"Lord! According to our scouts, a massive number of demons have appeared near Ise and are advancing toward Mount Suzuki!"
After delivering her report, the Water Hashira, Tokimoto Eriko, looked with deep concern at Ubuyashiki Kagaya, who lay frail and weak upon his bed.
"…So, it has finally begun. Kibutsuji Muzan…"
"Lord, please—allow me to remain by your side!"
But Kagaya shook his head faintly.
"Eriko, you need not concern yourself with me. I am already a man marked by death. What matters now is the Demon Slayer Corps outside—those who still fight."
"But—" she tried to protest, only for Kagaya to cut her off.
"Do not worry for me. Until the moment I lay eyes upon Muzan, I will not fall."
Reluctantly, Eriko withdrew, stepping outside the main hall to stand guard with the others.
Beyond the estate, all the Hashira had assembled—Yōsuke among them.
The Thunder Hashira, Sayaka Raihui, immediately approached when he saw Eriko emerge.
"Eriko, the Lord still refuses our protection?"
Her silent, heavy nod was answer enough.
"I'll go speak with him myself!" the Wind Hashira, Kamiji Kento, declared, already moving toward the hall.
But the Stone Hashira, Shimazawa Daigo, stepped in front, blocking his path.
"The Lord has already made his resolve. What we can do now is stand by that resolve."
"Damn it!" Kento slammed a fist against the wall, teeth clenched. "And we're to leave him in there alone? It's too dangerous!"
The Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinzuka Shō, placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"Kento… what we must do now is execute the plan. That is how we honor him."
Nearby, Yōsuke glanced toward Kokushibō, who was carefully polishing his short flute.
"Thinking of your brother?"
Kokushibō nodded slightly.
"…Yes. A dark premonition weighs upon me."
Yōsuke then noticed Tamayo's trembling hands, her body quivering despite her efforts to remain composed.
"Tamayo, are you all right?"
She drew in a deep breath, eyes burning with hatred.
"I am fine… I only remembered my husband and child, who were taken from me. At last, I can avenge them."
Before anyone could respond, a Demon Slayer staggered into view, his body torn and bleeding.
"Report! Beyond the forest at Mount Suzuki, a massive horde of demons has gathered—no fewer than a thousand! All forward scouts… are dead…"
The words left his lips, and his body collapsed to the ground.
Tamayo rushed to his side, immediately beginning emergency treatment.
From the surrounding woods, the suffocating aura of demons began to spread, thick and heavy.
The five Hashira stepped forward as one—
Thunder Hashira, Sayaka Raihui
Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinzuka Shō
Water Hashira, Tokimoto Eriko
Wind Hashira, Kamiji Kento
Stone Hashira, Shimazawa Daigo
In an instant, they vanished from sight and reappeared at the frontlines. Driving their Nichirin blades into the earth, they declared in unison:
"Beyond this road, no demon shall pass. Any who dare—shall die!"
Meanwhile, inside the main hall.
"Kibutsuji Muzan… since you've come, shall we not meet face to face?"
Outside the hall stood a man wearing a gentleman's hat, appearing no older than twenty-five or twenty-nine. His eyes were the shade of red plum blossoms, pupils slit like a cat's.
"So you've finally come, Muzan. For a hundred years, our clan—and the Demon Slayer Corps—have pursued you, the scourge of demons."
Kagaya's voice was hoarse, broken, yet steady.
"You have hated me—hated the Ubuyashiki—for as long as I can remember. I knew you would come yourself, to take my life."
The night wind caught Muzan's cloak, but his face betrayed no emotion.
"And yet, I find myself sorely disappointed. To think the head of the family who has so often meddled with my designs is reduced to such a pitiful state. You are hideous to behold, Ubuyashiki. Your chamber already reeks of decay and death."
With effort, Kagaya forced himself upright.
"Perhaps so… after all, over a year ago, my doctors warned me I had little time left."
The strain was too much; blood spilled from his lips. Still, his eyes burned with resolve.
"The only reason I've endured this long… is because I wished to see you destroyed, Muzan!"
"We share the same lineage. And yet, from your existence alone, our entire clan was cursed. When we stood upon the brink of extinction, it was the gods themselves who advised us: pour every drop of our lives into eradicating you, or vanish without trace!"
Muzan's expression soured with irritation.
"Your senile rambling disgusts me. Has the disease already rotted your mind? There is no connection between these things. I have never once been punished by heaven. I have slaughtered thousands, yet no divine retribution has ever come. In all these centuries, I have seen neither god nor Buddha."
A violent cough wracked Kagaya's body.
"Muzan… what is your dream? These hundred years—what visions haunt your sleep?"
For a fleeting moment, Muzan felt something strange. The head of the Corps was before him, his mortal enemy, and yet—he felt no hatred. Only an inexplicable sensation, like nostalgia, like comfort.
The realization made him scowl.
Kagaya continued softly.
"Let me guess. You are dreaming of eternity—an immortal life."
"You are correct. Once I obtain the Blue Spider Lily, that dream will be fulfilled."
Kagaya chuckled faintly.
"Muzan, your dream… will never be realized. I know what eternity truly is. Eternity lies in the indomitable will of humanity. The Demon Slayer Corps has endured for centuries, tempered by sacrifice. So many comrades have fallen, yet none have vanished from this world."
"And you, Muzan—time and again you have trampled the tiger's tail, clawed at the dragon's scales. And so you have awakened them. They will watch you always, giving you no escape."
"Even if you kill me, it matters not to the Corps. I am insignificant. The Corps is bound not by my life, but by human will. And when you die, Muzan, every demon tied to you will fall with you. Isn't that so?"
For the first time, Muzan's composure cracked, his face twisting.
"Silence!"
Petals drifted on the night breeze outside the hall. Kagaya exhaled slowly.
"That is enough. Everything I wished to say—I have said."
Muzan stepped forward, intent on ending him.
"Before that, let me add one final thing. To have earned the trust and admiration of the Corps… I count myself fortunate. Because when I die, their resolve will only burn brighter than ever before."
A peaceful smile touched Kagaya's lips.
"Thank you, Muzan. I never imagined you would listen to me this long. Now… let me burn the last ember of my life for the Demon Slayer Corps."
With trembling hands, he pulled back the quilt. Beneath lay rows of hidden bombs.
"Then, Muzan… we shall meet again in hell."
Kagaya pulled the cord.
The Ubuyashiki estate erupted in a deafening explosion, collapsing into a sea of flame and ruin.
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