The One-Horned Swamp Demon (沼ぬま鬼おに Numa oni?) is a demonic creature who was responsible for a series of kidnappings during Tanjiro Kamado’s first mission for the Demon Slayer Corps.
🔥PRODUCTS OF THE MOMENT🔥
Appearance
The One-Horned Swamp Demon was a pale-skinned young man with long blue hair adorned with two purple locks on either side of his face, held in place by golden dividers. Like many other demons, he had clawed nails and prominent veins on his forehead, almost replacing his eyebrows. His red eyes were devoid of pupils and had marked dark bags. Being able to divide into several demons, each incarnation differed in the number of horns and the clothes worn. All three demons were dressed in shinobi garb.
The main body had a single horn in the upper center of the forehead and wore a long-sleeved shinobi outfit with armbands and a mesh collar. The collar was adorned with three small centered ribbons. The inside of his coat featured compartments where he kept his collection of hair clips from his victims.
The second body had two horns, one on each side of the forehead. His shinobi outfit had no sleeves, but triangular meshes were present in his armpits and on his chest.
The third body had three horns, each where the horns of the other two bodies had been. He wore a shinobi outfit with mesh sewn along his arms, shoulders and torso. Under his coat, he wore a sleeveless turtleneck.
Personality
Splitting into three, the One-Horned Swamp Demon also shared different facets of his personality, making them act differently from one another.
The main demon was calm, analytical and collected. He gave advice to the others and even suggested to his second body to calm down, making him the leader of the demon trio. A logical thinker, he questioned the relationship between Tanjiro and Nezuko, deeming it abnormal because of the way demons behave towards humans. He boasted prematurely of his victories and called Tanjiro a fool for voluntarily entering his swamp. He generally kept his cool, but also showed sociopathic tendencies, targeting 16-year-old girls and collecting trophies in the form of hair ornaments.
The second demon, although as intelligent as the main one, was more violent, impulsive and emotional. He expressed the emotions that the main demon repressed.
The third demon, on the other hand, showed no visible emotions and acted more by instinct, like a hound accompanying its master. He followed both the main demon and the second demon. He was unable to articulate a word.
The three demons shared a love of kidnapping and devouring 16-year-old girls, excellent cooperation and a deep fear of Muzan Kibutsuji, so much so that their bodies trembled at the mere mention of his name. They believed that women aged and became ugly after the age of 16, and that their flesh tasted bad. They even considered that girls should be grateful to be devoured at this age.
History
Before becoming a demon, the One-Horned Swamp Demon was a human being who met Muzan. The latter violently beat him and transformed him into a demon. Muzan strictly forbade him to tell anyone else about himself, on pain of immediate reprisal. Since then, the One-Horned Swamp Demon has lived in constant terror of Muzan.
Synopsis
First Mission
Every night, a young girl goes missing in a northwestern town. One evening, Kazumi and his fiancée Satoko are strolling through town when the girl suddenly disappears. Kazumi is blamed for the disappearance, but rumors circulate that a demon is prowling around at night.
Tanjiro, a member of the Demon Killer Corps, receives his first assignment: to go to the town and track down the demon. He believes Kazumi’s story, and the two men spend the day searching for clues. That night, the demon becomes active.
The demon uses his art of the Blood Demon to draw a young girl named Tokie into his swampy dimension. The smell becomes stronger and Tanjiro manages to follow her to the exact spot where the demon is holding her underground. He thrusts his blade into the ground, opening a portal, and manages to save Tokie by pulling her out of the dimension.
A shapeshifting demon then appears from the swamp and roars towards Tanjiro before disappearing again. Kazumi, who has arrived late, asks Tanjiro to hold Tokie while he protects them. Tanjiro examines the area and identifies possible points of appearance for the demon. Even when immersed in the swamp, the demon’s scent doesn’t disappear.
Tanjiro senses that the demon is ready to attack and prepares himself by using Water Breathing: Fifth Form – Blessed Rain after Drought. He rushes to the spot where the portal will appear. However, three puddles appear and three different demons emerge from the swamp. Tanjiro manages to dodge their attacks and prepares to face them using Water Breath: Eighth Form – Waterfall Basin.
Unfortunately, his attack is too superficial due to his haste, and he only manages to tear off the arms of one of the demons. He calms down and decides to ask the demon about Muzan Kibutsuji. The demon then tries to attack Kazumi and Tokie, but Tanjiro protects them using Water Breath: Second Form – Water Wheel.
Although his attack is again too superficial, Tanjiro manages to save the others. He strikes two more blows at the demon, but misses and the demon retreats. Tanjiro can’t go after him, nor can he fully attack with Kazumi and the girl nearby. The two-horned demon warns Tanjiro to back off, or the girl will lose her taste. The three-horned demon asks the other demon to calm down and claims to have already devoured many sixteen-year-old girls. Kazumi then asks what he has done with his fiancée, and discovers that she has been devoured by the demon.
Furious, Tanjiro narrowly avoids a surprise attack by the three-horned demon. His arm brushes against the wall beside Tanjiro, but the latter leaps over the demon and slices off his arm. Thinking it’s all over, Tanjiro realizes he’s come too close to the wall. He turns to avoid the demon’s attack and is forced back by an attack from below. The two-horned demon narrowly misses being hit as it springs up from behind, but Nezuko steps out of his box and breaks the demon’s neck.
The One-Horned Swamp Demon asks why a swordswoman is accompanying a demon. The broken two-horned demon repairs his neck, then all the demons disappear into the swamp. Under Sakonji Urokodaki’s hypnotic influence, Nezuko considers all humans her family and fights to protect them. She rushes towards the demons emerging from the swamp and tries to crush them with a powerful axe.
The demon disappears into the swamp to escape the attack. They try to get away from the girl, but Tanjiro asks her to come back to his side. She runs towards him and one of the demons tries to grab her, but she easily avoids it. Tanjiro then realizes that he can let Nezuko protect Kazumi while he concentrates on the attack.
A swamp portal opens beneath them to distract them while the two-horned demon attacks the girls. Nezuko protects Kazumi and repels the demon. Tanjiro asks Nezuko to continue protecting Kazumi while he goes underground. He descends into the demon’s swampy dimension, where the air is thin and the clothes of many victims are floating.
The two demons inside the swamp think Tanjiro will have trouble moving and breathing, considering him a fool for going down there. They quickly swim towards him, but the young demon slayer is not to be underestimated. He’s spent over two years training at the top of Sagiri Mountain, where the air is much rarer than inside the swamp. It was here that he also learned the forms of water breathing, which can only release their full potential when used underwater.
The demons move away, trying to attack Tanjiro from a different angle, but he is aware of the threat. He uses a technique that can be triggered without absolute certainty, a ferocious cutting whirlpool created by a violent twisting of his upper and lower body: Water Breath: Sixth Form – Whirlpool.
The vortex shreds demons, killing them instantly. Despite his victory, Tanjiro is saddened by the number of victims caused by the demons. He begins to run out of air and swims back to the entrance of the swamp. Meanwhile, Nezuko masters the last remaining demon with her bare hands.
Nezuko dodges four consecutive attacks from the demon, including a powerful punch that shakes the ground. She follows up with a powerful punch to the demon’s gut, causing him to spit blood. The demon manages to dodge the next punch, but is immediately stunned by a series of punches and kicks. The demon tries to dive back into the swamp, but Nezuko acts quickly with sweeping kicks to stop him escaping. She tries to reach him with a flying kick, but he manages to block the attack.
The One-Horned Swamp Demon is too quick for him to dive back into the swamp, but he quickly adapts to Nezuko’s direct fighting style. They exchange a few blows which they manage to deflect or avoid, until the demon narrowly blocks another violent blow to the head. He manages to block Nezuko’s next combo, convinced that he can regenerate from all the blows she deals him. The demon rushes towards Nezuko and manages to block her direct blow, giving him the opportunity to claw at her forehead.
The swamp demon tries to kill Nezuko by digging his claws into her face, but Tanjiro emerges from the portal in time to save his sister. Tanjiro slices off the demon’s arm, telling him never to raise a hand against his beloved sister. He then slices off the demon’s other arm before it can attack again, and finally defeats the demon.
The last swamp demon collapses and realizes that his fellow demons have been killed. Tanjiro tells him that he gives off a terrible stench and asks him how many girls he has kidnapped. The demon tries to justify his actions by claiming to kill girls so that they don’t age and taste bad. Irritated, Tanjiro cuts out his tongue and moves on to the next question.
Tanjiro brings his blade close to the demon, forcing him back against a fence. He demands to know all the information the demon holds on Muzan. However, Tanjiro is unprepared for the paralyzing fear the demon has instilled in him about Muzan. Trembling with fear, the demon is unable to speak. Tanjiro cuts off his head and kills him.
Abilities
The Swamp Demon was a demon of modest power who could use the Blood Demon Arts to his advantage. Like Hantengu, he had the ability to split his personality into multiple bodies.
Supernatural abilities
Art of the Blood Demon
Swamp Domain: The Swamp Demon had the ability to create a swamp-like pocket dimension. He could move freely within this dimension and use it to snatch victims. The dimension often manifested itself as a puddle of water moving across the ground.
Auto-replication: The Swamp Demon could split into three distinct bodies, each with different characteristics, such as the number of horns on their head and their clothing.
Battles
Arc of the first mission
- Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado against the Swamp Demon
Anecdotes
- The Swamp Demon ranked 51st in the first character popularity poll, with 8 votes.
- The Swamp Demon’s ability to divide his emotions and self-awareness into different bodies is similar to that of the higher-ranked 4 demon, Hantengu.
- Based on his shinobi-like clothing and stealth, it’s likely that the Swamp Demon was a shinobi before becoming a demon, like the Pillar of Sound, Tengen Uzui.
🔥PRODUCTS OF THE MOMENT🔥
