He ran.
He fled.
He had no idea how long he had been running. Only when he could no longer sense danger behind him did Su Mu stop.
He gently set the deathly pale Kanao down. The moment her feet touched the ground, she staggered, barely able to stand.
Su Mu reached out and gently steadied her, just managing to keep her from falling.
The girl's body was still too frail. He felt no fatigue after running for so long, but Kanao, who had been riding on his back, was already struggling to endure it.
"Are you all right?"
Looking at Kanao's pale face, Su Mu asked with concern.
Though Kanao felt terrible, she shook her head.
Seeing this, Su Mu found a relatively clean slab of stone and helped Kanao sit down. Then he approached a tall tree nearby, climbed easily to its crown, and gazed into the distance.
Everything in the distance was pitch-black. There was no sign of their pursuers anymore.
In fact, after he killed the Demon Slayer Corps swordsman who practiced "Wind Breathing," there was no one left to hold him up. The Demon Slayer Corps members who arrived right afterward pursued him for a while, but eventually had to leave their "Breathing" state because they could not maintain it any longer. Once they did, they were little more than ordinary people. They could only watch helplessly as he pulled farther and farther ahead, until he escaped them completely.
Only after confirming once more that he had shaken off the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen did Su Mu feel a little more at ease.
He jumped down from the tree and returned to Kanao. After that brief rest, her complexion had already improved considerably.
Su Mu reached out and gently ruffled the girl's hair, then crouched in front of her. "Climb on. I'll carry you. We need to keep moving."
Kanao obediently wrapped her arms around his neck and settled lightly onto his back.
This time, however, Su Mu did not charge ahead at full speed without a care. He deliberately kept his steps steady so Kanao would not be jostled too much.
As he carried Kanao through the mountain wilderness, he looked around for somewhere to hide when daylight came. After all, the Demon Slayer Corps could catch up at any moment, so their hiding place needed to provide ample shelter from the sun.
A deep cave would be best. That way, even if the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen found him during the day, he would not have to worry about them easily finding some way to expose him to sunlight. At least he would still be able to fight.
With his steps so steady and the ride no longer as rough, Kanao slowly recovered some of her energy.
Lying on the demon's back, the girl clearly recalled the look in the eyes of the man her uncle had struck down. For some reason, her spirits sank.
Her childhood experiences had caused Kanao to shut away her inner world early on. But after her uncle appeared, she gradually began trying to reach out to the world again, to feel its warmth and listen to her own heart.
Perhaps because her heart had spent so long in darkness, she was acutely sensitive to every little bit of warmth that reached her from the outside world, and treasured each one dearly.
She could feel the faint warmth in the gaze of the man her uncle had struck down. Yet because of her, not only had that warmth disappeared, but his own flame had been extinguished as well.
"Uncle..."
The girl pressed her delicate little face against the demon's back.
"What is it?"
Su Mu kept walking, watching for a suitable place to stay.
"Did the man you knocked down just now die?"
Su Mu's steps faltered slightly before gradually returning to their usual rhythm.
"Yes, he died."
His answer was calm, but beneath that calm, his emotions stirred.
"What happens when someone dies?"
Kanao asked quietly.
"Nothing happens when someone dies. Dead is dead. From then on, there's nothing left. No matter how many wonderful things they had before, they lose them all. The traces they left in this world slowly fade away... until not a single trace remains, until no one remembers them anymore..."
Kanao's lovely pinkish-purple eyes dimmed a little. "Did that person die because of me?"
If not for her, perhaps things would not have ended this way. The flame within him would surely still be burning, and he would still be all right...
Su Mu paused briefly and turned to look at Kanao resting against his shoulder. Then he shook his head, his voice gentle. "It wasn't because of you."
"Then why?"
A little light returned to Kanao's dim eyes.
"Because of me."
He spoke calmly.
"Because of you, Uncle?"
"Yes, because of me."
"But why did he die because of you? You're so warm, Uncle, and that person felt a little warm too. You both make people feel warm, so why..."
As she spoke, the girl found herself at a loss for words.
"Because I'm a demon."
"What's a demon? Why does being a demon mean you..."
"Demons are very, very bad things. If you ever see one in the future, Kanao, you must stay far away."
"But you said you're a demon too, Uncle. Doesn't that mean I have to stay away from you? I don't want that. I don't want to stay away from you."
Kanao immediately shook her head.
Su Mu smiled. "Whatever happens, you must stay away from demons in the future."
"I won't stay away from you, Uncle."
"You're still little. You'll understand when you grow up."
"Then can't I just not grow up?"
"You'll grow up eventually."
Su Mu raised his head and looked at the full moon hanging in the dark night sky. "Just as the sun won't stay down forever. Sooner or later, it will rise."
Kanao tilted her head, looked at the full moon, and blinked. "Uncle, what if the sun sets and... never rises again?"
Su Mu could not help chuckling. He patted the girl's head.
"That day will never come."
Kanao tilted her head and looked at her uncle, not understanding why.
Seeing the confusion in her blinking pinkish-purple eyes, Su Mu smiled and brushed a finger over her little nose. She was still too young to understand that the sun rising and setting was an almost eternal, unchanging truth of this world, just as people would always grow up and slowly mature.
Right now, hearing that he was a demon and knowing what he was did not
bother Kanao, but that might no longer be true once she grew up.
As she gradually matured and became more rational, the things she liked and the beliefs she held so firmly as a girl would slowly change as well.
"Perhaps when you understand more and grow wiser, you'll become distant from me. You might even start hating me. Who knows?"
He shrugged as though he did not particularly care.
"I won't."
Kanao immediately clenched her fists, her gaze firm.
Looking at the resolute child, Su Mu laughed heartily and tapped her little head. "You can't be sure of that."
"People always change."
He said it softly. Just like him.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
It was as though crimson blood flowed over them.
When had he ever imagined that his hands would be stained with blood like this?