Chapter 36: Ritual

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Disclaimer:

I do not own nor claim all the rights to 鬼滅の刃 | Kimetsu no Yaiba | Demon Slayer; all rights are reserved to its respective creator, Koyoharu Gotōge. This is purely a work of fiction; names, characters, businesses, events, localities, and occurrences are all extrapolated from the author's writings and imagination or utilized in a fictitious manner. As such, any direct or indirect references to actual entities, dead or alive, or events do not, in any shape or form, resemble the opinions of the author.

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"..." = Dialogue

'...' = Internal monologues

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Arata Fumiko did everything she was told.

She obediently followed orders without question, constantly reaffirmed her everlasting loyalty to her superiors, and even backstabbed loved ones—from friends to family—all to ingratiate herself with this twisted family.

She did everything to remain on their good side.

It's the reason why she was able to survive for so long; she's now spent the bulk of her lifetime obeying her demonic masters, all the while reaping the rewards for her long service.

And yet, at this very moment, why was she standing trial for her supposed transgressions?

"H-Haji-sama, I-I don't understand... Why am I here?" she asked, fear and trepidation evident from her shaky delivery.

"I-I acted according to your instructions! Why am I here?! What did I do wrong?!" she begged for an answer.

"Oh, you shameful hag," a sinister, echoey voice chuckled. "You're already old and ugly, why even bother at this point?"

"Please, Haji-sama! Give me a second chance!" Fumiko pleaded, going as far as prostrating herself before this evil figure.

Haji smirked, "Second chance? Should I also give your dead friends a second chance? Or those teenage girls you forced into prostitution? Or, perhaps, your baby boy that you were willing to sacrifice? Should I give them all a second chance?"

"I was... I was simply following orders... Your orders..." Fumiko murmured, the sheer ignominy of her disgraced past encasing her in a veil of indignity and dishonor.

"Were you really? Or were you sooooo willing to abandon them for your own skin?" Haji taunted.

"T-That's not true..."

"If so, then I actually quite admire you, Fumiko-chan."

Fumiko watched as the demon developed an evil, disgusting grin along her jagged lineaments.

"I admire you for how unabashedly shameful you are. You whore~."

The words stung her more than she could possibly imagine.

Yes, she had followed every order. She had done everything to the best of her ability.

But to what end? And at what cost?

Only to eventually die here? Die so uselessly? After killing everyone she holds an iota of care for? Destroying anything that could bring genuine happiness into her sorry life?

After all that?

It was only then that something important dawned upon Fumiko—a revelation that took too long for someone as elderly as her to recognize.

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