The Life and Times of an Average Coward|| Demon Slayer

Chapter 15: Safe and Sound

The Life and Times of an Average Coward

Chapter 15: Safe and Sound

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There's a lot to be said if someone ever told my past self that I would be reborn and become a monster exterminator of some sort.

My past self would probably laugh at the absurdity of the claim while also unmistakably shitting my pants and questioning God and the order of Life if that was ever true. If it would ever be true. And now, I'm just fully accepting that yes, I became a demon slayer and yes, I somehow landed the tragic backstory trope and that yes, my full character development has yet to be realized because I'm still in the middle of settling at my own skin and working on self-improvement.

By self-improvement I meant being more confident about myself because let's be honest, I have the emotional capacity of a chickpea and a self-esteem of a newly defeathered peacock. Even if I don't want to admit it, my bastard of a sperm donor from the other life had affected me so much that I still can't get rid of the hateful piercing words that he hurled at me ever since I was able to comprehend what it was.

Just goes to show that my old gene donator had S+ parenting skills.

(Please note the sarcasm, 'cause like hell was he a good for anything.)

Self-improvement aside, I also have to bump up my capacity for enduring anxiety, stress and fear. I can't just faint when I'm on a mission! It's a serious health hazard, not only for myself but also for the people I was supposed to protect.

I have to strengthen my heart and my will to face them. As what Shinazugawa-senpai had imparted, soft people have no business in this type of business that I launched myself into. It leads to my highly probable death and death of the many. Which at all cost is a scenario that I don't want to happen right now or ever.

Breathing is a fun activity after all, and I want to continue doing it for at least five or seven more decades.

Fainting is a big NO when on the job but,

"Who killed it?"

I blinked once, twice, thrice, but the ashes and the demon's possessions are still there. Finally, I looked around the deserted street but the darkness only stared back at me, even when trying to strain my ears for anyone close by who could possibly help me nothing came back, just deep breathes and calm heartbeats that complies to the villagers all seemingly dead to the world.

H-How? What? C-Could it be a ghost? If demons are real t-then demon-killing ghost could also be possible!

C-Crkk...

The sound of a scrunching rock from out of nowhere had me shooting up and barely swallowing a screech, quickly turning towards the sound, I brandished my sword to no one. The only evidence that someone was there was a scuttling little cat who was cautiously looking at me with glowing golden eyes.

An apology was about to spill from my lips for scaring the little creature but something off caught my eyes.

Under the glow of the full moon and a forgotten oil lamp on a house's porch, there in the sharp curve of my blade was an unmistakable crimson liquid lining the sharp edge of the sword.

"W-What?"

Did I?

My hand holding the sword started to shake as I continued to stare at it. There's no way is it? There's no fucking way that I killed that demon when I deadass fainted when it started showing off the mouth – a very grizzly, sharp-fanged mouth that is – in its stomach, monologuing how it was easier to eat a lot of people that way when its mouth is connected to its stomach. Just remembering how disgusting that was makes me want to throw up.