From the age of eleven, Akihiro helped his father, Tanjuro, chop wood, and he persistently carried the small bamboo basket, accompanying Tanjuro to sell charcoal.
Later, Tanjuro passed away early. Not wanting his younger siblings to suffer and considering their growth, Akihiro alone took on all the heavy labor.
He also frequently entered the forest alone to find fresh, delicious, non-toxic wild fruits for his family to eat.
During this process, Akihiro encountered many fierce beasts.
There were wild boars, wildcats, and even wolf packs...
But Akihiro, relying on his agile and nimble movements gained from training, and his naturally good combat sense, had never feared these wild beasts.
Only that anomalous beast named 'demon' had rendered him utterly defenseless.
"Let me see just how strong this demon's body truly is."
He clenched his fists, producing a creaking sound.
Although Akihiro was very hungry and lacked energy, he could clearly feel the immense power contained within this body.
The strength of a demon, combined with the combat sense he already possessed as a human.
Akihiro felt that he should be able to handle ordinary demons.
But he didn't know yet that the demon he was about to face was not an ordinary one.
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Following the scent, after about ten minutes, Akihiro stopped in front of a cave on the mountainside.
The cave's exterior was very hidden, with some human-height bushes and weeds obstructing it. Normally, Akihiro might not have noticed it.
But the sweet, rich scent of fresh blood emanating from it, like a bright candlelight in the darkness, had already turned Akihiro's eyes blood-red, and he almost couldn't resist rushing straight in.
Fortunately, after enduring the agony of a fresh demon's hellish transformation, Akihiro had developed a certain psychological preparedness and resistance, which allowed him to barely suppress the impulsive urge.
"Looking at the claw marks around the cave, it should be a bear's den."
"This demon, it seems, has stolen someone else's winter home. How wicked."
In the forest, the old Akihiro had most dreaded encountering bears.
Bears have an incredibly keen sense of smell, capable of tracking scents for several kilometers. They also have quick burst speeds and can climb trees...
No one would willingly face such a predator.
Before, Akihiro had several encounters with bears, and he always held their strength in awe, always avoiding them from afar.
However, facing a terrifying creature like a demon, even the forest's apex predator, the bear, could only become a victim.
The moonlight was bright, but it couldn't penetrate the cave at all.
The bear's den in front of Akihiro resembled a fierce beast with a gaping maw, eager to devour.
However, a demon's eyes possess night vision, somewhat like a feline's.
With even a little light, they can see their surroundings clearly.
In Akihiro's eyes, what was a pitch-black cave to humans was entirely exposed, holding no secrets.
"If a demon's nature weren't twisted, if it didn't have to consume human flesh and blood, and couldn't be exposed to sunlight, it could truly be called a perfect creature."
Akihiro tried his best to slow his breathing, stepping into the cave without hesitation.
The cave, which appeared to have only a single person's width at the entrance, became increasingly spacious as one delved deeper inside.
No wonder a demon would contend with a bear for a cave. This place was spacious enough inside, and the entrance was quite hidden, making it a suitable dwelling to hide from sunlight during the day.
Akihiro couldn't help but feel the urge to claim it...
The cave was relatively deep. After walking more than ten meters inward, Akihiro stopped at the place where the scent of fresh blood was at its peak.
He clearly saw a grotesque figure, its back to him, tearing at a mangled corpse.
The spilled blood was still steaming, indicating it had likely died recently.
The corpse lay horizontally, and the demon was greedily gnawing at its center.
From this angle, Akihiro could see the corpse's face.
It was a young child, perhaps only twelve or thirteen years old, with a face frozen in a rigid expression of agony and despair.
Before dying, who knew what depths of despair and terror it had experienced.
"Uninvited guest, don't you know not to trespass on someone else's hunting ground?"
Hearing the heavy breathing behind him, Yamibari stopped eating.
He picked up the fresh heart in his hand and then spoke to Akihiro behind him in a fierce tone.
Like a wild beast, demons have a strong territorial instinct. Having another demon intrude into his home made Yamibari very displeased.
Akihiro's breathing grew heavier, his eyes seemingly glued to the delicious corpse.
This close proximity of stimulation made it very difficult for him, who had been hungry for so long, to bear.
Akihiro needed some time to resist and adapt to the allure of the blood, lest he lose control again and be dominated by his bodily instincts.
Yamibari turned around, observed Akihiro, and then asked in surprise: "You... are you holding back?"
Yamibari had a sturdy but very agile body. He was bare-chested, revealing taut muscles covered in blue veins.
There were three grotesque claw marks on each side of his face, and his waist was simply wrapped in animal hide.
His appearance exuded a sense of wild power.
In Yamibari's hand, he held a slightly trembling heart, which made Akihiro's breathing even heavier.
Akihiro's reaction greatly piqued Yamibari's interest.
"This appearance..."
"So it's a newly born demon with human memories."
"It seems that Lord Muzan was here nearby. I truly wish I could see him again, but alas, my strength isn't enough to follow him..."
Yamibari extended the heart in his hand: "Little demon, you really want to eat it, don't you? Come, walk over here. As long as you come and take it, I'll give you this heart."
Normally, demons were extremely protective of their food, but at this moment, Yamibari felt a considerable urge to play.
A newly born demon, it's rare to encounter one.
Clearly wanting to eat, yet restrained by human memories, his hesitant reluctance to consume human flesh was quite amusing.
It was truly interesting when a newly born demon struggled with their thoughts.
However, Yamibari's assumption was slightly mistaken. Akihiro wasn't struggling with his thoughts; he was being interfered with by the struggle between his body's instincts and his human rationality.
There was a significant difference between the two.
"Little demon, how long can you last?"
Newly born demons, if they possess human memories, generally struggle for a while, but very quickly, their twisted minds will drive them to feast on flesh and blood.
Yamibari firmly believed this, because he had gone through the same experience himself. However, he only hesitated for less than thirty seconds before letting go of his true nature and happily devouring human flesh.
So he really wanted to see how long this demon in front of him could struggle.
To Yamibari's delight, in less than thirty seconds, Akihiro's feet moved.
He stared at the heart in Yamibari's hand, slowly, with bloodshot eyes, taking step after step towards Yamibari.
Yamibari burst into laughter: "That's more like it! As a demon, eating humans is a natural thing. Why hesitate and fuss?"
"Come, take this heart with your own hands, open your mind, and then eat it."
Although it would be a bit of a shame to give the delicious heart to someone else.
But Yamibari wanted to witness a demon's transformation firsthand even more.
It was like watching his past self...
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