Chapter 1: ch1
"Where is this place?"
Sam Miller looked at the fleeing crowd in front of him with surprise. Screaming and wailing, they seemed to have seen hell. He remembered that he was just watching the anime "Demon Slayer" a moment ago. Why had he suddenly come to this terrifying place?
The faces of the running crowd were all pale, as if something terrible was chasing them. Soon, a hideous, humanoid creature with strong limbs leaped from behind the crowd, instantly catching someone who was running at the end.
"Chila!"
Like a dismembered corpse, the human body was instantly split apart by the creature's strong arms, and the dark red blood showered over the humanoid monster like a rainstorm. It bared its teeth and opened its sharp jaws to bite. Large pieces of flesh and blood were devoured by it, and as it consumed the flesh, its body seemed to be changing—growing stronger.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, the monster stopped devouring its meal, its scarlet eyes fixed on a young boy who was standing there, dazed.
"Quack!"
"A terrified human child," the monster sneered, licking its tongue and moving quickly toward the boy.
Sam stared blankly at the terrifying monster approaching him. What were these things? He couldn't understand. Instinctively, he turned to run away, but something didn't feel right. His steps were too small.
He looked down and realized that even his body wasn't his own. Wearing ordinary linen clothing, with short legs and a frail frame, it was completely the body of a teenager. At the same time, memories began flooding his mind. He had come to the world of Demon Slayer and become an ordinary resident here.
Everything was ordinary, except for one thing that might be special: he had a fiancée. However, his fiancée's family background was very poor, her parents were cold-blooded and ruthless, often engaging in domestic violence. Several of her siblings had died directly due to their parents' violence. She was only able to survive up to this point.
The original host of the body was too preoccupied with his own troubles to care for his fiancée's situation. They were the real bottom dwellers of this world.
He understood the world he was in and accepted the memories in his mind, but he was still at a loss. Who would tell him what was happening? Why was there a ghost chasing him?
"Boom!"
His legs seemed to catch on something, and he fell to the ground. Blood splattered all over him, making him look extremely miserable at this moment. He looked up.
The monster-like creature was approaching, its scarlet eyes playful, enjoying the thought of toying with its prey before killing it after it was full.
Looking at the monster that kept coming closer, Sam fumbled around in a panic. A hard object was caught in his palm. It was a sword hilt.
He pulled it out from the bloody water. The moonlight shone on it, and the sword exuded an intoxicating halo. The blade was sharp. Next to him lay a corpse, wearing the standard uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps. Clearly, the owner of this sword was the corpse lying there.
Looking up at the monster across the way—a ghost, to be exact—he lowered his head again, looking at his thin arms and legs. The situation in front of him seemed to be setting him up to die right after crossing over!
No, Sam shook his head. He couldn't give up yet. At least, he wasn't dead yet.
Thinking this way, he tightly grasped the hilt of the sword and slowly stood up.
"Quack!"
"The human kid doesn't want to escape but wants to resist?" The ghost's voice was full of teasing and mockery.
Sam clenched the hilt of the sword tightly, but he could still feel his legs trembling. One moment he was living in a peaceful world, and the next, he was here, facing ghosts. The palpitations and fear felt suffocating.
Run away? He shook his head. Facing the ghost and fleeing was obviously not an option.
"Call..."
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the Nichirin Blade tightly, ready to fight to the death.
"Quack!"
Seeing the boy's actions, the ghost let out a cruel grin and was about to make a move when it suddenly sensed something.
In the distance, in a dark corner, a little girl was curled up. Her eyes, bright as stars, seemed to have lost something, looking very stiff. What was lost was probably something called human emotion.
And this girl happened to be his fiancée. When he saw the little girl, his eyes widened suddenly. Although his memory of watching the anime before was a bit fuzzy, the little girl in front of him undoubtedly matched Kanao Tsuyuri.
At that moment, he realized his fiancée was Kanao Tsuyuri.