Chapter 282 - Undeads Strangeness (1/2)

A big shout-out to Dragonshark-eater for contributing to my patron. Thank you!

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The swordsmith village was situated on the base of a mountain with some of its sites extending to the minor hills in the region. The arrival of the so-called demons caused the intended panic that Muzan had previously planned, alas, panic was something he did not need. It was Ray's embrace that seemed far more attractive than any power the founder of demons could have imagined.

With a deep breath, Nik composed himself. He, alongside the other Pillars, was dispatched to become the first wave of defense against the apocalyptic demons with the ranks of demon slayer lower than the Pillars flooding the perimeters of the village. This brought the second objective to the dispatch of pillars and not the ordinary demon slayers.

To test the demons and finding the best method to extinguish the threat. While many, including Nik, hypothesized that the death of these demons could conclude with their decapitation, the theory had an urgent need to be proved and this is where the pillars came in. They were not expected to vanquish all foes, instead, they were tasked with finding the most efficient method to deal with the enemies and report such methods back to the two core slayers that were responsible to eradicate any threat with extreme prejudice— Elizabeth and Shizuka.

Gazing at the slowly approaching growling demon, or more appropriately, a— zombie— Nik analyzed the situation. It had come to his attention that each environment held its unique qualities and the burden to identify the said advantages and disadvantages lied upon the sensible warrior. If it was Nik before his recent obsession with finding ways to improve his sense of battle, then he would have suggested arranging a wildfire.

But now, such a suggestion was fraught with layers of problems and self-harm. The smoke from the wildfire would have turned into a major source of headaches. Not to mention, the trees were clearly proving to be an obstacle for the demons, but this particular advantage also proved to be a disadvantage since the demon slayers armed with swords were quite limited, too. Finally, the forest provided a continuous source of nutrition for the villagers and the demon slayers necessary to survive for at least— 20 Days.

”Gaghrrghhh...”

Unlike demons, when Nik observed the zombies with his [Life Vision], instead of malevolent negative Hamon, what flooded Nik's consciousness was a rotten form of energy that seemed neither positive or negative Hamon, even the energy of the particular ghosts that had just recently 'unhaunted' Nezuko and Tanjiro seemed quite tame in comparison to the rotting grey energy.

Detecting three sources of such energy, Nik decided to fully evaluate these creatures for himself. According to multiple fictions he read during his break time when he worked for Yuuko, the zombies are slow and the only way they can detect their living counterpart was through the sound.

Well, at least, they were slow.

But blind they were not. With their grey pupils shining alongside the fact that even after staying at the same spot silently, the three zombies had their heads tilted to his direction. Instead of his Nichirin Blade, however, Nik equipped his War Gauntlets (Purple). Although battling the opponents with a sword provided Nik with appropriate reach to prepare for any unfavorable situation, Nik has also found himself inept in the way of sword time and again.

It was the basic movements of his body that he was truly comfortable with. To grab a head and smash it on the ground, to punch someone in the chest while also uppercutting the opponent's balls at the same time.

With the dull silver pair of Gauntlets automatically equipped on his forearms snugly, Nik stepped forward, taking the initiative to strike. His steps turned into blurred rush towards the middle zombie, his fists clenched, Nik smashed his fist into the undefended head of the monster before jumping at a moment's notice.

The reason he chose to attack the middle zombie was due to the close proximity of a sturdy tree. With a measured jump, even a slightly inexperienced demon slayer could land on the branch unscathed.

”Grughhh!”

Grunts of confusion rang through the two of the zombies, painting a picture depicting that these creatures weren't completely mindless, startling Nik slightly. But if the notion of a single fist strike destroying the opponent's head managed to ease Nik, the sudden change of targets from the side of the zombies alarmed Nik.

Once again, as the unpleasant scent flooded the environment, Nik was now able to observe the decay of the sparse weeds in the close proximity of the corpse of the already 'dead'. Within a few moments, the other two Zombies reached their deceased ally. In a moment's notice, the two of them knelt next to the once again killed ally— Not to chant prayers, no!

Pccht!

Even without a strong set of teeth, the two zombies tore the skin of the deceased Zombie with their toothless jaws, sending a shiver down Nik as she easily observed that the jaws were strong enough to not only tear through the muscles, but also dent the brittle bones.

Still, Nik decided to sit on the scene, carefully observing the situation. These weren't the Zombies of fiction he had read. These creatures were much more sentient and the liquid flowing through their veins actually had a slight corrosive effect on the plants. This corrosive effect, Nik assumed, could easily extend to humans.

But as they finished last dregs of their fallen partner, Nik decided to launch his [Life Vision] once again, wishing to observe if there was a change in the duo's life-force signature and it did, just by a slight amount though.