Cannibalism: A How To Guild [Demon Slayer semi-SI]

[hypernote]

I'm going to say this out the gate: this is just something I'm writing when I'm too bored to do anything else, so expect updates to come out about as fast as a trans kid with devout catholic parents.

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The moment it happened was instantaneous.

One moment I was chomping down on my most recent kill; hoping it will finally push me over the edge I felt I was tethering on for a good while now and finally unlock my blood-demon art, and the next I remember going to sleep an entire ocean away and multiple decades into the future and simply never waking up.

So either my blood-demon art is real weird, or I've become what my past life would refer to as an 'isekai protagonist'. Or both now that I think about it.

Probably both.

Deciding that's something to deal with later, I refocus on the half eaten thigh in my hands. But just before I took another bite, my eyes flicked upwards to lock with the lifeless gaze of the woman's body I was currently eating the daughter of. At least, that's what I think their relation was, they looked similar enough and it's not like I bothered asking when I broke in and just started killing.

But that's not important, what is, is that it makes me pause slightly. 'I'm eating people.' I think, which in itself also makes me pause. I haven't been bothered about that since my second meal. Which in hindsight, was definitely a process streamlined (I pointedly ignore how I'm already using the new words and phrases I know) by demon instincts.

It takes a good moment of thinking about it to realize what's wrong; my sensibilities are clashing.

It seems the fresh injection of human memories has unburied my -admittedly strongly atrophied- anathema to cannibalism. Internal strife is something I decide cannot wait for later and stand to look into the slightly blood stained mirror on the wall.

What looks back is slitted purple eyes framed by the neck length black hair of a thin,short girl; the downside of becoming a demon when I was just starting to hit my growth spurt. I take in my own reflection, of how little of the mirror I take up and I find that it bothers me. Before, all I ever knew was being kid sized, so finding out I wasn't going to grow up didn't bother me all that much. But now I know the wonders of being able to reach the top shelf, of buying the little treat you were eyeing in the store with your own hard earned money and of being able to order the barely alcoholic drink without pulling out your ID every time. But now it's different. Hell, I was a modern day american, I wouldn't be surprised if I towered over even the men here in my old body.

It's just when I was about to resign myself to a life of 'how's the weather down there?' jokes that I remember something that my… what was that term again? Sire? Eh, sure that works. Anyway, my sire said that all demons have access to what I now would describe as 'minor shapeshifting'.

He explained it was nothing too useful, mostly just making yourself seem younger or older and growing small weak limbs. Apparently, if you're really good at it you can even seem human, even if any slayer worth half their salt would be able to see through you right away.

My sire explained a lot of stuff. Like how it was by far out of the norm to take care of who you turn like he did, he said it was because I reminded him of his daughter he had when he was human. It's been a while since we went our separate ways, I wonder how he's doing.

Closing my eyes I focus on the inhuman awareness of my body, looking for the power that should be there even if I never bothered to find it before. It takes a second but I find it in no time, but as I get ready to use it I feel a new sensation. My new blood-demon art, my instincts tell me.

I can feel as it reacts to my wants, as it tries to grab ahold of my body but it… can't. Its attempts to grasp at my cells simply ghost though them, leaving it with empty hands. But then I feel it try a different approach, instead it draws lines that I can't see but know for certain are there, and when it finishes I'm left with the image of a body in my mind's eye detailed down to the very cells.

'Weird, but I can work with this.'

With a reference in hand I breeze though crafting my body how I want it, even when the diagram depicts something outside my ability to produce; my power is quick to shift it into something more achievable. I got the impression that I should be able to recreate the image exactly if it was able to lend more of a direct hand in things, but because of that it overestimated what only I could do at first and had to course correct.

Regardless, I open my eyes to a woman with hair that stops just below her shoulder blades and whose face and figure has matured significantly. Even my plain kimono grew with me, a property of a demon's clothes actually being a special type of flesh that mimics fabric and the like.

With that out of the way I can do what I came here for.

'Ok, first off: is it even cannibalism in the first place? I mean sure, without the ability to reproduce on our own we are probably considered the same species scientifically speaking, but surely that has a limit right? Wait no, that's not the problem here, the problem is the needless killing of sapient beings. Is it needless? Eating humans makes me more powerful, and power is what I need if a slayer or another demon comes rolling though here. But is that justified? Do I even care about justice? Hmmmmm… yet to be decided.'

A sigh sounds out as I come out of my self reflection having barely gotten anywhere. 'If only I could grow stronger without killing humans, then I could just skip over that whole moral conundrum.' I'm brought out of my thoughts when the smell of the bodies catches my attention again. 'Well in any case, people who are already dead should be fair game. As well as in self defense I've decided, because I'll be damned if I let such an action go unpunished.'

But sadly, as I'm crossing the room to dig in, a voice sounds from the doorway.

"Ha! I knew I smelled a meal around here."

I turn to regard the newcomer. "What do you think you're doing here? This is my territory."

"Well about that, I found that I quite like the scenery around here, so I'm moving in." he says as he approaches. "Sorry about the late eviction notice but hey, since you went and got my dinner for me I'll overlook you being in my territory just this once." Despite this waste of good human meat's shear expertise in the FAD (Fuck Around Department) It was looking like I was going to have no choice but to send him on a one way transfer to the FOD (Find Out Department), but he also must be extremly lucky because he somehow does the one thing that would buy him a few more seconds to live and tries to treatenly squeeze my shoulder.

As soon as his hand touches my shoulder every cell in his body appears in my mind's eye, the flood of information in a form I've never experienced before manages to stunlock me. What's more is that I feel something else inside his body, a grand total of two cells are distinctly not his, immaculately bonded with him, yes, but not his.

The dipshit, of course, confuses my silence for submission and laughs smugly before walking past me, but I don't care because that interaction let me realize something, that he's not the only one with distinctly foreign cells bonded to him. because after checking my own body I find another two cells in it.

And I recognize what these things are.

My sire talked about him once; the king of demons. How he was the first of our kind, and powerful enough that even saying his name is death. Probably why I don't even know what it is. But more importantly is how since all demons descend from him; all demons have his blood running through their veins.

I didn't think he meant that so literally.

'This is preposterous! Someone else's cells running around My body!? The only thing aloud inside my body is me! I've decided as such!' My demon art once more reacts to my wants and surges towards the foreign cells, but this time its grasp finds hold. The cell's bond is great, great enough that destroying them will certainly lead to my death as well. But if the only thing aloud in my body is me; then I just have to turn what isn't into me!

Guided by instinct I plunge into the cell's DNA, twisting and turning until it more or less matches the surrounding cells. I wasn't able to get it exact; functions and mechanisms simply far too buried to remove, but now at least it looks like they belong there.

And on the second look at said functions, that's probably a good thing. Seeing my body's new addition work leads me to the conclusion that these cells are the reason that demons can do all of the crazy things they can. Sadly, my power doesn't seem to come packaged with a biology degree, so I can't even begin to speculate on how, but what I can gather is that; the more demon king cells I have, the stronger my demon abilities will become.

So of course all my plans immediately switch to getting all of them I possibly can. My first thought is to have the ones I have divide and make more, the problem being that judging from how they are reacting to the bits of human still in my stomach, these cells are very picky about what they eat and by extension what materials they use to build more of themselves. Specifically they need cells of the same species that are not bonded to a king cell.

'Well, at least I know why eating humans makes us stronger now. Also, 'king cell'? Hmmm…Yes, I have decided that that will be their name from now on.'

My second thought is to have my power rewire them to eat anything, but since I went and made my king cells an actual part of me I find that I can't 'regrab' them.

'Damn It! Maybe I acted too hastily, now the cells I do have are useless for making more of themselves in a timely manner and I have no easy way to get mo-'

CRUNCH

'...or maybe not~'

Turning, I see the asshole demon happily munching on my kill, seemingly having forgotten I was still here. 'That could work… but wouldn't I be going against the whole 'don't kill people' thing I'm trying to figure out? Hmmmmm, are demons people? ……….No. I've decided that demons in fact do not count as people, with the exception of me of course.'

"Hehe, sorry but I've decided that your death is necessary." I say unapologetically, putting my hand on his shoulder. Normally, he probably would have a response to that, but sadly for him I've already struck and locked all his muscles. Now that he cant fight back I move on to separating the king cells.

It took a bit more tugging than I thought it would but I managed to reach them into my palm, and just like I predicted, the demon immediately begins turning to ash but I pay him no mind.

Turning my palm upward, I stare at the cells on them. I can't actually see them of course but my power assures me their there, so I bring my hand up to my mouth and lick them off my palm.

Immediately I'm stricken with an intense pain as my body starts bulging and morphing unnaturally, the king cells violently bonding with my body with no care of the damage they cause. 'Bad Idea! Bad Idea! If I don't do something, they're going to tear me apart!' Thinking fast, I grab the cells in my power's grasp, then I repeat what I did with my own on the new ones hoping it works.

Luckily that seems to do it as the pain soon fizzles out and my body returns to normal.

'What the fuck! Can this body only handle two cells!? What the hell!'

I stay laid out on the floor, having been brought there from my pained writhing, just looking at the ceiling. "Heh, if I wasn't a cannibal before, then I definitely am now." I say for all the ghosts to hear.

"Hm? Oh, is someone inside? If you don't mind, I would like to ascertain some of the rumors about a maneating monster around here." A new voice sounds from outside.

'Ugh, of course.'

 

[Despacitoleo]

Hm? Oh, is someone inside? If you don't mind, I would like to ascertain some of the rumors about a maneating monster around here." A new voice sounds from outside.

Click to shrink...

oof mega bad luck

 

[Hyperionthetitan]

Wonder if he can just commmand muzan blood to make more of himself by consuming someone from inside out without bonding

oof mega bad luck

Click to shrink...

I mean.....bro got a bad touch power , demon slayer gotta be pretty high rank to not get insta-killed.