In a swift move, he drew his sword and sliced off Asmodeus's head, ending the battle once and for all.
———————————————————
"Aaahhhh…. You little piece of—" Asmodeus yells.
Tsunenari cuts his head and leaves the place without saying a word, his sword dripping with blood.
Asmodeus attempts to regenerate his head, but his efforts are in vain. "No way… have I lost to a kid? I wanted to become the strongest and wanted to die like a warrior. But I got the worst death possible. Am I not strong enough?"
"The wounds I've given to the boy will kill him eventually if he doesn't seek help. But what about me? I literally lost to a frickin' kid. A kid who looks 28 years older than his age, I am pretty sure that he hasn't taken a bath for 10 days, that's why he looks so ugly."
But then.
A random boy who looks around 16 comes towards Asmodeus. With a mocking smirk, he taunts, "So you've been defeated, Asmo? You said you'll be the strongest. Even stronger than the upper moons, or probably Kokushibo-Sama HAHAHAHAHAHAAAHHHHAA."
The boy casually picked up Asmodeus's severed head and pressed it back onto his torso. Asmodeus's head reattached, but his body began crumbling into ashes. Slowly, even his head started to disintegrate.
"Yes so? I am pretty sure that kid will eventually die too," says Asmodeus, the Lower Moon 3.
"C'mon, I'm not here to provoke you. I am just telling you that you're not strong enough. That's your fault. You're weak," says the boy, his tone teasing.
"Unlike you who gained his power from becoming the Upper Moon 4's pet, I could gain more power by training and devouring more people. And what's your motive to be here? You're just triggering me. Aren't you? If you're here to kill the kid and avenge me, go straight to the east and kill him," says Asmodeus.
"As I thought, you're not even regretting…"
"Regretting? What do you mean? You're crazy, Ash," says Asmodeus.
His name is Ash, the Lower Moon 1.
"I've told you multiple times to accept your fault. You're not even feeling bad about yourself. You're just cursing the kid who defeated you, and you just can't accept your defeat," said Ash, the Lower Moon 1.
Asmodeus fell silent, his thoughts drifting back to his life as a human. He stared at Ash, but no words came. The ashes consumed him entirely, leaving only an eerie stillness in the air.
Since his childhood, he had been an ambitious and determined individual, training relentlessly to become the strongest person alive. He could defeat any kid of his age with ease, but as he grew older, he realized that he couldn't beat weapons. Despite this, he continued to train hard and eventually achieved the impossible - he defeated a person who wielded a sword with bare hands. His reputation as the strongest person in the land was cemented, and he married a beautiful woman, living a happy life.
Asmodeus was blessed with two sons and a grandchild, but he never let go of his passion for training. He has decided to continue to work harder and hone his skills until the day he dies. However, fate had something else in store for him. One day, he caught a thief stealing from his house. Without thinking twice, he rushed towards the thief to apprehend him, but the thief shot him with his pistol, he couldn't even react. Asmodeus fell to the ground, unable to move. The bullet had pierced his head, and he knew that he was going to die.
As he lay there, accepting his fate, he saw someone approaching him. This person had long hair and six eyes, and he carried a sword. Asmodeus realized that he wasn't a human at all, but a demon. It was the scariest thing he had ever seen.
It was Kokushibo, the current demon king. Kokushibo turned him into a demon and killed the thief with his mere glare.
He finally realized how weak he was. He thinks, "An average demon is capable of killing around 50 people using weapons. An average demon slayer has the same strength as an average demon. The weakest lower moon can defeat 1000 demons and demon slayers. Lower Moon 6 - Takeshi, Lower Moon 5 - Fuka, and Lower Moon 4 - Xeran are the weakest of the lower moons. They are inferior to me and Lower Moon 2 - Uzumaki. Lower Moon 1 - Ash is the strongest among us, he can even beat all of us. He is known as the strongest lower moon ever, even 3 times stronger than the former Lower Moon 1, Enmu.
Despite that, he cannot beat a normal hashira. Even all of us, along with Ash, cannot beat a hashira. And we are nothing against the Upper Moons. It takes 3-4 hashiras to defeat the weakest Upper Moon. Upper Moons 6 & 5 are the weakest of the Upper moons. Upper Moon 5 is still stronger than 6. And they are nothing compared to Upper Moon 4, Lady Eliza and Upper Moon 3, Lord Jigen. No matter how many Upper Moon 5 and 6 try to defeat them in a 1v1, not even thousands of them can win. Upper Moon 2, Lord Douma and Upper Moon 1, Lord Akaza are beyond anyone's comprehension. I cannot even tell how powerful they are.
And above all stands Lord Kokushibo, the Demon King. A being capable of erasing the entirety of Japan with a mere thought."
He clenched what little of his fading body remained. "Why was I even born? If I could never surpass Lady Eliza, never become truly strong, why did I become a demon at all?"
And then, he vanishes into ashes.
And dies forever…
Meanwhile,
Tsunenari staggered toward the Demon Slayer hideout, his steps slow and uneven from exhaustion and blood loss. Despite the pain, he began laughing—a wild, unsettling sound.
"What did you think, you lowkey demon?" he muttered through clenched teeth. "Even if you killed me, you'd gain nothing. I won because of my Marechi blood. I've got nothing to gain... only one thing to lose—my brother, Koji."
He coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth.
"I'm worse than you... more evil than you," he rasped.
He remembers when he was in prison.
6 years ago.
At 2:45 A.M.
That dark entity appeared in front of him and said in an impossibly deep voice, "You've killed your father. You're a heartless monster. Now you'll learn the pain I had to go through. I've opened the gate for you, go ahead and escape. You can just take the lives of others, what are you waiting for? Just go ahead and escape, murderer-kun."
The entity's crimson eyes burned with malevolence, written in kanji "Upper-3" faintly in both of his eyes. Resembling him as the Upper Moon 3, Jigen.
"This manipulation won't work on me. And you're right, I am a monster. I am thirsty for my aunt's blood. I'll show her what hell means. I'll force her to beg for her life and kill her."
"You're a clever person. I wanna do the same thing to her. She told me that she would give anything to me. And for the exchange, I want her lifespan. You're a trustworthy person," said Jigen.
Tsunenari said nothing more and fled his village under the cloak of darkness.
Revenge consumed him as he raced to his aunt's house, driven by hatred. In the depths of the forest, he found her alone, clutching a lifeless crow. Her intentions were clear-another ritual, another curse.
His hands trembled, not with fear but with anticipation. This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
He grabs her hair and throws her on the ground. And then ties her to one of the trees with rope.
"I've finally found you, aunt Ikumi. I mean, you b*tch," said Tsunenari.
"What? How are you still alive?"
"Before I kill you, tell me why did you kill my family? Your brother?" asked Tsunenari.
She laughed–a sinister, mocking sound, "Hahahahaha…. I just wanted his property. I hated him from the bottom of my heart. I always cursed his wife and prayed for her death everyday. My soul is filled with happiness after listening that your family is dead. I hope you'll die too, like your family."
Tsunenari got triggered and threw a stone on her face. And then he started throwing so many stones until her body was completely disfigured.
He couldn't live anywhere anymore. He had no home.
Tsunenari wandered aimlessly, hollow and broken. He couldn't live anywhere anymore. His village was gone, his family dead by his own hands, and the hatred of others branded him a monster. He had no home, no refuge.
For two agonizing years, he lived like an animal in the forest. He hunted whatever he could find- rabbits, birds, even insects-tearing into raw flesh with trembling hands just to survive. The villagers whispered rumors of a beast lurking in the woods. When some brave hunters ventured in to kill him, they met only death at his hands. Each encounter carved away another piece of his humanity.
One day, as he prowled the forest, he stumbled upon a group of demon slayers. Starved, desperate, and feral, he attacked them without hesitation. But these warriors were not like the villagers-together, they overpowered him with ease. When he woke, battered and bound, he found himself in a place unlike anything he'd known: the Demon Slayer hideout.
For the first time in years, he was given proper food and shelter. The warmth of cooked meals and the kindness of strangers were so foreign they brought him to tears. His heart, scarred and heavy, began to feel a flicker of something he hadn't known in so long-hope.
Over three years, he grew stronger, training under the watchful eyes of the slayers. At 11, he felt a fragile sense of belonging, a glimmer of redemption. He decided it was time to bring his younger brother, Koji, to the hideout.
But the reunion shattered the fragile progress he'd made. When Koji, with innocent eyes, asked him, "Why did you kill our father? Why did you kill everyone?" the weight of the question crushed him.
He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came. His chest felt like it was caving in, the air suffocating. He saw his father's eyes staring back at him through Koji's, filled with pain and accusation.
Unable to speak, his mind unraveled further. The guilt, the memories, the unspeakable weight of what he had done-he couldn't bear it. He spiraled deeper into madness, each wound in his heart reopening, bleeding anew.
The glimmer of hope he once had vanished, leaving only darkness. Tsunenari was no longer healing-he was breaking all over again.
———————————————————
At the demon slayers' hideout.
A surviving kakushi reported to Oyakata-Sama about Tsunenari and the fallen slayers. Ren and Chikafusa were deeply saddened, while Ai showed no concern, still harboring her dislike for Tsunenari. The report that a Kizuki was involved left everyone stunned.
As the kakushi spoke, a figure staggered into view-Tsunenari Yoshimitsu. Relief filled the room as they saw him alive, but it quickly turned to horror. He collapsed, unconscious, his body riddled with over a hundred wounds and drenched in blood.
Ai's expression shifted from indifference to fear. The kakushis rushed to carry him to the infirmary, urgency in their every move.
The next night…
Chikafusa and Ai were sent on their first mission to hunt demons. Though inexperienced, Ai was confident, ready to prove herself.
But suddenly, a massive demon, towering over them at five times their size, erupted from the ground. Its roar shook the air, and before they could react, the demon lunged at them, leaving both frozen in fear.
Just as the demon's claws nearly strike, a blur of motion flashes before their eyes. In an instant, the demon's head is severed, and its massive body collapses.
Both Ai and Chikafusa stare in shock at the mysterious figure standing amidst the fading ashes of the demon.
"Baka! I would've killed that demon if you hadn't frozen up first!" Ai snaps at Chikafusa, punching him lightly.
They initially thought Ren had saved them, but to their surprise, it was a girl.
Standing tall at 172 cm, she appeared around 15 years old. Her striking emerald green hair, styled into an elegant braided crown, shimmered under the moonlight. Hazel eyes, sharp yet mesmerizing, pierced through the darkness as she turned to face Ai and Chikafusa. Her commanding presence and effortless grace left them speechless and captivated.