Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Chapter 122 Old Owl's Chronicles

There are always some things in the world that are beyond human control.

For example, the changing of seasons, and the separation of life and death.

Makijuro spent the first half of his life trying to become a better man, a qualified swordsman, an excellent ghost hunter, and a competent husband. He had many titles and did many things to be proud of. He had a smart and virtuous wife, an obedient and sensible son, the title of Flame Pillar, and the recognition of his lord. He had obtained many things.

That’s why we feel particularly uncomfortable when we lose something.

----

The story begins many years ago, when he had just taken over the position of Flame Pillar from his father. Having two pillars in one family would probably make others very proud, but for the Purgatory family, whose generations have been ghost hunters, it is not an uncommon thing.

His father's expectations of him were high. This invisible expectation was both a driving force and a pressure, a heavy burden that silently weighed on his shoulders. Makijuro therefore kept moving forward, striving to complete his tasks and train diligently, hoping to successfully shoulder all of this, to satisfy his father, to make his mother proud, and to hold his head high.

The meeting was completely accidental.

While on a mission, he met a boy, a somewhat strange boy.

When I first saw him, the boy looked like he was lost. He stood under the street light with his head raised blankly, his eyes staring straight at the light above his head.

Naturally, he walked over and asked, and that was when fate began.

It was inevitable. The fiery passion was an instinct that ran in the blood of the Purgatory family for generations. He would definitely lend a helping hand to a homeless boy standing on the roadside.

But the meeting was a coincidence, which seemed to be an inexplicable destiny.

Everything that happened afterwards seemed to confirm this guess. Because of coincidence and necessity, after repeated contacts and interactions, Makijuro became suspicious of the boy named Rinkou and therefore tried to test him. Fortunately, the boy never cared and passed those tests. The boy proved himself and gained the trust of Makijuro.

In the moonlight, the shadows of the two people were stretched very long. They walked together, holding hands. Makijuro knew clearly that at this moment, they had become friends who would no longer have any grudges against each other.

Unfortunately, that was not a beautiful prelude, but the beginning of a nightmare.

The boy's health was not good, and that was the news that Makijuro finally learned that night. He had only heard Rinkou say so before, but he had never really believed that a boy running around barefoot at night would have any health problems. But that night he was there in person, and he saw it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears.

In fact, describing the boy as being in poor health is a bit too euphemistic, because that night the doctor gave the boy a death notice in a heavy but clear tone.

My hands were cold not because I was barefoot that day, nor because of the cool night breeze. I couldn't eat much not because I wasn't hungry, and I vomited in the end not because I ate too much.

All of this is because the body of a candle in the wind cannot support such a free and casual soul.

-

It took Makijuro a long time to convince himself to accept the reality. Rinkou might die, and might die at any time. Maybe when he went there tomorrow, Rinkou would no longer be there. He was prepared.

But Lingguang did not die. He was like a candle flame swaying in the wind, flickering, fragile, yet tenacious, and survived.

Rinkou witnessed his love with Ruhi, witnessed his joy of becoming a father for the first time, and they even discussed the child's name together.

Makijuro joked that it would be very interesting when they met in the future, because that was a boy that Rinkou had never seen before but was already familiar to him. If Rinkou saw Kyojuro who looked almost exactly like him, he would definitely have an interesting expression on his face.

Makijuro is full of expectations for the future.

So I said goodbye to Lingguang again.

It was not grand, serious, or formal, just another ordinary farewell. They would meet again soon, and this time maybe he would secretly bring Kyojuro to let Rinko meet him, as long as he could hide it from Ruka.

But he was not given such an opportunity.

Lin Guang disappeared.

This is also a euphemism.

Only the frame of the once magnificent house remains, and its charred color silently tells of the disaster it once suffered.

The fire was so great that it almost lit up the night. Water could not put it out, so they had to wait until the wood burned out. Then, amid the ruins, they could find nothing but dust. This is what those who had witnessed the tragedy said.

Makijuro couldn't imagine what the scene was like, but with every word that came into his ears, a corresponding picture emerged: raging flames lighting up the darkness. It could be seen from afar, and when standing there, he would probably feel the unbearable heat.

Makijuro once loved everything he got, including his passion for the Breath of Fire.

"Makijuro is like a flame."

What was going through the boy's mind when he faced the fire that night when he was away?

Makijuro asked himself.

He didn't know, but just thinking about it made him feel as if a fire was burning in his chest.

Lin Guang’s departure seemed like a prelude.

He never realized how much he had received and did not appreciate it, so God began to take back what he had given him.

Rinkou has not been heard from since. He has learned the truth about the Breathing of Flame. The Demon Slayer Corps is getting weaker with each passing year, and the newcomers are simply unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility.

Ruka's death was the last straw that broke the camel's back for him.

Buried deep underground seemed to be not only the sleeping wife, but also the husband she knew best. Buried in one funeral were two clear souls.

----

Kyojuro is his son, and he looks a lot like him, not just in appearance or words, but also in a deeper way. They have the same enthusiasm, cheerfulness, sunshine, positivity, and are full of expectations for everything in the future.

But what exactly is there to look forward to in the future?

Makijuro could almost find the shadow of his own teenage self in Kyojuro. Back then, he was just as young and full of energy. No, not entirely the same. His son was even better, with a talent as dazzling as a flame.

Kyojuro will become an excellent demon hunter, an excellent Flame Pillar, stronger than him and his father.

Makijuro could see it.

But what's the point?

What's the point of constantly hunting down evil spirits? They are not people favored by God, nor are they people who will be pitied by the gods. Even if they have such dazzling talents, even if they are such excellent children, if they are sent to such a battlefield, what will greet them in the end is probably only death.

Even children and women who cannot go to the battlefield will die, let alone Kyojuro.

He was not someone worthy of praise, Makijuro thought.

He is actually very selfish, so selfish that he hopes his son can live a peaceful life, even if he will resent him for the rest of his life.