Chapter 177 — Because of Douma!
"I promised her that I would become stronger than anyone else and protect her for the rest of my life."
"Tonight, I returned to my hometown, visited my father's grave, and told him the good news of my marriage from the other side."
"That was the happiest time of my life. I felt as though I had everything!"
Ren nodded.
He knew that if Hakuji hadn't lost Koyuki back then, Akaza the demon would never have existed.
Even after Akaza became a demon, he had never forgotten his promise to become stronger in order to protect Koyuki.
He really had continued becoming stronger.
But gradually, he had forgotten Koyuki.
Perhaps the Ren from his early days had been just like Akaza.
Blindly pursuing power, throwing caution to the wind, and ultimately losing the person who mattered most.
Even if she now lived only within his memories.
Ren's tone softened.
"So you lost them, and then you became a demon."
Akaza fell silent for a while.
He didn't know why he was telling all of this to Ren.
Ren was still human, after all.
Yet he was willing to listen.
But none of that mattered anymore.
He had suppressed these emotions for far too long.
Now, he simply wanted someone to whom he could tell everything.
"Later, when I was visiting my father's grave, the son of the kenjutsu dojo master secretly poisoned the well at the Soryu Dojo."
"A neighbor saw people from the kenjutsu dojo passing by the Soryu Dojo. When he returned to the dojo, he told me that my master and Koyuki had been poisoned to death by people from the nearby kenjutsu dojo."
"That day, I lost them. I would never see them again."
Akaza's voice became slightly choked.
"At that moment, I completely broke down. I rushed to the kenjutsu dojo in a fury and killed everyone there with my bare hands!"
Akaza's story was long.
He told Ren almost everything that had happened to him since the days when he was still Hakuji.
By now, he was no longer Upper Rank Three.
He was no longer one of the Twelve Kizuki.
The number in his eye had disappeared.
Ren was simply a listener at this moment.
He was no longer a Demon Slayer.
This was merely a conversation between Hakuji, who had been lost in this world, and Ren.
"Thank you for listening to me for so long."
Akaza had finally calmed down.
After saying everything he had been holding inside, he no longer struggled.
"Do it."
Seeing him standing there as though he were ready to be slaughtered at any moment, Ren chuckled.
"What are you doing?"
Akaza laughed heartily.
"Die with honor!"
"Get up. I'm not going to kill you right now."
It was Akaza's turn to be shocked.
"But didn't you come back to kill me?"
Ren didn't answer that question.
Instead, he asked,
"Can you still feel the restraint Muzan has over your body?"
"What?"
Akaza hadn't reacted yet.
Ren asked again,
"I mean, can you still feel the curse inside your body?"
Akaza's entire body stiffened.
Then he suddenly reacted.
"No."
Akaza repeated blankly,
"No... no, no, no..."
The blood throughout his body began to boil, and a sweet scent filled the air.
It was the sensation of blood flowing freely through his body.
It was a feeling Akaza hadn't experienced in a very long time.
After becoming one of the Twelve Kizuki, the power of Muzan's curse within Akaza had grown stronger and stronger.
The burden on his body and the mental oppression it brought had been extraordinarily painful.
But now—
with his recent breakthrough—
all of those sensations had disappeared!
Akaza suddenly froze.
Then he stared blankly at the sky.
More precisely, at the sky outside the train.
The night seemed especially deep.
And without realizing it, he had failed to notice that large flakes of snow had already begun drifting down.
Ren's voice rang out at exactly the right moment.
"It's almost winter now. I didn't expect it to start snowing already."
However, Akaza didn't hear a single word.
His entire body was numb, as though an electric current were coursing through him.
"Are you thinking about Koyuki?"
Ren's voice sounded again.
Akaza wiped away his tears and looked at Ren.
He didn't answer.
He simply nodded silently.
Ren smiled.
"That's good. Now, do you know what you should do?"
"What?"
Akaza's gaze suddenly became wary.
Earlier, he had thought Ren had come to kill him, so he hadn't felt any pressure.
But now that he suddenly had no idea what Ren intended to do, Akaza couldn't help feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Why are you so nervous?"
Ren chuckled.
"If I wanted to kill you, you would have died when you lost that battle earlier. Nothing would have happened afterward."
Akaza froze for two seconds.
Then he carefully thought about it.
It did seem to be true.
So what exactly was Ren's purpose?
Ren slowly explained,
"First, I want to congratulate you. By breaking through into the Supreme Realm, you also broke through your own weakness. That's why you won't die even if you're decapitated."
"Then you escaped Muzan's control. That means you're no longer one of the Twelve Kizuki."
"Although you'll lose some of your power, you've gained freedom."
"Freedom..."
Akaza murmured.
"What can freedom do for me? I can't do anything."
"Of course you can."
Ren's voice suddenly rose several degrees.
"Akaza, don't tell me you think you're innocent."
Akaza lowered his head.
In truth, he had killed countless innocent people over the years.
Although he had never eaten women or children, who could guarantee that every person he had eaten was evil?
Ren calmly said,
"I don't care what you did when you were human. But now, you have to atone for what you've done."
Akaza pondered for a moment before saying,
"So I should atone with my death and apologize to the people I killed down below?"
"No. That's not what I mean."
Ren shook his head.
"I need you to do something."
"What?"
"First, provide information about Muzan's whereabouts."
"Second, kill Douma."
"Third, completely eradicate the demons."
As Ren explained, he carefully observed every change in Akaza's expression.
And Ren noticed something.
The moment he mentioned the second condition—
Akaza's eyes suddenly lit up.
It was as though someone who had been lost for a very long time had suddenly found a new direction in life.
"The conditions are rather difficult, so..."
"I accept!!"
Before Ren could even finish asking—
Akaza immediately agreed.
Judging from his eager expression, he was practically ready to act immediately!
"Wait."
Ren was rendered speechless as well.
He had underestimated Akaza's determination to kill Douma.
It seemed Douma really was hated to the bone!
"First, I already know that Muzan is in the Infinity Castle, so I only need you to provide several locations where Muzan frequently appears."
"Second, to kill Douma, we need to formulate a plan. But I need you to lure Douma out. You absolutely cannot act on your own!"
Ren hurriedly continued,
"And third, I need you to cooperate with the Demon Slayer Corps I belong to and eradicate every demon—including yourself."
After explaining these three conditions, Ren waited for Akaza's answer.