Kamado Nezuko.
The little girl whom Inosuke had always protected so carefully.
The younger sister who, ever since she and her brother had been taken in by Inosuke, had been endlessly doted on.
She remembered.
Even though she had become a demon, even though her mind was no more than that of a small child—she remembered.
That boy who bought her new clothes.
That brother who would secretly sneak over late at night to braid her hair—his hands clumsy enough to tug painfully at her scalp, yet laughing without a care in the world.
"I… I…"
Nezuko opened her mouth.
It was the first time since becoming a demon that she tried to form human words.
Her voice was as tender as an infant learning to speak.
"I… no… su… ke…"
Tears welled up in her eyes.
As she looked at the boy lying motionless before her—
The boy who would never jump up again with that silly grin—
An emotion long sealed deep within her shattered free, like a sprout breaking through the soil, growing wildly.
"Mm—!!"
An urgency she had never felt before appeared on Nezuko's small face.
In the center of her palm, a light suddenly flared.
Boom!!!
An incomparably gentle pink flame erupted from her hand.
The fire surged with the wind, and in the blink of an eye, completely engulfed Inosuke's upper body.
"Nezuko?! What are you doing?!"
Even Kotoha was terrified, instinctively lunging forward to put out the fire.
"No!! Inosuke!!!"
"Don't move—any of you!!!"
A sharp shout stopped everyone in their tracks.
It was Shinobu.
She stared intently at the flames.
There was no scorching heat that burned flesh—
What the fire was burning… was poison.
Sizzle—sizzle—
Within the pink blaze, Inosuke's skin did not char.
Instead, the purple ice crystals that clung to him like parasitic bone mites began to melt the instant they touched the fire.
The flames slipped down his airways, gently wrapping around his frozen lungs.
Like warm winter sunlight, inch by inch, they dissolved the lethal ice, burning away the toxins clogging his breath.
"Cough—!!"
A violent coughing fit burst from the sea of fire.
Inosuke's body convulsed as he spat out a large mouthful of black, congealed blood mixed with melted ice water.
Then—
His collapsed chest began to rise and fall.
The pallor on his face, illuminated by the firelight, slowly regained the faint redness of the living.
"He's alive…
He's really alive!!"
Shinobu didn't even have time to be shocked—she threw herself forward.
"Nezuko! Keep it up—don't stop!
Kotoha-sama, hold his arms and legs—don't let him thrash!
Cardiac stimulant! Hemostatic agent!!!"
Ten minutes felt like ten years.
When the flames in Nezuko's hand finally faded, when she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion—
Shinobu placed her fingers on Inosuke's wrist, feeling the faint yet steady pulse beneath her fingertips.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Shinobu closed her eyes and let out a long, trembling breath.
"Vital signs… stabilized.
The lungs are severely damaged, but as long as we wait for sunrise…
and let the remaining toxins dry out completely… he'll live."
"Waaah—!!!"
Kotoha finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
"…You're amazing."
Doma slowly stood up.
He didn't disturb the sobbing Kotoha. Instead, he walked over to Nezuko, who lay limp on the ground.
He gently lifted the little girl high into the air, like a father lifting his daughter.
"You're amazing… Nezuko-chan."
Doma looked into her pure pink eyes.
"Thank you… for saving my son.
You're a benefactor to our family."
When Kotoha had cried herself empty, she turned and threw herself into Doma's arms.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his priestly robes.
"Thank goodness… Doma-sama… thank goodness…"
Doma held Nezuko with one arm and gently patted Kotoha's back with the other.
"Yes… thank goodness, Kotoha."
Shinobu watched the scene in silence.
Doma seemed to sense her gaze. He set Nezuko down, gently pushed Kotoha aside, then turned to face Shinobu.
His eyes were calm.
The madness was gone.
The usual frivolity was gone.
They were eyes of startling clarity.
"Miss Shinobu,"
Doma spoke, his voice gentle as jade.
"For now… could you refrain from killing me?"
Shinobu smiled.
The smile held mockery—and understanding.
She drew her Nichirin blade again.
"I knew it. A demon is still a demon.
Once the crisis passes, that greedy nature shows itself."
Doma shook his head lightly at her guarded gaze.
He lifted his eyes to the eastern sky, where the deepest darkness was receding, and a faint fish-belly white was beginning to form.
"Not to survive."
He turned back to Shinobu and said words that froze her in place.
"Could you wait until dawn?"
"I want to… see Inosuke under the sunlight."
Shinobu froze. The sword nearly slipped from her hand.
"You… what did you say?"
Doma walked to Inosuke's side and crouched down, gently tracing his son's face—now finally tinged with color.
"I want to watch the sun rise with my own eyes.
To see sunlight fall on him.
To see the sun destroy the last traces of poison in his body—
to see him completely safe.
Only then… can I truly be at ease."
Doma turned and took Kotoha's hand, pressing it to his cheek.
"And… I also want… to bathe in the sunlight with Kotoha.
Even if only for a moment.
Even if it's… the instant before turning to ash."
He looked at Shinobu, a relieved smile on his lips.
"This is my final wish.
There's no need to dirty your hands, Miss Shinobu.
And no need for Inosuke to suffer over it when he wakes.
My sins… I'll atone for them myself."
"I will walk toward the sun… and into hell."
Shinobu stood there, completely stunned.
...
Infinity Castle
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Kibutsuji Muzan threw his head back in wild laughter.
Through Doma's vision, he saw Inosuke's heart—once stilled—begin to beat again.
"He's alive!! He's alive!!!
As expected of my decisiveness!!
Hahahaha!!
Inosuke is mine!! The Blue Spider Lily is mine!!!"
But—
In the next instant, Doma's words to Shinobu reached Muzan's ears, loud and clear.
I want to see Inosuke under the sunlight.
I want to bathe in the sun with Kotoha.
I will walk toward the sun and into hell.
Muzan's laughter stopped dead.
His expression visibly shifted—from ecstasy, to pitch-black gloom, to volcanic rage.
"What…
What nonsense is he spouting?!!
Is this a joke?!!!"
Muzan kicked the table in front of him to pieces, roaring hysterically.
"Doma!! You bastard!!!
Bathe in sunlight?! You're a demon!! You're Upper Rank Two!!"
If Doma died, who would bring Inosuke back?!
Rely on the Demon Slayer Hashira? They'd just hide him!!
"Come back!! Get back here!!!"
Muzan barked orders frantically.
"Nakime! Drag him back right now!! Immediately!!"
Clang!
The biwa rang—
But—
Crack!
Doma didn't even look back. He merely stepped down lightly, and freezing demonic cold instantly sealed the space.
Just like Kokushibo, he forcibly shattered Nakime's Blood Demon Art.
"What do I do… what do I do…"
Muzan's eyes searched the hall wildly.
Finally, they landed on two figures in the corner.
Upper Rank Six—Daki and Gyutaro.
"Daki!! Gyutaro!!"
Muzan's voice crawled out like something from hell.
"You two… go right now… and bring Doma and Inosuke back alive!!
No matter the method!!
No matter who you kill!!
Bring them back!!!"
"Yes! Lord Muzan!"
Clang!!
The biwa echoed through the hall.
...
Eternal Paradise Cult
Boom!!!
A massive slash swept across the battlefield, instantly blowing apart the formation of the eight attackers.
Kokushibo stood at the center of the ruins, his body bristling with blades like a god of slaughter descending upon the world.
"Too weak."
His gaze passed over everyone—
And locked firmly onto the expressionless boy.
Tokito Muichiro.
"That mark… that age…"
The interest in Kokushibo's eyes grew stronger, even eclipsing his killing intent.
"Tell me your name.
Are you a descendant of the Tsugikuni family?
What was your ancestor's name?"
Muichiro didn't answer.
"Mist Breathing—Seventh Form: Obscuring Clouds!"
His form dissolved like mist as his blade shot straight for Kokushibo's eye.
"Good… very good…"
Kokushibo laughed.
His suppressive aura surged violently.
The terrifying blade storm threatened to shred everyone nearby.
Just as Kokushibo's sword was about to fall—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two sharp whistling sounds cut through the sky.
"Who's there?!"
Kokushibo paused.
On a high ridge at the edge of the battlefield—
Daki stood beneath the moonlight, clad in her flamboyant oiran attire, her beautiful face twisted with fury.
She had heard everything.
The sashes behind her whipped wildly, smashing rocks to powder.
Beside her—
Gyutaro hunched over, the blood sickles in his hands creaking from the force of his grip.
In his murky eyes, raging flames burned.
"Ume,"
Gyutaro's voice was terrifyingly low.
"Lord Muzan said… to bring Lord Doma back…
But… look.
Our family…
was hurt."
In their memories—
It was Doma who gave them blood and let them live.
It was that idiot Inosuke who brought them to the Eternal Paradise Cult, who introduced them to Kotoha, who let them taste happiness.
"Who cares about that!!"
Daki shrieked, pointing at Kokushibo in the distance.
"Brother!!! He's the one who beat Inosuke into that state!!!"
"Got it."
Gyutaro grinned, baring rows of sharp teeth.
"Ume, you go find Lord Doma and Lady Kotoha.
As for this six-eyed bastard…"
Boom!!!
Gyutaro moved.
Like a venom-laced black cannonball, he smashed down between Kokushibo and Muichiro!
Clang!
Blood sickle and Void-Crying Godblade collided violently.
"Hm?"
Kokushibo looked down at the ugly creature who had intruded so suddenly.
"Gyutaro?"
Gyutaro crouched low, bearing Kokushibo's terrifying pressure.
Yet the grin on his face grew ever more twisted, ever more unhinged.
He lifted his head, those venomous eyes locking onto Kokushibo's face.
"Hey! Mr. Samurai!
You beat Inosuke up pretty badly, huh?
In a chaotic battlefield like this…
We siblings…
are invincible!!!"
Gyutaro raised his blood sickle, pointing it straight at Kokushibo's nose.
"Come play with us!!!
Blood Battle for Rank Advancement!!!"
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