Only a few dozen minutes remained until dawn.
Infinity Castle
"Bastards!!! Bastards!!! BASTARDS!!!!"
Kibutsuji Muzan's face had twisted beyond recognition.
He could feel it.
That presence which had terrified him for a thousand years.
The sun.
Beneath the eastern horizon, it was gathering strength, preparing to scorch all filth in the world with its absolute, blazing light.
And what were his subordinates doing?!
"The sun is about to rise!!! What are they doing?!
Are they planning collective suicide?!
Do they want to drag my Blue Spider Lily into oblivion with them?!"
"No!!! Absolutely not!!!!"
Muzan whirled around, his blood-red slit pupils locking onto Nakime in the corner.
"Nakime!!!!"
His voice was shrill, like a shrieking specter.
"Drag them back!!! All of them!!! Immediately!!!
I don't care what they're doing or whether they resist!
As long as you're alive, keep pulling!!!
Even if you have to rip off their arms and legs, drag them into the Infinity Castle!!!
As long as they're back here…"
Venomous light flickered in Muzan's eyes.
"There will be time enough later.
I'll personally re-educate these traitors."
"…Yes."
Nakime felt Muzan's overwhelming fury.
She dared not hold anything back. Veins bulged across the one-eyed face embedded in her body as her hands blurred, frantically plucking the biwa.
Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!
Like death warrants, the biwa's notes echoed through the Infinity Castle, piercing space itself and descending upon the ruins of the Eternal Paradise Cult.
Eternal Paradise Cult
Boom!!!
Kokushibo forced Gyutaro's poisonous blood sickles back with a single strike, then casually blasted away Sanemi Shinazugawa, who had tried to sneak an attack.
Though his body was riddled with wounds, though Akaza and Gyutaro clung to him like rabid dogs—
He still stood unshaken.
That was the despairing might honed by centuries of existence.
"It isn't over yet."
Kokushibo's six eyes whirled madly amid the chaos.
His regeneration had slowed, but it was still fast enough to restore him before decapitation.
Yet his attention was no longer on the battle itself.
His gaze remained fixed—obsessively—on that expressionless boy.
Tokito Muichiro.
"That child…"
Kokushibo watched Muichiro weave through blades and blood.
Too similar.
That talent. That composure. That instinct to find openings even at the brink of death.
Slash!
Another wound opened beneath Kokushibo's ribs.
Muichiro always appeared from the least expected angle, leaving a mark with his mist-wreathed Nichirin blade.
"Only you…"
The obsession in Kokushibo's heart surged, even eclipsing his fear of sunrise.
"Only you can wound me."
"Tell me your name."
"I want to speak with you. I want to know everything about you."
Who taught him swordsmanship?
What became of the Tsugikuni lineage?
Would he be willing to become a demon?
"Hey… boy…"
Kokushibo reached out, trying to grasp that streak of mist.
But the boy's eyes held only killing intent—only the resolve to avenge Inosuke.
"Get lost."
Muichiro spat the words coldly, slipping past Kokushibo's hand and slashing at his wrist.
Just as Kokushibo tried to pursue—
Whoosh!
A deep-blue figure surged between them like a furious tide.
A dark-blue Nichirin blade, carrying a chill that froze the soul, silently pressed against Kokushibo's neck.
Giyu Tomioka.
Those deep-blue eyes—usually calm like still water—were now overflowing with boundless rage.
He had seen everything.
He had seen Inosuke, soaked in blood, hovering between life and death.
He had seen Tanjiro, turned into a demon and writhing in agony.
That was his junior.
"You bastard."
Giyu's voice was terrifyingly low.
"You did this to my juniors…"
"Die!!!"
Slash!
The Nichirin blade cut into Kokushibo's neck, biting several inches into muscle.
Just a little more—just a little more, and his cervical spine would have been severed!
"Hmph!"
Kokushibo's pupils constricted—but he did not panic.
Zheng!!!!
The ground vanished beneath his feet.
A tremendous pulling force rose from the void below.
"So… it's time?"
Kokushibo felt the scorching heat gathering on the eastern horizon.
The sun was about to rise.
If he didn't leave now, even Upper Rank One would be reduced to ash.
And this time…
He couldn't break the gate.
Giyu's blade was still embedded in his neck.
Muichiro's sword tip was aimed at his brow.
Sanemi and Gyutaro's attacks were already incoming.
"What a pity…"
Kokushibo's body began sinking into the gate leading to the Infinity Castle.
He didn't look at Giyu.
He didn't look at the frenzied Hashira attacking him.
His six eyes, until the very last moment, remained locked on Tokito Muichiro.
Regret.
Yearning.
The final fixation of a warrior who had been alone for centuries—on the continuation of his bloodline.
"Next time… I'll ask again…"
Half his body was already swallowed by darkness.
Looking at the still-cold boy, his lips moved, leaving his final unfinished words on this battlefield:
"Your name… is…"
Zheng!
The biwa sounded.
The spatial gate slammed shut.
Kokushibo vanished—along with the unanswered question—into the darkness before dawn.
At the same time, gates opened beneath Gyutaro and Akaza as well.
"Damn it! Muzan-sama's getting serious!!"
Gyutaro cursed as he was dragged in.
"UME!! Make sure you bring Lord Doma back!!!"
Akaza glanced once toward Inosuke, his gaze complicated, then disappeared into the vortex.
The battlefield fell silent.
Only swordsmen remained—blades raised, frozen mid-swing.
Muscle memory.
Nerves stretched beyond their limits.
"Huff… huff…"
Sanemi hacked at empty ground, dust flying.
"They ran?! Those bastards… they actually ran?!"
"It's over…"
Rengoku Kyojuro leaned on his sword, his body swaying.
The backlash of the Demon Slayer Mark surged through him, draining his strength like a tide.
Before anyone could fully recover—
"…sob… sob…"
A suppressed crying sound came from the corner.
Everyone turned sharply.
They saw the blond boy kneeling on the ground, face soaked with tears.
"Save them… please… save them…"
Zenitsu pointed behind him, crying hysterically.
"Tanjiro… Senior brother… they became demons…
But—but the sun is coming up!!!"
Everyone's hearts clenched.
Only then did they remember—
Besides Inosuke, two more boys had paid a terrible price.
In the shadows, two newborn demons knelt on the ground, fingers clawing into the earth.
They roared.
They trembled.
They fought with what little reason remained against the hunger burning their insides.
And above them—
The eastern clouds were already dyed gold and crimson.
The first ray of sunlight was about to pierce the sky.
"Oh no!!!"
Rengoku's expression changed instantly.
"Hurry!!! Move them into the shade!!!
They must not be exposed to sunlight!!!"
"Follow me!!!"
Zenitsu wiped his tears and hoisted Tanjiro onto his back.
"I know the way! There's a secret tunnel in the back mountain of the cult—no sunlight there!!
Inosuke built it for hide-and-seek!!!"
"Move!!!"
Ignoring his own injuries, Sanemi rushed over and slung the convulsing Kaigaku over his shoulder.
"Don't move, brat!! Move again and I'll knock you out!!"
"Go!!"
Giyu and Muichiro guarded the flanks.
A group of battered swordsmen, carrying two newly turned demons, sprinted for the back-mountain tunnel—racing against the first light of dawn.
Zheng!
The familiar biwa rang again.
A spatial gate abruptly opened beneath Doma and Daki.
Crack!
Doma instinctively stomped it to pieces, extreme cold sealing the ground.
He ignored Muzan's furious roars echoing in his mind.
Turning, he looked at Kotoha beside him.
"Kotoha."
Doma's voice was impossibly gentle.
"Take Nezuko to the back mountain… find Zenitsu. Hurry."
"Lord Doma…"
Kotoha hugged the still-sleeping Nezuko, tears streaming.
"Go."
Doma gave her a light push.
"Take care of Nezuko… and take care of Inosuke.
I'll be back."
As Kotoha ran toward the back mountain, glancing back again and again, the warmth faded from Doma's face.
He turned to look at Inosuke lying on the ground—his face pale, but his chest rising steadily.
He glanced at Daki, who bit her lip, unable to look.
Doma lifted his head toward the sky.
Golden light was about to break through the clouds.
Judgment—and hope.
"…Hah."
Doma exhaled slowly, straightened his collar, then did something no one expected.
He bowed.
Deeply. Formally.
A perfect human bow.
"Thank you."
His voice was soft.
"Shinobu Kocho."
Shinobu froze.
Her grip on the sword trembled.
"Thank you for saving him."
"Thank you… for not abandoning my son, just because I'm a bastard."
When Doma straightened, true human relief finally appeared in his rainbow eyes.
"Only now…"
"Seeing him live. Seeing you all risk everything for him…"
"I finally understand."
"What Inosuke meant by atonement."
Not death.
Not self-indulgent sacrifice.
But taking responsibility—to protect these hard-won bonds.
"I'm going back."
Doma glanced at the spatial gate forming again beneath his feet.
This time, he didn't destroy it.
"Muzan-sama is waiting."
He smiled—a familiar smile, yet subtly changed.
"If I don't go back… he'll truly go insane."
"And… I need to go back too."
"To hold the final line… for that foolish son of mine."
Zheng!!!
The biwa rang again.
Doma didn't resist.
Together with Daki, he allowed himself to be pulled away.
At the last moment before darkness swallowed him—
He looked at Shinobu.
At Inosuke on the ground.
And silently mouthed three words:
"Live on."
Shhh!
The gate closed.
The two Upper Rank demons vanished.
Ten minutes later.
When the last trace of darkness was driven away—
When the first golden sunlight poured freely over the battered land of the Eternal Paradise Cult—
Footsteps echoed from the back mountain.
Zenitsu.
Sanemi.
Rengoku.
Giyu.
Muichiro.
Tengen.
Obanai…
Everyone still standing emerged from the tunnel.
They gathered around.
Around Shinobu.
Around the boy lying on the ground, bathed in morning light.
"Inosuke…"
Zenitsu collapsed to his knees, tears spilling as he looked at Inosuke's face slowly regaining color under the sun.
This time, they were tears of joy.
"The toxins… are dispersing."
Shinobu knelt beside Inosuke, fingers on his pulse.
She felt the sun's warmth driving away the lingering cold within him.
At last, she smiled in relief.
"Thank goodness…
The sun… really saved him."
No one spoke.
They simply formed a circle, shielding Inosuke at the center—
As if protecting the most precious treasure in the world.
Rengoku gazed at the rising sun, tears shimmering in his remaining eye.
"Did we… win?
No… it's not over yet."
"But at least… we survived."
"Everyone… survived."
Sanemi dropped to the ground, panting, then laughed as he looked at Inosuke's infuriating sleeping face.
"…Damn brat.
Tough as nails."
Muichiro crouched down and poked Inosuke's cheek.
"Warm."
He said softly.
"That's good."
The morning breeze swept through—
Carrying away the stench of blood, bringing the scent of earth and grass.
Sunlight warmed everyone's skin.
The night that nearly tore the Eternal Paradise Cult apart finally came to an end.
It wasn't perfect.
Some had become demons.
Some were gravely injured.
Some were forced to leave.
But at least—
At this dawn, they were still together.
Inosuke's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
As if even in his dreams, he could feel the gazes of his companions—
Warmer than the sun itself.
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