Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

[Seiji's POV]

My eyes saw everything and this time, I hated that.

I could see how Muzan's blood slowly changed his body to a cellular level, how his DNA was tempered and how his humanity was slowly being eroded away, leaving familiar distinction I had seen on demons.

The image burned itself into my memory. The scene of my best friend slowly turning into what I hated the most shattered my heart in ways I didn't know possible.

There was silence and the world was in slow motion. I despaired at that pace and it felt like forever.

I hated Muzan Kibutsuji for what he did. I cursed him with every fibre of my being.

But what I despised just as much was me as my body twitched on instinct and I nearly decapitated the demon before me.

Demon?

No, my best friend.

"Rengoku,"

He lunged at me and I did nothing to stop him. I allowed him to pin me to the ground, his claws gripped my heart, tearing flesh but I couldn't feel it. Worse pain from within stopped me from feeling anything else.

Everyone else was shocked, just like I was. They did not know how to react to the situation.

The demon pulled his hand out of my heart, tearing away a chunk of flesh and the fountain of blood that spewed out painted us red.

He pulled his hand back and just when he was going to rip off my throat, he was stopped by his other hand. He froze on top of me, his body trembling like there was a war going on inside him.

He gritted his teeth hard. His jaw buckled and the sharp canines cracked and returned to their normal human shape.

I watched with wide, unblinking eyes as Rengoku fought an unseen war. I did not know what else to do; I lay unresponsive.

I only came back to reality when a drop of water fell on my cheek.

Tears.

"Seiji..." Rengoku gritted out, his eyes released huge droplets of tears that fell on my face and mixed with the blood.

"My friend," he said. His pleading look destroyed whatever resolve I had left.

"Kill me,"

Oh god, I saw it so clearly. It felt like those words were literally etched on my brain, I felt my mind collapse.

Why had I never thought of this before?

In the manga, Muzan is never shown to have the capability to turn strong Demon Slayers into demons, only civilians. I always thought that after a certain threshold of strength, Muzan could not turn someone into a demon without their consent.

That's how it was supposed to be. If not, why did he never turn the Hashiras into demons in the manga? He could win the war very easily.

So why?

"Please, kill me Seiji. Before I could harm you more," Rengoku pleaded with broken eyes that were both human and demonic.

"...."

I didn't know what to do except remain in my place while I resisted the instinctive urge to cut off his head. My body had been so accustomed to slaying demons that when I saw one, my first instinct was to kill.

I'm a horrible friend.

I didn't move even after a while so Gyomei did. He took a mighty step towards us and with the axe in hand, he swung at the head of Rengoku.

Gyomei's face was stone. The scene in front of him might as well be hell. He did not want to kill Rengoku even though he had become a demon. At the same time, I was at risk since I had completely frozen, leaving me beyond vulnerable for Rengoku to kill me on impulse.

But as the oldest, he thought it was natural for him to make the decision no one wanted to make. Kill Rengoku who had become a demon to save me, as my best friend had pleaded.

"No!!" I yelled and my body moved to turn over. I pushed Rengoku onto the ground, reversing our position and I blocked the incoming aze with my blade.

My sword which had lost its bright red colour shattered upon contact with the axe. Gyomei could not stop his attack anymore and the axe buried itself on my shoulder. The majority of the force had been stopped by my sword so I was not cut in half.

Gymoei was surprised beyond belief and he stumbled back. His axe remained lodged on my shoulder and I would prefer that to stop the bleeding.

"No one will harm him!!" I roared out. I was forced to face the situation head-on so I pushed whatever emotion I had to the deepest depths of my soul. I could cry later.

Rengoku was the one to disobey me first as his own hand went to his neck to strangle himself. His claws tore into his neck but I quickly grabbed it to stop him.

"I said NO!!"

"You'll be fine, I will fix it," I told everyone, even me included.

"I promise,"

My eyes took in the sight and this time, I actually processed all the information before me instead of just being aghast at what I saw. I could see that although Rengoku had been turned into a demon, it was not a full transformation, that would take a longer time.

I also see that Rengoku's humanity was fighting fiercely against the influence of Muzan's blood. It was fighting back to the point of tearing itself down.

Rengoku would rather die than become a demon.

I guess I knew now why Muzan needed consent before turning a Hashira into a demon. They would rather die than transform so it was meaningless.

If this went on, Rengoku would die. He would remain a human sure but he would die.

"Stop fighting it!!" I screamed at him.

They might think that turning into a demon to be controlled by Muzan to hurt your own friends was worse than death but I knew better.

"I can help you!! I know a cure! So just stop fighting back or you will die!!" I told Rengoku who began struggling under me.

He did not want to listen. He wanted to die.

But I wouldn't allow him to. Not yet.

I wrestled with Rengoku as he struggled with all his might. He was already a Hashira when he was human so as a demon, his strength increased by many times. I could barely control him as the ground cracked from his struggle.

Eventually, I put my arm around his neck while I took his back. Then I choked him, cutting air from going to his brain.

"Stop it!!" I said and tightened my choke. His hand slammed against the ground and even hit my ribs but I did not let go. I pulled out whatever strength I had left and subdued him.

I choked him until he eventually went limp.

He was a demon but not fully yet so he passed out. I would say he was only around ten per cent done with becoming a demon. It was frightening how much control Muzan had even with just that.

My eyes also see that he had not regenerated the wounds he had so that was further proof of his incomplete transformation. It also made me careful as I pushed his limp body off me and laid him on the ground.

My eyes remained glued to him even after that. The transformation continued but with Rengoku being unconscious, it was happening without resistance. That way he would not die and safely turn into a demon.

Tengen and Gyomei remained in their place, their faces thoughtful and tragic just as mine was. Just then, Obanai returned to us and he had a deep frown on his scarred lips.

"He got away using a strange ability," he told us.

He was the only person who cared little for Rengoku since he was new. So he ran after Muzan despite what happened.

I clenched my fist as hard as I could. My eyes trembled with frustration and I could feel my body losing strength rapidly. My marks receded and there was silence.

..

..

..

"He got away this time,"

[IMAGE]

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Author : So what do you think? Find the development interesting?

I think everyone at least asked themselves once, 'What if Rengoku had accepts Akaza deal and become demon? '

Share your thoughts. Did Muzan did the right thing or he just created a monstrous enemy? I think Rengoku will easily be the second strongest demon after Kokushibo.