MTLNOVEL Chapter 19: Maternity(1)
*tap*
*THUD*
I sprinted to the point I heard the sound as I immediately slashed downwards, but failed to hit anything.
"You may take off your blindfold"
I nodded, as I took off my blindfold. I squinted my eyes a bit as bright sunlight assaulted my eyes. Right now, Himejima-Sensei was training my sense of hearing by instructing his crow to land on certain spots.
Once the crow landed, I was supposed to be able to hear it, and then immediately dash toward it and try to slash with my wooden blade. So far though, I haven't been able to hit it once.
"You have improved since the last week young Aoyama," Himejima-Sensei said as the crow flew back on his head "However, you still have much to learn. Once your sense of sound reaches an acceptable level, you will be able to react to demons with ease"
"Thanks"' I said as I wiped off the sweat from my face with a towel.
I was getting better. Faster. My reflexes were sharpening, and I could hear things I never would have noticed before—leaves shifting in the wind, the slow breaths of my teacher, the distant chirping of birds. But even with all that progress, there was something I couldn't bring myself to do.
I never told Himejima-Sensei.
I never told him that, during my last mission, I had killed a human.
I gripped the flask tighter, staring down at my reflection in the water.
How would he react if he knew? Would he be disappointed? Would he call me a failure, unworthy of the sword I carried?
No. That wasn't what held me back.
What truly unsettled me—what I could barely admit to myself—was the fact that I felt nothing about it.
I had cut down a man as easily as I would a demon. No hesitation, no regret. And even now, standing here in the sunlight, training like normal, I still couldn't bring myself to care.
I took a deep breath, forcing the thought away as I turned back toward Himejima-Sensei.
"Shall we continue?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
Himejima-Sensei nodded. "Yes. Again."
I tied the blindfold back over my eyes, blocking out the world once more.
If I just keep training... maybe I won't have to think about it at all.
Before the training could begin, I heard the flapping of my crow. I pulled my blindfolds off as I turned to the sky where my crow began to descend. I held my hand out as the crow perched on it.
"CAW CAW, MISSION FOR MIZUNOTO AOYAMA YUITO DAICHI, A GROUP OF DEMON SLAYERS DISAPPEARED NEAR MT. RUJIKASA, INVESTIGATE, INVESTIGATE, CAWWW CAWWW"
Kasai's shrill voice echoed through the training grounds, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Wait, multiple Demon Slayers? Not civilians?" I frowned, looking up at my Kasugai crow. A demon strong enough to take out an entire squad of trained slayers wasn't something to take lightly. So why the hell was a mission like this being handed to a Mizunoto like me?
"Maybe they made a mistake," I muttered, scratching my head. "I'm just a rookie, low-ranked Slayer. Shouldn't this be handed to someone stronger?"
Gyomei clasped his hands together with a soft clack of his prayer beads. "Do not let your rank dictate your strength, young Aoyama," he said calmly. "Your abilities already rival those of a Kinoe-ranked Slayer—a rank just below the Hashira."
I stiffened at that. That strong? As far as I knew, only one person had ever climbed the ranks this fast—Muichiro. And that was because he was a descendant of Kokushibou.
Gyomei continued, his voice unwavering. "These missions will provide you with experience and growth. The more you complete, the faster you will rise. Perhaps Ubuyashiki-sama himself sees potential in you—he may be preparing you to take your place among the Hashira."
I blinked. "What?" My voice came out louder than I intended, laced with disbelief. "They expect me to become a Hashira that quickly? It hasn't even been two weeks since I passed Final Selection!"
"It is an unprecedented feat," Gyomei admitted, his tone as calm as ever. "But after witnessing your progress firsthand, I can say with certainty—you are capable of accomplishing it."
...
...
...
*swish*
Unlike the previous times when I would produce a loud boom on immediate stops, this time I barely produced a sound on stopping despite being much faster, barely making a small gust of wind.
"So" I muttered, looking up at the mountain "There's the village huh?"
I immediately disappeared in a gust of wind, appearing near the mountain in just half a minute. The village sat in the shadow of Mt. Rujikasa, bathed in the last streaks of dying sunlight. As I walked through the streets, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
At first glance, everything looked normal—vendors packing up their stalls, villagers heading home, and the faint smell of burning wood drifting through the air.
But no one spoke. No laughter, no idle chatter, no children running through the streets.
Instead, the people moved hurriedly, yet lifelessly, their hollow eyes darting around as they locked their doors and gathered their things. Their movements were too mechanical, too forced—like they were trying to act normal but had long forgotten what normal even felt like.
I slowed my steps, stopping at a stall where an old man was stuffing dried herbs into a sack with shaking hands. "Hey," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Why is everyone in such a hurry?"
He didn't even look at me, just kept packing. "You new here?"
"Yeah."
The old man exhaled sharply, glancing up for only a second before looking away. "Then leave. Now. Before nightfall."
I frowned. "Why?"
"The children," he muttered under his breath, still moving his hands as if he were trying to ignore the conversation. "They keep disappearing."
That made me pause. "Disappearing?"
"One by one," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "No screams. No signs of struggle. One night they're there, the next—gone. No one ever hears them leave. No one even remembers when they're gone."
"Slow do-oof"
The old man didn't pay any attention to whatever I wanted to say, rushing past me and smacking me with his bag of herbs instead. He didn't even bother turning back to check on me.
"Well," I said nursing my arm "This just got a lot more interesting"
...
...
...
"That does it"
I muttered under my breath, brushing the dust off my haori as I straightened up. The entire village was bathed in the pale glow of the unlit UV lamps I'd set up—rooftops, alleys, the main square—every possible blind spot covered. No shadows deep enough to hide in.
And yet…
I exhaled sharply, my breath visible in the cool night air. "It's been a few minutes already, and still no sign of demonic activity."
I hated when demons were patient.
I jumped off the roof of the house landing unharmed on the ground with an elegant stride, somehow producing absolutely no sound, my movement fluid, controlled—too refined for a human.
I rolled my shoulders, scanning the empty street, the silence weighing heavier with each passing second.
"...I don't like it when demons start getting all strategic and shit," I muttered, my fingers twitching slightly at my side. "Can't you just be stupid and attack already?"
And then, I heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Melodic. Almost… hypnotic.
A lullaby.
"Fina..lly?"
My eyes grew heavy as I heard the voice, wrapping around me like a warm blanket.My eyelids grew heavy, my breathing slowed, my grip on my blade loosened. My steps faltered as I fell down on the ground.
"NO"
I quickly draw out my Katana, using it to slash my hand to make a cut. The pain immediately lifted me from my drowsiness as I got up from the ground with wide eyes and a gasp. The song wasn't just a sound—it was sinking into my mind, pulling me under.
*thunk*
I immediately turn around as I hear the sound of doors sliding open.
"What?"
One by one, children stepped out into the cold night air, somehow having opened the doors despite the tight locks placed on them. Their eyes were closed. Their faces were blank and their eyes were closed. They walked in slow, measured steps—like puppets being led by invisible strings.
"Wake up kid" I yelled at one of the kids walking up to them and placed my hand on their shoulders. I violently shook the child, but he shrugged it off.
Nothing.
He kept walking, his expression peaceful, his breathing steady. Slowly, more and more children began to exit their houses. all moving in the same direction, and no one else stirred. No parents calling after them. No villagers running outside.
"Ah," I said as I remembered the drowsiness from before "They're asleep. No wonder they didn't know what happened during the night."
"Still" I muttered, looking at the line of the children "Where are they going?"
All the children kept walking out of the village. Whatever was controlling them, was far deeper in the forest.
"I don't have any UV lamps outside of the village," I said as I frowned "Should I wait for tomorrow?"
It didn't even take a moment for me to decide on my next course of action. Waiting till tomorrow was a no-go, I wasn't going to let these children suffer at the hands of the demon just because I was too scared to confront it.
"I'm going to have to go in..."
I tightly clutched my Katana as I drew in a deep breath. The air on top of the mountain was thin, but for some reason, I had a certain affinity with mountains. I arrived in this world on a mountain, trained on a mountain, met Kazuhiro Kyoujuro on a mountain, passed the Slayer Exams on a mountain, and my last mission was on a mountain-well a cliff really but it was close enough.
And now, another mission, on yet another mountain. The altitude didn't bother me anymore. If anything, it felt like home. That's why I had no problem breathing this high up in the air.
"But first," I said, glancing down at my bleeding arm while jumping from tree to tree. "I'll have to cover this so the demon doesn't smell my blood out"
It wasn't that hard. Just a medical stim, and some Wisteria spray on my arm should keep the smell of blood away.
"Right then" I muttered, seeing a large mansion in the middle of the forest on the complete opposite side of the mountain, extremely far away from my current location.
"Water Breathing: Twelfth Form-Ascendant Torrent"
And yet, it barely took me more than 5 minutes to reach the mansion. You may ask why I unnecessarily wasted a breathing technique and tired myself out to just reach the mansion quicker.
I can't let the children get here first.
"This is...weird"
I narrowed my eyes at the massive mansion before me, its towering frame almost blending into the darkness. Everything about it should have screamed "demon's lair"—bloodstained walls, the stench of rotting flesh, an overwhelming aura of dread pressing down on my senses.
But this?
"Fuck" I said, running my hand through my hair, as I looked at the hundreds of drawings covering the walls of the mansion "This is worse than I thought."
This was children's graffiti.
Messy crayon scribbles stretched across the wooden panels—stick figures holding hands, animals with lopsided faces, suns with way too many rays. Some drawings were crude, barely recognizable shapes, while others were oddly detailed. A giant smiling face, its round eyes drawn in thick, black circles.
"How many..." I muttered, anger overtaking my logical mind "How many children have been here..."
"Close your eyes, don't make a sound, or you'll be lost where none are found..."
I stilled as I listened to the melodic sound coming out of the mansion along with the laughter of children.
A chill ran down my spine. The voice was soft, almost motherly, wrapping around the eerie silence like a blanket. But there was something... off. Something wrong. The melody lingered too long on certain notes, stretching them just enough to unsettle me.
The laughter of children followed, distant yet everywhere at once. It wasn't the joyful kind—the kind you'd hear at a festival or during a game of tag. No, it was hollow. Empty. A sound that belonged to children who didn't know they were supposed to be afraid.
I stepped forward, careful not to make a sound as I approached the entrance. The massive doors, slightly ajar, revealed nothing but pitch-black darkness inside. The drawings continued along the walls, getting denser as they neared the entrance. I traced my fingers over one—small handprints, layered over and over again, pressed into the wood as if countless tiny hands had desperately tried to push their way out.
Then, a small, shuffling noise.
I turned my head just in time to see a child step out from the shadows of the doorway. A little girl, no older than five. Barefoot, dressed in a thin, white nightgown. Her head tilted slightly to the side, dark hair hanging in front of her face.
She was humming the lullaby.
I took a slow step forward. "Hey, kid—"
Her head snapped up and I could see her eyes were red.
A low, guttural growl escaped her lips, something far too unnatural for a child. Before I could fully process it, she lunged, her tiny hands stretched toward my throat. Instinct kicked in—I unsheathed my blade in a flash, ready to strike.
But I hesitated as I looked at the demon coming at me.
'It's just a kid'
"Tch," I clicked my tongue, shifting my stance. As she came within reach, I twisted my body, sidestepping her lunge, and brought the hilt of my sword down against the back of her head. A dull thud. Her body went limp as she crumpled onto the ground, unconscious.
I let out a slow breath, lowering my blade as I turned back to the dark gates. I stepped forward, this time not bothered whether I was quiet or not. I approached the doors as I lifted one of my legs-
*BOOM*
-And knocked the towering gates off their hinges sending it inwards.
The wooden doors crashed against the floor with a thunderous boom, dust curling into the air like phantom wisps. The eerie lullaby that had been humming through the mansion ceased.
I stepped inside and my gaze fell on a small young woman. She wore pure white robes, somehow untouched by dust or blood. Long, flowing black hair cascaded over her shoulders, pooling around her like ink. In her arms, she cradled a sleeping or worse-dead child in her arms.
"Ara?" The demoness giggled as she lifted her head and tucked away some of her hair, looking straight into my black eyes. "The Slayers before you were much stealthier, are you just reckless or that confident in your power?"
I wasn't the type to let demons get under my skin, especially with pathetic provocation like this.
But she already had.
The moment that child lunged at me, her tiny hands curled into claws, her red eyes devoid of anything human—I had already lost my patience.
My grip on my sword tightened, and my jaw clenched so hard it ached. The heat of a thousand suns was nowhere near the anger I was feeling right now. It burned hotter, deeper—an inferno raging in my veins, clawing at my chest like it was trying to escape. My breathing was slow and controlled, but inside? I was already past my boiling point.
The girl I knocked unconscious—she wasn't a demon by choice. She was stolen from her life, ripped from the warmth of her family, twisted into something unrecognizable. And this thing in front of me? This monster cradling another child in her arms like some sick parody of a mother?
She was the reason.
She was the reason this village was drowning in grief. The reason those doors had unlocked in the dead of night. The reason parents woke up to empty cribs, to cold beds, to silence where laughter used to be.
The mansion seemed to breathe, the wooden walls groaning as if they knew what was coming. My grip on my sword tightened, my heartbeat slow and steady despite the fire raging inside me.
Her lips parted in a sultry giggle, her head tilting as she studied me like a particularly amusing toy. "You're trembling," she murmured, carefully placing the child down before rising to her full height. Her pristine white robes clung to her frame, shifting with her movements as her breasts, each one bigger than my head jiggled with each movement.
Then, with a wink, she blew a kiss. "Is it fear?"
A sharp exhale left my lips.
"Water Breathing: First Form-Water Surface Slash"
The mansion around me shuddered, the air itself splitting apart with a deafening crack as I lunged. The sound barrier shattered, an explosive burst of wind followed in my wake. My muscles screamed in protest, but I didn't care. My blade carved through the space between us, slicing clean through the demon's neck in a single stroke.
I stopped behind her, my sudden movement making a disastrous tide of wind as it slammed into the wall in front of me, bending the gigantic mansion itself. I sheathed my blade, noticing a single chip on it
"Ufufufu" The abrupt laughter halted my movement as I looked behind me, the demoness completely fine as she rested her head on her hand, her neck intact as if I never even touched it "I suppose your confidence isn't for nothing, perhaps you're one of those Hashira?"
My frown deepened as I studied her, my mind racing to piece together what had just happened. My blade had made contact. I felt it cleave through her neck. So how—
Then I noticed it.
The mansion.
The walls I had warped with my attack were fine. The tilted floors were perfectly level again. As if the damage had never existed.
I turned sharply, scanning the space behind me. The dented wall I had smashed with my attack stood untouched, pristine.
"You're quite observant," she hummed, wrapping her arms around herself with a pleased sigh. "Perhaps you won't be as boring as the last group. Because Mommy—" her smile widened, voice thick with glee "—really needs to have some fun. And you..."
Her crimson eyes gleamed.
"You look like fun~"
"Fuck off" I said frowning as I pointed my blade at her, my mind too angry to be bothered by lust,"I don't know what your ability is," I said, voice low, steady. "And I don't care." My grip tightened. "You'll die right here, right now."
She giggled, tilting her head. "Ara? Playing hard to get?" She pressed a hand to her cheek, grinning. "Very well then~ Let's see how strong your resolve—"
"You talk too much."
I was already moving.
Before she could finish, my blade flashed, cleaving through her neck a second time.
And this time, I wasn't stopping until she stayed dead.