First came the arm-wrestling contest: first place, beyond all doubt, went to the Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei. Second was Sound Hashira Uzui Tengen. Third, Rengoku Kyojuro. Fourth and fifth were Shinazugawa Sanemi and Tomioka Giyuu, neck and neck in an especially fierce match. Sixth was the recently appointed Mist Hashira, Tokitou Muichirou. Seventh, Iguro Obanai. Eighth—no drama—was the Insect Hashira, Kochou Shinobu.
Next up was speed, a footrace: first was Uzui Tengen, with Shinobu taking an impressive second place. Sanemi came in third. Himejima, despite his size, surprised everyone by placing fourth. Rengoku took fifth, Giyuu sixth, Obanai seventh—perhaps thanks to his habit of running in a snake-like zigzag—and Muichirou, unexpectedly, came in last.
Looks like speed is all I have left, Shinobu thought, watching the sunlit courtyard with a wistful, unplaceable smile. I know how ordinary my talent is. Even if I train with the others, I wouldn't improve much—if anything, I'd just hold them back.
"With the final battle approaching, I think it suits me better to research ways to make wisteria poison more lethal to demons, rather than train with everyone else."
Kanae, studying her sister's profile, blinked her beautiful eyes thoughtfully.
"But if you really have put on weight, wouldn't that affect your speed too?"
"I haven't gained weight! I keep telling you, I haven't! I'm always watching my figure!"
Shinobu glared, voice sharp. "And anyway, Sensei's about to return, but I haven't finished the homework she assigned before leaving... I'm already thinking of borrowing Afune's just to copy it..."
"Oh, Shinobu... You'd really ask someone so much younger than you if you could copy their homework?" Kanae was momentarily at a loss for words to describe her silly little sister.
"Hm? Was that Shinobu-neesan and Kanae-neesan calling my name just now?"
The clear, gentle voice drifted in like a mountain spring. Afune entered quietly, a warm smile lighting her face.
Girls always mature a bit faster than boys. In three years, Afune had grown into a tall, graceful young woman.
"Afune?" Kanae started, then smiled back, "What's up? Did you need something? Don't tell me Naho and the others got into trouble and sent you to plead their case?"
"No, it's not that, Kanae-neesan—Naho and the others have been really well-behaved lately... Actually, a Kakushi just showed up at the Butterfly Estate, said he needed to see both you and Shinobu about something urgent."
"Something important?"
Afune's expression turned a little apologetic. "He seemed so anxious, I took it upon myself to bring him in... Sorry, Kanae-neesan."
"B-big—big trouble!!"
Even before the Kakushi appeared, his shrill voice got there first.
Tumbling in, more rolling than running, the Kakushi burst into the room in a panic.
"B-big—big trouble!!"
"You already said that. If this were a novel, readers would complain you're just padding word count," Shinobu muttered, rolling her eyes and reaching for another piece of cake. "Well? What's so bad? It can't be that Kibutsuji Muzan himself showed up, right?"
The Kakushi shook his head vigorously, caught his breath, and then blurted out,
"Water Hashira and Wind Hashira are going all out! Both are hurt, and even their wooden practice swords got broken!"
"So... is either of them badly injured?" Kanae's eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down.
"No..."
"Hm? No? Then why are you making such a fuss?" Kanae tilted her head. "A few bumps and bruises are nothing for the Hashira—they're not little kids who'll cry over a scraped knee. You didn't need to rush all the way here."
"B-but...!"
At first, Kanae and Shinobu were unbothered. Until the Kakushi's next sentence:
"Nightingale-sama is back! And she already heard about the injuries—she's heading to the training ground right now!"
"What did you say—?!"
A shadow flashed in front of the Kakushi's eyes—Kanae had grabbed him by the collar before he could blink.
"Why didn't you start with that?! You wasted all this time and told us nothing! Do you have any idea how to deliver a message?!"
After putting the poor Kakushi down, Kanae's face turned grim.
"This is bad... Nightingale couldn't have picked a worse time to come back. And it's partly Giyuu-san and Sanemi-san's fault—sparring doesn't mean you should injure each other! I have to get them both back to the Butterfly Estate for treatment before Nightingale gets there..."
Making a snap decision, Kanae turned to Shinobu.
"Shinobu! We're short on time! I'll go convince Giyuu-san and Sanemi-san to come back here. Your job is to stall your Sensei—as long as possible. Take Afune if you can. If it's the two of you—"
She stopped abruptly.
Kanae had been thinking so hard she hadn't noticed: where was Shinobu? Where was Afune? The spot where Shinobu had been sitting now held nothing but a half-eaten piece of cake.
Kanae glanced out at the yard, and sure enough—there was Shinobu, already sprinting away with Afune in her arms. In the distance, she could hear her sister shouting—
"Afune! Hurry! Only you can save me now! Lend me your homework, please! If Sensei gets here, it'll be too late!"
Go save Giyuu and Sanemi? As if—she had her own neck to worry about. Who'd rescue her if she went to help someone else?
Besides, if Nightingale was off forcibly treating Giyuu and Sanemi, it meant Shinobu had more time to copy her homework. As for those two... well, they'd just have to take one for the team. Necessary sacrifices!
...
Under the moonlight, a gentle breeze stirred the clouds, letting the tranquil moon glow through.
Leaves rustled; Nightingale, having just left the Ubuyashiki estate, walked alone through the bamboo forest, her travel bag slung over her shoulder, her brow creased with concern.
There's not much time left. The patient's illness can't be delayed...
Even with all her efforts to suppress Kagaya's sickness, the curse was like a bone-deep rot—a karmic malediction modern science or even magecraft could not touch.
The only way to break the curse was to kill Kibutsuji Muzan, severing the fate that bound him to the Ubuyashiki clan.
Of course, that was the "only" way if she didn't use the Salvation God Blade. Even a karmic curse could, in theory, be broken with one of the divine weapons stored in that blade—after all, this era still had its own myths, and "fame correction" could amplify a divine artifact's power.
Besides, while the manga never spelled it out, this world might truly have gods—the ending, where everyone is reincarnated a hundred years later, and the "divine punishment" that descended on the Ubuyashiki line as a curse.
As Nightingale, she believed in humanity's potential and was repulsed by the idea of using the Salvation God Blade—divine intervention. But she kept it as a last resort.
In other words, if all else failed and Muzan escaped, she'd show him what "O Sun, Obey Death" really meant.
She refused to believe that if Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Sun Breathing couldn't finish Muzan, Karna's God-Slaying Spear wouldn't do the job!
One way or another, Muzan was doomed. The only question was whether he'd choose a painless end.
In the shrouded bamboo forest, only wind and Nightingale's footsteps broke the silence.
Then, without warning, her steps halted, leaving just the rustle of leaves in the night.
CLACK!
In one fluid motion, Nightingale swung open her travel bag and drew a machine gun. Its black muzzle aimed straight at a patch of darkness, where blood-red eyes glimmered coldly.
"Come out, or I'll start shooting."
The silence split; a gust of wind, and a shadow swooped out like a bat, landing before her.
He stood beneath the moon, regal as a king of the night, exuding a chilling, dangerous aura, thick with the scent of blood.
Staring at the figure, one stray thought flashed through Nightingale's mind—
Why didn't Muzan bring a fog machine for his entrance tonight?
Of course, Muzan couldn't have guessed at Nightingale's irreverent thoughts. He was busy examining her and her weapon.
"So that's it—the weapon that accelerates cellular decay. The one that kills demons instantly. You and that girl Tamayo made it, didn't you?"
Muzan's lips curled in a mocking smile, brimming with self-assurance. "But it's useless against me, isn't it?"
At that, Nightingale's eyes sharpened.
"You..."
"That's right, I heard your conversation in Asakusa. I've been watching you ever since."
Muzan smiled coldly, clearly pleased at Nightingale's reaction. "If not for you and Tamayo, I'd never have found the Corps headquarters so quickly. For that, I suppose I should thank you."
"They never really threatened me, but they've been an annoyance. My patience is at its end... Tonight, I'll wipe out the Ubuyashiki family. I'll annihilate the entire Demon Slayer Corps."
"And then, you—"
He raised a pale, bloodless hand, those inhuman, demonic eyes boring into Nightingale.
"So? Won't you drink my blood and become a demon? Tonight, the Corps will be destroyed—and it will all be your carelessness that doomed the human world. But I'm offering you a chance."
"I admire your talent. A mere human, yet able to kill my demons without even a Nichirin blade. I want you for myself. Drink my blood, and you'll be freed from your fragile mortal shell. Pain, sickness, and aging will never touch you. You'll become stronger than you ever dreamed."
The night wind carried Muzan's voice through the dark forest.
"All this talk—aren't you just here for the Blue Spider Lily?" Nightingale replied coolly.
Muzan's "recruitment" was a façade; Nightingale knew perfectly well he just wanted to turn her into a demon, so he could control her and force her to hand over the flower.
His face darkened at being so bluntly exposed.
"Tch. Fine, you're right. If the Blue Spider Lily wasn't in your hands, I'd never waste so many words."
"I've lived longer than anyone. My power eclipses all. You humans are nothing but food to me. If not for that last weakness—the sun—none of you would ever have stood before me. I'd have killed and devoured you instantly."
He said all this without pride or condescension, only with an unshakable certainty.
He truly believed himself to be humanity's apex predator—untouchable, unchallenged, with nothing to fear but the forces of nature.
He saw it as only natural, not something to boast about, just a simple fact.
"Once I get the Blue Spider Lily, even that last weakness will vanish. Not even nature will be able to kill me. I will become the perfect being—immortal, invincible, surpassing this very planet itself!"
---
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