Shinobu screamed.
The people surrounding her, including Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, Kanao Tsuyuri, Aoi Kanzaki, and Amane Ubuyashiki, were sent flying, a muffled boom echoing out of the Butterfly Mansion.
Standing around the mansion like guards, the remaining Hashiras frowned together.
Giyu, the Water Hashira and one of the two Hashiras who hadn't accepted Kai's demonification, blurred, reappearing outside the room.
He reached to open the door but paused.
"Is… everything alright?" he asked slowly, sensing the silence.
A demonic grunt answered him from the other side, sounding like the painful, angry growl of a hungry beast.
Involuntarily, Giyu stepped back.
He could feel Shinobu's eyes on him from behind the doors.
He knew she wouldn't hurt him, but… the threat of impending death had never been so serious.
Giyu looked down and found his hands shaking.
Then, he felt his lips going dry, his throat feeling like it was being strangled.
The entire world was pressing on him, making him feel small and worthless.
One moment more… if he kept standing here one moment more, then he would certainly die!
A chill ran down Giyu's spine.
Then, the doors opened in his face with a whoosh.
"Ah… Giyu-san! Haha…" Mitsuri looked at him, laughing wryly. Her face looked pale, but it wasn't because of tiredness, but because of her status as the Upper Rank Four. "You… shouldn't be here."
Giyu was about to ask for some update on Shinobu's condition when a hiss entered their ears.
Together, both Hashiras could feel Death breathing down their necks.
"I… should go…" Giyu said.
Mitsuri nodded several times and slammed the door shut.
When she turned around, she found Shinobu had propped herself up on her elbows and was looking directly at her.
Then, grunting, and holding the bump on her stomach, the Insect Hashira let herself lie down once again.
Mitsuri shared glances with the other ladies.
Nodding at each other, and with careful, silent steps, they approached Shinobu and sat down on either side of her.
"Has… he… come?" Shinobu asked through gritted teeth, her eyes shut tightly.
Mitsuri gulped.
She looked up and found Ms. Amane frowning.
Which meant she hadn't heard anything from Oyakata-sama yet.
Next to the two older ladies, Kanao and Aoi continued to attend to Shinobu as if they hadn't heard anything.
"I am… gonna kill him!" Shinobu roared, veins popping on her forehead, her eyes turning into slits as they shot open. "I will… arghhhh… cut his head off! That monster! $%^&##$$…"
Outside, standing in front of the Mansion's front doors, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu looked at each other wide-eyed, a small Nezuko slamming her ears shut next to them with her hands.
Never…
They had never heard Shinobu-san curse, not even at demons.
But the curses that were openly echoing out of the Mansion were so filthy that the three of them couldn't help but wonder if it was related to the demonification.
Together, they looked up.
On top of the arched doors, the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro, was standing with his arms crossed, looking out with… no smile on his face.
"Sir…" Tanjiro dared to ask. "… for how long will it continue?"
Rengoku looked down at the youngsters. "… I don't know," he replied flatly. "This is a kind of training. Focus on other senses, like smell and sight."
"…"
Tanjiro looked at Zenitsu and Inosuke, lacking words.
"It's been days already…" he talked to them in hushed whispers. "Shinobu-san's pregnancy has lasted for well over nine months already. If she continued to be in labor for a long period…"
Before Tanjiro could finish his words, an even mightier blast of power rumbled out of the Mansion, making all of them falter.
And even louder, filthier curses followed that rumble, making even Rengoku put his hands over his ears.
…
Infinity Castle,
Roars and growls of hundreds of thousands of Demons lingered across the wooden corridors that ran in all directions.
Somewhere, on a massive, raised wooden platform, there was a throne.
Muzan, the Demon King, was leisurely seated on it, with his eyes closed.
To his right, Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, was standing like a statue with all his six eyes planted dead ahead.
To Muzan's left, Upper Rank Four, Nakime, the creator of the Infinity Castle, using her Blood Demon Arts, sat on the floor, playing her lute, low thrums echoing out every time she struck her pick on it.
Aside from the three of them, the large platform was empty.
Even the growls of several demons surrounding it didn't penetrate its boundaries, maintaining a strange silence.
Suddenly, with a blur, another figure appeared in front of them.
Upper Rank One's eyes blinked as he turned his head to look at the figure.
Upper Rank Four paused playing her lute, too, putting her instruments down and standing up.
Muzan lifted his head and opened his eyes, his slitted pupils reflecting Upper Rank Two's figure.
Doma, still kneeling, grinned. "It's done…"
The Demon King allowed himself a small smile. "Show me."
Doma nodded as he stood up and stretched out his arms as if hugging the world.
Then, with filthy, bloody squelches, bodies began sprouting from him, tearing his flesh.
In only a few moments, four full bodies, drenched in blood, fell on the floor, Doma regenerating instantly as he towered over them.
Muzan stood up and walked forward, eying the four bodies.
"It wasn't easy finding them," Doma complained, his face carrying a sadistic smile. "It wasn't like those four had any known relatives anyway, other than that ugly thing. After decades, the surviving, distant relatives had scattered across the globe, too. But I found the youngest and freshest ones for you, my lord. All virgins…"
That wasn't a requirement.
But Muzan didn't bother with Doma's queerness.
Instead, the Demon King lifted his hand and swept it over the four bodies.
A tremor ran through the four and, with a squelch, their heads exploded, streams of blood lifting, becoming four blobs that hovered midair over the corpses.
"Legacies…" Muzan said, smiling. "… they are not merely our future, but… our past, too. And, unlike future, we can trace the past… to its origin."