despite this stark difference in demeanor when compared to most demons, Rui still had the cruelty that his kind possessed. In actually, he was a disturbed individual who was shaped by his desire for the close bonds that a family had and his expectance for said family members to perform their assigned roles. In spite of his yearn to experience this connection, his vision of attaining one was incredibly twisted and founded on nothing but fear of him, instilled through repeated abuse on his fellow kin, which he did with unrepentant sadism. To him, family members who do not perform their roles as he expected them to (namely to protect Rui unconditionally or follow his every instruction) were worthless and as good as dead. Well aware of his great power, he was incredibly authoritarian and cruel, having no qualms about abusing others or killing members of his own "family" by stringing them up and leaving them to be burned by the sun when they go against his wishes. In addition, according to a demon that he had recruited to be his sister, another punishment for disobedience was having their intellect taken from them, a punishment likely given to his brutish and animalistic "father". Because of his strength, he tended to act almighty and confident, although this arrogance, while hardly unfounded, did not blind him to potential threats to his life, as seen when he decided to behead himself to escape Tanjiro's attack. Furthermore, he seemed to be fully aware that all his efforts to create a "family" to feel a bond have been in vain, most evident when he saw the bond between Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado; he denounced his family and claimed that none of them have ever reached or lived to his expectations, as well as lashing out at his "sister" for simply trying to speak. Because of this, Rui was incredibly sensitive to the subject of family and was furious when Tanjiro pointed out the more than evident toxicity of the bonds forged between his "family". This angered him to the point that he demanded that Tanjiro retract himself and his words and threatened to kill him if he did not comply. This stance contrasted heavily with his desire to have Nezuko for himself as his sister after witnessing her selfless act of shielding Tanjiro from his threads, becoming obsessed with the idea of developing a bond with her, albeit still through fear and torture. This contrarian behavior was further evidence to Rui's delusions, mental insanity, and emotional instability. Following his close call with Tanjiro's fatal attempt to kill him and during his battle with Giyu Tomioka, Rui's collected and calm demeanour fractures, becoming visibly angry to know that Tanjiro would have killed him if he hadn't beheaded himself and denouncing the Demon Slayer Corps as a constant annoyance to his goals. His pride in his strength also faltered when he witnesses the Water Hashira destroy his strongest threads, desperately trying again before he is beheaded. Aware of the actions he performed throughout his life, Rui was haunted with the knowledge that he himself was the one to sever his bonds with his family. In death, as his life flashed before him, he conceded that everything he had done towards his one goal was futile and he lamented his inability to apologize to his parents for killing them. Resigning himself to his fate in Hell, the unexpected appearance of his parents and their acknowledgement that they would unconditionally love him and forgive him of his actions caused Rui to break down in tears, hugging them tightly and begging for their forgiveness, showing that Lower Five was simply a boy who was forced into an inconceivably harsh fate, corrupted and anguished by his failure to see a true love he could have been a good match for the Hashira. "Since I was the one with the most power, there was no one who could protect me... who could shield me. The more powerful I became, the less I remembered about being a human. And I was losing sight of what it was that I wanted to do. Seeking a bond that I could never claim for myself."