A second chance

Cruelties blessing: part 3

Muzan had faced many Demons slayers over the centuries before and after him.

But it seems the damned deities were taking absolute pleasure in reminding him of his one and only greatest fear this day.

Even though this slayer, this Hashira, was but a mere shadow when compared to that man, it didn't mean the similarities were there. The red half of the hori, the unrideable expression, and the dimmable godforsaken menaces that were the Hanafuta earrings!

On. Full. Display!

He was mocking him, even after nearly 500 years!

Simmering hatred and fear filling his mind, the demon king unleashed two of his back whips and aimed them at the demon slayer.

As expected, the slayer dodged the first whip appendage before deflecting the second one aimed at his side. Eyes filled with barely concealed rage, the demon king allowed one of his appendages to fill with poison. Faster than the normal human eye could see, the poison filled whips struck the slayer's shoulder before being sliced just as quickly.

Surprised, but unwilling to allow this Hashira to leave this home with his humanity, Muzan continued his attack. Despite attacking continuously with six new back whips and slowly pushing the Hashira into a corner, despite the fact that he slashed the slayer's stomach open with one of his arm whips.

He still stood, blood dripping heavily onto the lower half of the slayer's uniform and onto the floor.

"...why?" Gasped the slayer.

Muzan gazed at the Hashira with a blank expression. His back whips, pinning the slayer's limbs to the wall. The demon king knew he should proceed with his plan from earlier, but he decided to amuse one of Ubuyashiki's pathetic Hashira.

His long awaited goal of tainting his legacy further was in his reach.

"Do not think talking will get you out of being turned." He stated.

Giyu ignored the demon king, and the next words that slipped from his lips changed his life forever. Not to mention, it was a question he pondered whenever he was alone with his thoughts.

"Why do you have... such disregard for human life." He questioned.

Muzan Kibutsuji froze, eyes wide, his entire being unable to move as the slayer before him flickered out of existence and was replaced with a man, upper features obscured by shadow. He wore a red haori over a very pale orange-colored nagagi kimono with a black umanori-styled hakama, a pair of zōri with red straps, and white tabi socks. A Nichirin sword held in his hand, ready to strike.

Giyu continued to breathe, the world slow as ever for the moment, his cheek continuing to tingle. He decided to ask another question, unaware of his previous and next words history with the demon king before him.

"I see... So tell me, what is the weight of a human life to you?"

Snapping out of his trance, the demon king returned his mind to the present at those words. Fueled by fear and a need to destroy the only human who cost him such fear, Muzan launched himself forward, snarling. "Damn you to hell, Tsugikuni!"

His claws grew in an instant, and before the human could even realize what was happening, blood dripped down the left side of his face. He would destroy them! That man's ghost! The Ubuyashiki's, and the rest of the demon slayer corps.

Giyu breathed, oddly calm, as he watched the demon king rip away half of his vision. Still pinned against the wall, Giyu had the distant sensation of pain. Idly, he wondered where the tugging sensation had gone. It was no longer focused on the demon king, rather, it was focused somewhere off in the distance. But as the blood covered his cheek, the tingling sensation stopped, and he felt something new on his skin. It felt like a forgotten limb he never knew he missed until now, but there was a part of him that still felt... Wrong.