Chapter 284: Undead’s Strangeness

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

***

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.

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Not only that, their bodies seemed more corroded than usual, as if they could collapse at a quicker rate than previously noted.

"Graaaghhh!"

The two turned their heads from side-to-side. 

Still, without any other appearances, Nik decided to kill one of the duo and watch as the other consumed him to note changes.

***

"The total number of these demons did not even reach a dozen." 

Elizabeth frowned at the report. But making sense of the situation wasn't the task to be handled, it was to formulate strategies.

With the pillars gathered and a Ray and Shizuka, Elizabeth looked at everyone and sighed softly.

"Since we all are already a part of [Transmigration Paradise], there is no need to uphold pretenses."

Elizabeth was right— Obanai, Shigure, Saeko, Mitsuri, Shinobu, and Shizuka— were already a part of the system through Nik or Ray. Everyone within the room knew the importance of this event since it was the main mission for the duo lust bearers.

"These... Zombies," Elizabeth still had slight trouble pronouncing the name of the species accepted by Nik and Ray, "They die when their heads are targeted. They are sentient and are willing to devour the corpses of their own to increase the capability of their bodies by an extremely slight margin. Alongside their neck, just like demons, the sun is also their bane."

Elizabeth noted their findings, "Not only that, but the blood running through their veins is corrosive to organic materials. Even Hamon seems to be less effective on them and only the physical destruction of their head remains the method to defeat them."

At this moment, Shinobu's expression turned sour, after all, her poison held almost no effect, marking that the wisteria blossoms are completely useless against these strange foes.

"Then isn't it simple?"

Mitsuri questioned with a tilt of her head.

"We just have to hold till morning every day," She spoke as she gazed through the window. Like usual, the rays from the sun instantly ignited the demons in a rowdy manner.

"It is not that simple."

Shinobu shook her head and grasped the true source of headache, "The fact that they aren't mindless like we previously thought drastically changes the situation.

All of the dead within the state will rise and many of them will start devouring each other. Eating one or two of their own doesn't matter much, but with the sheer number, devouring hundreds of corpses doesn't look a fantasy. 

And if luck isn't on our side, then it is safe to assume that alongside their physical capacity, even their mental capacity is reinvigorated after each consumption. it is not hard to assume that the aforementioned zombies would hide from the sun before emerging once again to continue growing stronger."

The mood of everyone in the room fell considerably.

"Well, firstly, instead of talking about possibilities, I suggest that we clear out the graveyards in the village," Obanai spoke with a calm expression, "And then, we break the news to our troops and arrange the ranks accordingly to attain maximum efficiency."

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