Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

[Seiji's POV]

Three years elapsed even before I knew it and I had lived more than I ever did in my past life.

I was happy.

Some people might find that hard to believe, given my prior reaction to the situation I found myself in. But happiness comes from the people you surround yourself with, not from the world surrounding you. I experienced that first-hand.

Because in this second life, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a real family who truly loved me.

Now how could I possibly be sad even if I was living in the worst era of human history? How could I stop smiling when I finally had a family?

There was my father, my mother, my older brother and three older sisters. Including myself, we were a loving family of seven. Quite a small family actually in this era.

We were wealthy as both my father and brother were army officers who retired after the Russo-Japanese War. We moved from the city to the rural areas after thier retirement.

They bought a large piece of land for farming and a small mansion with thier pension money. There, we lived a slow and peaceful life just like they always wanted.

I thought I was blessed to have been reborn into such a family.

My father and brother were tough men but they had a very soft side for thier family. My mother and sisters were all beautiful and loving women who couldn't help spoiling me every moment of the day. I would get passed around like a teddy bear and I was more than happy to oblige.

I was the youngest in the family and by a lot. There was an 8-year difference between me and the second youngest sibling. I was what they called a 'late in life child'. I was a pleasant surprise addition to the family.

But this happiness did not last long. And I would have expected it if I had known the world I was living in at that time.

I was 7 years old when it happened.

...

"Who would have thought a gen-z soul like me could ever enjoy farming?"

I said with a smile while wiping the sweat from my face. As a 7-year-old and the little jewel of the family, I was of course not allowed to do hard work on the farm yet. But I was in charge of watering all of the plants.

They said I had a nurturing touch and the plants I watered grew healthier. Of course, I knew they were just overexaggerating but it was enough to make me take my job seriously and try my best.

Which was exactly why I was the only person in the crop field right now. It was late in the afternoon with the sun shining deep orange as it was about to set.

But I still remained in the field because I was watering the crops. The best time to water them was in the afternoon because that way, the plants would be able to absorb the water properly without the sun evaporating the water.

I did not mind staying behind as the field was right next to our house and it also allowed me to witness my favourite scene every day.

"It's truly beautiful." I said while gazing at the horizon, specifically at the sun which was slowly sinking between the peak of two mountains.

I liked beautiful things. Since I was deaf in my past life, I had a strong love for anything that was visually stunning. From arts, sculptures and pretty girls, I loved them all.

I resumed my work after a minute of just watching the sunset and quickly finished watering the plants before it got dark.

If I was late, my mother would be worried so after I finished my work, I hurried home.

I thought it would be like every day. I thought my mother would welcome me with a bright smile on her face, I thought my brother would praise me for working extra harder than everyone else.

But that day, it was different.

That day was the end of it all.

"What is that smell?"

I asked myself. It was the smell of blood so thick that it made me want to fall down on my knees and vomit. There was a metallic tang to it that stuck in my nostrils.

I quicken my steps and head towards my house. The closer I came to the house, the stronger the smell got and then I heard the sound of sobbing from inside.

"Mom? Dad?!" I ran to the door and slid it open.

My blood froze when I saw it. The image was forever imprinted on the darkest corner of my mind.

Inside, I saw the walls of the house I called my home, painted with blood and intestines. I also saw littered corpses and pieces of flesh sprawled around from the entrance to the living room.

My stomach twisted at the sight and then my heart when I realized it was the pieces of my family. I couldn't help myself and emptied the content of my stomach right then and there.

I vomited violently in the doorway. My vomit was mixed with tears that fell down like a broken dam. I did not feel anything at that time even though I was brawling my eyes out. I felt too many intense emotions all at once so I think my brain just numbed everything.

Then I heard a piercing scream which made me look up. I stumbled and then crawled towards the sound. The blood and pieces of flesh on the floor made it so slippery that I fell down numerous times.

But I did not care. Because I knew whose voice that belonged to.

"Mieko!!!" I called out. My juvenile voice was overflowing with fear and panic.

When I reached the kitchen I finally saw my sister but I also saw something else. A monster I could only describe as ugly.

He looked like an old man with a hunched back. His body was full of wrinkles and dirty white hair fell down his balding head like webs. He was also extremely pale and he was pinning my sister to the ground.

My eyes shook when I saw them.

My sister was completely naked, her clothes were torn off by the sharp claws of the monster. She was crying and her face twisted with pain and despair.

One of her breasts was gone, eaten by the monster who held her down. A side of her stomach was cut and her insides were spilling out with blood that was so red it looked black.

I also noticed that her thighs and her buttocks had gaping wounds, most of her flesh there was gone. The monster's face was covered in blood and it was not hard for even my panicked mind to conclude what was happening,

My sister was being eaten alive.

And the way she was being eaten felt like a picky child eating his food, choosing to eat only the good parts first. The scene was a raw and unadulterated show of violence. It was demonic.

...

I screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" My throat ripped due to how loud it came out.

And then I charged at the monster who had killed my family and was eating my sister. My seven-year-old body moved as fast as it could and adrenaline pumped in my veins.

I still haven't felt anything yet.

But before I could even reach the monster, he turned towards me. His face looked like an old man and he opened his mouth.

He released a sonic boom that ruptured my ears and froze my adrenaline. My small body was sent flying away from the shockwave and I crashed into the wall.

Pain.

Pain coursed throughout my body and it was the first thing I felt. I clutched my ear with both hands and it was bleeding endlessly. I felt warm liquids inside my head and I felt dizzy.

I tried to get up but I couldn't. For a brief moment, I forgot up from down and right to left. My body was in shock and I broke many bones when I crashed into the wall. The only thing I could do was look up and stare as the monster continued devouring my sister.

I still did not feel anything other than pain. But I remembered I was glad when she finally died and her screaming stopped.

I remained on the ground and watched until the end where my sister became a lump of intestines and bare bones. I saw everything.

I just curled up on the ground and wiggled like a worm. Helpless.

After the monster was done, it looked at me and then he came near me. I could no longer hear what he said, it felt like I was underwater.

But I could read his lips.

He said something along the lines of me being too small to be eaten and that he was full. But strangely enough, I could vividly hear the last thing he said to me.

His lips curled up into the cruellest smile I had ever seen and then with eyes filled with amusement, he said to me.

"Thank you for the meal."

I was helpless. I couldn't do anything.

The demon left but as I watched him leave, I was filled with anger and hatred I never knew was possible. Was a child even capable of bearing such hatred?

Out of pure spite, I pushed myself off the ground and then ran after him. When he was in the doorway about to leave the house, I caught up to him.

I ran at him with mindless abandon. My body functioned only through anger and my action was filled with spite.

But I remember, my main objective then was not to kill the monster. I knew I could not kill him even if I wanted to. I only attacked because I was filled with anger and because I wanted something else.

I wanted to die.

I wanted to die before my mind stopped panicking and this nightmare became a reality. I wanted to die with my family.

But the monster did not kill me.

I think it knew what I wanted and was refusing to grant me my wish. He merely swung his arm at me and I felt my shoulder and ribs breaking under his inhumane strength.

And then for the second time, he opened his mouth and released a sonic boom that sent me flying away like a ragdoll.

I lay sprawled on the ground, along with the pieces of flesh which I once called a family. I could not even differentiate who was who. They were all just mingled remains of bones and intestines.

The monster left and I was alone in the house.

My home had turned into hell.

It took some time but then it eventually came, pain. And it was not the physical pain I got from being injured.

It was something else, something that came from the deepest part of my soul.

Reality sank in and the nightmare finally became vivid. I started brawling and I felt my heart being crushed by an invisible hand.

It felt like I was being strangled. Grief, sadness, pain, despair, guilt and every negative emotion I know of and some I never knew existed.

I gathered the pieces of flesh and bones and hugged them in a bloody mess of gore. And the whole night I stayed in that hell, trying to find the final warth of comfort from my lost family.

I think I cried the whole night but everything was silent because I lost my sense of hearing.

That night, after three years since regaining my memories, I was robbed of everything I was blessed with in this second life.

My family and my hearing.

I mourned in the silence.

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