[3rd POV]
(Location : Tokyo)
"I am going to miss you very much while I am away dear," said a woman wearing a purple kimono and expensive jewellery that showcased her unspoken wealth.
"I know, and I will feel the same," replied her husband.
"Are you sure you can't come with us? My father would very much like to meet you again, and so would my mother," the woman asked in an almost whiny tone, like a little girl begging for candy.
The husband smiles, "You know I can't do that. I have our business to take care of. You go without me, we will reunite when winter recedes,"
Winter was a time when farmers could rest as crops were harvested and you needed to wait for summer for the cycle to start again. Therefore, traditionally, Japanese people used this time to visit relatives and spend time with them. So even if you were not a farmer, the tradition sticks.
The woman was doing the same thing. She was going to spend the winter with her parents, but her husband could not join her because he had a business to run in Tokyo. Unlike agriculture, the business world had no moment of rest.
"Then do I have to go? I can spend the winter with you instead," the woman insisted.
"I know how much you've missed your parents. I would feel bad if you didn't go just because of me," the husband replied. He communicated gently, not only with the tone of his voice but also with his words.
"Besides, your parents would want to see their grandson. I couldn't possibly rob them of that," he said, looking at the little toddler, who was about three years old, sitting on the woman's lap.
The woman hummed, not arguing, but she did not like the answer either. In the end, her head dropped a little in defeat, and she hugged her child tightly.
"Say goodbye to Daddy," the woman said, waving the baby's chubby little hand. "Daddy we will miss you."
The man smiled, seemingly with heart but the emotion was as shallow as a foreskin. It was not a real smile, more like the pinching of skin that imitates a smile.
"I love you," the woman said at last. Her voice came out needy and vulnerable. There was a flicker of hope in the tone that hoped that he would say it back, but it wouldn't be the first time even if he didn't. History had let her down.
The husband popped a vein in his forehead and his tongue pushed the inside of his mouth. Then with barely hidden hesitance, he replied.
"I love you too,"
The woman smiled so brightly but the man looked like he ate shit. He seemed appalled that he had just declared affection to a lump of flesh he deemed imperfect.
The woman didn't see that. Maybe people had a clue when they coined the saying love is blind.
"See you soon!!" she said and no sooner the door to the car she was sitting in closed with a loud clanking noise of iron hitting iron.
And then the car left, leaving the man to remain stranded in his place while he watched them disappear in the horizon.
"Distasteful," he mumbled after they were gone.
It was out of necessity and convenience that he decided to live in a city populated by humans. But oftentimes, when the desire to rip them apart became too strong, he would wonder if it was even worth it.
The only entities that could harm him were long dead. If not for the convenience of human technology for his research, he wouldn't have bothered.
He did not feel fondness for his wife. She was just a human, a creature full of flaws compared to his near-perfect self.
Revolting.
But then again, the woman - his wife, would not have loved him either if she knew her real husband was dead and was replaced by a millennia-old genocidal demon lord who was about the vilest creature in existence.
Muzan turned around and walked in the opposite direction from where the car had left. The streets of Tokyo were busy even at night, pulsing with life which brought a sense of satisfaction to him. The growing population was a good thing for him, it meant more prey and it also allowed him to kill a dozen people with barely anyone noticing.
The streetlights and the noise though, were almost annoying to his sensitive senses. It was like a prickling sensation in the back of his mind. He made his way through the road, people looked at him with recognition as he did so.
A respectable business with wealth. That was the person Muzan was impersonating.,
He walked until he reached a different ward entirely, where the eyes of recognition from people stopped. He continued walking until the people got fewer and fewer.
Finally, he was in a part of the city that had barely anyone left. He made a quick turn to an empty alley. The smell of piss, human shit and garbage made his nose scrunch up.
Human waste. Such imperfect beings.
"Nakime," Muzan called out in the empty alley and in the very next moment, the sound of a single string being strummed was heard.
No sooner than later, the echo was followed by a paper door that suddenly appeared under Muzan's feet. The door opened and he allowed himself to fall through.
The sight of infinite rooms shifting and shuffling like the pieces of an endless puzzle greeted him. The dimension was an infinite room that was ever expanding yet contracting at the same time.
The infinity castle.
In this dimension, space followed the whim of a subordinated entity. Gravity shifted, right was down, left was down and sometimes up was down. Logic died the moment Muzan stepped into the dimension.
After less than a minute of falling, Muzan landed in a room where Nakime was sitting. She was a demon who worked directly under Muzan due to the sheer utility of her power.
The demon had one eye like a cyclops and she wore a loose traditional kimono. Her wet raven hair fell from her pale head and she held a biwa - a Japanese guitar.
"Lord Muzan," Nakime prostate in front of him, "What can I do for you?"
Muzan gazed at the demon for a long time, silence stretched and Nakime became nervous. Yet there was not a speck of emotion to be read on his face.
"Tell me, have done what I told you to do?" Muzan asked, "Have you found the Demon Slayer headquarters, or where the leader, Ubuyashiki is?"
The Demon Slayer Corps were not a threat to him. They had not been a threat since that man died of old age hundreds of years ago.
Muzan had tried more than once to kill them completely but they were like cockroaches - difficult to kill. Even if he killed hundreds, even if he killed their leader, there was always another human to take their place.
So he had decided long ago that they were not worth the effort. They were not worth taking his time to exterminate them once and for all. Humans were weak anyway, they could never hope to fight the Upper Moon much less himself.
But that had changed recently.
Now they were becoming too annoying in his plans. They had killed his favourites and valued subordinates and although he never had deep connections with them, it was a matter of pride for Muzan.
Those humans thought they could challenge him.
Espeically that purple Hashira. He was too certain of himself.
"Nakime. don't make me repeat myself," Muzan said once more and a deep pressure erupted from him. The ground cracked and screamed under the pressure of his presence. His killing intent was so thick it was palpable. A feat one could achieve only by killing millions throughout a thousand years.
He had instructed Nakime to find the hideout of the Demon Slayers while he was busy acting out as a human. His current disguise, a respected wealthy businessman in Tokyo provided excellent advantages so he did not want to destroy that.
He had a wife and a daughter, so his presence was constantly needed. At least until the wife stopped suspecting him. Therefore he could not afford to act out instantly when he learned that Lower Moon 6 and 5 were killed shortly after Douma's death.
But now he had freedom once more. His wife was in another town to spend the winter with her parents. Muzan would dedicate his free time this winter to eliminating the Demon Slayers.
He would rip out all their roots and put an end to them, once and for all.
"I have yet to find them, my lord. These humans, they are careful and secretive," Nakime said and she trembled when the pressure on her increased.
Every single cell in her body was owned by Muzan and right now, they were screaming at her. She felt indescriable pain as each cell ached, blood seeped out from her pores.
Yet she couldn't scream. Not when he did not allow her to do so.
"But..." she gasped out as the pain gave her respite, enough time for her to talk.
"I have found the clan that you were looking for. the Kamado family!" Nakime said.
Muzan pulled back his bloodlust and raised an eyebrow at that. The Kamado family was one that he looked for many many years ago. The family was the one Yoriichi was closest to so Muzan wanted to kill them just to spite the only man he feared.
And also, there was a possibility that someone would emerge from that family, someone who inherited what Yoriichi had. It was an unlikely possibility, especially now after hundreds of years.
But even if there was only a 0.01 chance of someone like Yoriichi to pop up again, Muzan did not want to give that chance.
So the death of the Kamado family was a must.
"Okay, that is acceptable," Muzan said, "Take me there,"
Nakime clawed herself to her biwa and struck a single string.
"As you wish," she said and a door immediately opened under Muzan, taking him as close to the Kamado family as she could.
Even the Infinity Castle had its own limits.
When Muzan left, Nakmie felt breath coming back to her again. It was strange, she thought she was way beyond the need for air or water but in front of her king, anything was possible.
....
"Useless," Muzan muttered and a cloud of hot air came from his mouth.
The entire place was covered in a white sheen of snow, the temperature was beyond freezing but Muzan almost missed it. The temperature of the weather barely bothered him.
He looked around the forest he found himself in. He was annoyed that Nakime did not transport him to the front door of the Kamado family.
"But I suppose this is fine," Muzan said, his incredible sense spread out and found something kilometers away.
In the region, there was only one house and Muzan assumed that that was what he was looking for.
His ears caught the sound of a happy family enjoying dinner. His nose scanned the scent of his targets.
A man, a woman and five children. They sounded like a happy family.
Muzan began walking towards the house at a slow and steady pace. Every living creature in the vicinity fled when they saw him.
Eyes colder than the ice beneath his feet. Muzan was going to put out every annoyance in his life.
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[IMAGE]
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Stone
[3rd POV]
(The Kamado household)
"Thank you for the food!!" everyone said collectively with similar wide smiles on their faces.
There was food on the table, and the amount and the quality of the food was something an isolated family like the Kamado should not be able to afford. But here they were, eating better than most people living in cities.
Today's main dish was venison.
The meat was made in different ways, from a stew to roasted in charcoal. They had nearly used the entire meat from one deer for this dinner.
But that was not the only reason why the meal was so special. Eating meat had become the norm since Seiji had been living with them. What really stood out in today's meal was that the deer was not hunted down by Seiji but by Tanjiro.
The young boy had come a long way.
"So good!! Big brother the deer you brought back tastes the best!!" Takeo, the second son of the Kamado family enthusiastically said to his older brother.
This was a natural behaviour of Takeo, he was the greatest glazer of his older brother. Although Seiji was cool with the scars and being a samurai, in the eyes of Takeo, his older brother Tanjiro was simply the coolest.
Seiji chuckled to himself, knowing he had brought home fatter and healthier deer but he simply couldn't compare with Tanjiro it seems.
The young boy scratched his cheek shyly, yet pride overflowed from his smile. He couldn't describe it in words but he had fed the instinctual desire of a man to provide for his family.
"I'm glad you like it. Although don't expect to eat it every day as deers are getting quite rare," Tanjiro said with a smile.
Takeo nodded and continued eating the food with more vigour and appreciation.
Deers were not getting rare, Seiji thought to himself. In fact, Winter was usually when they were the easiest to hunt since they ventured around in search of food and predicting their movement was easier from limited food sources and their trail on snow.
Autumn was the rutting season, so most female deers were in the early stages of pregnancy during winter. Tanjiro was just too nice to kill pregnant deer so that's why prey was rare for him.
Kie Kamodo also ate her food with an unusual fondness. It was not the first animal that Tanjiro caught but it was certainly the biggest. She couldn't help but feel a sense of motherly pride swell in her heart. She felt that Tanjiro was all grown up now.
"Then big brother, can you bring home rabbits next time?" Hanako asked with a hopeful tilt of her head to which Tanjiro nodded.
"I'll try,"
Dinner was always a lovely affair in this age. People were so much more appreciative and grateful for having food on the table, Seiji observed.
The children were also getting fatter, although not too much since every day was filled with doing work or playing outdoors. Seiji could only smile at the warm atmosphere, dreaming about what it would be like when he had his own family.
"I want seconds!" Takeo declared and put his bowl forward.
"Me too," Hanako followed.
"Me also!" Shigeru followed but you could see that he still had plenty of rice left.
"Okay~ Here comes seconds," Nezuko said, scooping rice and giving them their second share. She also adds a tiny bit to Shigeru's bowl.
Everything was going well, it was like any other evening but everything changed when the smile on Seiji disappeared while looking around the house.
Everyone paused, feeling something wrong in the air.
Seiji was the most silent person in the room but his presence was the biggest. He was like the unspoken head of the family at this point so when his constant smile faded into a deep, growling frown, everyone noticed immediately.
They all watched Seiji as he slowly reached for his giant blade that stood in the corner of the room and he laid it beside him.
"Seiji-nii, what's wrong?" Nezuko was the first one to ask. Tanjiro noticed sweat falling from his side profile for no reason. It was winter, he shouldn't be sweating.,
But something about seeing Seiji so serious freaked him out a bit.
"It's nothing," Seiji said, his eyes glazed over in a faint purple glow that went unnoticed under the light.
Finally, he was here.
Muzan Kibutsuji.
But he was still a few kilometres away and he was coming towards them ever so slowly - like he expected the world to pause for him. Seiji determined that there were still a few minutes left before he arrived.
"Raven," Seiji called out and the small sparrow which was perching in the cover of the bulb flew down.
"Call for other Hashiras, like I told you to," he said and as if noticing the seriousness of the situation, the bird flew out of the window and disappeared into the night.
Seiji blinked a few times before he looked away from the direction he was looking. The others only saw a wall where he looked at.
"Don't worry, let's continue eating," Seiji said and although feeling a bit unnerved, they returned to their meals.
Children were very carefree by nature so they didn't think much of it. Except for Tanjior and Kei who couldn't help but feel was horribly wrong.
They couldn't react yet, Seiji thought to himself. If he told the Kamado family to run to safety, Muzan would have noticed and he would have been alerted at the turn of events.
So Seiji did nothing and allowed the Demon King to make his way to the house.
After five to ten minutes, he was finally here, like an inevitable death.
"Stop giving me the bony parts, I like the softer meat too," Takeo complained to Hanako.
"You are the one who said not to waste any,"
"Yeah, that means you should eat everything, not give me the parts that you don't like," Takeo huffed.
"Stop bickering, here let me eat them," Nezuko offered and right then, the main door to the Kamado household was pushed open rather forcefully.
All heads turned to the door except for Seiji who continued digging into his food. He already knew who it was.
They saw a man dressed in a black western suit with a coat whiter than snow hanging on his shoulder. He looked like he was around his mid-twenties and he had raven black hair and a pale complexion.
He had a stoic face like that of a handmade doll. Yet his blood-red eyes with slit like a feline - the ultimate predator - held cruelty that could not be missed. They were eyes that saw only lesser beings or prey.
A deep chill ran down everyone's spine. Maybe it was the rushing of cold air coming from the open door but they felt numb.
"Ah-Are you a visitor?" Kie spoke after a long silence, she eyed Seiji for guidance but the man simply ate his food.
The visitor, Muzan Kibutsuji, followed the sweep of her eyes and his gaze locked on Seiji as well. His eyes narrowed, seemingly surprised and cautious at the man.
The silence was thick, and that was why the clinking of chopsticks from Sejiji appeared louder than it was. It covered the entire house.
A few seconds later, Seiji finished his food and he put down his empty bowl on the table.
"Thank you for the food," he said while holding his hand.
Everyone looked at him with bewilderment. Even Muzan seemed intrigued by his action. They were all wondering why he chose to ignore everything in order to finish his food.
Only Seiji himself knew that it could be his final meal. So he finished it with a great deal of appreciation.
Finally, his hand went to his sword.
Muzan's eyes scrutinized and he studied Seiji. From his memories, he recognised the Hashira immediately but he was confused as to why he was there. Regardless, he scanned the Hashira, he felt a sense of distaste when he noticed the human's deaf ears.
Even among the already imperfect human beings, he was flawed.
But as those thoughts crossed his mind, the demon king never realized until it was too late,
That a sword was at his neck!!!
"!!!!!!!"
Something screamed.
*BOOOOOM!!!*
It was like skipping a cutscene in a video game. The Demon King was flung away like a ragdoll. He noticed a cut in his neck, at his arm, his stomach, his heart, his shoulders!
He was cut everywhere!
His flying body left a trail of blood that bleeds out like a fountain on the white snow. But the moment he landed on the ground, all his injuries were already healed like they were never there.
The only thing that remained was a phantom feeling of blades all over his body. Muzan immediately got ready for a fight, his senses were heightened and veins popped near his eyes.
....
"Tanjiro, take the sword and bring your family to the cave I showed you. Stay there until I return or help arrives," Seiji said, standing in the place where there used to be a door.
The whole entrance wall of the house was blown apart completely, leaving a gaping hole in the house.
"It's a demon," Seiji clarified while turning back and meeting Tanjiro's shaking eyes.
Tanjiro felt blood drain from his face. He had seen demons before, and although they were dangerous and scary, Seiji always made them look harmless. But this time, Tanjiro could clearly see the seriousness in his eyes.
He could also feel it in his bones, how powerful that demon was in the brief exchange of glances. He felt his heart turn to ice in his chest.
But in that moment of fear and panic where his siblings screamed and cried in fear, an unbreakable resolve formed and he burst into action.
"Let's go!! It's dangerous!!" Tanjiro yelled grabbed Hanako's hand and pulled her up.
Tanjiro ran towards a cupboard that had a sword that Seiji had brought with him when he arrived. It was the same weapon Tanjiro trained with the past week so it felt natural in his hand.
"We need to go somewhere safe!!" Tanjiro said and Kie and Nezuko were quick to follow his lead.
They did not need convincing when they just saw their house blown apart in one single swing. Their body also knew instinctively of the danger that had to befall them Muzan was not really masking his bloodlust at the moment.
They grabbed whatever tools they could and ran out of the house from the backdoor.
...
Seiji looked away when he saw them leave the house and made sure that no demons were close to the path leading to the cave.
He had shown Tanjiro the cave and instructed him about what to do when they faced danger. So he was not too worried about it, the family would be safe.
He was sure that Muzan wouldn't go after them either because for the Demon Lord, killing him was much better than killing the Kamado.
And he was not planning to die soon.
His purple eyes bore on the Demon Lord and pierced through every opening. The last time they met, he was too afraid to even take a close look but now his eyes moved uncommanded, piecing out every weakness Muzan had as if they were looking at any ordinary demon.
When he found the weaknesses, his audacious mind imagined exploiting those weaknesses. He killed Muzan ten times in his mind, no, a hundred times, a thousand times.
He could almost see himself carving his hatred on the flesh of the demon.
"Such killing intent, how were you hiding all that malice before?" Muzan asked, not at all bothered by the eyes that were stripping down his guard until he looked vulnerable to them.
Getting no repose annoyed him so Muzan held out his hand and shot a small blade made of his blood at Seiji. The liquid blade flew, easily surpassing sound but they missed Seiji by a hair's breadth.
"Hm?" Muzan titled his head, confused as to why he missed before he did a perfect recall in his mind of what happened and realised Seiji had moved out of the way.
Yet he moved even before Muzan fired his blade - around the time when his mind finished calculating and decided to shoot the projectile. That was why he didn't notice the first time.
"interesting," Muzan commented with a small curve of his lips.
It was completely out of his plan to stumble upon the purple Hashira and he was upset at his lack of control over the event but he was not angry.
Although it was not his plan, this was a great opportunity to kill his current greatest annoyance. He even shelved the Kamado family in his mind and focused on the more important prey.
Seiji did not speak and instead let his actions do the talking. He threw away the sheath of his sword far away - far enough to pose a problem retrieving - and he got into a stance.
'Not planning to sheath your sword again huh? So you are prepared to die,' Muzan thought of the meaning behind the action.
That made him lower his guard just a bit. He was assured by the fact that Seiji himself did not believe he had a chance.
But was that really what that action meant?
Or did Seiji throw away the sheath of his sword because he was planning to end everything tonight?
After all, if Muzan was killed, every demon under his control would cease to exist.
Amidst the chilling snow and pale moonlight, the strongest Hashira and the Demon King met in on equal ground.
The first sound of their devastating clash was the end of fate and the beginning of chance.
...
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[IMAGE]
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Author : I need to do some catching up to do on patreon so I can only update one chapter today.
Consider joining my patreon : Emmanuel_Capricorn
...
If you give me 700 stones though which is unlikely, I will upload next chapter. If you show that much resolve I will do to.
Anyways thanks for reading
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