Destroyer Of Demons (Demon Slayer AU)

Chapter 2 : The Slayer

Nezuko awoke covered in a thin layer of snow. She sat up with a groan and peered around her, dusting the white powder off her clothes. Just above, she spotted the cliff they had been standing on minutes prior. It seemed the snow had softened their fall.

Ugh, my head hurts... Wait, where's Tanjiro? Is he alright?

Her head did a full turn, scanning the surrounding area. There appeared to be nothing but trees and snow. Her eyes landed on a faint trail of red which dotted the ground leading from her right.

Thinking the blood must have come from her brother's wounds, Nezuko immediately stood up and followed after it. She could only hope he wasn't too badly injured. The blood trail went on for a bit, eventually ending behind some bushes. Shoving them aside, she pushed her way through the leaves.

And there Tanjiro was, crouched over in the snow. His body was shaking tremendously and he had covered his face with his hands, as if trying to hide from something.

"Brother, there you are! Are you okay?" Nezuko exclaimed in worry. "Don't worry, I'll carry you down the mountain on my back. You won't have to move a muscle!"

Instead of responding, Tanjiro turned away from his sister's gaze, much to her confusion. Nezuko's presence only seemed to further irritate him as he began to tremble even more furiously than before.

"What is it? Are you in pain? Please talk to me!" Nezuko drew closer to her brother with a concerned expression on her face. She reached out her left hand and gently tapped Tanjiro's shoulder.

His body instantly stiffened at her touch. "Hm?" Nezuko noticed that the veins on Tanjiro's neck bulged out unusually. Not only that, but when she looked closer at his hands, in place of normal nails were claws.

All of a sudden, there was a low growling sound and Tanjiro's head snapped towards her. Nezuko turned pale when she saw her brother's face, instinctively taking a step back.

His bright red eyes had darkened to a near black and his round pupils were constricted into thin slits, like those of a feline. Aside from his claws, the other most noticeable change was his teeth - sharpened and enlarged canines dripping with saliva. Even the scar on his forehead had mysteriously disappeared.

"What the...? Brother...?" Nezuko spoke cautiously. The new animalistic features on Tanjiro caused her blood to curdle. She didn't know whether to run away from him or stay.

She got her answer quickly when Tanjiro leapt forward, fangs bared and claws out. Caught off-guard, Nezuko fell backwards into the snow and screamed, shielding herself with her arms. However, the attack she expected didn't come.

After a few seconds passed and nothing happened, Nezuko slowly opened her eyes. Tanjiro was standing before her in a feral state with one arm extended in her direction, mere inches from her face, ready to scratch her with his nails. Except... it was being held back by his other hand.

He... He stopped himself...!

The boy's eyes were strained with red veins and he bled as his right talons dug into his left arm. The nails on his feet were also curved downwards into claws, rooting themselves to the ground like the anchors of ships. He snarled fiercely at her, but remained unmoving.

Nezuko sat there in shock, trying to comprehend what was happening to him. Then, from the corner of her eye, she caught the glint of metal. Sensing danger, she instantly threw herself over her brother to protect him.

Fwsh! The sword had cut the air just above them, slicing off the bun on Nezuko's head as well as a few trees in the vicinity. Its wielder landed not too far behind, swiftly gliding across the snow in a circular motion.