Demon Slayer: Guardian of the Forest

How many years had it been? Three hundred? Four hundred? Kibutsuji Muzan had long lost track. Over these centuries, no human—not even the esteemed Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps—had ever made him bleed. Only one man had come close.

But now! Now! A filthy beggar, the lowest form of humanity, a creature no better than an insect, had actually made him bleed? How could this be possible?

Boom! Crack! Thud! In a frenzied explosion, Muzan's twisted bone-whip erupted, launching countless blades that pierced and shredded Shinichi's body in an instant.

"Curse you!" Muzan's furious roar echoed, humiliation coursing through him as he swung the bladed whip in a violent frenzy.

Boom! Boom! Boom! In mere moments, the entire temple lay flattened, reduced to rubble. A frail hand holding a rusty knife—just an ordinary knife—lay discarded in the debris.

Muzan's gaze fixed on the weapon that had cut his cheek, his face expressionless. Though the insignificant wound had healed in an instant, blood had still been drawn, even if just a drop.

"Human!" he muttered with disdain, his hatred for humanity deepening even further. In the next moment, Muzan's figure vanished as if he'd never been there, leaving only the ruins of the temple.

Bathed in moonlight, time passed. From under the pile of broken stones and bricks, a mangled pile of flesh began to move ever so slowly.

Veins started to grow, branching out from pale white bones, scarlet muscles forming inch by inch, painfully and slowly.

The stench of blood from the ruins attracted a swarm of flies, their buzzing filling the air.

Buzz! A lone fly landed on a small piece of flesh, greedily lapping up the blood.

Bang!! Debris scattered as a pale arm burst from the rubble. Its fingernails, long and black, sharp as knives, while bulging veins twisted across the hand's back, muscles flexed in strange, unnatural shapes.

The next moment, boom! The ruins of the temple erupted, a violent roar piercing the night, "Roooaaaar!!!"

Through the lingering dust, a pair of blood-red eyes could faintly be seen. As the dust settled, a figure knelt, hunched over, with tattered clothes hanging from its body like rags.

His chest heaved wildly, and a low, bestial growl rumbled from his throat. The black eyes he once had were now a glaring shade of crimson, filled with bloodlust, devoid of any humanity. Thick, dark veins bulged across his skin, his hands curled into claw-like shapes with long, black talons. His slightly parted mouth revealed sharp, gleaming fangs. This form was exactly as Junbo had once described—a monster—a demon!

This "demon's" face still looked young. Had Muzan still been here, he would have been shocked to see that the human who had made him bleed was still alive.

But Shinichi had no idea he had transformed into a monster from legend. Right now, his mind was a blank, overcome by a primal, raging bloodlust and an insatiable craving for human flesh. He—no, it—was a newly born demon!

The newborn demon sniffed the air, turning its stiff head as if it sensed the scent of blood. Swoosh! In an instant, it vanished from its spot like lightning.

"Flesh! Blood! Hungry… Blood!" A hoarse, broken voice croaked from the demon's mouth. Its seemingly thin arms frantically dug through the rubble. Bricks and wood splintered like brittle clay under its black claws.

Finally! After digging for some time, a mangled human limb appeared before the demon, radiating a thick, tantalizing scent of blood. The demon's throat moved, and the blood vessels in its eyes pulsed wildly. Without hesitation, it grabbed the limb, opening its mouth to devour it.

"Woof! Woof!" Suddenly, a familiar sound caught the demon's attention. Its bloodthirsty gaze turned, finding a small black Shiba Inu dog whimpering and barking at it in confusion. The dog recognized its master's face but cowered at the terrifying aura surrounding him, tail tucked between its legs, whimpering softly in the hope that its master would come to pick it up as usual. But the thick, overpowering scent of blood hanging in the air made that hope impossible.

Sure enough, in the next moment, the demon lunged at the little Shiba Inu, grabbing it by the neck, its black claws easily piercing through the dog's fur. The sharp pain and fear caused the dog to whimper helplessly, its short legs kicking in the air.

Just as the demon was about to crush the dog, a flicker of clarity flashed in its blood-red eyes. "No! Stop! I can't!" A strange sense of resistance surfaced within, making the demon irritable and restless. It was starving! It wanted to eat flesh! To kill this worthless creature and enjoy fresh human flesh! "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The demon roared viciously, but its sharp black claws wouldn't obey, refusing to exert the killing force.

Thud! The Shiba Inu fell to the ground as the demon's own body began to convulse, clawing at itself in frustration. Its razor-sharp claws tore through its flesh, leaving deep gashes. Yet, strangely, the wounds quickly began to heal as tiny bits of flesh wriggled back together.

"Blood… Flesh… Need… No… Won't eat… eat…!"

A brutal battle raged in the demon's mind between an instinctive bloodlust from its demonic soul and the last shreds of human reason.

"Woof! Woof!" Ignoring the bleeding wound on its neck, the little Shiba Inu dashed to its master's side. Seeing its master writhing in agony, the dog began licking his face desperately, as though hoping to lessen his pain.

Amid the demon's violent struggle, a small, half-eaten dorayaki bun rolled out from his torn clothes, its sweet aroma stopping the demon in its tracks.

Staring at the dorayaki, the demon's eyes widened, so much that the corners of his eyes began to split, trickling blood. The crazed, monstrous look in his pupils slowly faded, replaced by agonized clarity.

"Aaahhh!!!" The scream that erupted from his mouth was no longer a beastly roar but the desperate cry of a human. The "demon" had become Shinichi once again. He was himself once more!

Stumbling, and fighting the searing, gnawing hunger that clawed at his insides, Shinichi, now a demon, struggled to dig through the ruins. The mangled human bodies beneath called to him with a nearly irresistible allure. If he hadn't fought against it, he would have pounced and started tearing them apart.

He dug for what felt like hours, and at last, he found the child he was looking for. But with one look, Shinichi shut his eyes, crimson tears slipping down his cheeks. "Junbo…" His black Shiba Inu, Enji, whimpered beside him, gazing at the small, broken body in the rubble, as if sharing in the sorrow.