Chapter Twenty: The Arrival at Spider Mountain

Chu Fan retraced his steps to the Chrysanthemum House, guided by his memories.

“Lord Hanyu, you’ve returned so quickly?” Little Chrysanthemum asked in surprise, seeing Chu Fan come back.

“I just had to take care of a few things. It didn’t take long,” Chu Fan replied as he strode toward the courtyard.

The fated one who had transformed into a demon was already on the move, so Chu Fan had to seize every moment to temper his strength as much as possible. He understood that there would be plenty of time for rest and relaxation in the future—just not now.

With that, Chu Fan began his training. That evening, Little Chrysanthemum received word from other members of the Demon Slayer Corps. She learned that the Lord Hanyu she served had been fully recognized by the master of the mansion, bestowed with the title of Flame Pillar, and had become one of the ten strongest and only Pillars within the Corps.

This realization filled Little Chrysanthemum with even greater admiration for Lord Hanyu. She doubled her efforts in tending to every aspect of Chu Fan’s daily life, determined that he would need worry about nothing but battle itself.

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More than twenty days slipped by without notice.

It was now nearly a month since Chu Fan had entered the world of Demon Slayer. In these past weeks, he had constantly been sent on missions, slaying a total of thirty-four demons. There was never a moment of idleness; at any hour, new orders might arrive, summoning him to action.

When Chu Fan had originally watched the story of Demon Slayer, everything had unfolded from the perspective of Tanjiro Kamado, the world’s chosen son. From that vantage, demons seemed almost rare. Now he realized it was only because most were slain by other Demon Slayers, or by one of the nine Pillars.

Even so, in just half a month, Chu Fan had already defeated five fated ones, fully unlocking his Devourer talent.

Under the shroud of night, Chu Fan finished a cup of instant noodles and glanced at his attributes:

Gender: Male
Age: 19
Exclusive Inheritance: Avatar of Extremity
Level: LV.3 (This indicates rank, not absolute strength.)
Health: 100%
Mana: 180 (Intelligence x10, current natural mana recovery rate: 15 per hour.)

Strength: 20 (Devourer +3)
Agility: 20 (Devourer +3)
Intelligence: 18 (Devourer +1)
Constitution: 17 (Devourer +2)
Spirit: 17 (Devourer +1)
Charisma: 6
Luck: 6

With this round of devouring complete, Chu Fan’s overall power had increased dramatically. He was now confident he could conquer the world of Demon Slayer—provided the world’s chosen one survived. If not, even Chu Fan would be at a loss as to where to find Tamayo, the demon so crucial to Muzan Kibutsuji’s downfall.

In the original storyline, it was with Tamayo and Shinobu Kocho’s jointly-developed poison—at the cost of many Pillars’ lives—that Muzan was finally held off until sunrise, when his monstrous regenerative abilities could no longer save him.

Chu Fan’s swordplay was not particularly exceptional, and his own flames were not yet strong enough to incinerate Muzan in an instant. Thus, he too would need the poison developed by Tamayo and Shinobu to weaken Muzan, ensuring his own victory.

Having been in the world of Demon Slayer for just about a month, Chu Fan already possessed a staggering 10,650 Chosen Coins.

He knew that had he chosen the path of the demons—becoming a demon himself and aiding Muzan in exterminating humanity—his journey would have been far less perilous. Yet, by siding with humankind, he faced much greater danger, especially when Muzan launched a full-scale assault, likely wiping out the Demon Slayer Corps entirely.

But the higher the risk, the greater the reward. Already, the gains from this world had exceeded his expectations.

Of course, this all depended on his surviving long enough to escape, or conquer, this world.

Demon Slayer’s world was rated only a Level 2 in danger. Chu Fan was certain that this was entirely due to Muzan Kibutsuji’s presence. He had not forgotten that Muzan possessed the horrifying ability to fully regenerate in a single second. Furthermore, anyone injured by Muzan would soon be demonized, incapable of defying his commands.

Over the past two weeks, Chu Fan had discovered that while a UV flashlight could kill demons completely, it was not the same as direct sunlight. The stronger the demon, the longer the UV light needed to be applied. This had dashed his hopes of simply swooping in at the final battle and claiming victory with a well-timed flash of ultraviolet.

Thus, he would have to rely on the native strength of the world’s own characters.

Only this way could he secure his safety while reaping the greatest rewards and leaving this world.

Chu Fan himself was tempted to learn the various Breathing Techniques of Demon Slayer. The Pillars’ extraordinary bodies and strength were all thanks to these methods, which taught practitioners to control their power with precision.

Put simply, the Breathing Techniques were a means of elevating one’s abilities and mastering advanced skills.

However, there was the matter of his less-than-friendly relationships with the other Pillars. Having been appointed a Pillar from the outset, he had no opportunity to become a disciple and learn a specific Breathing Technique lineage.

Still, Chu Fan saw advantages in his instant elevation to Pillar rank. It meant he had no need to worry about mundane affairs, and any sign of demon activity would be reported to him immediately. This was precisely why he had managed to slay so many demons in such a short time.

“It should be about time,” he mused, sitting atop the roof, gazing up at the brilliant white moon. He recalled how Shinobu Kocho had left just moments before and calculated the timing.

Chu Fan remembered that soon after Tanjiro Kamado, the world’s chosen son, began his demon-slaying journey, the Mount Natagumo incident would occur—a turning point where Tanjiro, after a life-or-death struggle, would master the Breath of the Sun and grow much stronger.

Although Tanjiro was nearly judged by the Demon Slayer Corps because of his demon-turned sister, Nezuko, Chu Fan still held him in high regard. After all, Tanjiro was a genuinely good and helpful person, but not so self-sacrificing as to be a saint. When faced with demons, he would always wield his blade, no matter how tragic their past.

In short, Tanjiro was a protagonist brimming with positive energy, one very difficult to dislike.

Chu Fan couldn’t recall all the exact dates of the major events in Demon Slayer, but he remembered that after Tanjiro waited half a month for his sword and set out, the Mount Natagumo incident soon followed.

Just then, Hanyu’s crow swooped down.

“Flame Pillar Hanyu, proceed at once to Mount Natagumo.”

Hearing both the mission and the location, Chu Fan smiled. The instant noodle cup in his hand was reduced to ashes by fire, and he himself vanished in a blaze of flame.