Haruto never imagined that his first meeting with Kanao would happen like this.

  As his gaze drifted toward her, he saw her bright, star-like eyes staring back at him. But instead of being filled with warmth or curiosity, they were empty—cold and lifeless. It was as if all the emotions that made someone human had been stripped away, leaving only a hollow shell behind.

  Haruto froze, his breath catching in his throat.

  Those eyes weren’t just empty—they were haunting. They told a story far darker than words ever could. At that moment, the memories he hadn’t fully understand began to surface in his mind again. A picture slowly emerged, like a puzzle coming together:

  A poor, struggling family. Cruel, cold-hearted parents. A little girl subjected to relentless abuse.

  Kanao had lived her childhood in constant fear. Her parents’ beatings were brutal and merciless. If not for her sharp instincts and quick reflexes, she might not have survived.

  But what made Haruto’s chest tighten the most was the realization of how her emotions had been crushed. Whenever she cried or showed any weakness, her parents would beat her even harder. Over time, she stopped crying. She stopped feeling. She learned to suppress her emotions completely to avoid more pain. Little by little, she became numb, her ability to express herself slipping away until it was gone entirely.

  Haruto’s grip on his sword tightened unconsciously as his heart ached for her. A heavy realization sank in—this body, the original Haruto, bore some of the blame. His inaction, his inability to step up, had left Kanao utterly alone.

  The original Haruto had been the only one who could have shielded her from the cruel world around them, the only one who could have offered her even a glimmer of hope. But his cowardice had failed her. Instead of being her protector, he had turned away, leaving Kanao to face the darkness on her own.

  Without him, there had been no one to bring even a sliver of light into her shadowed life.

  This wasn’t the life someone as young and innocent as Kanao should have endured. A child as sweet and pure as her should have been cared for, loved, and cherished—not thrown into a pit of misery and cruelty.

  He could feel his emotions surging, an intense wave of anger and sorrow mixing together.

  This world was wrong—so deeply, irreparably wrong.

  Haruto’s thoughts swirled with conflicting feelings. Though he carried the memories of his previous life and those of this body, one emotion stood out above all others:

  He wanted to do something.

  No, he had to do something.

  For Kanao. For the girl who had endured far too much pain. For the girl whom he had abandoned in her worst moments.

  Haruto’s grip on the sword tightened, his resolve hardening as memories of the other characters from Demon Slayer filled his mind. He couldn’t just stand by and let things unfold the way they had before—he couldn’t repeat the mistakes like he did with Ryoto or the original body did to Kanao.

  He didn’t know how or when, but one thing was certain: he would change this world. He would rewrite the story—if not for himself, then for the girl standing in front of him.

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  Suddenly the whole world seemed to pause in time. Everything—the monster, Kanao, the people running, even the flames licking at the houses—froze in place. Haruto himself was rooted to the spot, unable to move, with only his eyes still capable of shifting.

  Before he could process what was happening, golden words began to appear in the air before him, slowly as though written by an invisible hand. Haruto couldn’t move his gaze away from them, mesmerized by the strange, almost enchanting glow they emitted.

  As an outsider to the fate of this world, the world wishes to offer you a deal as the only one capable of changing its miserable future. The fate of the original Haruto was to perish at the hands of the demon, but you—an outsider—have already altered that fate.

  Since the world cannot interfere without a price, it offers you the ability to absorb the Blood demon arts of the demons after killing them. However, as a price, you will become an original demon. Additionally, you will be granted a bare minimum status screen to visualize the abilities of demons and your own. Your objective will be to survive for as long as possible, for your very existence will inevitably alter the course of fate.

  You may choose to reject the offer but without the offer your chances of survival are slim. While you possess innate talent with a sword, your current body is not strong enough to defeat the demon before you.

  Will you accept becoming a demon to change the fate of this world?

  Haruto wasn’t sure what to feel. Just moments ago, he had been thinking of how he could change the story and now, it seemed the world itself was offering him an opportunity—albeit with a price.

  After a moment’s thought, Haruto began to understand the situation. The Demon Slayer world’s fate had already been set and it was a fate cruelly tilted in favor of the demons. His sudden appearance, as an outsider, was the best chance this world had at changing its fate.

  But then came the hardest part: was he willing to give up his humanity to change the fate of people he hadn’t even known before an hour?

  He glanced at Kanao, her empty eyes staring back at him and in that moment, his decision became clear. He had already failed someone who had believed in him in his past life—he couldn’t allow himself to fail again. Although Kanao’s fate had already been sealed in the original story, her emotions locked away for years. If he helped her now, maybe—just maybe—he could alter her path, help her regain her emotions far earlier than in the original timeline.

  With his mind now set, Haruto whispered silently in his heart,

  “I accept becoming a demon.”

  Haruto made his choice. Whether he wanted to or not, the situation before him left him with no other option.

  In a world like Demon Slayer, if you're at the bottom with no strength, you never know when a demon might appear and rip away the happiness you've built.

  You can't do a thing after becoming a corpse which was a rather common occurrence in this world.

  Rather than trying to hold on to his humanity and dying soon, Haruto would rather choose to become a demon. Even if he somehow managed to survive this fight, he couldn’t guarantee Kanao’s safety. And as the words had said, his very presence was already changing the course of fate, so now there's no guarantee that Kanao will survive this incident.

  With a silent acceptance in his heart, the world around him began to move again. Haruto felt changes starting inside his body—his heart, once still, stopped beating for a moment before starting again, pumping new blood through his veins. Strength surged through him.

  His dark pupils shifted to gold and two short demon horns appeared on his forehead. It seemed the only visible signs of his transformation were his eyes and horns, for which he was immensely grateful.

  Moreover he felt more attuned to the Nichirin Sword in his hand, like he can visualize more ways to use it than before. Unconsciously, he swung it, feeling it as if it were a part of his body.

  So this is how it feels like to be a demon?

  Feeling the strength in his body, Haruto’s mouth curved into a small smile and his golden pupils gleamed with an intense light. Without realizing it, the fear he had felt seemed to disappear.

  "Hmm, a demon?"

  In front of Haruto, the demon who had just devoured several humans stared at him in confusion. It could sense the same demon aura coming from Haruto, which puzzled it. Just moments ago, Haruto had been human—so why did he now feel like one of them?

  “How?” the demon growled.

  Haruto raised his head, meeting the demon’s gaze, his voice calm and cold. “I guess even the world can’t tolerate your presence anymore, so it wants your death through my hand.”