Haruto's eyes flew open and he sat up quickly from the bed, feeling a mix of confusion and alertness at the same time. He hastily looked around and realized that he was in an unfamiliar room. The walls were made of wood and a small window high on one side was the the only source of light, which was barely brightening the room. A sense of unease washed over Haruto—he had no idea where he was.

In this situation, Haruto's mind went blank, overwhelmed by sheer confusion. But before he could gather his thoughts, he heard it—a loud crash from outside, followed by a cacophony of muffled cries. From the noise, he can clearly tell it was complete chaos outside and it seems to be getting closer toward him—fast. 

Haruto's heart raced as fear gripped him. He quickly jumped to his feet, stumbling a little as he hurried over to the window and peered out into the dark, trying to see what was happening outside. What was causing all that noise? 

His mind was still racing with questions, a mix of anxiety and curiosity flooding his thoughts as he braced himself for whatever lay outside. Where was he? What was happening? Who had brought him here?

But what Haruto saw next made his heart sink in an instant. It was a scene straight out of a horror story: houses were engulfed in flames and people were running in every direction, their faces twisted in terror. The air was thick with the sounds of screams and destruction, a setting that sent chills down his spine.

A cold sweat broke out on the back of Haruto's neck. He had no idea where he was or what was happening and the chaos outside felt utterly overwhelming. But he knew he couldn’t just stand there. So after taking a few deep breaths to steady himself, he stepped out of the room.

His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to make sense of the chaos around him. Was it some kind of fire hazard? But the people running in every direction seemed terrified of something—could it be an animal attack? Or perhaps a terrorist strike?

He had never witnessed anything like this before and fear mixed with confusion flooded his mind. Haruto felt a desperate urge to find some kind of answers but he didn’t even know where to begin to start with.

Then he saw it. A dark shape moving through the village, its massive form casting a long shadow in the flickering light of the flames around it. It looked like a monster straight out of a nightmare and a jolt of fear shot through Haruto.

The monster rampaged through the village, its sharp claws tearing through buildings and people alike with terrifying ease. Haruto watched in horror as it ripped apart anyone who dared to cross its path, its eyes glowing with a sinister light. It seemed to revel in the chaos and destruction, thriving on the fear that surrounded it.

For a moment, Haruto was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. He stared at the fleeing crowd in front of him. Screaming and wailing, they looked as if they had witnessed pure hell—and in many ways, they had. The faces of the people were drained of color, their expressions a haunting reflection of sheer terror.

Suddenly, the monster leaped out from behind the crowd, its powerful limbs propelling it forward. In an instant, it snatched a boy running at the back of the crowd, catching him effortlessly.

Rrrrip!

Then like a thin piece of paper, the human body was easily split into two and dark red blood showered the humanoid monster like rain. Ignoring the chaos around it, the monster opened its mouth and began to devour its prey right there.

Large chunks of flesh and blood disappeared in a single bite and Haruto could clearly see the monster's body shifting, as if it were growing stronger with each bite it consumed.

Then suddenly, as if sensing something, the monster stopped eating his prey. Its scarlet eyes locked onto a young boy standing nearby, frozen in a daze.

Slurp!

"Oh, what do we have here?" 

The monster taunted, licking its lips with a sadistic smile as it began to walk slowly toward Haruto.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Haruto could do nothing but stare blankly at the approaching monster, which moved leisurely, as if it had all the time in the world. Panic surged through him, but his body felt paralyzed, caught in a web of fear and disbelief.

What is happening? Where the hell is he? What is this monster in front of him? Haruto felt utterly lost.

Though Haruto couldn't make heads or tails of the situation, his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in, prompting him to attempt to run backward. But as he took two steps, he felt that something was terribly wrong. His strides were too small, and he didn’t seem to be getting any further away from the monster, as if he were trapped in a dream. Than as he looked down, what he saw made his mind freeze once again.

What happened to his feet? Why were they so small? Even this body was clearly not his own. He was wearing ordinary linen clothing, with short legs and a frail frame—completely the body of a teenager, a stark contrast to his 28-year-old self.

As the realization of being in a different body hit him, a stream of memories began to flood his mind—memories of the body he now inhabited. Through these memories, Haruto can confirm one thing for sure: he was not in his world anymore, nor even in the same timeline. 

According to the memories flooding his mind, despite being from different times, their lives were surprisingly similar. Both were named Haruto and both were orphans. The only notable difference was that this Haruto had a girl childhood friend, someone Haruto felt like he should know even before this whole body changing shenanigan began.

As for his friend's situation, her family background is also very poor. Her parents were a disgrace in every sense. She often suffered beatings at their hands and several of her siblings had died directly due to her parents' violence.

To Haruto's shame, the original host had been too much of a coward to defend her, choosing instead to ignore her suffering while he busied himself with small jobs, using them as an excuse to alleviate his guilt. Yet, Haruto couldn’t bring himself to reproach the original Haruto, as he carried his own burdens of guilt from his previous life that weighed even heavier. The sins of the original Haruto doesn't even come close to what he did to Ryota.

Though it felt like an eternity had passed while he processed all this, in reality only a few seconds had gone by. Now with a little clearer understanding of the world he was in and a reluctant acceptance of the memories in his mind, Haruto still felt lost.

But with the monster still coming toward him with a playful glint in its eyes, Haruto realized he doesn't have the luxury to ponder about all that. The first thing he needed to do was survive for now.

'Thud!'

Haruto's legs were caught by something and he fell hard to the ground. Blood splattered across him, making his already miserable state even worse.

The monster was still walking leisurely toward him. Its gaze was playful, as if it wasn’t in any rush to kill him. A chill ran through Haruto as he realized that it was just toying with him, like a wolf playing with its prey.

Haruto fumbled around in a panic, his hand landing on something solid.

It was a hilt of a sword.

Haruto pulled it free from the bloody ground. As the moonlight hit the sword, it gleamed with an almost otherworldly beauty. At a glance, anyone could tell the sword was razor-sharp. For reasons Haruto couldn’t explain, the moment he gripped it, a sense of familiarity surged within him. It was as though the weapon had always been a part of him, a piece he hadn’t known was missing until now. He felt an inexplicable confidence—as if he could do anything—but couldn’t understand why.

Next to the sword lay a body, the previous owner of the weapon. The person was wearing a uniform that felt oddly familiar to Haruto.

Déjà vu hit him again. He couldn’t remember meeting the person or seeing the uniform, yet it all felt like something from a distant memory. Even the monster seemed familiar somehow. The rush of these feelings was overwhelming, making it hard for Haruto to think clearly.

Shaking his head, Haruto forced himself to focus. Now wasn’t the time to figure this out—he had to survive.

He tightened his grip on the sword, trying to steady his trembling hands.

“Well, well,” the monster said in a mocking tone. “The little brat wants to fight now huh.”

Haruto gripped the sword so tightly his knuckles turned white, but his legs wouldn’t stop shaking. Just moments ago, he’d been safe in his room. Now, he was here, facing this nightmare of a situation.

Fear clawed at him, making it hard to breathe. Part of him wanted to run, but he knew escape was impossible.

Haruto raised the sword, pointing it at the creature. If he had to fight for his life, then so be it.

Seeing Haruto’s action, the monster grinned cruelly and was about to about to make a move. But it stopped abruptly, its gaze shifted to the left, as if sensing something. Haruto followed its gaze and saw a little girl curled up in the corner. Her eyes, bright like stars, seemingly gave empty and hollow feeling instead of the expected warmth and innocence. It was as if something important was missing.

From Haruto's own experience, he realized what was gone—her human emotions. To Haruto's horror her eyes shared an uncanny resemblance to Ryoto's eye.

But what shocked him more was recognizing her. She wasn’t just any girl—she was the childhood friend of the body he now inhabited.

Haruto’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened as he looked at her clearly for the first time. Earlier, when the memories of this new body had overwhelmed him, he couldn’t process everything. But now, it all clicked.

The girl. The corpse. Even the monster.

The sense of familiarity wasn’t random—it was painfully real.

Though his memories of his past life were hazy due to the influx of information, one thing became clear: this world he had found himself in was none other than the world of _Demon Slayer_. And the girl in front of him, with her hollow yet starry eyes, was unmistakably Tsuyuri Kanao.