When the demon's head hit the ground, he still hadn't realized what had happened.
Only when he could no longer sense his body did he finally become aware of his condition.
"Ah… ah!! AH!!!! Damn it… DAMN IT ALL!!!"
Now reduced to just a head, the long-haired demon began screaming wildly.
Perhaps it was unwillingness, or maybe something else, but his head wasn't disintegrating right away—its dissolution was unusually slow, leaving him enough time to rant:
"That damn woman! It's all her fault!! If she hadn't brought you people here, how could I possibly—!"
"Shut up!!" His furious complaints pushed Sakoma Iori over the edge. She shouted at the demon:
"Even after you turned into a demon, Miss Hanako still protected you! What right do you have to blame her?!"
"Protect me!? I didn't need her protection! If I had known it would turn out like this, I should've just eaten her last time she came! Instead of waiting until now!!"
The demon kept spewing his resentment, seemingly genuinely enraged.
But the one who had slain him—Takeo—stood there calmly, watching. After the outburst, he slowly asked:
"…Would you really have eaten her?"
"Of course I—!"
"Brother!!!!!!"
The long-haired demon had just opened his mouth to respond, but a heart-wrenching scream cut him off mid-sentence.
He turned toward the voice—and when he saw that familiar figure, the speed of his disintegration seemed to slow, just a little. For the first time, in those red-and-black demon eyes… a different light flickered—something not belonging to a demon.
Ah… Ha.. an.. ko…?
It was as if something had flipped a switch.
The memories that had long been sealed away suddenly burst forth, breaking through the dam and flooding his mind. In that moment, the demon finally remembered who she was—who he was.
But it was already too late.
"Brother!! No, no—don't go… please, brother!!"
Hanako ran to where his head had fallen. She knelt and cradled his severed head in her arms, holding it close to her chest as she wailed in agony.
Her tears mixed with the rain—it was no longer clear what was rainwater and what was sorrow.
"Hanako?.. I.. now.. remember.." The demon looked up at his sister, now weeping uncontrollably. His eyes trembled. "I.. what have I done.."
He wanted—just like in the past—to comfort her… to reach out, stroke her head, and say, "Don't cry, Hanako. Your Big Brother is here."
But in the end… he couldn't say anything at all.
The disintegration could not be stopped. A demon slain by a Nichirin sword would vanish, just as if they'd been exposed to sunlight—inevitably, and completely.
The long-haired demon knew…
He was dying.
Before dying, he had countless things he wanted to say to his sister.But in the end, as memories of the past flooded back, all those countless words condensed into a single sentence.
"…Hanako…"
"Brother!!"
"…I'm sorry."
The long-haired demon finally shed tears—tears that slid down his face, though it was unclear if they were from regret or sorrow.
Those tears became the last traces he left in this world.
And then… he turned to ash, fading away in the rain.
The downpour, now without anything to stop it, fell freely into Hanako's open hands.
As she felt the cold droplets, she finally realized what had just happened.
But she didn't scream.
She didn't sob or collapse.
Instead, she knelt there like her soul had vanished, her body still, like a lifeless statue.
The three Demon Slayers stood nearby, silently watching.
Takeo looked at the scene before him and let out a quiet sigh.
This was… probably the first time he had truly witnessed such a painful, irreversible parting between loved ones. What he'd seen in films or on TV didn't count.
Until now, Takeo hadn't fully grasped the depth of tragedy demons brought.
When he had first crawled out of that grave, the Kamado family had already been killed by demons. And the first demon he ever faced… hadn't actually managed to kill anyone.
Back when he and Iori had fought the bandage-wrapped demon woman, Takeo had only vaguely guessed that something tragic had happened in her past—but he never truly knew the details.
Only now, with Hanako and her brother's story unfolding fully before his eyes, did it become painfully real. It didn't just deepen his understanding of what demons were—it also taught Takeo something else:
The appearance of demons only ever brings sorrow and pain.
And what Demon Slayers are meant to do… is to slay every demon they encounter.
To put an end to that pain and sorrow.
Yoshizuru Asato stood beside Takeo, staring at Hanako's back. He looked like he wanted to say something, lips parted—but before he could speak, Hanako moved.
After kneeling silently on the ground for who knew how long… Hanako finally stood up.
She walked toward the remnants left behind by her brother. There, on the ground, was a cloak—something she had given him during the winter to keep warm.
Now, it was all that was left of him.
Hanako stepped forward, picked up the cloak, wrung out the water, folded it carefully, and tucked it away. Then, with a gentle smile of quiet release, she looked at the cloak and said:
"…Let's go home, brother."
"Miss Hanako…" Asato looked at her with worry in his eyes.
Hanako turned at the sound of the voice. She faced the group and bowed deeply.
"Thank you… Thank you for giving him peace. I… I deep down ..actually knew, after he became like that, that he could never come back. But…"
But she had still clung to a sliver of hope.
That part, Hanako didn't say aloud. She simply remained bent in a deep bow, and only after a long pause did she straighten and say:
"…I'm going home now. I wish you all… safety and strength in your battles."
"Miss Hanako, let us escort you back," Asato offered gently.
Hanako shook her head. "No need. Please… just let me be ...alone for a while."
Her brother had just been killed—and the ones who had slain him were the Demon Slayers standing before her. How could she possibly face them calmly?
Asato understood that well. So he didn't insist. He simply reminded her to be careful… and silently watched as she walked away.
Shhhh…
After Hanako's departure, the sound of rain grew lighter. At some point, the downpour had become a drizzle. Takeo looked up at the dark, overcast sky, then finally turned to Asato and asked:
"What about the other missing people?"
"What do you mean, 'what about them'?" Asato asked, confused.
Takeo explained, "It's true the demon was the one who devoured them—but the one who brought them here was Miss Hanako. That makes her an accomplice… so I'm asking, should we report this to the local authorities?"
What happened to Hanako was certainly tragic, yes. But tragedy didn't erase responsibility. Sympathy couldn't justify endangering the lives of others.
Originally, Takeo hadn't planned to interfere. As a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, his duty was to slay demons—nothing more.
But he hadn't forgotten the request from the Akita family. Their son, Tōjirō, had asked him to find his older brother.
Now, it was clear that Tōichirō could no longer be found—yet no matter what, there had to be an explanation.
Yoshizuru Asato was quiet for a moment after hearing that.
He scratched at his rain-soaked hair and said,
"…Alright, how about this: let's talk to Miss Hanako later and ask her to turn herself in."
"Fine by me."
Takeo had no objections. If Hanako turned herself in, the Akita family would at least get closure—even if it was a tragic one.
The two of them planned to go speak with Hanako after a short while—but Sakoma Iori, who had been standing nearby, spoke up with a different take:
"I'm telling you two—if you're planning to go see that Hanako lady, you'd better go now."
"How come?" Takeo turned to her.
Iori hesitated for a moment, just about to respond—when Yoshizuru Asato suddenly realized something.
He immediately shot to his feet and ran toward Hanako's home.
Takeo and Iori exchanged a look, then followed right after him.
The three of them moved at full speed, quickly making their way back to Hanako's house.
But as they neared the home, a faint scent of blood in the air made Takeo's heart sink.
Asato didn't have Takeo's keen sense of smell, but he was ahead of them—he rushed straight into the house to look for Hanako.
And he found her.
But he would have preferred not to have found her.
"Ah..."
Because there, lying beside the wall of the room… was Taniguchi Hanako.
A pair of scissors had been driven straight through her flesh.
Blood poured endlessly from the wound, pooling beneath her on the floor.
Even in that final moment, Hanako was tightly clutching something in her arms—
The coat.
The only thing her brother had left behind.
________
12 Advance chapters—P@treon/HornyFBI