...
"So long... After a long time... I've finally met someone like you..." Naraka's severed head is staring at Rinka and unconscious Nameless.
His body starts vanishing, crumbling into tiny ashes. His severed head slowly vanishes into nothingness.
... "I am not regretting at all... This death is more peaceful than what I expected..."
…
———————————————————————
47 years ago.
In a small house, a demon with a snail-like appearance is devouring a woman in front of a young kid.
"NOOO!!! MOM!!!! PLEASE STOP IT, DAD!!!" young Naraka screams.
The kid was Naraka when he was 9 years old.
In front of young Naraka, his father, who got turned into a demon, devours his mother horribly.
He closes his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. "PLEASE..."
His father is now transformed into a disgusting giant snail with very long teeth and giant eyes. His mouth is filled with the blood of his wife.
His father grimly looks at young Naraka and approaches him slowly like a snail.
The kid is completely stunned, unable to move and think straight.
In an instant, a former serpent hashira, Obanai Iguro, arrives and beheads the demon.
Blood spraying everywhere, even on young Naraka's face and body. He falls on his knees, unable to bear the horrifying sight of his family's slaughter.
Obanai immediately takes Naraka outside the house.
"Calm down!" Obanai comforts him.
"What's your name, kid?" he asks politely.
Young Naraka looks innocently at him with teary eyes. "My name... My name is Shin Tanaka," he sobs.
"Do you know any of your relatives?"
Shin takes a few moments to think about it, "No... I've only seen my parents."
Obanai makes a frustrated face and leaves him alone. But Shin follows him, "Please... save my parents."
"They're dead, kid," Obanai says nonchalantly.
"No, It can't be..." he sobs again, "Please don't leave me alone."
Obanai pulls him away, "Don't get me wrong, I only helped you because it's my duty. I have nothing to do with you."
Shin cries even more, "But what am I gonna do alone? Please give me my parents back or kill me."
Obanai throws his sword at him, Shin is confused by his unexpected action.
"Then... Why don't you kill yourself and stop chasing me?" says Obanai in a serious tone.
"Huh?!"
"Listen, kid! If you follow my path and become a demon slayer, you'll get nothing but suffering. Your life will be worse and you'll end up being a living corpse. You can escape your suffering by killing yourself right now. Whether you want to live a hellish life by embracing fate as a demon slayer or end your life, the decision is yours."
Obanai's cold and ruthless speech sends a wave of shiver down his spine. He takes some time to decide, and then he says while trembling, "I... I want to become a demon slayer..."
"It's easier to end your life right now and escape your suffering, isn't it? So why did you choose to become a demon hunter?"
"Because I have nothing to do in my life now. If I become a demon slayer, I'll become stronger and save others."
Despite Obanai's attempts to stop him from becoming a demon slayer, he accepts his defeat against young Naraka's determination.
17-year-old Obanai takes Shin along with him to the demon slayers' hideout.
Since that day, Shin's only goal has been to become a cool and strong hashira like Obanai Iguro.
He was clingy to Obanai and wouldn't trust anyone besides him. He would often talk to him and became his student. He trained harder to reach his expectations but never succeeded.
When he was 13 years old, he lost Obanai Iguro, his close friends, and other hashiras in the Infinity Castle.
Without Obanai and his friends, his life became a living hell. He was depressed and traumatized.
When he was 14, he was turned into a demon by Akaza, the Upper Moon 1.
At that moment, he felt like he was sent to an Isekai world. He explored new aspects of life and continued his new life as a demon.
He would train with Akaza and become stronger and stronger. He combined his serpent breathing technique with blood demon art and martial arts.
In a few years, he becomes an Upper Moon 6. Once he dreamt of becoming a hashira, ended up becoming an upper moon demon.
At the age of 18, when he was announced as an upper-rank demon, he met his biggest enemy.
He was welcomed by every upper moon and demon, even Kokushibo, except only one demon... Upper Moon 3.
Jigen, the Upper Moon 3, approaches Shin and bestows him a long deadly scythe made of flesh.
"Congratulations on becoming one of us! Due to your devilish appearance and remarkable skills, you can make your opponents see a living hell. From onwards, you'll be known as Naraka, which means hell," says Jigen.
"Wow! Sounds good, doesn't it? Shin-kun, I mean Naraka-kun," says Douma.
Naraka's breath caught in his throat as his eyes tried to focus on the looming figure before him—the Upper Moon 3, Jigen.
Only he could see his invisible form behind his shadowy appearance.
Jigen's face was that of a twisted devil, a goat-like head with hollow, all-consuming eyes that seemed to draw Naraka's very soul into their depths. Sharp, curved horns spiraled from his head, casting shadowy lines across his features.
Naraka was paralyzed, a raw terror pulsing through him. This was no ordinary demon; Jigen's presence felt like Satan himself.
"You're the chosen one to become an upper-rank demon, Naraka. Feel proud of it!" says Jigen.
As the years bled into one another, Naraka's journey became a descent into shadows, each step taking him deeper into the dark, twisted underbelly of the world. The warmth of his former life felt like a fading memory, drowned in the endless nights he wandered.
Everywhere he went, in the cold shadows and the empty streets, he saw Jigen like a specter of his suffering. It was as though Jigen's face had been etched into his mind, haunting him, mocking him, reminding him of his powerlessness. The hate within him grew like a wildfire, consuming what little was left of his heart.
Throughout his journey, he killed so many hashiras and demon slayers.
And then, one night, in the oppressive silence, Naraka finally reached his breaking point. He couldn't bear the weight of his own existence any longer; the pain had hollowed him out, leaving only a husk of who he once was.
Alone in the darkness, he made his decision to end his life, to escape this world that had twisted him beyond recognition.
But even then, he felt Jigen's shadow lingering as though mocking him for one final, terrible moment.
One day before his planned death, Naraka met Upper Moon 4, Eliza. He approached her, his voice barely more than a whisper, pleading for an end to his torment.
Eliza was nothing like Jigen. She radiated a serene beauty; her form looked ethereal, like an angel descended from Heaven. Her pale skin glowed softly, and her expression held a gentle sympathy that seemed to soothe the darkness around her.
"Aww… it's so heart-wrenching, Naraka-kun," she teases, her voice as tender as a lullaby. "But don't worry, you've come to the right person. I'll give you the peace you seek."
Naraka bowed, his face filled with a weary gratitude. "Thank you, great lady… You're the only one who can end my suffering."
———————————————————————
In the present time.
Naraka's body almost vanishes and crumbles into nothingness.
"If I accepted Obanai's proposal and ended my life right there, I wouldn't have to suffer anymore... Even after living for 56 years, I haven't lived my life at all..."
With his final regret, his body completely vanishes into nothingness. Even when he was crumbling, he stood still like a warrior.
Accepting his fate as a demon...
Dying as a warrior…
...
10 days later.
In a butterfly mansion, Nameless is lying down on the bed. His torso is covered with bandages all over it.
He slowly opens his eyes, coming back to consciousness after a long time.
He slowly gets up and notices his wounds inflicted by Naraka.
"NAMELESS-SAN!!!" shouts Chikafusa in excitement.
Chikafusa immediately rushes to Nameless's side, eyes bright with excitement and a warm smile.
"Oh, you're alive too," says Nameless in surprise.
"Yeah, I just passed out by some demon. But unfortunately, everyone except me died there."
Nameless notices his surroundings, still confused by the aftermath.
"How much time has passed… How long was I out?"
Ai approaches him and says, "You were admitted for 10 days."
"WHAT?! 10 DAYS?!!" he shouts.
She chuckles gently, "Yeah, you were admitted for 10 days straight. But thanks to Kumagami-chan, if she wasn't there then you'd be dead," Ai smiles warmly, "She told me everything about how you fought the upper-rank demon and saved her multiple times. You gave her an opening to decapitate the upper moon 6 and won the battle. You've fought well, mister."
He immediately remembers his last battle against Naraka. "W-Where is Kumagami?"
…
Rinka Kumagami suddenly enters the room and looks at him in surprise.
"Nameless-kun..." Suddenly, tears start flowing down her cheeks.
She immediately lunges at him and hugs him tightly. "I'm glad that you're awake... I was so scared..."
He melts under her embrace and unexpected response. For a moment, the outside world fades away for him.
Ai tells him everything about what happened in these 10 days, including how deeply Kumagami worried about him. She would visit him every day and take care of him.
"So you're gonna become a hashira? Congratulations, Kumagami."
Rinka smiles, "You too, Nameless-kun. Since you've finally killed 50 demons yet, you'll become a hashira as well. I can't wait to see ourselves becoming a hashira on the same day."
Nameless brings a hand to his face, suddenly noticing the stitchwork across his previously damaged mouth, delicately sewn together. "Huh? My mouth... it's healed?"
Ai nods with a proud smile. "Yes. Your mouth has been healed now. A Hashira should be clean, after all."
…
————
…
At night.
Rinka makes her way back through the dark forest, shrouded in thick shadows and chilling silence.
Even the usual whispers of leaves or rustle of distant creatures seem absent, leaving only the eerie echo of her own footsteps.
"... I hope that Nameless-kun is fine. If I wasn't there, he wouldn't have to suffer. I was just making it harder for him to concentrate...
If I were a strong woman like Hanako-San, I would be able to help without hurting him. He deserves someone better..."
...
A sudden snap of branches echoes from behind.
Slowly, she turns—and there, through the thick darkness, two piercing crimson eyes glow like embers, watching her with cold intensity. An ominous and dark aura is emanating from him.
That's Jigen, the Upper Moon 3.
... The atmosphere thickens, her entire body locked in fear under the weight of his presence. Her breathing quickens, but every instinct screams at her to stay silent.
"Is it... a demon?" she thinks.
But then, his shadowy aura begins to shift, taking on a twisted, monstrous form—a towering figure with a goat's head, horns twisting high, and eyes that burn like embers. His energy is darker, colder, and far more oppressive than anything she's felt before.
His shadow transforms into Satan.
"No... He's more than just a demon... He's not even Muzan Kibutsuji. Yushiro-San once told me about a shadowy figure and to run away from it no matter what."
Her trembling hand inches toward her sword hilt, her heart pounding like a warning drum.
...
Before her fingers can touch the hilt, a jolt of blinding pain shoots through her.
She looks down, and her hand is no longer there, severed and bleeding freely onto the ground. She hadn't even seen him move.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH...."
She screams in pain, but Jigen remains still, with a quiet, merciless intensity that makes her blood run cold.
She immediately turns back to run away. But when she turned back, Jigen was already there.
"H-How..? He was behind me... How did he..?" ... "Huh?!"
The ground beneath her shifts, the earth cold and unyielding. She glances down and, a gasp chokes in her throat.
Skeletal hands, bone-white and sharp, have emerged from the ground, fingers curling around her legs in a deathly grip. She tries to pull free, but they hold fast, their chill seeping through her skin, freezing her blood.
She struggles, thrashing against the grip, but her strength is useless.
"So you're the one who killed my subordinate, the Upper Moon 6, huh?" says Jigen in a cold and deep voice.
"... Who are you..?" she says while crying.
"I am... the devil..."
Her heart skipped a beat, completely terrified at his response.
…
"PLEASE HELP ME!!! Anyone?!! Nameless-kun?!!" she screams into the night, desperation pouring from her voice.
"There's no use of it... No one is here, and no demon hunter can beat me... You're risking their lives too...
You should probably scream that guy's name."
"... W-What do you mean..? ... Who? Who are you talking about..?"
"The one who uses the Sun Breathing."
Her breath catches, and a new layer of coldness washes over her.
"... HAJIME-KUN?!!"