The town of Souta was small and unassuming, nestled between quiet hills and flowing rivers. Yet beneath its peaceful facade, a sinister darkness had taken root. As Bell and Tanjiro arrived, the air felt heavy with tension. The streets were silent, too silent for a town with such a history of unexplained disappearances. Young girls, all under the age of seven, had vanished without a trace every two weeks. Fear clung to the hearts of the villagers like a choking fog, and Bell could feel it in the way they looked at him—hopeful yet wary.
"This is it," Tanjiro muttered, his fists clenched at his sides. His anger was barely concealed, simmering beneath the surface as he thought about the children who had been taken. "How can anyone prey on children like that?"
Bell placed a calming hand on Tanjiro's shoulder. "We'll find it, Tanjiro. But we need to keep our heads clear. Anger can cloud your judgment, and we need every advantage we can get."
Tanjiro nodded, though his jaw remained tight. "Right. But... it's hard. So many innocent lives lost, and it's been happening for weeks now."
Bell understood Tanjiro's frustration. He too was filled with rage at the thought of a creature lurking in the shadows, stealing away the lives of the innocent. But unlike Tanjiro, he channeled his fury into a calm, icy resolve. This was a predator, and they would be its hunters.
The first day of their investigation led them to the townspeople, and it quickly became clear that fear had rendered them closed off. They had seen many warriors pass through, and none had succeeded in stopping the demon's rampage. But Bell had a way about him—a presence that calmed hearts and made people feel safe. His silver hair gleamed under the sunlight, and his kind eyes drew people in. Some even whispered amongst themselves that Bell must be a god in disguise.
Bell made sure to appear frequently in the town, engaging in conversations with the townsfolk, offering reassurances and hope. It wasn't long before they began to open up to him, sharing their fears and frustrations.
"There's no pattern," one of the mothers said, clutching her small daughter tightly. "The demon doesn't care where or when it strikes. One night it's one part of town, the next it's another. My daughter... she's all I have left. Please... protect her."
Bell knelt down and smiled softly at the little girl, who shyly peeked out from behind her mother's skirts. "I promise. No more children will go missing. We'll stop this monster."
The woman teared up, her hand trembling as she touched Bell's arm. "Thank you. You're like a blessing sent from the gods themselves."
Bell smiled gently, though he knew that they were closer to the truth than they realized.
That night, the atmosphere changed. A disturbing aura permeated the air—one that both Bell and Tanjiro could feel deep within their bones. They rushed through the darkened streets, moving with the swiftness and purpose of seasoned warriors. As they approached a modest house, Bell's senses flared. Inside, a little girl was sound asleep, completely unaware of the creeping danger.
Without hesitation, Bell burst through the door and swooped in, snatching the girl from her bed just as a grotesque, gray mass of writhing tentacles slithered through the shadows. The demon's body was a sickening sight—a tangled, pulsating form covered in slimy, slick skin, its multiple eyes gleaming with perverted hunger.
Bell set the girl down gently outside and turned to face the demon, his eyes narrowing with disgust. "Tanjiro, go. Get your frustrations out. I'll watch your back."
Tanjiro didn't need to be told twice. His anger, which had been simmering beneath the surface all day, exploded forth as he charged at the demon, his katana gleaming under the moonlight. "I'll end you for what you've done!"
The demon let out a gurgling laugh, its tentacles snapping and weaving through the air. "Children... so tender. So innocent. Their fear makes them taste even better! I love to play with them... before devouring them, piece by piece."
Tanjiro's rage boiled over, his breathing switching into Total Concentration. "How dare you!" He lunged forward, swinging his blade with precision, aiming for the creature's head. But the demon was fast—faster than most—and it twisted its grotesque form to avoid the strike, slithering backward to create distance.
Bell stood calmly behind Tanjiro, observing the battle closely. He kept his senses sharp, ready to intervene if the demon tried any tricks. "Stay focused, Tanjiro," he called out. "Make every strike count."
Tanjiro gritted his teeth, his mind consumed with fury. The thought of the demon playing with the corpses of children made his blood boil. He darted forward again, this time unleashing a flurry of strikes that cut through the demon's slimy appendages. Its tentacles flailed, spraying dark, viscous liquid as they were severed.
The demon screeched, enraged by the damage. "You can't stop me! I'll regenerate! I'll—"
But before it could finish, Tanjiro's blade arced through the air, his form smooth and precise. He executed a move that Bell recognized as the tenth form of the Water Breathing technique—Constant Flux. The flowing, rotating strikes overwhelmed the demon's defenses, leaving it vulnerable.
In one final, powerful swing, Tanjiro beheaded the demon, its grotesque head rolling to the ground as its body collapsed into a heap of twitching tentacles.
As the demon's head dissolved into ash, its last words were filled with malice. "They tasted... so... sweet..."
Tanjiro stood there, panting heavily, his anger still not fully spent. "Monsters like you... don't deserve mercy," he muttered under his breath, forgetting in his rage to ask the demon about Muzan.
Bell approached, placing a reassuring hand on Tanjiro's shoulder. "You did well, Tanjiro. Some creatures don't deserve forgiveness."
Tanjiro's chest heaved, but Bell's calm presence began to steady him. "Thanks, Bell. I just... I couldn't let it keep doing this."
As the town began to stir from the disturbance, Bell's snow-white kasugai crow descended from the sky, landing gracefully on his shoulder. The elegant bird puffed up its feathers, looking at Bell expectantly. Bell smiled and scratched the crow's head affectionately.
"Yes, you handsome human," the crow thought smugly. "Praise me, ooh yes, pet me more! I am deserving of your adoration."
The crow let out a satisfied coo as Bell continued to pamper it. "You've done well," he said with a soft chuckle. "Now, what's our next mission?"
The crow, filled with pride from her master's attention, delivered the next mission with an almost theatrical elegance. "Your next destination is Asakusa—the city that never sleeps. Demons lurk in the shadows there."
Bell nodded, and the crow fluffed up her feathers even more, basking in the glow of Bell's attention. "Yes, yes! Perfect praise for a perfect bird!"
The next day, Bell and Tanjiro gathered the townspeople, explaining the danger they had faced and how they had rid the town of the demon. Bell recommended that everyone carry wisteria flowers with them at all times, explaining that demons hated the plant.
"You should also pray for strength," Bell added with a smile, half-jokingly. "Trust me, it'll help."
Some of the townspeople took his words to heart and tried it. To Bell's surprise, he felt a faint ripple of divine energy as their prayers reached him. He smiled, realizing that even in this world, the faith of mortals could empower him. He sent a sliver of strength back to those who had prayed, and the people were left stunned, their eyes wide with awe as they felt a sudden surge of vitality.
News of this small miracle quickly spread, traveling through the nearby lands, and Bell couldn't help but chuckle. His influence was already growing, and this world would soon know his name.