Sometimes, a peaceful life can be shattered by unexpected disaster.
Hanako came to truly understand the meaning of that phrase on a winter evening nearly four months ago.
She remembered it clearly—it was the middle of winter, and her brother had gone out to buy thread for weaving, but hadn't returned even after it got late.
Worried that something might have happened to him, Hanako couldn't help but go out in search of him.
She followed the path he usually took, hoping to find some trace of him.
Fortunately, she did find her brother.
Unfortunately, the brother she found… had turned into something else entirely.
His eyes were wild and beastlike, no longer holding even a trace of the warmth or kindness he once had.
When he saw Hanako, he seemed to be trying to restrain himself—but he couldn't hold back for long and lunged at her.
Hanako instinctively dodged, and then ran—purely out of instinct.
She was lucky. While fleeing, she spotted a pit covered in snow.
Being lighter on her feet, she made it across. But the long-haired demon—he wasn't so lucky. His heavier body slipped, and he fell straight into the pit.
The cold weather had frozen the rock walls of the pit, making them even more slick, and the demon was unable to climb back out right away.
It was only then that Hanako finally realized what had actually happened.
She didn't know about the existence of demons. She simply thought her brother had fallen ill.
She wanted to find a doctor—but she also feared that if the townspeople discovered what her brother had become, they would kill him.
Worry, fear, confusion, and helplessness...
All these emotions crashed down on Hanako's heart, leaving her paralyzed, not knowing what to do.
And then… her brother said he was hungry.
He said he wanted to eat people.
Out of fear that he might starve to death, Hanako—after days… maybe over a dozen days of inner turmoil—finally did something she never thought she would do in her entire life.
She lured a thug who had tried to force himself on her to the pit.
And pushed him in.
That was the first time Hanako had ever killed someone.
And once that line was crossed, it became impossible to stop. After that initial hesitation, Hanako became more and more practiced.
She began walking through dim alleys in the evening on purpose. She intentionally drew the attention of men with bad intentions—thugs, scoundrels—then used the same method: bringing them here and pushing them in, one by one, to fill her brother's stomach.
Hanako knew what she was doing was wrong—that she shouldn't be doing it.
But she couldn't stop.
All she could do was cling to a fragile hope: that once her brother had eaten enough people, he would return to the way he used to be..
To the brother who protected her..
Cherished her..
And treated her with warmth and kindness.
BUT.
A few days ago, Yoshizuru Asato's arrival shattered that illusion.
"Demons are cruel, merciless creatures. Once someone becomes a demon, there's no turning back. The only way to release them is to kill them. That's why I'm here—to slay demons."
That's what the Demon Slayer, Yoshizuru Asato, had told her.
Only then did Hanako finally realize what her brother had become—and awaken from the "dream" she had stubbornly clung to.
But she didn't dare confess the truth to Asato.
Because even so—she still couldn't bring herself to let go of her brother.
…
"Miss Hanako, I told you before!" Asato shouted, gripping her shoulders. "Once someone becomes a demon, there's no way to turn them back! Death is the only release for them! So why did you—"
"Then what was I supposed to do!?"Hanako broke down, crying and screaming, "He's my brother… He's the only family I have! What else could I do!? Tell me!"
Her shoulders shook violently.
"He used to braid my hair when I was little… do you know that?" she sobbed. "He learned it from Mom before she died. He'd sit there patiently, even when I cried or threw a tantrum, and say, 'There, there. Big brother's here.'"
Her voice broke completely.
"Why… why did this happen to us?! What did we do to deserve this?! My brother—he raised me! He gave up his youth, his freedom, his studies, his life—just to protect me after Mom and Dad died! He used to say… he'd never let me be alone..."
Hanako collapsed to the ground, falling to her knees as she cried uncontrollably.
Her fingers clawed at the earth, nails packed with dirt.
Yoshizuru Asato watched the scene, unable to say a single word.
Takeo, recalling the moment just earlier when the long-haired demon had tried to devour Hanako, said softly:
"Miss Hanako… that thing… It's no longer your brother."
Once a person becomes a demon, they completely lose their humanity.
That was something Kyojuro Rengoku had taught Takeo—a truth, a piece of "knowledge."
No matter who they were before—whether a sibling, a dear friend, or a loved one—once someone becomes a demon, they lose all reason. They devour the very people closest to them.
Perhaps after a long, long time… after consuming enough humans and gaining sufficient strength, some demons might recover fragments of memories from when they were human.
But by then, the people they killed would still be dead.
The ones they ate could never return.
A demon is a demon.
They can never become human again.
Takeo hadn't always understood this. He had encountered too few demons himself. There was even a time he thought—maybe there were exceptions. Just like how there were good and bad people among humans, maybe there were also "good" demons and "bad" demons?
But now, after witnessing the person who was once Hanako's brother actually try to harm her with his own hands, all of Takeo's former illusions were completely shattered.
At the same time, he came to a deeper, more painful understanding of what demons truly were.
"Waah haah haaaa.. that's my brother! We had no one, but we didn't beg. We worked, and worked, and worked, day and night, completing those orders to better our futures through hard work. Then... Why did this happen to us!?" she screamed to the sky. "Why did he have to become a monster?! Why was it him?! Not someone else?! Why, why, why?! Is.. Is there no God?!"
Her voice cracked into a wail so raw it silenced even the rain. Her anguish seemed to pour from her very soul, a sound born from shattered hope and a love that could no longer be returned.
"I just wanted him back… Just once. To hear him say my name… with affection.. like he used to…"
She curled forward, arms wrapped around her head, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Asato stood frozen. And Takeo—watching this girl, who had done the unforgivable yet for reasons heartbreakingly human—could say nothing at all.
Right now, Takeo had only one goal: to slay the long-haired demon who had escaped!
He took a deep breath and focused on the distant flashes of Iori's blade in the rain. Then, he spoke quietly to Asato:
"…I'm going to support Iori. I'll leave Miss Hanako to you."
"Y-yeah."
Asato replied in a low voice and silently remained at Hanako's side, protecting her.
And then, Takeo's figure quickly vanished into the curtain of rain.
Sakoma Iori's growth had been rapid. In the month since they last saw each other, her strength had noticeably increased—perhaps it was due to being driven by the pressure of keeping up with Takeo.
Whatever the reason, despite facing a demon who had already awakened his Blood Demon Art—his hair whipping and lashing like deadly whips—Sakoma Iori showed no sign of being overwhelmed!
Precisely because of that, the long-haired demon hadn't managed to flee far—he was being held in place by Sakoma Iori.
"Damn it!! You filthy girl! Don't think I'm actually afraid of you!!"
Realizing that escape was no longer possible—and with a second Demon Slayer now arriving—the demon lashed out in frustration. His hair flew behind him and twisted together into over a dozen long, blood-red needles!
Blood Demon Art: Chaos Needle Technique!
Each strand of hair had been hardened to the strength of metal. All at once, the needles shot toward both Iori and Takeo.
Iori responded instantly with her strongest technique—Water Breathing, Third Form—while Takeo drew his Nichirin sword and assumed a very different stance.
Wolf Breathing—
Takeo's own original breathing style, Wolf Breathing, gave him the presence of a standing, humanoid wolf cub, exuding a primal and dangerous aura.
Wind blades curled around his sword, and in the instant the needles closed in, they exploded outward, taking the form of giant wolves.
The wind-wolves lunged forward, shredding the incoming hair-needles to pieces!
—Third Form – Wolf Hunt!
Unlike the First Form's rapid and aggressive double strike, and the Second Form's reckless, all-out piercing assault that abandoned defense, the Third Form was designed specifically for large-scale combat—multi-directional, sweeping attacks perfect for handling enemies who relied on numbers.
The gusts generated by the blade moved like a pack of wolves on the hunt, launching relentless, tearing strikes at their prey.
That was why this move was called "Wolf Hunt"—the coordinated assault of a wolf pack.
After shredding the demon's hair in one blow, Takeo didn't pause. He twisted his blade, feet planted firmly on the muddy ground, eyes locking onto the demon's neck as his breathing centered and focused.
Wolf Breathing, Fourth Form—
His body shot forward like lightning through the rain, trailing mist that was quickly scattered by the storm. In an instant, Takeo was already in front of the demon, who had just raised his guard in an attempt to defend.
A flash of his gleaming blade cut through the downpour, accompanied by the faint, haunting echo of a wolf's howl—and in the blink of an eye, the demon's head flew into the air, spinning through the rain!
—Wolf Strike in the Mist.
Takeo murmured the name of the Fourth Form softly as the demon's severed head hit the ground.
Thud.
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12 Advance chapters—P@treon/HornyFBI