After my father abandoned us, my mother raised me without a single complaint. Even when she was gravely ill, she did everything she could to ensure I could live a good life, even wanting to commit suicide at the end so as not to burden me further. I finally managed to dissuade her, but then the village was attacked by demons. My mother was brutally murdered, and the entire village, except for me, perished…
Mr. Sanemi's family had so many children; merely surviving was already incredibly difficult. Yet, his incredibly important mother turned into a demon, and only one of his six younger siblings survived. He even had to personally kill his beloved mother…
And those siblings…
Demons constantly take away those we cherish. They treat humans as playthings, delighting in human suffering, human sorrow, and the destruction of human lives…
They were once human, weren't they? Why are they like this? Why do creatures like demons exist? How ugly must that fellow named Kibutsuji Muzan be? How filthy?
Rokuro listened to Chiba Yo's words with some confusion, then said indifferently, "What does that have to do with me? It's only natural for us demons to kill humans…"
Rokuro's words trailed off as he suddenly froze, watching Chiba Yo walk towards him step by step. Another voice echoed in his mind.
"Where is it interesting? Where is it funny?"
…
It was a voice similarly suppressing rage, accompanied by an image appearing in his mind: a man strikingly similar to the young man before him, with a strange flame-like Breath Styles / Marks on his forehead. His black hair, red at the edges, was also tied into a high ponytail, and he stood in the moonlight clad in red.
This is… Muzan-sama's memory…
Rokuro instantly understood, and a few drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"You were once human, weren't you? Why do you harm humans?"
Chiba Yo's voice rang out again, and the voice in Rokuro's mind also resurfaced.
"Why forget?"
…
Whoosh—
The nichirin blade was unsheathed, its black blade gradually turning red…
Cold sweat continuously broke out on Rokuro's forehead. The cells in his body emitted fear, causing him to tremble all over.
"Damn it! You die!"
In a panic, Rokuro shook his head, trying to break free from this state, and lunged at Chiba Yo with a punch.
Swish!
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out. Rokuro's four limbs were all severed in an instant. Although four cuts were made, the speed was so fast that only one sound could be heard.
"Ah!!!"
Rokuro screamed and fell to the ground.
Chiba Yo walked up to him, holding the nichirin blade. Its black blade had turned completely red, becoming identical to the blade in the hand of the man in Rokuro's mind.
"What does life mean in your eyes?"
"What do you take life for?"
Two voices rang out simultaneously, overlapping. Chiba Yo's figure, holding the red long blade, perfectly overlapped with the figure in Rokuro's mind at that moment. The fear emanating from Rokuro's cells also reached its peak at this instant.
No… How could I be so afraid of a human? And how could Muzan-sama be afraid of a human? This must be fake. Humans are nothing but weak creatures; they can't possibly defeat us, who don't age, get sick, or get injured.
Rokuro frantically tried to shake off the fear in his body, but he couldn't stop trembling.
"Ha… haha, don't think you can defeat me just like that. Your blade just touched my body, didn't it? I'll destroy it now. Let's see what you'll do then. Blood Demon Art: Rokuro Spin!"
Rokuro yelled, his voice trembling slightly, staring at Chiba Yo's blade.
...
The atmosphere on the scene suddenly fell silent for a second. Nothing happened.
Chiba Yo slowly raised his crimson Crimson Blade, his eyes calm, but the anger hidden deep within them was exceptionally clear.
"Impossible! My Blood Demon Art should be able to control anything it touches to spin freely! Why is your blade fine?" Rokuro shouted at Chiba Yo in disbelief.
His Blood Demon Art, Rokuro Spin, could control anything he touched to spin according to his will. As long as he wasn't beheaded in one strike, the nichirin blade would be twisted into a circle, rendering it unusable. Moreover, if he could touch someone's body, his Blood Demon Art could also make the touched part spin until it became necrotic. The longer the contact, the longer and stronger the control.
With this Blood Demon Art, when facing demon slayers, as long as the difference in strength wasn't too great, his chances of winning were almost 100%.
However, now, his unfailing Blood Demon Art had absolutely no effect.
How could this be? His blade cut off my limbs. My body must have touched that blade. Why didn't the Blood Demon Art work?
Rokuro broke out in cold sweat all over. His fear continuously grew, so much so that he even momentarily forgot to regenerate his severed limbs. But even if he tried to regenerate, he wouldn't be able to. Wounded by a Crimson Blade, even an Upper Moon or even Muzan would find it difficult to regenerate, let alone a Lower Moon Two like him.
His Blood Demon Art was also ineffective because of the Crimson Blade.
Chiba Yo naturally wouldn't answer Rokuro's question, and he wasn't clear on the answer himself.
Walking up to Rokuro, Chiba Yo asked his last question. His previous questions were merely emotional outbursts due to his hatred for demons, and he never intended to get answers from a demon. This last question was what he most wanted to know from a demon.
"Where is Kibutsuji Muzan?" Chiba Yo asked coldly, looking at Rokuro on the ground.
It was precisely to find out Kibutsuji Muzan's whereabouts that Chiba Yo hadn't used a Breathing Technique to sever Rokuro's head in one blow. Other demons might have some sympathetic qualities, but Kibutsuji Muzan, who constantly creates demons, causes kin to devour each other, and has brought about countless misfortunes, absolutely deserves no sympathy whatsoever.
Looking at the figure before him, which seemed like a god under the moonlight, Rokuro's previous understanding of humans was almost entirely absent in him. He seemed more like a being that transcended demons, even more perfect than a demon.
Demons need to eat humans to become strong and must abandon sunlight, only appearing at night. However, the strength of this human before him was illogical. Although he appeared to be only in his teens, his speed and strength already far surpassed his own, a demon who had consumed a large number of humans.
He was like a god walking among the world; immense power was simply natural for him, an inherent part of him.
"I… I don't know… I don't know…"
Rokuro's eyes were filled with fear. He muttered and shuffled backward, half out of fear of Chiba Yo, and half out of fear of Muzan.