Amid the forest's oppressive gloom, Hiru walked along a narrow path swallowed by weeds. The deeper he went, the thicker the mist became. Before long, he couldn't see clearly even a meter ahead.
Irritation finally flickered across his face. He selected a sturdy tree and climbed swiftly to its crown.
The view from above was only slightly better—beyond ten meters, people and animals blurred into the same vague shapes. Hiru surveyed the surroundings, spotted a taller tree farther off, and leapt toward it. He repeated the process again and again, climbing higher each time, until at last the world opened before him.
From the treetops, he gazed down at a rolling sea of fog and quickly noticed a shallow depression where the mist hung thinner than elsewhere. He moved toward it without hesitation and soon reached a patch where the fog had noticeably thinned.
Though calling it a clearing wasn't quite right.
At its center stood a house built entirely from white bones. Skulls lined the walls and roof—so many they defied counting at a glance.
Strands of hair in every imaginable color were spread before the doorway. Above it, infant skeletons hung suspended, forming a mat that was both thick and disturbingly soft.
On either side of the entrance, twisted shrubs rose from the ground. A closer look revealed bodies tangled within their branches—clothes in tatters, flesh already rotting away.
The corpses were grotesquely contorted. From the snapped and warped branches, it was clear their owners had struggled in agony before death. Judging by the degree of decay, none of them had been dead for more than three days.
Hiru examined the bodies one by one. On the left hand of one corpse, he found a peace knot he had made himself—a small return gift for the Kakushi.
He stopped.
Branches had grown out from the corpse's eye sockets and mouth, completely obscuring its face. Hiru looked at it in silence, his voice soft.
"I'm sorry. It seems my blessing didn't help much… But don't be afraid. Endure just a little longer. You'll be going home soon."
His words finally stirred the master of this place.
The skeletal door creaked open, and a demon with numbers etched into its eyes stepped out.
It had a sharp widow's peak and golden ornaments dangling from its ears. Three cross-shaped scars were neatly aligned across its face. Its upturned eyes fixed on Hiru, brimming with undisguised vigilance and malice.
But Hiru wasn't looking at it.
His gaze rested on the figure standing just behind.
The man wore the uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps. Black hair. Blue-green eyes. Skin drained of all color. Black tiger-striped markings spread across his face. Azure magatama ornaments hung at his wrists and around his neck.
Most striking of all was the smear of bright red blood at the corner of his mouth.
The demon with the numbered eyes bared its teeth.
"You found me this quickly? How foolish. This entire forest is under my—"
"You ate people?"
Hiru stepped forward slowly. His eyes never left the tiger-striped demon. He came to a stop before the two of them.
"Answer me… Kaigaku."
The ignored Kizuki bristled.
"You dare ignore me? Do you know—"
Boom.
Kaigaku watched as the Kizuki burst apart in a spray of pulverized flesh. It splattered across the doorframe, the ground, and the grass beyond. The fragments writhed, struggling to pull themselves back together—
—but within moments, they collapsed into ash.
"Answer me."
The cold voice rang out again.
Kaigaku stared at Hiru's stern expression, his body trembling uncontrollably.
[I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm definitely going to die!]
His pupils shrank to slits.
[I've come this far just to survive! I can't die here!]
"I—I can explain! Please, let me explain!"
Hiru lowered his gaze to him. He drew in a slow breath, then exhaled.
"…Go on."
"I didn't want to do it! But if I hadn't, I would've died!" Kaigaku dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground. "Even if I've become a demon, I'm still a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps! I can still fight for the Corps! These past few days, I even managed to pry information out of that Lower Moon demon just now. I—"
"So, you ate people?"
The icy question cut him off.
Kaigaku lifted his head. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at Hiru's cold expression.
"I didn't want to! I fought so hard! Is it wrong to want to live? And that demon forced me! I couldn't resist him at all!"
Hiru's hand tightened around the scabbard of his Nichirin Blade.
"So… you did eat them."
"I didn't kill anyone! Please, I'm begging you." Kaigaku shuffled forward on his knees and grabbed Hiru's free hand. "If I die, Master will be heartbroken! Please spare me! I'll restrain myself from now on! I can still fight for the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"You're afraid, aren't you?"
Hiru crouched down, his expression calm.
"Your flesh and your mind twisting little by little. Watching your comrades tortured to death. Feeling hunger for those who used to be your own kind… That terrifies you, doesn't it?"
"Eh? Y-Yes! It's terrifying!" Kaigaku lowered his head, hiding the flash of delight in his eyes. "I just don't want to die! I never wanted to hurt anyone!"
He didn't care whether others lived or died.
As long as he survived, that was enough. No matter how humiliating. No matter how difficult. As long as he lived.
If he could survive, then one day, everyone would be forced to see him differently.
So it didn't matter what he had to do now—beg for pity, ignore a comrade's death. None of it mattered.
He just had to survive—
Kaigaku stared at his arm.
It had begun to crystallize.
He went still.
Pain exploded through him as his flesh hardened into crystal, wracking his entire body and making him tremble violently. He couldn't understand what was happening. He could only watch as Hiru withdrew his hand, smiling gently.
"There's no need to be afraid now. I'll grant you release."
"N-No—why?!" Kaigaku's face twisted in panic. "Didn't you say you'd spare me?! What is this?! What did you do to me?!"
"Ah. I simply used my Blood Demon Art."
"Used your Blood Demon Art…?" Kaigaku stared at him in shock. "You… you're a demon?"
Hiru's smile remained warm.
"Yes. I am."
Kaigaku's expression turned savage.
"Then you should spare me even more! We're both demons! Shouldn't our own kind help each other?!"
"Isn't this helping you find release?"
Hiru watched as pale blue crystals spread from Kaigaku's fingertips, steadily creeping over his body. Though he was smiling, his voice was ice-cold.
"I even chose a method that would leave your body intact. Isn't that considerate enough?"
"You're just standing there watching me die! No—this is murder!" Kaigaku's voice rose into hysteria. "I'm a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps! And you, a Hashira, are going to kill me like this?! You—"
"Then why did you become a demon?"
"I told you! If I hadn't, I would've died! Who would choose death? Anyone would choose to live!"
Hiru began to laugh.
At first, it was only a soft chuckle. But it grew louder and louder, until tears welled in his eyes.
"Oh, you really are amusing…"
He looked at Kaigaku.
"Kaigaku, lift your head and take a good look at this garden of twisted corpses. You're not the only one who made that choice."