Chapter Fifty-Five:Saved you? This devil...
Hello guys, lately I've started feeling confused by some of your opinions, so let's settle this now.
Do you want the novel to have no romance at all,
or have romance,
or maybe a harem?
You want no focus on romance
You want romance
You want a harem… tell me who you're thinking of, and don't make it a Pokémon collection—three or four at most, okay?
Vote below, if you don't don't blame me if the novel becomes bad for you.
Enjoy~~~
---
Inside the room, a heavy silence prevailed, broken only by the clink of the teacup as Ren placed it on the table. He sat calmly, resting his head on his palm and looking at Tamayo with complete boredom, as if watching a repeated stage play.
Behind them, through the open balcony door, the scene was chaotic. Hakuji was sitting with his full weight on Yushiro's back as if he were a human chair, while Sakurai stood nearby mocking Yushiro's furious expressions. Ren didn't need to give any orders; a single glance from him was enough for his subordinates to understand that "bullying" this small demon was their next activity.
Tamayo swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "Ren-dono… what do you want from me? You may kill me if you wish, but I beg you, leave Yushiro alone. He was just a human I turned into a demon to save him from death. He doesn't carry Muzan's evil."
Ren paid no attention to her plea. His emerald eyes were focused on the steam rising from the tea. He was thinking deeply; killing Tamayo would be easy, but who would cure Nezuko? And despite knowing her past sins, seeing her help humans for centuries made him hesitate to execute her immediately.
"You're worrying yourself for no reason," Ren suddenly said, then laughed lightly and stood up slowly, slipping his hands into the sleeves of his black kimono.
He turned toward her and asked calmly, "Have you met a boy with a wide forehead who carries a box?"
Tamayo looked surprised. "Do you mean Tanjiro?"
Ren nodded, then walked toward the balcony with confident steps. He glanced at Hakuji, who was showing off his raw strength over the crushed Yushiro, and thought that this "human's" instincts were still terrifying.
Ren stopped at the edge and turned his head toward Tamayo. At that moment, his eyes glowed with a sharp, dangerous green light, an aura that made the walls of the house tremble slightly.
"I'll let you live… just so you can witness Kibutsuji Muzan's death by my hand," Ren said with a malicious smile. "After that, I'll put you and Yushiro on trial and decide whether you deserve to exist in the world I'll create."
The smile faded, replaced by icy coldness as he added, "I've seen too many corpses and victims, and my heart no longer easily forgives demons. So consider your survival a final chance to atone for your past."
Ren sighed as he recalled the stench of blood demons left behind, then called out loudly, "Hakuji! Sakurai! Stop playing around, we have work to do."
Hakuji let Yushiro collapse on the ground, panting, and stood up calmly, while Sakurai followed Ren, wondering about their next destination.
---
Inside the old Yukihara family house in Asakusa, dust covered every corner, and the smell of mold seeped from the walls that hadn't seen life in two years. The house the family had kept as a backup when they moved to the Butterfly Estate now looked like a shrine of old memories.
Ren stepped over the threshold calmly, observing the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, while Hakuji and Sakurai stood behind him, their expressions weary from wandering the city alleys all day.
Ren stopped in the middle of the living room and wiped a wooden table with the tip of his finger, leaving a clear mark in the thick layer of dust. He turned to them coldly, his emerald eyes shining with ominous seriousness.
"I have two pieces of news for you," Ren said as he brushed the dust off his hands. "The first is that we're spending the night here. The second is that you have two choices, no third option."
Hakuji and Sakurai exchanged uneasy looks before Ren continued with a glacial smile, "Either you clean this place until it shines, or you spend the night outside with the wind and stray dogs. Your choice."
Hakuji complained as he looked at his human hands, "I was an Upper Moon, and now I'm cleaning dust?!" Meanwhile, Sakurai started looking for a broom, trembling in fear of Ren's threat.
As Hakuji wiped shelves with a worn cloth in suppressed irritation, and Sakurai struggled to sweep the tatami mats with a battered broom, an atmosphere of work mixed with grumbling filled the room.
Ren, on the other hand, had found a relatively clean chair and sat down, watching the "housekeeping service" with visible enjoyment.
"You know, Ren…" Hakuji began as he wrung the cloth so hard it nearly tore, "if Kokushibo knew I was spending my night fighting cobwebs, he'd cut my head off out of mercy."
Ren laughed, leaning back. "Consider it training your attention to detail, Hakuji-chan."
Sakurai suddenly stopped, wiped sweat from his forehead, and looked at Ren with strange gratitude, then said quietly, "As for me… this house reminds me of a night I can never forget. A night that would have been the end of me and my family, if not for the madness of the person sitting in front of us two years ago."
Hakuji raised an eyebrow and looked at Sakurai curiously. "He saved you? That demon? You mean Ren saved you in some dramatic heroic way? Let me guess… beheaded the demon with a single glance?"
Hakuji's words made Ren's eyebrow twitch. Why had he started being called a demon now?
Sakurai smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I wish it had been like that. What happened was the strangest, bloodiest, and most terrifying scene I've ever witnessed."
Sakurai set the broom aside and leaned against the wall, his eyes gleaming as a memory from two years ago resurfaced.
"I was fourteen. I lived with my younger brother and sister in a remote mountain village. In the middle of the night, a demon broke into our house. He mocked me as I held a rusty kitchen knife, standing with a trembling body to protect the kids behind me. The demon laughed, licking his lips, preparing for an easy feast…"
Sakurai paused, then continued. "Suddenly… the main room's window shattered with a terrifying explosion. No dignified Demon Slayer entered—this bastard—" he pointed at Ren "—stormed in, destroying everything in his path. He wasn't even holding a sword!"
Hakuji stopped wiping completely. "Wait… did you fight a demon without a Nichirin blade?"
"Not just fight," Sakurai laughed helplessly. "He pounced on the demon with a brutal punch that sent it flying. Ren looked younger back then, but his eyes shone with the same madness as now. He grabbed the demon by the neck and started beating it… kicks, punches, headbutts. The demon screamed, trying to regenerate, but Ren didn't give it a second to breathe."
Ren joined the conversation with a sarcastic smile. "I was testing the limits of human physical strength back then. I wanted to know if I could crush a demon to death without using Nichirin metal."
"And did you?" Hakuji asked in shock.
"Almost," Sakurai answered. "It went on for hours! Ren kept grabbing the demon by the hair and smashing its head into the ground, shouting, 'Why won't you die? What kind of cells do you have?' The demon begged to be killed by a sword, but Ren laughed and said, 'No sword today, I'm in physical training class!' He kept crushing it until dawn began to break."
Sakurai continued in vivid detail. "When the first rays of sunlight touched the demon's body, it evaporated while screaming, thanking the sun for freeing it from Ren's grip. Ren stood amid the wreckage, his clothes soaked in the demon's blood, turned to me with a wide grin, and said, 'Success! I killed one without a weapon… training complete!'"
Hakuji stared at Ren in disbelief. "You're seriously sick… you tortured a demon for training?"
Ren shrugged casually. "It was a weak demon anyway. But it had good regeneration, so it was a perfect 'punching bag.'"
Sakurai chuckled softly. "That night, I decided to become like him. I had never seen anyone face terror with such an irritating smile. At first, I thought he was a savior angel, but five minutes later I realized he was a demon in human skin."
"Look who's talking," Hakuji mocked as he returned to wiping. "Now I understand why you're obsessed with him, Sakurai. You have Stockholm syndrome!"
"Maybe," Sakurai replied as he went back to sweeping. "But he's the only one who made me believe that humans can be more terrifying than demons if they want to be."
Ren stood up, brushed off imaginary dust, and said, "Nice story. I'll cry later. Now, since the memories are over, I want this room clean within ten minutes, or I'll reenact the 'physical training scene' with both of you."
Hakuji muttered under his breath, "Damn you… I'll kill him one day… I definitely will."
Meanwhile, Sakurai swept at double speed, smiling, fully aware that the fate that tied him to Ren Yukihara was the strangest—and best—thing that had ever happened to him.
---
Outside the house…
In a distant building, an eye was watching. A Kasugai Crow was not alone—there was a human shadow wearing the Demon Slayer uniform, standing on the roof of a nearby house.
"He's back…" the stranger whispered. "The Hashira who killed the Second Upper Moon… Ren Yukihara."
This was Zenichiro. His features were more mature now, with a small scar on his cheek. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his eyes overflowing with mixed emotions—between awe and absolute loyalty.
---
Did anyone realize who Zenichiro is? If you know, tell me—that would make me happy 😁