"OBANAIIII!!"
In Shinichi moment of distraction, the girl in the kimono suddenly wrenched her hand free from his grasp and screamed as she charged toward Obanai.
Thud!
Caught off guard, Obanai was knocked over by the little girl, landing hard on the ground.
His already tattered white robe tore further against the rough surface, exposing his slender arm.
With Obanai pushed down, Maru-ni, who had been enjoying his massage, grew furious.
He stood up and barked at the girl.
If she hadn't been just an ordinary human, Maru-ni would have transformed on the spot and given her a "Skull-Crushing Special."
"Why?! Why did you run away?! Because of you, everyone was killed! It's all your fault! As a sacrifice, you should have just obediently died! Why did you run?!"
The girl, who appeared to be around Obanai age, spat words as cold and heartless as ice.
Her words were like a bucket of freezing water, instantly chilling Obanai heart to the core.
He recognized her—technically, she was his cousin.
Yet the words she spoke bore no resemblance to anything a blood relative should say.
In truth, Obanai had already anticipated this when he fled.
That greedy snake Demon would surely vent her rage on the rest of the clan.
But he... he had just wanted to live.
Obanai sat slumped on the ground, his eyes dull.
In his daze, he seemed to feel the vengeful spirits of dozens of dead clansmen pulling at him, cursing him, making it hard to breathe.
He didn't regret bringing misfortune upon his clan.
Instead, he felt deeply that the blood flowing through his veins was utterly filthy.
Was it true, then? That the descendants of scum were also scum?
Slap!!
A sharp sound rang out abruptly.
The girl in the kimono staggered from the sudden blow.
Shinichi, unable to tolerate it any longer, had struck her hard across the face before pointing at her nose and shouting.
"ENOUGH!! What right do you have to blame others? A sacrifice? What sacrifice? What gives you filthy, despicable bastards the right to offer Obanai life as tribute?"
"What the hell do you people think life is?! Trading wealth by worshiping a disgusting Demon—how shameless can you be?! Over hundreds of years, how many innocent people have died because of your greed? People like you deserve to be thrown into hell even after death! A bunch of scum like you have no right to judge anyone!"
"The one who should be furious is Obanai! He should rage at being born into such a vile family! The greatest insult to him is sharing the same blood as you!"
"He's braver and nobler than anyone in your family! Because he dared to defy the Demon! Not grovel before it like the rest of you! Being born into this family wasn't his fault. If you've all dragged the Iguro name through the mud, then Obanai is the last shred of dignity your family has left!"
Shinichi machine-gun tirade left everyone stunned.
The girl, clutching her cheek, stood speechless—whether from shame or shock at his words, it was hard to tell.
Meanwhile, Shinjuro eyes widened in surprise.
He hadn't expected Shinichi to be so harsh.
If it were him, he wouldn't be able to articulate such words—more often than not, Shinjuro preferred to let his Nichirin Blade do the talking.
But the one most affected by Shinichi words was undoubtedly Obanai.
His words were like a ray of sunlight piercing through the darkness.
Though it couldn't completely dispel the shadows, it at least provided a moment of relief for Obanai, whose heart had been almost entirely shrouded in darkness, allowing him to catch his breath.
Obanai heterochromatic eyes stared blankly at Shinichi, who was passionately speaking out on his behalf.
The snake around his neck, Kaburamaru, shifted slightly and Maru-ni ever the timely companion, came over to lick his hand.
For the first time in a long while, Obanai felt that there was still meaning in living.
***
Time passed quickly.
When the sunlight finally broke through the darkness, members of the Demon Slayer Corps' cleanup squad, the Kakushi, arrived on Hachijo Island to handle the aftermath of the Iguro family tragedy and arrange for the survivors' care.
However, the Kakushi were at a loss about what to do with the children from the annihilated families.
The Iguro clan had lived on Hachijo Island for centuries and had no remaining relatives—there was simply nowhere to send them.
"That girl can be sent to the Kakushi orphanage. As for the boy, bring him to my home" Shinjuro told the Kakushi members.
Shinichi, standing nearby, was surprised.
"Rengoku-san, why are you doing this?"
Shinjiro sighed. "That boy has suffered significant psychological trauma. Keeping him with his cousin might not be wise. Besides, as you said earlier, Shinichi, the fact that he had the courage to resist a Demon is already remarkable."
"If possible, I want to help that child recover. Also, Kyojuro is around his age—having a peer to interact with might help him emerge from the darkness in his heart sooner."
After hearing this, Shinichi nodded in agreement.
"That's very thoughtful of you, Rengoku-san. This arrangement is truly good."
And so, the last survivors of the Iguro family were settled.
While the Kakushi cleaned up the Iguro estate, Shinichi curiously wandered around.
When he entered the family treasure vault, even though he had mentally prepared himself, the sight of chests overflowing with gold and jewels still left him deeply shocked.
With so much wealth accumulated, it was impossible to know how many innocent lives had been lost to that serpent Demon over the centuries.
But what puzzled Shinichi was that despite having fed on humans for hundreds of years, the serpent Demon strength seemed surprisingly weak.
She didn't even possess a Blood Demon Art and her physical prowess was mediocre at best.
By Shinichi combat metrics, she was roughly equivalent to 1.5 to 2 Karasuma in strength.
"So there must be significant differences among Demons. According to what Karasuma once said, the more of Muzan blood a Demon receives, the stronger they become. But then... what about me?"
Shinichi was perplexed.
In truth, he had no idea how he had become a Demon in the first place.
Had he, in that strange state, managed to scratch Muzan when he was off guard and obtained his blood?
But with such a minor wound, how much blood could Muzan have even shed?
After pondering for a long time without reaching any conclusion, Shinichi simply gave up and walked over to a Kakushi member who was inventorying the valuables.
"By the way, will this money be added to our Demon Slayer Corps funds?" Shinichi asked curiously while picking up a handful of pearls.
The Kakushi member scratched his head.
"Well, usually not. These assets are typically counted and left for the survivors. Our Demon Slayer Corps has its own industries, which are quite prosperous, so we don't need additional funds from other sources."
"However, according to Flame Hashira-sama, this money was all looted by Demons. We plan to use it for charitable work, such as building orphanages to shelter children who have lost their families."
Shinichi nodded in approval.
That seemed like a good approach.
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