During the Meiji era, in a wealthy childless family in Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo, a couple gave birth to a girl. Since they had nearly reached forty when they finally had this child, the parents doted on her excessively.
The girl proved herself worthy of their affection—bright and clever from a young age, she earned a reputation as a prodigy by the age of three.
Had life continued this way, the family future would have been one of happiness and prosperity.
But tragedy struck.
A sudden fire destroyed everything.
The once-wealthy family was reduced to utter poverty and the brilliant girl was left disfigured by the flames.
Yet for her, the greatest suffering lay elsewhere.
Spoiled by her parents, she had grown accustomed to a life of luxury where everything was handed to her. Now, their circumstances were worse than those of beggars.
The harsh reality twisted the girl nature, filling her with resentment toward her parents for no longer providing the lavish life she once knew.
She berated them daily for their "incompetence," never once acknowledging that the fire had been caused by her own recklessnes.
Her mother was a timid woman, whose only response to her daughter abuse was to weep silently.
Her father, too, was overly indulgent.
Seeing his daughter attitude becoming worse each day, he didn't think to correct her—only to fulfill her every demand.
Gradually, the family changed.
Under the influence of their daughter, they learned to lie, steal and resort to all manner of depraved and shameless acts.
The mother, too weak to refuse any of her daughter whims, complied without protest.
The father, though he still harbored a shred of conscience, ultimately succumbed to his blind adoration.
But fate had already sealed their doom.
Evil deeds, when repeated, invite retribution.
When one of their scams was exposed, the enraged townspeople turned on them. Beaten and battered, the family was left to rot in a filthy ditch.
Perhaps it was the girl seething resentment and malice that drew the attention of a certain passing entity.
On a whim, this being brought forth three fox demons into the world.
Among them, the girl—now transformed into the pink-eared fox demon—was the darkest and most venomous.
Yet the strongest was the black-eared fox demon, born from her father.
Perhaps because a sliver of his conscience remained, the black-eared fox demon did something rare—he refused his daughter demand to slaughter indiscriminately, instead making a pact that they would never harm underage humans.
And so, for over a decade the three fox demons claimed nearly a hundred lives. But the black-eared fox demon vow was nothing but a cruel joke.
Whenever the pink-eared fox demon targeted children, he would offer a token protest—yet the moment she insisted, he would step aside.
The pink-eared fox demon Blood Demon Art had no effect on him.
The illusion of his submission existed solely because of his twisted, undying devotion to his daughter.
Watching the pink-eared fox demon vanish into ashes with a resentful expression, the black-eared fox demon head suddenly gushed with tears as memories from its past life flooded back.
Opening its fanged maw, it wailed.
"No! Ryoko! It's all Father fault! Father was useless! Father couldn't give you the life you wanted, it's all my fault!"
Shinichi pulled out his Nichirin Blade and approached the black-eared fox demon head. Squatting down with a hint of disgust, he said.
"Indeed, it is your fault. You personally nurtured a monster filled with resentment! Had you disciplined your own daughter and instilled proper values in her, none of this would have happened.
Indulgence is the deadliest poison in the world, and you—who had the power to stop this evil—chose indulgence instead. That is a greater sin than the evil itself! Go to hell and repent with your daughter!"
Thunk!
The Nichirin Blade pierced the black-eared fox demon head, draining its life force as the demon head turned to ashes.
At the same time, the brown-eared fox demon, who had remained silent throughout, also crumbled into dust.
Shinichi merely shook his head at this pitiful woman.
With the three fox demons reduced to ashes, the special marks in the eyes of the unconscious hunters scattered across the ground also faded away.
"Caw! Caw! Shinichi has successfully slain three demons!!" Perched on Shinichi shoulder, the Kasugai crow Eizo flapped its wings excitedly.
Meanwhile, the demonized Maru-ni who had taken the form of a black demon dog, reverted to his usual chubby Shiba Inu appearance, now rubbing against Shinichi leg seeking praise.
Shinichi sheathed his Nichirin Blade, which had been planted in the ground, with a swift swish.
Dusting off his blue-green battle robe, he said "Maru-ni let's go."
As the sun rose in the eastern sky, before its light fully bathed the land, the village chief of Takayama arrived with a group of villagers carrying over a dozen severely weakened hunters—and two who had tragically perished—from the southern woods.
The pink-eared fox demon possessed a mind controlling Blood Demon Art.
To ensure the freshness of its human prey, it typically refrained from killing its victims outright, instead using its Blood Demon Art to keep them under control, like livestock to be consumed at will.
By the time the village chief finished rescuing the survivors and turned to thank the young Demon Slayer, he was startled to find that the figure clad in the blue-green battle robe had already vanished.
The image of the Demon Slayer Corps protecting humanity under the cover of darkness vividly took shape in the village chief heart, filling the esteemed elder with deep reverence.
****
With the events in Takayama Village concluded, Shinichi set off on a new journey.
Over the next month or so, Shinichi received four more missions to slay demons—though one turned out to be a hoax, orchestrated by a charlatan with some sleight-of-hand tricks.
The other three, however, were genuine demon incidents and Shinichi was no longer acting alone, each time he undertook a mission, fellow Demon Slayers—ranging from low-ranking Mizunoto to fellow Kinoto-ranked swordsmen—volunteered to join him.
Gradually, a rumor began circulating within the Demon Slayer Corps: when you encounter a kinoto rank swordsman who carries a chubby Shiba Inu and loves sweets, you can proceed with your mission without fear.
Because even if you're one foot in the grave during battle with a Demon, as long as you say you "like" that man dorayaki, he'll pull you right back from the underworld.
Of course, you'd better actually eat the dorayaki given by that swordsman—otherwise, he'll get angry and petty enough to jot your name down in his little notebook.
------------------------------
Please read my new book : One Piece : Make Marines Great Again
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator