This thought was so shocking that even the usually calm Kochou Shinobu was momentarily stunned.
She suddenly lowered her head and looked at Hanayuki Ichika, who was slumped on the ground.
A massive bloody hole had been opened in his chest, and he was continuously vomiting blood.
The Wisteria Toxin from the wisteria flower pastries seemed to be accelerating, as his skin began to take on an abnormal bluish-purple hue.
Intertwined with his deathly pale face and scarlet blood, it presented a dying, eerie beauty.
His eyes had begun to lose focus, but he seemed to be trying hard to focus on Kochou Shinobu’s face.
A teasing smile was even squeezed onto the corners of his mouth, but it only caused more bloody foam to gush out.
“Mr. Demon… you…” Kochou Shinobu’s voice was dry, almost unable to form words.
Deep in her heart, some solid, absolute perception of demons developed a tiny but clear crack at this moment.
[How is it possible… how could there be a demon… who is not only willing to give up resistance and be killed by me,]
[But would even use his body to protect me, the Demon Slayer who wants to kill him, right before his death?]
[Even though…]
[Even though those evil demons I met before… only wanted to deceive and ambush…]
Endless shock…
And the deep sense of guilt that surged up, almost drowning Kochou Shinobu,
Struck her mind like a cold tide.
But now was not the time to indulge in emotions!
“Insect Breathing, Butterfly Dance: Caprice!”
Kochou Shinobu forcibly suppressed the overwhelming waves in her heart, her eyes becoming sharp as a knife again.
Her figure instantly turned into a hard-to-capture faint purple stream of light.
With light, agile, yet incredibly swift movements, she dodged the ugly demon’s once again extended arms and closed in on it in an instant.
The demon didn’t even see her movements clearly, only feeling a chill in its throat.
Her rapier-like blade was like a poisonous bee’s stinger, delivering precise and rapid consecutive stabs, each carrying concentrated Wisteria Poison enough to be fatal to a demon.
“Ugh-aaaah—!” The ugly demon only had time to let out half a short scream.
Its massive body stiffened, then rapidly dissolved and crumbled under the erosion of the Wisteria Poison, turning into ashes.
The battle ended within seconds.
Moonlight spilled into the courtyard again, illuminating the wreckage.
The parents’ bodies lay quietly by the door, while the Demon Youth, whose chest was pierced and who was heavily poisoned,
Was falling into a pool of blood, his life force like a candle in the wind, rapidly fading away.
Kochou Shinobu sheathed her blade, took a deep breath of the cold air filled with the scent of blood and dust, slowly walked to Hanayuki Ichika’s side, and crouched down.
She stared at his rapidly decaying face, her eyes swirling with extremely complex light.
That cold killing intent had long since dissipated, replaced by a wave of guilt mixed with broken sadness that she hadn’t even expected.
She hesitated, but eventually reached out her hands and gently cupped his cold cheeks, stained with blood and dust.
“Mr. Demon…” Her voice was very soft, with a hint of undetectable trembling.
Even the beautiful and gentle fake smile she always maintained carried a bit of sadness.
“At the end… do you have any last wishes, or… anything you want to say?”
Hanayuki Ichika’s body had already begun to partially fester under the corrosion of the Wisteria Poison, looking incredibly miserable.
But those eyes, gradually losing focus, were still looking at her.
Upon hearing her question, they seemed to light up slightly.
He opened his mouth, his breath weak and his voice intermittent.
“I… my whole family was killed by a demon… Although I… became a demon… I haven’t… killed anyone yet…”
He vomited another mouthful of purplish blood, struggled to pull the corners of his mouth, and his gaze rested quietly on Kochou Shinobu’s face.
“Miss Kochou Shinobu… if possible… could you… let me lie in your arms and enjoy a lap pillow as I die?”
Kochou Shinobu’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and even the beautiful and gentle fake smile on her face almost broke…
This stupid Mr.
Demon…
Why did he always like to tease her?
This request was too personal and too fragile.
It completely exceeded the boundaries that should exist between a Demon Slayer and a demon.
However, facing such a pair of sky-white eyes that contained no calculation or desire…
Thinking about how he not only gave up resistance and was willing to be killed by her…
But even protected her with his own body before dying…
That heavy guilt and emotion made it impossible for Kochou Shinobu to harden her heart and refuse.
She averted her gaze slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then answered in an even softer voice:
“…I understand. But… since I still have a mission to attend to, I… can only give you three minutes at most~”
“That’s enough… thank you…” The corners of Hanayuki Ichika’s mouth curved with effort, like a comforted child.
Kochou Shinobu pursed her lips, carefully adjusted her posture, and knelt on the ground.
Then she gently lifted him, who was on the verge of death, letting his head rest on her lap and lean into her arms.
This movement caused her purple butterfly-winged haori to be stained with dirty blood, but she didn’t care.
The youth’s body was very light and very cold.
The festering skin and heavy scent of blood reminded her that the one in her arms was not human.
But that weak and gradually calming heartbeat revealed a heartbreaking sense of life’s end.
He just lay quietly on her lap like that.
The distance between them was very close.
So close that…
Hanayuki Ichika could clearly smell the pleasant virginal scent of Kochou Shinobu’s body,
As well as the faint floral fragrance carried by her constant consumption of Wisteria Toxin, even sprinkling wisteria flowers when soaking in hot springs…
“Miss Kochou, you smell so good…”
Hanayuki Ichika couldn’t help but blur it out.
“…Ara ara~ Mr. Demon is quite perverted, isn’t he?~ Instead of a man-eating demon, are you a lecherous demon?”
Kochou Shinobu squinted her eyes and gave Hanayuki Ichika a helpless, smiling glance.
Looking at the sparse starry sky, the last bit of light in Hanayuki Ichika’s unfocused eyes gradually went out.
Three minutes wasn’t long; time flowed in silence.
His breathing became slower and shallower, and finally, it stopped completely.
Kochou Shinobu held him quietly until she confirmed that the last sign of life had disappeared.
Then she very gently placed him back on the ground.
She stood up, helped bury his parents’ bodies,
Looked at Hanayuki Ichika one last time with lowered eyes, and turned to leave…
As she left, her hand holding the nichirin sword trembled constantly.
The smile on her face carried a faint sadness.
Lowering her eyelids, her long eyelashes cast shadows on her pale cheeks.
After a few seconds, she spoke softly.
Her voice had a softness and sadness she hadn’t even noticed herself,
Shedding all her disguised smiles and coldness, leaving only deep fatigue and a certain sorrow that couldn’t be undone:
“Mr. Demon… I hope that after you are reincarnated, you can be born into a peaceful and tranquil family, with loving parents, And harmonious siblings… I wish you a healthy and smooth life, free from illness and disaster, peaceful and happy… and that you live to be a hundred.”
She paused, seemingly wanting to say more, but in the end, she only let out a very soft sigh.
Then, she stood up, didn’t look back at the Demon Youth on the ground who was about to completely dissipate,
And turned, step by step, walking back in the direction she came from.
Her footsteps were heavier than ever before.
The nichirin sword in her hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, almost impossible to hold.
Her sister Kanae’s gentle words, which she once dismissed, now echoed loudly in her ears—”I hope that one day, humans and demons can live together in peace…”
She had never believed it.
But tonight…
This absurd, wicked, yet Demon Youth who protected her with his life at the last moment,
And died in her arms…
Was like a sharp thorn, piercing into her solid conviction.
[I’m sorry, sister…]
[I still couldn’t do it…]
[I, who hate demons to the bone, detest them to the extreme, and hold no trust or expectation for them…]
[This time, I seem to have really been wrong…]