The serpent demon's head was severed cleanly.
Even as her life faded, her eyes blazed with hatred as she spat her final curse at Iguro Obanai.
"Iguro Obanai, you'll die a miserable death! I'll be waiting for you… in Hell!"
Rain poured relentlessly, striking Obanai's face. He could no longer tell whether it was rain or tears that ran down his cheeks.
Kanroji Mitsuri took a hesitant step forward, wanting to comfort him, but Obanai raised a hand to stop her.
Silently, he reached up and unwound the bandages around his face—revealing the grotesque scar beneath.
"Do you see it, Mitsuri? This… this is the real me. Pathetic. Hideous."
He gave her one last sorrowful glance, then turned and disappeared into the rain-soaked night.
Mitsuri stood frozen, her mind blank.
Yosuke approached quietly, speaking in a gentle voice.
"Aren't you going after him? If you don't, it might be too late."
At first, Mitsuri thought that Obanai simply needed time alone to calm down.
But as she watched his silhouette fading into the rain, a sudden pang of dread seized her heart—
an unshakable feeling that if she didn't follow, she might never see him again.
Yosuke asked suddenly,
"Do you think Iguro Obanai is ugly too?"
Mitsuri shook her head violently.
"No! I've never thought that!"
"Obanai is sharp-tongued and harsh toward others," Yosuke continued softly, "but with you, he's different. He's always felt inferior—because of his family, and because of that scar. He keeps his distance from you out of shame. Right now, you're the only one who can reach him."
Mitsuri's eyes widened as she recalled how she'd begged Master Ubuyashiki to let her accompany Obanai to Hachijō Island—
and how desperately Obanai had tried to stop her.
Now she finally understood: he had only wanted to keep her from learning about his cursed lineage.
With newfound resolve, Mitsuri turned to Yousuke.
"Yosuke-san… I'm going after him. I'll bring Obanai-san back!"
"Go," Yosuke said, smiling faintly.
In an instant, Mitsuri vanished into the misty rain, following Obanai's trail.
Yosuke watched her go, murmuring to himself,
"I've done all I can. I just hope the two of them find their happiness."
Obanai sat alone on the rocky shore of Hachijō Island, staring blankly at the restless sea.
The rain rippled across the water's surface, but his heart remained still—numb.
His expression was ashen. The guilt he had carried for his accursed clan weighed heavier than ever.
Moments ago, he had slain the final remnant of the Iguro bloodline—his own cousin.
At last, Mitsuri found him. She quietly sat down beside him, gazing with him at the rain-drenched ocean.
"Why did you come?" Obanai asked, his voice void of emotion.
"I just… had a feeling," she replied softly. "That if I didn't come after you, I'd never see you again."
Obanai fell silent.
After a pause, Mitsuri suddenly began to speak—her tone light, almost playful.
"Did you know? When I was born, my hair was black. And I was way stronger than most people.
But after eating a hundred and seventy sakura mochi in eight months, my hair turned pink! Isn't that funny? My mom couldn't believe it—someone's hair changing color from eating too many sweets!"
She giggled gently, trying to coax a smile out of him.
"When I was barely a year old, I could lift a fifteen-kilogram pickling stone without breaking a sweat. My poor mother nearly fainted—she thought she'd given birth to a monster!"
But Obanai didn't laugh. His eyes stayed fixed on the horizon, his expression unmoving.
Undeterred, Mitsuri continued, her voice soft but steady.
"Because of my strange hair and because I was stronger than most men, every time I went to a matchmaking meeting, I was harshly rejected. It crushed me. After that, I started hiding who I really was.
I forced myself to eat less, dyed my hair black, and lied about being weak and delicate. I thought if I pretended to be someone else, maybe someone would finally want to marry me."
She gave a small, bittersweet smile.
"And in the end, it worked. Someone finally agreed to marry me.
But when it happened, I realized something—happiness built on lies isn't happiness at all.
Even if I eat too much, even if I'm strong and my hair's a strange color… that's who I really am."
"Ubuyashiki-sama told me I should be proud of my strength. That I shouldn't care what others think.
So I decided to live openly, to stay cheerful and true to myself.
That's why I want you to do the same, Obanai-san. I want you to live brightly and openly too."
For the first time in a long while, Obanai's lifeless eyes flickered with light.
Watching the girl he'd silently adored struggle to cheer him up with her clumsy words—his pain began to ease, if only a little.
And yet, that same guilt gnawed at him again.
A man like him, tainted by sin, had no right to stand beside a girl as radiant as her.
"No matter where I go," he murmured quietly, "the fifty hateful gazes of the dead will follow me.
Their rotten hands will drag me back, their claws tearing at me, never letting me move forward.
I can't forget them… because this is my life. I'll carry their resentment until I die."
Mitsuri suddenly grasped his hands firmly, her eyes burning with conviction.
"That's not true! None of it is your fault, Obanai-san! I'll help you. I'll help you drive away every last bit of that hatred. I know… I know we can do it—together!"
Obanai stared at her trembling hands around his, but fear overtook him.
He gently pulled his hands free, unable to accept the warmth she offered.
In his heart, he whispered:
"If I could be reborn into a peaceful world—one without demons—and meet you again, Mitsuri…
I want to look you in the eyes and tell you how much I love your smile.
I want to tell you… that I love you."
But before he could retreat any further, Mitsuri reached out again—gripping his hands with even greater strength.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free.
Her cheeks flushed scarlet, eyes squeezed shut, she shouted with all her heart:
"I joined the Demon Slayer Corps because I wanted to find someone who could accept me for who I truly am!
I wanted to meet someone stronger than me—someone who could protect me!
The stockings you gave me, Obanai-san… I've treasured them ever since!
So please, Obanai-san—will you fight alongside me?!"
The rain slowly stopped.
Time itself seemed to halt.
Obanai stared at her, stunned.
In the darkness of the night, her eyes shone like the sun—warm and brilliant—illuminating the deepest shadows of his heart.
At last, the walls within him crumbled.
He found the courage to answer her.
"I will."