1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Demon Slayer Chronicles: The Crimson Mist Demon Part 3: Enemy of my enemy

by ThAtGuY101

ThAtGuY101 This is a continuation of part 2. In the last episode Ren faced a demon by the coast. Ren got a good idea of how vile and desperate demons can be, but continues his journey. I plan to make this a five part series.
As Ren lie there under a bed in the middle of seemingly nowhere, the smell of a dead man was a constant reminder of where he was at. The smell was past its due, and worsening. Ren could only hope for nightfall to arrive soon. With light being so close, he couldn't even get out and train. It was a grueling agonizing day lying there, but he managed to sleep through most of it without a hitch. Nightfall came, and the house was vacant once more.

Ren needed to find somewhere else to turn to, but where? Ren knew only two places; the village he grew up in and the cave he last called home. There was nothing for Ren except his primal urges to attack and eat people. Ren was still a demon and had many thoughts of killing people. It wouldn't be that hard. Plenty travelers went down roads by themselves. Who would miss one random traveling merchant? Hiding evidence was pretty easy. It's not like Ren had anything better to do. Train? Ren knew he couldn't really just train forever and ever. Ren needed to risk it all. He needed thrill. Excitement. Something to get his heart pumping.

Ren decided to toss the body over the cliff. He laughed to himself. He didn't care about the person one bit. It's not like his spirit would come back and thank Ren for not eating his remains or for burying him. There was no reward for any of his good behavior. Ren just made good moral based decisions because of his ego.

"Ren heard laughing in the distance, "Hahahaa! You really are dumb, aren't you? Wasting good food too? The hell is wrong with you boy?!?! Ha! You got a tummy ache? big baby can't eat? HA!!!" A demon voice yelled out.
"N-nooo!!! Who the hell are you?! Stupid demons never know how to mind their own business!!" Ren yelled back.
"Listen here you little shhh, you wanna go?! I only came here to kill my rival. Ugly looking demon. Fast but not smart, made his home in that shack over there. The name is Nash, so who the hell are you?" Nash asked.
"Rival? The demon that lived there?!" Ren asked.
"You get that shhh outta your ears and maybe you can hear me" Nash interrupted Ren.
"Your uglier than he was, and also I killed him! Me! Ren Arasaka!" Ren snapped.
"Huh... Ha! Uhahahahahahhahhaah!!! You killed twitchy? You... A pathetic newblood. RIDICULOUS!!! Twitchy was weak, but knew his way in a fight and was pretty damn quick too. You beat him?" Nash said.
"Twitchy?" Ren asked.
"Yes, Twitchy. Don't know if he has a name or not but I just call him twitchy. Cause he's always spazzing out and mess. If you killed him then... Hmmm... Well There goes my day... I planned on killing him and you done did it for me. This is quite the pickle. Say newblood... You got any place to stay? Something to do? Something to get off your mind...? I've been a demon for a pretty long time so I know what its like dealing with this curse. It's hard. It really is" Nash said in a calm flat tone of voice.

Ren didn't know this demon, was he trying to trick Ren? His emotions seemed genuine enough. Ren didn't much like Nash, but he seemed like a capable man, and he also seemed to relate to Ren's struggles. Ren had nothing better to do with his time.

"I think I can do that for now" Ren said.
"I had a feeling you'd say that. You and me... Nobody can stand in our way. My strength and intelligence... and... Your assistance... Your gonna go places, kid. Nash said with a smug grin.
"I beat your rival! The guy you didn't kill, that pretty much puts me on your level" Ren said.
"Yeah yeah... Fair enough. Our combined strength" Nash said before chuckling.
"Let's head to my place. Not too far from here. Sunrise isn't going to happen for a long while but we might as well head to my place so you can know where it is at least" Nash said.


The two eventually arrived at a large hill. The hill was both tall and wide, and oddly isolated. A thicket of trees sat in the middle tucked away inside the hill. It looked as if the hill had a giant mouth in the center of it. The place was extremely easy to miss unless you climbed atop one of the hill and were looking down on the densely overgrown tree filled area that took the shape of a dome. Moss, vines, and all sorts of foliage made it impossible to actually see inside the place. It was like a cave made of plant life.

"Home sweet home!" Nash said.
Ren looked around, he didn't bother to speak.
"Make yourself at home. Feel free to wonder around, but don't be an idiot. be back here before sunrise. I'd give you a tour, but don't feel like it. So feel free to just poke around wherever you want. Get your bearings... yadda yadda yadda. I'm sure you can find a guest room to sleep in. The fancy room with the red stained floor is my room. Not yours. Other than that, you can look around wherever you want" Nash said before jumping and seemingly disappearing into the ground. Ren looked over and saw a hole in the ground. Big enough for a person to jump in. It was a really deep hole, and pretty dark too. A normal person falling in this hole would likely sustain potential injuries. Ren could tell there was a tunnel leading towards Nash's home.

Ren finally made a new friend. Life wasn't going to all of the sudden become perfect, but it felt better. He had someone he can talk to again. Someone he could share his struggle with. Someone to listen to him. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Though Ren wasn't gonna get sentimental all of the sudden. He was still the egotistical brat he had always been, ain't nothin' gonna change that.

He decided to look around the surrounding area before heading in Nash's home. The place was beautiful. Wide open fields for miles on end. Though there weren't any signs of villages nearby either. Which was kinda nice and unnerving at the same time. Part of Ren still missed living in a village with normal human friends, and seeing normal people go about their day. Though that was never coming back. The lack of nearby settlements felt like a good thing too, he didn't see anything to remind him of the past. Just his friend Nash and the great outdoors.

Ren stood atop the edge of the hill looking down at the plains then at the thicket. He leaped into the hole leading up to the thicket. It was pretty dark inside the thicket of trees. The trees formed a large dome. A giant hut sat in the very center of it all. The hut took up most of the space within the thicket. Most of the trees were around the edges of the hut creating the dome around the hut. A few trees here and there sat randomly in the area surrounding the hut. The trees bent and twisted in strange shapes and angles. Plants stretched and contorted in different directions so that no light could enter the sanctuary. It looked so unnatural the way the plants created the dome surrounding the hut, but if daylight came, they'd be pretty protected. The hut was even darker, kinda like a second layer of defense from the sun.

The hut had many strong smells. All pleasant smells. The smells came from various plants and things. The plant smells were so strong that they could probably mask the scent of corpses. Something seemed a bit odd about the plants, but Ren couldn't quite put his finger on it. he eventually found a vacant room that looked like it could be slept in. Nash was somewhere in the hut of a home. This seemed like an okay place for Ren to sleep when daytime rolls around. "Home sweet home, huh?" Ren muttered to himself.
~Rinko~ and Willow Tree like this.