{On Hold} Blessed Is the Blood of the Sun (Yandere Kimetsu no Yaiba)

Chapter 15 : Lotus of Rebirth

Chapter 15: Lotus of Rebirth

It was worrisome. Two years had gone by and his brother was still asleep. He had even threatened a doctor to look at him and then killed him when he got an answer so that the demon slayers would not know his position. He had been told that everything was fine, but his situation was still not solved. It was very problematic to bring Yoriichi along side him when he was trying to find the Blue Spider Lily or the Ubuyashiki family. What the Upper Moon especially did not want to happen was for them to discover his brother survival. He knew that he would not always be able to stay with him and that the corps could hunt the younger one, considering him a huge threat simply by staying with the Upper Moon.

For the longest time, his jealousy over his brother indulged his soul. No matter what he did, he would always be stronger. Then, the other had somehow grown old, defying the death caused by the demon slayer mark which shorten the lifespan to twenty-five years. His skills had been preserved, and he had almost killed him, an Upper Moon, but died right before he could deliver his last attack. Kokushibo had survived because of luck, not because of his skills. This fact made him extremely bitter and angry towards Yoriichi. However, those pure and raw emotions were overlapping with deep sorrow and pain. The one who he had always known, the one who he had shared so many happy moments, was laying dead. Yet, he had mutilated his unmoving body, slaying it. The sight of the flute that he had gave him as a child broke him, and he teared up. It had been broken and then fell off because of the slash. He had been so obsessed with power that he had pushed away everyone that was dear to him. The price for immortality and strength was his humanity. Was it ever worth it? He was left alone, wondering on the Earth while growing stronger, but for what reason? He had no goals left, no one to cherish and love. That pain was unbearable, why was he always this weak? So, he trained, harder and harder to push away that pain, to not be weak, to gain as much strength as his brother. While he could mostly quiet down those thoughts by obsessing even more on training, by hating on Yoriichi, there was always that whisper saying that he was a disgrace to life. Centuries had gone by. What had he learned from all of that time living?

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

He was still that weak minded individual, despite being Upper Moon One. When he found his brother again, in a different body, he had been livid at first. However, that veil had been removed when he realised that this was a blessing in disguise. Yoriichi, his dearest brother, had came back and was extremely weak. While Kokushibo had technically surpassed him, the Upper Moon was more focused on getting over his jealousy and to cherish the last remembrance of his humanity. He was no longer lonely. There was no strength from his brother to envy. Unfortunately, that also meant that the younger one was very vulnerable against Demon Slayers and other demons.

On one particular night, Kokushibo came across some demon slayers. While he had easily slaughtered the three swordsmen that had gotten in his way, he had heard their crows flying away. Last time, when he killed the Stone Pillar, he had underestimated their usefulness which allowed the corps to know his appearance and some of his abilities. With his monstrous blade dripping of blood, he dropped the boy and he charged at the crows who had split up. Chasing them while going from one branch to the other. By using a moderate amount of force, he was able to jump high enough from the tree who broke under the pressure. As he rose his sword, the crow could only look at the demon in horror as it was decapitated. Without any thoughts, he ran towards the closest one to repeat the same treatment.

Back at the sleeping demon, one slayer gasped and coughed blood. Filled with sorrow and languish, he tried to stand up, but fell harshly on the ground. He had been so horrified upon seeing the kanjis its eyes and had tried to run away, but obviously failed. With a green sword in hand, he crawled towards his comrades only to notice that they were not breathing anymore. With blood covering their mutilated bodies and their dead unmoving eyes still open, the last human alive could only cry in the darkness of the night. The moon did not shy away behind the cloud as the disgusting smell of blood overwhelmed him and made him gag before he threw up on one of the corpses, too weak to move his head away in time. As he looked at the scene, he felt disgusted with himself for what he had done. He then hissed when he touched his main wound. Over his heart laid a huge injury caused by the demon's hand; he would not survive this night. After this terrific realisation, he looked around and found a vulnerable demon wearing a red haori laying on the ground. He was furious, livid. With his last strength, he got up using his sword as support and walked with determination towards the monster. As he rose his sword, anger filling his body, he suddenly felt weak and was falling. It was not his body that was falling, but only his head.