Shinichi stared uneasily at the structures of the Infinity Castle still standing in the distance, an ominous feeling rising within him.
Those twisted pavilions and intersecting corridors were clearly products of Nakime's Blood Demon Art.
Yet Shōkyū, who had devoured Muzan and replaced him as the progenitor of demons, was dead.
As a demon under his control, Nakime should have perished alongside him, and the Infinity Castle should have collapsed as well.
But it was still here.
Did that mean Nakime was still alive?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Shinichi's breathing became uneven.
He immediately tried to warn everyone, but the nearly fatal wound in his neck was steadily draining his strength.
Even his life force could no longer repair the damage quickly enough to keep pace with the blood loss.
More strangely, it felt as though some unseen force was pulling his consciousness downward.
Darkness crept into his vision, and everything began to blur. Even Shinobu's face grew less and less distinct.
"Shinichi? What's wrong?"
Shinobu noticed something was wrong with the man in her arms. She lowered her head and saw that Shinichi's black eyes had become vacant.
His lips moved as though he were trying to say something.
"Shinichi? Shinichi?"
Her voice echoed beside his ear, but it seemed to grow farther and farther away.
Shinichi opened his mouth, yet only a faint breath escaped.
His eyelids grew heavier.
One arm trembled as he tried to raise it, but it only lifted halfway before falling limply back down.
Then Shinichi's eyes closed.
Panic flashed across Shinobu's face. She shook the unconscious Shinichi gently, then hurriedly pressed her ear against his chest.
Only after feeling his heart still beating did she relax slightly, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.
She thought Shinichi had simply reached his limit.
After all, the wound in his neck was horrific, and he had exhausted so much of his life force.
"Go sleep, Shinichi," Shinobu whispered, tightening her arms around him. "Rest properly. We've already won."
The cheering around them gradually died down.
The Demon Slayers began supporting one another as they dealt with the aftermath.
Some treated their wounds, while others helped the Kakushi carry away the bodies of those who had fallen.
Several Corps members were also helping tend to the Hashira.
Mitsuri Kanroji covered her face as she quietly sobbed.
Obanai Iguro stood beside her looking completely at a loss, clearly wanting to comfort her but having no idea what to say.
Sanemi Shinazugawa's head had been wrapped in thick bandages, leaving only one eye exposed.
He stared intently as a Kakushi treated Kanae's wounds nearby.
Tengen Uzui had been bandaged so thoroughly that he looked like a mummy.
Yuichiro lay beside him, just as badly injured. Blood seeped through the bandages around his chest, and his face was deathly pale.
Every breath brought a flicker of pain across his features, while Muichiro crouched silently beside his older brother.
Sabito accepted a rice ball from a Kakushi, broke it in half, and handed one piece to Giyu Tomioka.
It seemed as though the shadow of war had finally passed.
Yet just as everyone became immersed in the joy of victory and lowered their guard—
Clang!
The clear note of a biwa suddenly rang through the Infinity Castle like a ghostly whisper.
The sound was incredibly faint, no louder than a feather touching the surface of water.
And yet that barely perceptible note made everyone freeze.
Smiles of victory stiffened on their faces. The hands of the Demon Slayers tending to their wounds stopped in place.
"What was that sound?"
Kyojuro Rengoku reacted first. His orange-red eyes sharpened instantly.
He struggled to stand, only to stumble because of his injuries.
Gyomei Himejima suddenly raised his head. Though he could not see, the abrupt sense of danger made every muscle in his body tighten.
"The presence of a demon!"
Giyu swallowed his half of the rice ball in a single bite, then immediately pulled his Nichirin blade from the ground.
Water-blue light flared along it once more.
Though far dimmer than before, his gaze remained razor-sharp.
"Which direction?"
Everyone turned toward the same place.
Near the lifeless remains of Shōkyū, a strange ripple spread through space like waves across water.
The air distorted and folded in on itself, as though something were slowly emerging from the void.
Then a figure appeared in silence.
It was a slender woman dressed in a black kimono. Long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, obscuring most of her face.
She held a biwa in her arms, her fingers resting lightly on its strings, and her entire figure looked like that of a ghost.
Nakime.
Upper Rank Four—Nakime!
Every Hashira who could still fight instantly went on alert.
Sanemi was the first to spring up, pointing his battered Nichirin blade at the figure.
"Another Upper Rank survived?!"
Nakime did not respond.
She did not even raise her head to look at the blood-soaked Demon Slayers.
She merely lifted her hand, placed her fingers against the strings of the biwa, and plucked hard.
Clang!
The second note was sharper and more piercing than the first, making everyone's eardrums throb painfully.
As it rang out, the string sliced through Nakime's fingers. Dark-red blood welled between them.
Then, under everyone's horrified gaze, Nakime bent forward and plunged her blood-soaked hand deep into Shōkyū's remains.
"What is she doing?!" shouted the nearest Demon Slayer. "Stop her!"
But by the time the others reacted and drew their blades, they were already a step too late.
A sudden transformation began.
Shōkyū's enormous remains started trembling violently.
The mass of flesh, which had already lost all signs of life, seemed to be infused with some strange power.
Pulled by an invisible force, the flesh gathered into a writhing lump shaped like a beating heart.
"Is that bastard coming back to life?" Sabito stared with widened eyes.
"We have to stop it!"
Muichiro, the fastest among them, had already shot forward like a meteor, aiming directly at the mass of flesh.
But it was too late.
The flesh swelled and twisted wildly. Through its outline, a figure seemed to be forming within it, growing clearer and more complete by the second.
Finally, the mass reached its limit and exploded.
A hunched figure with both arms crossed slowly straightened, revealing his true appearance.
Ink-black hair.
Crimson eyes.
Kibutsuji Muzan!
The Demon King who should have been devoured by Shōkyū had somehow reconstructed his body amid the ruins of the Infinity Castle, using Shōkyū's remains as his foundation.
"How is that possible?" The veins on Sabito's hand bulged around the hilt of his sword. "Muzan? Didn't Shinichi say Shōkyū had already devoured him?"
Muzan said nothing at first.
He slowly raised one hand and examined the pale, slender fingers of his newly restored body. Then the corner of his mouth lifted into an icy smile.
"That fool Shōkyū."
His voice was low and hoarse, filled with anger and contempt that had been suppressed for far too long.
"So this was the power of Yomi he boasted about? What a useless failure. Still, he did solve one problem for me."
Muzan turned slightly toward Nakime.
"Well done, Nakime."
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, his gaze settling on the stunned Demon Slayers. His smile grew even colder.
"Raise the Infinity Castle to the surface. I have now become the perfect ultimate life-form."
His crimson eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"After a thousand years, it is finally time for me to greet the sun."
Rumble!
The moment Muzan finished speaking, the entire Infinity Castle began to shake violently.