Death

[3rd POV]

It was one thing to hear about death.

And another to witness death.

It was more horrifying than you would be willing to believe. It was like a cold grip on your heart that tightened with every movement you made. It was unreal.

But it was there, someone was dead. That's it.

Thier love, thier story, thier dreams, and thier memory. All of those came to an end. It was easy to understand but impossible to comprehend the absolute end.

And for what?

"Oooo~ I like the colour of your blood." crimson red - the fuel of life - spewed out like a fountain as the demon brutally tore through his daughter.

He cried, he cried, he cried, he cried....he cried....and he cried some more. But none of those tears were for his torn limbs, his gaping wound, or his half-eaten neck.

It was for his daughter. It was for the life he made, the life he loved.

He was glad that his daughter was dead. Her silence at least assured him that she was no longer suffering. Yet her silence did not silence her earlier screams. Those tragic sounds still remained in his ears.

A question popped in his barely conscious mind. Why do humans even scream at all when they are in danger or when they are in pain?

Humans screamed when they were in danger because it was a cry for help. It was a final struggle to call for assistance from someone else.

If that was so, her scream must have been a call for help and since he was the only one nearby, it was directed at him.

His own daughter was calling for help but he couldn't do anything.

'Why couldn't it just be me? Why wouldn't he eat me instead of her?' he thought in his mind while watching the demon devour her flesh.

It was a cold truth but the reason was that the girl was younger and tasted better.

"Such a pretty skull." the demon said while tearing off the scalp from the girl to feast on her brains.

Why had he not died yet? Why was he forced to witness his daughter being dismembered like this? he wondered to himself.

But his body moved on its own and his heart took control. He had a knife in one hand as he crawled towards the demon.

His body moved out of pure hatred and spite alone.

Die.

Die.

Die.

He cursed with all his heart.

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*BOOOOOOM!!!*

Someone crashed through the walls of the house and before anyone could react, thunder rang out. It was loud enough to rupture eardrums.

The entirety of the house itself was sliced in half as the entire foundation shook violently. After the world returned to normalcy, the demon was already headless and a silhouette was standing in front of him.

The father could not make out the details but he saw purple eyes in the dark. It was so unnatural and eerie that it struck him with more fear than the demon's eyes.

Those purple eyes locked on the demon as it slowly turned into ash. The father felt his blood growing cold as he gazed more into those eyes.

He couldn't believe the hatred he saw in them. There was so much hatred and anger in those eyes that it even eclipsed his.

His body grew colder as the adrenaline stopped. Now that the demon was dead, he had no reason to live. He should hurry and meet his daughter on the other side.

As the father drew his final breath, he thanked those purple eyes for avenging him and his daughter. He also wished peace upon them.

Because living must be hell with that much hatred.

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[Seiji's POV]

I watched as the fire I started inside engulfed the entire house. Its raging flame burned the bodies of the father and daughter inside and the house acted as a coffin for them.

I joined my hands and gave a prayer for them.

I silently watched the fire burning away the house as Raven landed on my head. I did not react and only spoke after minutes had passed.

"I was too late."

Raven tapped on my head and told me that it wasn't my fault.

I smiled, "It is my fault."

If it was not my fault then whose was it? Was it the fault of the father and daughter for being too weak? Or was it the demon's fault for being hungry?

It was none of them. It was entirely my fault and I was not afraid to take the blame.

It will make me stronger, it will make me faster next time. I savoured the bitterness in my heart.

"Next time, it won't happen again." I promised.

I saw the entire thing happen. It was times like these when I hated my eyes. I could see miles upon miles forward and observe the scene but my body was not fast enough to stop them.

"What a bad day to have eyes. Those scenes will forever be stuck in my mind too." I said. With great eyes also came photogenic memories.

It was not as broken as it sounds though. For example, just because I could recall the things I read perfectly doesn't mean I can become a genius. Learning and memorizing were a different thing.

The main way I used this ability was to remember patterns in movements. It was how I could read my opponents perfectly and predict them. It was also how I easily learned the patterns of breathing styles. If I saw it once, it's in my mind forever.

There were also other uses, like remembering traumatic events perfectly or recalling fond memories.

And by fond memories, I meant times like when I sparred with Kanae.

I smiled. Finally, my mind had found a way to escape the depressing mood - jokes and nudes.

Peal of mirthless laughter escaped my lips as I left the house. The area around was cleared of trees so the fire should not spread

Then I shifted my mind to another topic.

It has been a month since I became a Hashira and I have spent most of my time going on different missions and sharpening my skills with the sword.

The life of a demon slayer was not an easy one, much less that of a Hashira. When you were the literal pillar of humanity against the demons, there was no time to relax.

You could always be doing more. So I have been learning to relax a little bit and learn that some causalities were necessary.

".... "

Actually, I think being constantly surrounded by death and demons had wrapped my mind.

"Kaw!! Kaw!! Kaw!! Seiji Shigan! Seiji Shigan! Go to the village of Noseki!! Go to the village of Noseki in the east! Travel East to Noseki village kaw!! kaw!!"

'What? Already?' I thought to myself and looked up at the Kusagai crow circling in the sky.

Well, I guess I could rest in the village. The message did not say anything about having to immediately slay a demon so it's probably a mission that requires investigation first.

I think this was a way of Lord Ubuyashiki giving me a break.

With Raven nesting on my head and guarding my back, I travelled towards the East to the Noseki village.

I had not been there but I've heard of it before.

The sun rose up not long after and as I encountered fellow travellers on the road, I asked them for directions so I did not have trouble finding the village.

At the time before noon, I finally reached my destination.

The village itself was peaceful and after a brief scan from the horizon, I determined that there were around 300 houses. Noseki was definitely not a small village.

The scent of tea and herbs wafted through the village. I was but a deaf man but I could tell that the village was calm and peaceful. Which aligned with what I have heard about the village.

Apparently, the village had multiple onsen and it was kinda of a resting place for travellers. Many came to the village for a vocation and the place was also known for its herbs and tea.

"That's quite a marvel." I muttered to myself when I finally saw the stone bridge called 'Ishibashi' which was a centrepiece of the village,

It was a bridge that connected the farmlands and the main village. It was ancient and it was a mystery how the ancestors of the villagers managed to build that.

I crossed the river by using the stone bridge and finally entered the village. The people in the village immediately turned thier heads towards me.

It was understandable since I had quite a remarkable appearance and creepy eyes as I have been told. Not only that, I was strapped with a long sword on my back.

Surprisingly, no one approached me and just looked away after seeing my clothes and the sword behind my back, which I found odd. Normally, people in any village were way more wary of me.

Not that I was complaining, I liked that they left me alone.

I walked through the village and turned my head around, scanning the place and enjoying the view. There were kids playing and people who were going on with heir daily lives.

I also noticed that there were proper electrical wires and towers in the village which was neat.

But as i walked through the village, my eyes suddenly caught a familiar face. I stopped and stared.

'What is he doing here?'

"Oh!! You're here already. Like I expected, you are quite fast hahahaha." he laughed loudly as his gems glittered.

"But still not quite as fast as me." he flashed me a bright smile.

Well, it seemed that something else was going on. This was no standard mission because otherwise, he wouldn't be here.

The Sound Hashira, and the fastest/flashiest Demon Slayer.

Tengen Uzui.

"Yo."

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Author : What a difference in mood am I right? The previous chapter and this one.

I just noticed it as I release them back to back.

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