"Impossible… impossible! How can you be this strong? I've received Lord Muzan's power! How could a mere human—!"
Lying broken on the ground, Rui still couldn't accept his defeat.
Chika looked down at him and shook her head slightly.
"The world's a lot bigger than this little mountain," she said calmly. "Did you really think you could become invincible hiding here?"
She didn't speak with anger or pity—only cool indifference.
Chika wasn't like Tanjiro, who offered gentle words before a demon's death.
If they were pitiful, mercy was not hers to give.
Judging sin belongs to God.
My duty is simply to send you to meet Him.
Her sword rose. There would be no Blessed Rain After the Drought for this one—no soft, forgiving strike—
but she would not use the Hinokami Kagura either.
Just one clean flash.
Shff!
The blade swept through the night. Rui's head tumbled twice across the ground before coming to rest, his vacant eyes staring up at the sky.
Lost… completely lost…
Chika exhaled, resting her Nichirin Blade against her shoulder. When she turned, she noticed two figures standing at the edge of the clearing—watching silently.
Tomioka Giyu. Kocho Shinobu.
"You are…?" she asked, pretending not to recognize them.
Shinobu was just about to respond when a familiar voice came rushing through the trees.
"Big sister! Are you okay?!"
Tanjiro burst into the clearing, breathless, eyes wide with worry. He looked ready to check her head to toe for wounds.
"I'm fine," Chika replied with a small yawn, rubbing at her eyes. "You know how my body is—just a few scratches. I'm just… tired. And kind of sleepy…"
Tanjiro let out a sigh of relief, trusting his sister's absurd healing speed.
Meanwhile, Giyu and Shinobu stood off to the side, faces full of quiet confusion.
Tanjiro and the demon girl—Nezuko—Giyu knew. But this older sister?
The Kamado family was supposed to have been wiped out.
He wanted to ask, but the warmth between the siblings made it awkward to intrude.
Thankfully, the ever-reliable chaos-bringer arrived just then.
"Wha—wait—! You guys run too fast…!" Zenitsu stumbled into view, panting so hard it looked like his soul might fly out. He bent forward, hands on his knees, gasping for air.
Then, as he lifted his head, he found himself face to face with Shinobu's serene smile.
"Um~ would you mind introducing us?" she said sweetly, pointing a delicate finger toward Chika's group.
Zenitsu's eye twitched. How am I supposed to summarize this?!
So, in the shortest way he could manage, he told them everything—from the Final Selection to their recent battles.
The names Tanjiro Kamado and Chika Kamado—the twin prodigies from the Selection—were already known to both Hashira. But hearing that they had already mastered Total Concentration: Constant made even Shinobu's expression waver.
"With that kind of talent," she murmured, "they're bound to become Hashira someday."
Giyu folded his arms. "One of them already qualifies."
After all, they had just witnessed her slay a Lower Moon with their own eyes. Once they reported this to Oyakata-sama, the title of Hashira would be official.
Shinobu's gaze drifted back to Nezuko, her smile fading.
She was a demon—but she hadn't harmed anyone.
Could such a thing truly exist?
For the first time in a while, Shinobu's heart hesitated.
Giyu stepped forward, breaking the silence.
"You should all come with us to Headquarters," he said at last.
Tanjiro and Nezuko exchanged a glance, then nodded. They had no reason to refuse.
If Nezuko was to be accepted, this was the only way—to prove herself before the Corps.
Zenitsu, on the other hand, looked like someone had just told him the mission was a weeklong marathon.
And Inosuke, who'd been lying ignored on the side, suddenly sat up with a grunt.
"Oi! Don't act like I'm invisible!"
After some quick bandaging and cleanup, the group prepared to depart for the Demon Slayer Headquarters.
Meanwhile, the message had already reached ahead of them—delivered by a sharp-voiced crow.
In the dim halls of the Ubuyashiki estate, the frail Master of the Demon Slayer Corps smiled faintly upon hearing the report.
He coughed, a spatter of blood touching his sleeve, but his voice remained steady.
"Defeated the Lower Moon Five… Another star is born," he whispered. "Perhaps—no, surely—this will be the generation that ends Muzan Kibutsuji…"
His voice trembled, but his resolve did not.
"Muzan Kibutsuji… the disgrace of our family."
Long ago, they had shared the same bloodline.
A thousand years past, Muzan had been a sickly young man of their clan. Desperate, countless doctors failed to cure him—until one refused to give up.
And that doctor… Muzan murdered.
Only later did he realize the medicine had worked—transforming him into the first demon. Terrified of the sun, craving human flesh, he spent centuries hunting for the one thing that could complete the medicine: the Blue Spider Lily.
When he began slaughtering humanity, their bloodline was cursed—every descendant doomed to die before the age of twenty-five unless Muzan was destroyed.
To stave off the curse, every generation of Ubuyashiki wed a maiden of divine lineage. But it was no cure. Only Muzan's death could end it.
The Master sat back, pale and trembling, whispering between shallow breaths.
"This generation… must… must be the one…"