Faced with Yōsuke drawing ever closer, Muzan Kibutsuji trembled with fear. His gaze fell upon the corpse of the Blue Oni beside him—if he devoured it and reclaimed the Demon King's blood within, he could muster the strength to unleash a Blood Demon Art and escape.
"Yōsuke, don't kill those innocent humans!"
From behind him came Tamayo's furious cry.
Yōsuke's steps faltered. His once-resolute eyes dimmed into sorrow, and he murmured to himself:
"I thought you would understand… that you would be different. Yet after centuries of wandering in circles, I'm still alone."
By now Muzan had torn free from Yōsuke's Dark Binding and was moving toward the Blue Oni's corpse.
Yōsuke ignored the shouts of the others. Even if all of humanity cursed him for it, he would not regret what he was about to do.
Under the horrified stares of all present, Yōsuke swung his blade and cut down the controlled humans blocking Muzan's path.
Then, mustering what little strength remained, he raised his Nichirin Blade once more and charged at Muzan's turned back, driving the blade through him and pinning him to the ground.
The first light of dawn was moments away from spilling across both Yōsuke and Muzan.
Gripping the hilt tight, refusing to let Muzan escape, Yōsuke gazed at the coming sun and whispered as if in release:
"Muzan Kibutsuji… the sun is rising."
Suddenly, Muzan twisted his head around. His mouth still chewed upon the Blue Oni's corpse, and his furious eyes locked onto Yōsuke's face.
"The next time we meet, I will be the ultimate being—unafraid of the sun. And then, Yōsuke Ubuyashiki, I will take your life!"
Muzan's body swelled violently, bursting apart into countless chunks of flesh.
Yōsuke, seeing this, burned the very last of his strength, igniting blazing blood-flames to incinerate the scattering pieces.
But there were too many. Some fragments still managed to slip from his sight.
Muzan Kibutsuji had escaped.
The campaign to destroy him—by humanity and by Yōsuke alike—had ended in utter defeat.
Yōsuke forced himself upright, scanning the survivors behind him. The disappointment in his eyes was plain.
But the Demon Slayers who still stood glared at him with hatred, their eyes fixed upon the corpses of the slaughtered innocents lying behind Yōsuke. More than a few looked ready to kill him where he stood.
Wordlessly, Yōsuke threw his Nichirin Blade to the ground at their feet, then turned and staggered away from the ruined Ubuyashiki estate—alone.
Tamayo wished to call out to him, to stop him, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came. All she could do was watch in silence as Yōsuke's figure vanished from sight.
The Flame Hashira, Shinzuka Rengoku Sho; the Stone Hashira, Daigo Shimazawa; the Thunder Hashira, Raihui Sayaka; the Water Hashira, Eriko Tokimoto; and the Wind Hashira, Kento Kamiji—all died of their wounds.
Of the nearly one thousand Demon Slayers who entered the battle, fewer than two hundred remained.
By the time Yoriichi Tsugikuni arrived, the fight was already over. Overwhelmed by shame under the weight of everyone's blame, he attempted to end his life in atonement—only to be stopped by the new head of the Ubuyashiki family, Kiriya Ubuyashiki, who instead banished him from the Corps.
As for Yōsuke Ubuyashiki, for the crime of cutting down humans, he was branded no different from a demon and placed upon the Corps' kill-on-sight list.
Tamayo too vanished, slipping once more into the shadows of the human world.
The Demon Slayer Corps had suffered a crippling, grievous blow.
Broken in spirit, Yōsuke returned to Mount Dewa in Numazu, where he sat before the graves of his parents and Kaori.
Days passed. He did not move from that spot.
Wind and frost lashed his body, yet in his heart they stirred not even a ripple.
In his haze, Yōsuke thought he saw the figures of his mother, Mikako Ubuyashiki, and his father, Takuto Ubuyashiki.
"Mother… Father… Did I do wrong?" His voice rasped, his eyes clouded with confusion.
Mikako gently drew him into her arms, while Takuto laid a firm, reassuring hand upon his shoulder.
"Yōsuke, you did not err. Do not lose yourself. Do not grieve. Walk forward toward your goal. Mikako and I will always believe in you."
Then Kaori's image appeared once more.
"Yōsuke-oniisan, please don't be sad. To me, you will always be the warm, radiant god who shines upon my heart."
The visions of Takuto, Mikako, and Kaori slowly faded.
"Thank you…" Tears welled in Yōsuke's eyes, and though the pain in his heart remained, a measure of its weight was lifted.
The campaign against Muzan had failed. Around the world, demons multiplied unchecked, while Muzan himself vanished entirely from human sight.
At last steadying his spirit, Yōsuke left Mount Dewa behind and resumed his wandering life.
In time, he reached a small village at the foot of Mount Hino. There, he sensed a presence achingly familiar.
Following it, Yōsuke arrived at a humble wooden hut. He knocked, and the one who opened the door was none other than Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
The two men met each other's gaze in silence.
After a pause, Yoriichi stepped aside, allowing Yōsuke to enter.
Inside, Yoriichi lit the hearth, retrieved a bottle of sake and two cups, and poured them full. He drank alone at first.
Yōsuke sat across from him, lifted his cup, and joined him.
Neither spoke, the two men drinking in silence.
Before long the bottle was empty, and Yoriichi's face was flushed.
As if speaking only to himself, he began to murmur:
"I once had a wife. Her name was Uta. When I was ten years old, I ran away from home. That was when I met her—she was about my age. Her family had died of illness, leaving her alone. Too lonely to bear it, she went into the rice paddies, catching tadpoles to raise.
I too was alone, and I offered to live with her. She did not refuse. And so, we stayed together.
In the days that followed, I hunted and chopped wood, while Uta tended to the home. Though we had not known each other long, we were strangely in tune.
Awkward as I was, I cherished being with her—she spoke endlessly, telling me stories I had never heard. Two children who should have been adrift in the world instead became true family.
To me, I had always been like a kite cut loose from its string. It was Uta who grasped my hand, gave me a place to belong, and gave my heart a place to rest.
Ten years passed. We were wed, and she became pregnant with my child."
Yoriichi's face glowed with happiness as he spoke. But soon that joy twisted into hatred.
"But when Uta was near her time, I went down the mountain to fetch a midwife for her delivery.
Heaven played a cruel trick. I had planned to return by nightfall, but on the way back I met an old man who wished to reach the body of his son who had died in battle. His strength had failed him. So I carried him to his destination.
By the time I returned home… Uta, and the child within her, were gone. All that remained was a house full of blood and severed flesh.
I sat there holding their bodies, unblinking, for ten days. Only when a Demon Slayer swordsman entered and urged me to bury them did I stir again.
Through the Demon Slayer Corps, I learned the truth—that the one who killed them was Muzan Kibutsuji. And from that day forward, I became a Demon Slayer.
At last, I understood. My very existence in this world… was for the purpose of destroying Muzan Kibutsuji."
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