrified by this sudden discovery, though Pinkamena had to wonder what would happen if she devoured some of his flesh, before he started counting, "Twelve... thirteen... fourteen. Oh, I'm counting the number of Sakonji's disciples that I've eaten over the years, where you, my little fox, would be the fourteenth one I've devoured, once I've beaten you anyway... I decided to kill and devour all of his disciples, as my own little revenge for him stealing my freedom. Hm, out of all of them, the ones who stood out where the last two he sent to me: a young brat whose hair was an unusual color, a rare pink to be exact, and he had a scar on one of the corners of his mouth, though he was the strongest, and the other was a young girl who wore a flowery kimono, though while she was lacking in power, as it happened to be incredibly weak, she was awfully agile. I know they were Sakonji's students because of the mask they wore... the fox mask, a mark I would recognize... he even made the masks himself, and the tengu mask he wears is carved in the same style as his precious fox masks... if my memory serves me right, he called them the 'mask of disaster prevention'... though it is because of those very masks that I ate them, so it's as if he sent each and every one of them to their deaths, as each is inside my stomach right now."

"I... you..." Tanjiro tried to say, though even from here Pinkamena could see that he was enraged by the fact that this one Demon had killed so many of Sakonji's disciples, especially Sabito and Makomo, even though this did inform him of what he had seen back on his mentor's mountain, that the children he had interacted with were actually dead, despite the fact that she had figured out they were spirits rather easily.

"You know, when I told the little girl that, she flew into a rage," the Demon continued, though at this point it was easy for Pinkamena to see that he was trying to entice Tanjiro into doing something stupid, and given how his body was shaking at the moment she knew his plan had been successful, though either the foul Demon was waiting for something to happen or he loved tormenting Sakonji's disciples, "she was even crying when she attacked me... after that she lost control of her movements and then I tore off her limbs, all before..."

That got a much stronger reaction out of Tanjiro as the Demon started to go into how he dismembered Makomo, where Tanjiro rushed at the Demon with his blade at the ready as his foe sent out a number of hands to grab him, which was the moment that he hacked through several of the hands and scattered them, causing Pinkamena to grin for a moment as she saw the pieces land on the ground. In fact this battle seemed to come to a swift end as Tanjiro jumped into the air and the Demon struck him with one of his hands, right in the left side of his body no less, which sent him flying straight into one of the trees that were around them, but fortunately his mask was what struck the tree and allowed him to survive the attack, even if he was unconscious and his mask shattered. As that happened the other disciple, seeing that the Demon was now totally focused on Tanjiro, got up and ran out of the area they were in, where Pinkamena simply waited for Tanjiro's foe to draw closer to him before she collected the severed hands, storing them away like the previous parts before turning her head to see what happened next. Sure enough Tanjiro, likely awakened by what she had to believe was the lingering souls of his fallen family, snapped his eyes open and dodged the attack, surprising the Demon in the process before he went on the attack once more and seemed to be pleased with this, though that eventually lead to him being even more surprised when Tanjiro, against all odds, sensed some hands coming from below and jumped into the air.

Pinkamena watched as the Demon tried, in vain, to take down Tanjiro as he ran down an extended arm, hacking his way through the remaining hands that were coming his way, before leaping towards his target, as he found a hole in the large Demon's defenses and neared his head, allowing him to loose a single powerful horizontal slash that sliced right through his foe's neck, sending the head flying onto the ground as the body collapsed.

"He's impressive, I'll give him that." Pinkamena commented, as from what she could tell this Demon was supposed to have a rather tough neck, even if his neck had been guarded by arms and hands for the most part, and Tanjiro's power was far stronger than it had been before Sabito and Makomo came to his aid, where she also knew that this had been a rather good showing of the First Form of Water Breathing, Water Surface Slash.

The other interesting fact about Chaos World was that she was able to pull the wool over the eyes of those who fell, as in all of the Demons she or Tanjiro slew would see the reality that she wanted them to see, as in their bodies turning to ash after losing their heads, when the reality was that she made the bodies remain intact so they could be stored inside the Storehouse for later. It was basically tricking reality, when Pinkamena thought about it, as everyone around her would see the bodies of the slain Demons fall apart and turn to ash, leaving nothing of them behind for someone to mess with, all while she collected every part she could find and made sure they were added to the growing Storehouse, but even as she did that Pinkamena found that Tanjiro held the Demon's outstretched hand for a moment. That reminded her of the fact that he did feel empathy for the Demons that he encountered, even though they were Human eating monsters, and this was his way of trying to make sure they were able to pass on to the next life, no doubt wishing for them not to be turned into Demons in their next life. What was interesting about this came when she glanced at the Demon's head, as he had a few tears in his eyes, no doubt remembering something he had forgotten a long time ago, before what was left of his head broke apart and the ashes spread across the area that they were in, causing Tanjiro to sigh as he thought about the fact that he was able to avenge all of Sakonji's fallen disciples.

Of course Tanjiro collapsed after that was done, he did take a nasty blow to the side and his head was bleeding, even if the mask had taken most of the damage, to which she sighed as she moved him to a much safer area and tended to his head, like she had seen Sakonji do every now and then, before getting up as she pulled her mask to the side and tore into one of the hands she had collected from the Demon, as she was going to need all of her energy as she faced the other Demons that were trapped on this mountain.

Comments

[Night_Moon60606]

i find myself thinking...the Oni of Demon Slayer...they are tragic creatures...each of them was a Human long ago...one who suffered great tragedy in their lives, enough that they became what they are now. how will you address this, i wonder?

[Blackdrag-rose]

11213734 Sadly, there isn't a good way to really address the sad backstories of the Demons in this series, as none of them actually say anything about their pasts when they die... mostly they're a mix of emotions, depending on what happens in their final moments, and then they depart for their deserved afterlife. Those backstories are purely for us, the readers, so there's no way to share it with the actual characters.

[Night_Moon60606]

11213749
well, it is Pinkimina, an aspect of Pinkie...if theres a way to do the impossible...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11213758 Would making echoes of slain Demons work? Like ingesting the blood of slain Demons creates an echo of who they were, before Muzan turned them... and, with blood possessing the ability to convey memories in this series, each echo could have the memories of their time as both Human and Demon.

[Night_Moon60606]

11213771
i am unsure how it might fit into the Demon Slayer lore, or even traditional Shinto folklore, but its Pinkie Pie...never question it. plus, Chaos is involved so anything could and probably will happen with the Ruinous Powers sticking their noses in...yeah, itll work. mental projections that can speak with Pinkamina in her Chaos Space perhaps...tell their stories so there will be someone who remembers...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11213781 How it fits with the series lore is easy, she could just claim it as part of her Blood Demon Art. If anyone saw it and asked, and got that answer, they'd likely shrug and go with it.