The Good Demon [KNY]

Part 3: Cut short

"Probably should've set a destination." Akai sighed as he ran down the second mountain he had come across. "But you gotta love that mountain breeze." Akai, who had been breathing through his mouth the past 7 hours, took in a deep breath through his nose. Akai nearly tripped when a thousand different scents engulfed his nose. He tried to process all the smells. Rock, dirt, water, rain, deer, mouse, crow, berries, demon-

Demon.

Akai recognized the pungent scent of demon, he had smelled it on the blood that covered his hands when he killed the one that attacked his village. This one smelled stronger. He could sense another scent. Similar, but too different to be the same.

"Multiple?" Akai wondered.

He sniffed the air and honed in on a particular direction. Akai bared his teeth and picked up speed.

After a minute or two of running. He found an area caked in demon scent. This scent was very strong, like that of a high-ranking demon. Was it Muzan?

Akai ran off the trail to a large area near the foot of a mountain. It was a small open area backed by a cliff. Akai walked into it slowly, he eyed the shadows and scanned potential hiding places. He noticed the bodies a little ways in. The two swordsmen that had sworn to kill Kibutsuji, lying dead next to one another. Their bodies were drained of all blood.

"Fuck." Akai balled a fist. He noticed their swords were dull iron, nowhere near sharp enough. "You didn't know what you were getting into." Akai sighed.

Akai wanted so badly to bury them, but the scent of demon was so fresh, so close. Akai growled and sprinted after the scent. He ran through the forests and over hills, closing in on whatever killed the swordsmen.

The scent grew the strongest right on the top of a hill, it was full of large rocks. Akai was could sense something on the other side of a boulder. He dug his feet into the ground and bounced over the boulder. He saw the silhouette of a person and drew his knife, hoping to cleave off their head.

SHINK!!!

Akai's sword cut through something. Akai widened his eyes with hope and whipped around.

Only to find he had broken a misshapen rock in half.

"Damn it!!!" Akai growled.

He found a spot with fresh blood. That's where the scent came from.

!!!!!

Akai smelled a scent of demon so strong it nearly made him sick. Under which was a hint of something else.

Death.

"No!!!" Akai yelled and sprinted as fast as he could. He cleared three hundred feet in ten seconds. He wouldn't let another tragedy happen.

Akai reached a village, or what was left of one. The houses were empty covered in blood. Akai bristled and clenched his jaw. He followed the blood trail with a vengeance. He found weak demons littering the place, it was a raid. Akai roared and cut off their heads instantly in the dozens. He continued into the center of the village. He saw a mound of bodies. Dozens of slaughtered women and children. The men were cast to the weakling demons. On top of the mound sat the one man that started it all. Muzan Kibutsuji.

"MUZAN!!!!" Akai screamed and lept. His veins popped and he clenched his jaw so hard his teeth sparked. He went to cave in the monster's face, bringing his fist down at light speed.

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"What?" Akai layed broken on the floor. His chest was smashed in with a single fist imprint in the center. He was beaten in less than a second.

"No..." Akai groaned and got up slowly. He could barely muster the strength to move, having prioritized it to healing his chest. Akai layed on his knees with his head down, he coughed blood and tried to get up.

"No." Akai heard from behind him as a sharp object pierced his back. Akai screamed in pain and slumped back to his knees. "You won't be around to ever pose a threat to me."

"You're wrong... I will hunt you down... I will cut off your head!!!" Akai screamed into the ground. "I WILL!!!"

"Stay bound to this village for 1000 years." Muzan ordered and sliced his finger across Akai's back.

"Magic?" Akai wondered.

"Stay still." Muzan ordered. Akai's body obliged to his horror. Muzan casually walked away with the few dozen demons he still had. Once he reached the edge of the village Kibutsuji snapped his fingers.

"Move again." Kibutsuji pointed at Akai.

"YOU!!!" Akai roared and burst forward, only to collide with an invisible wall once he reached the edge. Muzan continued to walk away, not even bothering to look at him.

"BASTARD!!!! COWARD!!!" Akai screamed and banged on the invisible wall. Until morning, during the next night, for the night after, for every night of the week. Akai banged on the barrier. He couldn't dig and he could only jump 20 feet before hitting his head. He only had the corpses and himself. Akai, having lost all will to live, unsheathed his knife and brought it to his throat. Akai closed his eyes and grasped the knife.

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"Fuck that." Akai plopped himself on the ground sat cross-legged and bit down on his arm. He stayed like that for a day. His constant drinking meant he could out regenerate the sunburn. So he'd decide to sit down for the week, for the month, the year.

He'd just sit here.

Without any fear.

He'd wait out these one thousand years.