"No way you're giving up this quickly? Looks like the devouring really had an impact."
Riku narrowed his eyes. Normally, there was no reason this oni would kick the bucket so fast—it was brimming with energy just moments ago.
This situation had to be tied to Shadow Wolf's devouring. After being consumed by Shadow Wolf, the oni's regeneration speed had noticeably slowed.
"After Shadow Wolf devours an oni's body, does its regeneration ability weaken significantly? Maybe even vanish completely?"
Riku came to this conclusion easily enough, at least based on what he was seeing.
"80 experience points? That's not bad at all."
Riku stood up, glancing at the experience bar.
[Experience: 100/300]
Counting the random rats and small critters he'd taken out along the way, he'd already gathered a third of the experience needed to reach Level 4.
"This oni is definitely on the weaker side among its kind, but it still gave 80 experience points."
Riku started daydreaming. If he took down a stronger one, wouldn't that mean over a hundred points? Shadow Wolf had gained a point in Constitution just from devouring this oni. If it devoured an even stronger one…
Tch, he couldn't even imagine it. Too wild to think about.
"Let's go."
Riku recalled Shadow Wolf, and the giant wolf melted into a pool of shadow, merging back into the ground beneath his feet.
Following the path he came from, Riku returned to the forest trail, arriving at the spot where he'd encountered the oni earlier.
The arm and leg Shadow Wolf had torn off earlier had vanished along with the oni's dissipation.
Riku kept moving forward. Not far ahead was a mountain shrine, dedicated to who-knows-what god. No need to guess—there definitely wouldn't be anyone there.
This place was crawling with oni, after all. If there was some monk holed up in that shrine, they'd probably already be chanting sutras in the oni's stomach.
Riku pressed on. It was still the first half of the night, the perfect time for traveling—way more comfortable than during the day.
He quickly crossed the mountain. His destination, Sagiri-yama, was now very close. His pace wasn't slow by any means.
But after crossing one mountain, another loomed ahead. Riku couldn't help but sigh. All day, it felt like he was just climbing one ridge after another.
This area was packed with mountains, big and small. Even heading out from Kamado Tanjirou's house in the other direction, it was all mountains. This was straight-up mountain country.
"Just one more to go."
Riku didn't hesitate and started climbing. It was around four or five in the morning now—dawn was approaching.
Halfway up the mountain, he spotted another shrine. These mountain shrines were everywhere, seemingly on every decently tall peak.
"It's lit up? No oni haunting this mountain? Someone's actually living in the shrine?"
Riku sniffed the air hard. He might not be great at picking up other scents, but when it came to the "fragrance" of people, he was a pro.
As he walked and sniffed, nearing the shrine, he caught a faint scent—one that felt oddly familiar.
"No way it's that coincidental, right?"
Riku's expression turned weird. The scent was strange, a mix of human and oni, just up ahead.
This meant there were both a human and an oni nearby, coexisting peacefully, since there was no thick smell of blood in the air.
The only case Riku knew of humans and oni living in harmony was Kamado Tanjirou and his sister, Kamado Nezuko. And that seemed like a rare exception.
"Nezuko, there's a shrine up ahead. Let's rest there for a bit before we keep going."
Riku chased after the sound, recognizing that familiar, gentle yasashii voice. Sure enough, it was the Kamado siblings.
The two had already climbed the steps toward the shrine, looking like they were in a hurry.
Since it was nighttime, Nezuko didn't need to stay in the basket and was walking on her own.
Even though young Tanjirou was used to hauling heaps of charcoal through the mountains, with impressive stamina and strength, he still got tired eventually.
"Strange. How has Tanjirou not picked up my scent?"
Riku frowned, following the siblings up to the shrine.
He'd already caught Tanjirou's scent, so there was no way that kid, with his freakishly sharp nose, wouldn't have noticed him.
But once he reached the shrine, Riku understood why. The place reeked of blood, so strong it practically hit him in the face.
The Kamado siblings were rushing up the mountain because Tanjirou must've smelled the blood. With that kid's personality, he'd definitely check it out.
Riku had overthought it. This shrine wasn't free of oni—it was straight-up occupied by one.
"Tanjirou, fall back!"
Seeing Tanjirou push open the shrine's door, Riku shouted and summoned Shadow Wolf.
The shadow under his feet surged forward, transforming midair into a four-legged, sprinting Shadow Wolf.
Though Riku couldn't see Shadow Wolf's full stats, its Agility was probably at least 20—way faster than him, at least "
But before Shadow Wolf could reach them, an oni burst out of the shrine, lunging straight at Tanjirou.
Splurch!
Tanjirou reacted lightning-fast. Using the oni's momentum, he stepped back and swung his axe with force.
Tanjirou stumbled to the ground, but his axe blade sliced across the oni's neck. The oni barely avoided total humiliation, rolling backward to dodge.
Blood poured from the oni's neck. It had nearly gotten its head lopped off by a thirteen-year-old boy with one swing.
Riku's eyes widened in shock. As expected of the protagonist, Tanjirou's combat talent is off the charts!
He could tell Tanjirou's Strength and Agility were no match for the oni's, but the kid's battle instincts were leagues above it.
Riku felt a bit ashamed. With the same physical stats, he'd probably have been taken out by that oni in a single clash.
Boom!
The oni barely regained its footing before Shadow Wolf, the size of a tiger, pounced on it.
The impact sent dust flying as Shadow Wolf slammed the oni to the ground.
Crunch!
In the cloud of dust, Shadow Wolf bit down, twisting its head and cleanly snapping off the oni's head.
"Mr. Riku?!"
Tanjirou turned, finally noticing Riku's voice.
He'd been so focused on the overwhelming smell of blood, worried someone was hurt, that he and his sister had rushed over.
"Talk later. Let's deal with this guy first."
Riku spoke quickly, stepping forward to join Shadow Wolf in the attack.
He could tell at a glance—this oni was stronger than the last one he'd faced, but only slightly.
How should he put it? These oni didn't even have muscles as defined as his. No way they'd reached some "return to simplicity" level, right?
(End of Chapter)