After Muzan's death and Esdeath's surrender, Tetsuya also turned off the live broadcast. To celebrate humanity's long-awaited victory, the Demon Slayer Corps threw an enormous, jubilant feast. Every member had spent hours preparing food and drinks, grilled meat, rice balls, sake, sweets, everything imaginable. The headquarters grounds were transformed into a massive outdoor banquet under strings of lanterns and the open night sky.
By the way, Tetsuya and the others still had until tomorrow before the group chat system would send them back to their respective worlds. Naturally, when Kagaya personally invited them to join the celebration, they accepted without hesitation.
The Corps members laughed and chatted happily while eating and drinking. In everyone's heart, this was the most beautiful night they had ever experienced.
The Hashira joined in their own ways; Kyojuro, brimming with energy as always, downed cup after cup of sake alongside the regular members, roaring with laughter the entire time. Gyomei stood calmly helping the attendants turn skewers of meat over the fire, murmuring prayers of gratitude between bites. Tengen, of course, took charge of the festivities with his signature flamboyance, directing music, organizing drinking games, and generally making sure no one was left out of the fun. Obanai sat quietly on a tree branch, slowly eating grilled meat while watching everything from above. Giyu drank alone in a shadowy corner, expression as blank as ever. And Sanemi, he… sat as far away from Esdeath as physically possible, downing sake after sake in visible frustration.
Mitsuri and Shinobu stayed close to Tetsuya, who was calmly sipping juice (he was still a student, no alcohol for him!). Esdeath and Hancock had already left earlier. Hancock claimed she "couldn't stand being near him," even though she kept inching closer whenever other men approached, using Tetsuya as a shield against her discomfort. Esdeath, meanwhile, had departed right after muttering something along the lines of "Next time I will defeat you" before vanishing.
Mitsuri laughed brightly and drank with Shinobu. Tetsuya simply observed the two women quietly. His attention drifted to his personal interface. He now had 336,453 group points. He planned to upgrade Mugen Saika first, it was already an overwhelmingly powerful ability.
[Consuming 50,000 points. Zanpakutō – Mugen Saika successfully upgraded to Lvl. 4!]
Instantly, a refreshing surge of power flowed through his body, accompanied by an immense increase in strength. The destructive aspect of his Zanpakutō had multiplied several times over. He could now annihilate things far more efficiently and on a much larger scale, he could even disassemble atomic structures with ease thanks to the vastly improved control over the aspect of destruction. In short, what had taken considerable effort to completely erase Muzan earlier would now be effortless.
"Hm… Still over 250,000 points left. From level 4 to 5 requires 150,000. So I can only upgrade one between Electrokinesis and Mugen Saika."
In the end, even though Electrokinesis had tremendous potential, the sheer overwhelming might of his Zanpakutō tipped the scale.
[Consuming 150,000 points. Zanpakutō – Mugen Saika successfully upgraded to Lvl. 5!]
Mitsuri had already collapsed, completely drunk and fast asleep. Meanwhile, Kie, Nezuko, and Tanjiro sat together talking quietly as a family. Tamayo was with them too, perhaps because she and the mother-daughter pair were all demons.
Having earned a massive haul of points from the Muzan mission, Shinobu decided to try the lottery on a whim.
"Eh? I got something on the first pull?"
"What is it?" Tetsuya, sitting beside her, leaned in curiously.
Shinobu smiled faintly and raised her hand. A faint pink mist gathered above her palm.
"Poison?" Tetsuya raised an eyebrow.
Shinobu's smile widened with genuine delight. "Exactly. More precisely, it's the perfect Venom-Venom Fruit. The description says I can manipulate poison with no side effects whatsoever, and I'm completely immune to my own poison."
"So it's from Hancock's world. No side effects means no weakness to seawater either," Tetsuya nodded, smiling. "It suits you perfectly. And you won't need to rely on Breathing Styles anymore."
Breathing Styles were excellent against demons, but now that Shinobu was part of the group chat, she would face far greater threats in the future, enemies far beyond Muzan. Even Sun Breathing would feel like a mere spark in comparison.
"Then you can finally remove the wisteria poison from your own body," Tetsuya said, referring to the poison she had deliberately accumulated over the years.
"Mhm. No problem at all anymore," Shinobu nodded happily.
The feast continued for several more hours.
Eventually, as attendants began cleaning up the remnants of the celebration, some people simply passed out right where they sat, snoring peacefully, dreaming sweet dreams for the first time in forever.
Shinobu and Tetsuya carried the sleeping Mitsuri back to the Butterfly Mansion.
"Let her sleep in my room," Shinobu said softly.
"Okay."
After gently laying Mitsuri down in one of the rooms, Tetsuya paused. Her clothes were soaked with drool, and she was mumbling incoherently in her sleep with a silly, drunken smile. She was completely wasted. Kie, Nezuko, and Tamayo were resting in another room.
Shaking his head with faint amusement, Tetsuya turned, only to find Shinobu standing right in the doorway.
"Alright, let her rest. Shinobu, you should sleep too."
Shinobu didn't answer. Instead she gave a small, gentle smile… and slowly closed the door behind her. She stepped forward. "Please… don't go back. Stay here."
"…" Tetsuya fell silent.
Step by step, Shinobu drew closer. "For years… I've wanted nothing more than to avenge my sister. She was… such a kind woman. Even though demons have threatened humanity for centuries, she still believed, truly believed, that demons and humans could one day live in peace."
She stopped right in front of him and gently leaned her forehead against his chest, voice barely above a whisper, "I thought I would die before I could ever achieve that revenge. But… fate really… helped me. I joined that group chat. I met you, the one who so easily killed Doma, my target for revenge."
"I didn't kill him, though," Tetsuya finally spoke.
Shinobu let out a soft laugh. "That doesn't matter. The moment I saw you during that broadcast… I believed in you instantly. I poured everything out, my hatred, my wish for revenge, my desire to fight demons," she lifted her head, purple eyes shimmering. "And now… it actually happened…".
"I'm not usually like this. But… for some reason… even though you already know everything from the group chat… I still wanted to say it out loud."
Tetsuya looked down. Shinobu only reached his neck. He gazed into her eyes, saw something alive and burning brightly again in the gaze of the Insect Hashira.
"Maybe you already have a lover in your world… or maybe even someone from the group. But I don't mind…"
Without another word, Shinobu stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. The beautiful Insect Hashira closed her eyes, pouring every ounce of feeling into the kiss.
Tetsuya wasn't the type to act rashly. But since she had started it… he would follow, even if he was a step behind. His arms slid around her waist. He returned the kiss.
Shinobu's eyes widened slightly as she felt something soft and warm force its way past her lips, tangling with her tongue. Pleasure surged through her. Without thinking, she followed his rhythm, pressing her body even closer.
They ignored Mitsuri sleeping soundly on the bed.
They kissed deeply, passionately.
***
Author's Note: UUUWWWOOOGGGHHH!!! SSSSEEEEGGGGSSSS! Finally, after 36 chapters, the sex scene is coming. Mwehehehe, next chapter will be our first R18+ chapter! And it's a threesome, cough! That's a spoiler!