In his increasingly blurred consciousness, a past memory suddenly surfaced in Kawanishi's mind, momentarily dulling his craving for flesh and blood.
"Kawanishi, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Kie held the young Kawanishi in her arms and gently asked.
"What I want to be... I don't want to be anything. I just want to stay by your side, Mother. When I grow up and get stronger, I'll be able to protect you better, and protect my little brothers and sisters too."
Kie covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "Then I'll be waiting for you to grow up. By then, I'll be a little older, and I'll count on you to keep me safe."
Kawanishi nodded, his voice childish yet filled with unwavering resolve. "I will. I'll protect everyone."
Protect everyone… huh?
I'm sorry. I failed…
That memory helped Kawanishi gather what little awareness he had left. With effort, he moved his right hand and picked up the axe lying in the blood.
Clenching the axe tightly, his face twisted in agony, Kawanishi slammed the iron handle against his own fangs.
Crack! Crack! Crack…
His fangs weren't yet harder than iron, and he had swung the axe with all his strength, holding nothing back.
At the first strike, all his fangs shattered. The fragments of bone mixed with the blood in his mouth, which he spat out to the side.
Human teeth are packed with nerves—and it was no different for demons.
The moment his fangs broke, a searing, soul-crushing pain shot through him. It was unbearable.
But that physical pain completely suppressed his hunger for flesh. Kawanishi stumbled backward in panic, away from Kie's corpse.
Yet his foot slipped, and he collapsed onto another blood-soaked body.
"Rokuta…"
Kawanishi forced himself to calm down, even though his mind burned like it was on fire.
Suppressing the wild hunger inside, he stood up.
Looking around, he saw all his family members, now silent and lifeless.
"Kie, Nezuko, Hanako, Takeo, Rokuta, Shigeru…"
"I promised to protect you. I swore I wouldn't let you get hurt."
"But against a savage demon… my promise, my determination—they were nothing but a cruel joke…"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"
"And Tanjiro… you must still be alive. I'm glad you weren't here. The only small comfort I have left… is that you're still alive."
When the dream ends, that unbearable guilt, fear, pain, despair, and rage—all become real.
And in this blood-soaked hell, for a newly born demon, the temptation was impossible to resist.
Kawanishi could feel it—if he stayed even one more minute, the demonic hunger would drag him into a bottomless abyss.
His shattered fangs were already regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye—and with them came an even deeper, more terrifying hunger.
Tears and hot blood dripped onto the broken wooden floor.
Kawanishi made a decision he didn't want to make.
He had to leave. Right now, he couldn't even collect the bodies of his family. There was no choice but to walk away.
"Tanjiro… when you arrive here tomorrow, you'll probably feel the same despair I feel now."
"But no matter what happens, you must stay strong. I believe in you."
"And… please take care of the others. I… I can't control myself anymore."
Kawanishi extended a finger. A sharp claw emerged, and he quickly scratched a message into the wall of the small cabin.
"Tanjiro, don't fall into despair. You must live. Live on, and wait for me to find you."
Time was short. Kawanishi resisted the urge to look at the blood and the corpses.
As soon as he finished writing, he bolted for the door without a moment of hesitation.
His face was twisted and monstrous, caught in the clash between demonic hunger and human reason.
Bang!
The door shattered as he slammed through it. Kawanishi charged into the snowstorm—no looking back, no stopping. He didn't dare. He feared that if he paused for even a second, his overwhelming desire would force him to return and devour the bodies of his loved ones.
He picked a direction at random, fleeing in a straight line from the home where he had lived for sixteen years.
The wind howled around him. His once neatly kept red hair whipped wildly in the storm.
He raced through the snow, enduring the unrelenting hunger gnawing at his belly, getting farther and farther from home.
The trees sped past his vision. He didn't know how long he'd been running—maybe an hour, maybe a day.
Only when the scent of blood completely disappeared did Kawanishi stop.
He looked around. Everything felt unfamiliar. Only snow-covered ground and silent pines surrounded him.
He no longer had a home. A crushing loneliness swept over him, like he was the only soul left in the world.
"So hungry…"
Without the scent of blood to stir him, Kawanishi's mind finally cleared. But the hunger in his gut now burned like fire—unbearable.
"My arms were shattered by that man. My face too… and I even broke my own fangs…"
"But now I'm completely healed. The body of a demon… it's terrifying."
Though he'd heard stories about demons before, Kawanishi had never taken them seriously. Now that he had truly seen it, he understood how horrifying they were.
Forcing himself to stay calm, Kawanishi tried to recall what had just happened.
Those bloodstained memories brought immense pain—it was like rubbing salt into a fresh, gaping wound.
But he had to do it.
Kawanishi knew that running or being afraid wouldn't solve anything. Only by facing the bleak truth could he find his path forward.
"In school, they said energy is conserved. I healed from life-threatening injuries, then ran for who knows how long. That must be why I'm this hungry."
Kawanishi closed his eyes, trying to banish the scenes from his mind.
But that cold, heartless man in the white fedora seemed burned into his brain—impossible to forget.
Just thinking of him made Kawanishi grit his teeth, fury flooding his heart.
"I don't know who you are… or where you are."
"But I, Kawanishi, swear—one day, I will find you. I'll make you suffer the most excruciating torment this world has to offer… to avenge my family's blood."
His gaze shifted, settling into firm, unwavering determination.
In his previous life, Kawanishi was gentle and warm, serious and optimistic, always ready to help those in need.
That kindness came from Kie, from Tanjiro, from all his siblings. They gave him warmth and purpose.
He had only ever wanted to be a gentle and caring big brother to Nezuko and the others… a good and obedient son to Kie and Tanjuro…
But now, only one brother remained—Tanjiro. And to avoid hurting him, Kawanishi didn't dare seek him out.
The warmth of a family… was now gone forever.
(End of Chapter)