Demon Slayer: Guardian of the Forest

In the dead of night, a starving demon and an injured Shiba Inu walked aimlessly along the road, one behind the other. Hearing Enji's whimpers behind him, Shinichi stopped his weary steps, turned around, picked up the little dog, and gently stroked its wounded neck, whispering, "I'm sorry, Enji… I'm sorry."

Shinichi didn't know how he had become a demon. In fact, it was only recently that he'd even heard of such a monster, through Junbo's stories. What did it feel like to be a demon? It was hard to describe. The first thing Shinichi felt was a gnawing hunger, clawing at him from within, coupled with an overwhelming craving for human flesh and blood.

In a reflection by the stream, Shinichi saw what he had become. His once-dark eyes were now a haunting shade of red, and his once-gaunt face looked fuller, strikingly handsome, as if revealing what he was always meant to look like. In addition, he had grown razor-sharp black claws and long fangs. Being a demon had also given Shinichi a mysterious strength—he could tear apart trees with ease and cover distances of over ten meters in a single second.

But there was a price for this power. A creeping weakness constantly reminded him that he needed to eat humans. Only by feeding could he stave off the weakness—and even grow stronger.

Yet, Shinichi held back his craving. He buried the bodies in the ruined temple and left. Taiping Saburo was dead, torn to pieces, and even if he hadn't been, he couldn't have stopped the Shinichi of today. The temple he once desperately tried to escape had been reduced to rubble, but Shinichi's heart felt hollow. The promise he'd made to take Junbo to Kyoto would never be fulfilled. The boy who once filled their world with laughter now lay forever in a small grave behind the temple.

Each time he thought of it, a flood of hatred filled Shinichi's mind. That man in the suit! Muzan! He was a demon too!

Shinichi recalled the moment when Muzan's bone whip had crushed his spine, throwing him into a strange state. Everything around him had seemed frozen in time. He could even see dust particles suspended in the air, and, strangely, he could sense Muzan's internal organs and muscles. That man—no, that demon—seemed to have multiple hearts and brains!

In that unusual state, Shinichi had managed to use a hidden knife to cut Muzan's face, drawing blood. His memory cut off abruptly there.

Remembering the oppressive aura around Muzan, Shinichi felt a strange instinctual fear in his soul. "No! Damn it! Why should I be afraid? No matter who he is, I'll make him pay!" Shinichi shouted, his voice filled with agitation. At that moment, a faint light appeared on the horizon—the sun was rising.

Ssshh!! Just a second in the sunlight, and Shinichi recoiled his hand, pain coursing through him as if he had been burned alive. His right hand, which had been exposed to the sun, was now blackened and charred, the razor-sharp claws shriveled and brittle.

Just as in the stories, demons could not endure sunlight, regardless of their strength, not even that Muzan. Hugging Enji tightly, Shinichi took shelter in a nearby cave.

As the hunger pangs grew more intense, Shinichi's mind began to blur, his senses dulled by exhaustion. A voice inside urged him to kill, to feast on human flesh.

Both in his previous life and now, Shinichi's values rejected the thought of consuming human flesh. If he gave in, how would he be any different from the demons in the stories? He didn't want to become a monster.

Shinichi closed his eyes. In a daze, he seemed to see Muzan, his red eyes glinting, bone whips rising behind him like a tidal wave, crashing toward him as he stood helpless, pierced by countless bone spears.

"Weak human," a voice whispered, "since you have been blessed to become a demon, fulfill your potential. We demons are superior beings, far more perfect than humans. Go, kill to your heart's content, feast on humans! The more you consume, the stronger you'll become—perhaps even rise to the pinnacle!" The voice, dripping with temptation, echoed in his ears.

But Shinichi felt only anger. His fangs bared, he fought against the invisible lure, snarling, "Get out! I'll never become a monster like you! I'll never eat humans! Go to hell, you bastard!!" As he resisted, a soft green light began to fill his vision.

With a furious shout, the vision shattered into pieces, and Shinichi jolted awake, feeling as if he'd broken free from some invisible restraint. He felt a newfound lightness, and even the intense hunger seemed slightly more bearable.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious mansion in Shimane Prefecture, red eyes flared in the darkness, the black, vertical pupils radiating a murderous aura. "What is this? This feeling of losing control? Tamayo?!"

Outside, the mansion's floors were soaked with blood, the scattered, dismembered bodies of its owners staining the opulent halls.

Night finally descended. Driven to the brink of madness by hunger, Shinichi left the cave with Enji, hoping to find something to stave off his hunger.

He roamed the forest for hours. Fresh berries, fish from the stream, even a rabbit he had caught and torn apart—all these foods filled him with revulsion the moment he swallowed them. No sooner did they reach his stomach than he vomited them back up, expelling every last bit.

Enji, however, happily gnawed on a plump rabbit leg, his neck wound showing signs of healing.

Petting Enji's little head, Shinichi felt a pang of helplessness. Could demons eat nothing but human flesh? Would he starve to death?

Maybe… he could try… there were bad people among humans, right? Perhaps…

As the thought of eating humans entered his mind, Shinichi jolted in horror. What was he thinking? No! Absolutely not! He couldn't eat humans—not even evil ones. Once he opened that Pandora's box, Shinichi wasn't sure he'd ever be able to resist the bloodlust.

But the hunger was becoming unbearable. How much longer could he endure it?

Walking silently along the forest path, Shinichi's starved body felt weaker with each step. After a while, a glimmer of light appeared on the distant road. As he got closer, he saw a wooden house by the roadside. There were people inside.

Thinking of humans made him swallow, his mouth suddenly watering. No, he couldn't go there; he would surely terrify them in his monstrous form. Cradling Enji, Shinichi prepared to take a detour around the house when a faint scent of blood drifted into his nose.

In his ravenous state, Shinichi instantly recognized the scent—it was human blood, fresh blood, coming from that house!