This child-like demon was Shikeji Ro, the fiend who had gripped Higashimacho in terror for half a year.
What was Shikeji Ro doing at that moment?
He was playing a children's game, some obscure board game, with a newly arrived child.
The child sat trembling before Shikeji Ro, overwhelmed by the palpable malice and horror radiating from him, teetering on the edge of mental collapse!
But he couldn't break—not when his parents' lives hung in the balance.
Behind this child, notilibre: not far away, a wardrobe was stuffed with two bloodied figures.
They were two adults, a man and a woman, around thirty years old, bound tightly with wire. The wire's sharp ends pierced their hands and feet, immobilizing their limbs while their blood trickled slowly.
This couple was the child's parents.
As residents of Higashimacho, they had been unfortunate enough to be chosen as Shikeji Ro's next meal the previous night.
Their child now faced the imminent agony of losing them and being forced to live alongside the demon.
The parents, contorted grotesquely in the wardrobe, were still conscious, watching in pain and despair as their child was coerced into playing games with this monster.
Shikeji Ro slammed a game piece onto the board with a snap and burst into laughter.
"Excellent! I won!"
The child across from him went limp with fear, his eyes vacant.
A nearby girl hurriedly fawned, clapping and praising,
"As expected of Lord Ro! You won so effortlessly!"
While offering insincere flattery, she shot a glance at the other children, signaling them to join in.
Startled, the other children clapped hastily, filling the dim room with a dry, eerie applause.
Shikeji Ro, oblivious to the pretense, preened like a true child king, tossing his disheveled hair with smug pride.
"This game is far too easy for me."
The child forced to play stood shakily, pleading in a trembling voice,
"You… you've beaten me again. This time, will you let my parents go?"
"What? Let them go?" Shikeji Ro's tone soured. "Not yet. We'll play a few more rounds!"
The poor child, face crumpled in despair, knelt and begged.
"We've played so many rounds already. No matter what, I can't beat you, Lord Ro. Please, have mercy!"
Irritated by the pleas, Shikeji Ro grabbed the child's hair, slamming his face into the board with a menacing growl.
"No! You keep playing. If you can't beat me, I'll eat your parents. Win, and I'll let them go!
Got it?"
The child, face pressed against the board, nodded frantically.
The children around Shikeji Ro watched with barely concealed pity.
They all knew his words were lies. Win and I'll let your parents go? Utter nonsense.
Win or lose, those parents were doomed.
Perhaps when Shikeji Ro tired of the game, or lost a match, or simply grew hungry, he'd drop his false benevolence. He'd devour the parents right in front of the child, forcing them to endure ultimate suffering!
Don't ask how they knew—every child here had lived through it!
Some, unable to bear the trauma, went mad on the spot. Those children were cast out by Shikeji Ro. The lucky ones were taken in by others; the unlucky… left to fend for themselves.
At times, these children envied the ones who'd lost their minds. Madness meant losing themselves, but at least they no longer had to endure this torment.
Shikeji Ro released the child's head, chuckling with a façade of kindness.
"Go on, another round."
The child sat up, dazed, his soul seemingly adrift.
The fawning girl nearby calculated quickly. He needed a break—this couldn't go on. She had to divert Shikeji Ro's attention.
I'm sorry, Shintaro. If you're lucky, your father will be fine.
She quickly spoke up.
"Lord Ro, you've played so long. Why not rest? Hana has brought Shintaro. Didn't you have questions for him?"
"Oh? Shintaro's here?"
Shikeji Ro turned.
Shintaro shuddered, dropping to his knees in a deep bow.
"Lord Ro!"
Seeing Shintaro's near-prostrate posture, Shikeji Ro smiled, feigning warmth.
"Hey, Shintaro, what's with that? Get up—we're friends, aren't we?"
Friends with a demon? That was the shared thought of every child in the room.
Shikeji Ro beckoned Shintaro to sit closer, and Shintaro, terrified, complied.
The demon draped a clawed hand over Shintaro's shoulder, a gesture mimicking brotherly camaraderie, but his words dripped with malice.
"Shintaro, I heard your father was talking to a stranger this afternoon?"
Shintaro trembled again.
"Y-Yes, that's true."
"And… did your father spill anything about me?"
Shintaro dropped to his knees again, his voice quaking.
"No! Lord Ro, absolutely not! I was right there with him, heard every word. The stranger just asked if he could stay in town. My father had to talk to him briefly, but he said nothing else!"
"Is that so?" Shikeji Ro's smile was chilling. "Then why were you in such a hurry to drag your father away?"
"Because… I was afraid he'd keep talking to the stranger, so I pulled him away."
Looking at Shintaro's posture and tone, Shikeji Ro dropped all pretense, his expression turning icy as he glared.
"Shintaro, do you know what that stranger was wearing?
Let me tell you: a strange black uniform, a dark purple cloud-patterned haori, and a sword at his waist!
The days of wandering samurai are long gone! Nowadays, someone carrying a sword is almost certainly my mortal enemy—a Demon Slayer!"
At this, Shikeji Ro's killing intent surged.
A terrifying wave of malice flooded the room, leaving the children reeling, on the verge of collapse.
Shintaro, targeted by this killing intent, was drenched in sweat, nearly fainting.
Shikeji Ro's murderous words continued.
"I've been in Higashimacho for half a year, thinking my presence was well-hidden. Yet somehow, I've drawn the Demon Slayer Corps. Where did I slip up?
No matter. Shintaro, your father dared speak with my enemy, violating my taboo!
I've decided—my next meal is your father!"
Shintaro's face blanched, tears streaming as he begged, banging his head on the floor.
"Mercy, Lord Ro! Please, mercy!"
No matter how desperately he pleaded, Shikeji Ro remained unmoved, growing more irritated.
"I don't get it. Why do you all protect your parents so fiercely?
I've told you countless times: parents are the worst people in the world. They force their kids to eat food they hate, to study, to stay inside instead of playing… they're just awful!
All the world's parents should be eaten by me!"
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