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The gorgeous crimson sunset gradually deepened into somber darkness, and the last sliver of sunlight vanished behind the mountain range.
The golden edges that the setting sun had painted upon the peaks faded into oblivion.
Night had fallen.
A cool mountain breeze threaded through the forest, stirring a few tattered leaves.
The Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen lurking in the woods felt the environment grow dim and instinctively softened their breathing.
The wind brushed past the swordsmen's hair and the hems of their haori, gradually chilling their skin.
It swept over the estate gate, rippling the surface of the babbling brook, and set the clusters of wisteria blossoms hanging from the flower trellis swaying.
Carrying the fragrance of wisteria, the breeze entered the courtyard, chimed the wind bells beneath the eaves, and finally blew into the main hall whose four sliding doors stood wide open.
Kagaya sat upright in his wheelchair, allowing the flower-scented wind to tousle his hair.
The vivid blue blossoms of the spider lilies in his lap swayed gently in the breeze.
"Have you come, Muzan Kibutsuji?" Kagaya suddenly spoke in a soft voice.
"My intuition tells me you are already here."
"What a disgusting intuition."
A man in a formal suit and fedora appeared abruptly in the courtyard.
The progenitor of demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, had stepped into the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
His appearance was indistinguishable from a human's: slightly wavy black hair, one hand holding his hat to shade his eyes.
As he lifted his head, he revealed rose-red pupils utterly alien to humankind.
Those slit, cat-like eyes radiated pure, icy malice.
"Are you the current head of the Ubuyashiki Clan?" He looked at Kagaya with contempt. "Already crippled? What a repulsive sight."
"Muzan Kibutsuji."
Kagaya met his gaze without fear and smiled. "I have always wanted to meet you."
"Meet me?" Muzan seemed to find it laughable. "The moment you meet me is the moment you die."
"We share the same bloodline," Kagaya said, staring at Muzan. "Because a monster like you was born into our clan, the Ubuyashiki bloodline was cursed by the gods."
His eyes remained fixed on the demon who had finally appeared before him.
"Ever since then, every child born to the Ubuyashiki has been frail and short-lived. Even when we followed the shrine priest's advice and married women from priestly families, none of the children lived past thirty."
His tone was inscrutable.
"This is divine punishment upon our clan—a curse that can only be lifted by your complete annihilation."
"How tedious." Muzan sneered.
"What does any of that have to do with me? I have slaughtered tens of thousands, yet I have never been punished—not by gods, not by Buddha!"
His expression twisted into disgust as he glared at Kagaya.
"Only you! The Ubuyashiki Clan's Demon Slayer Corps—clinging to me for a thousand years like irritating flies!"
Kagaya replied calmly, "Most of the children in the Corps have lost loved ones to demons. Every heart harbors hatred for you. As long as demons exist, that hatred will never fade."
"Utterly ridiculous!" Muzan's face contorted with revulsion. "Typhoons and earthquakes claim human lives too—why does no one hate typhoons or earthquakes?"
He began walking step by step toward the main hall where Kagaya sat.
"Weak humans should simply treat me like a natural disaster, rejoice that they survived, and go on living. Why must you persist in hounding me?"
At that moment, the Hashira lurking throughout the estate according to Kaito's plan began to stir—only to discover they could no longer move or even speak.
Suspicion toward Kaito, the architect of this predicament, warred with frantic urgency as they listened to the exchange.
"Please remain calm, everyone," Kaito's voice suddenly rang in their ears. "Do not disrupt the plan."
On the other side, Muzan had already stepped onto the veranda beneath the eaves.
Kagaya merely shook his head at the approaching demon.
"You have been divorced from humanity for far too long, Muzan," he said with steady composure. "For a thousand years you have chased eternal life, yet you fail to comprehend that human emotions and will can be passed down indefinitely. Those precious things are what truly achieve eternity."
"Silence!"
Muzan lunged forward, claws reaching for the flower basin in Kagaya's lap.
"Hand over the blue spider lily and die!"
The Hashira's eyes bulged in fury.
"Rip!"
The sound of paper tearing filled the air. The Kagaya before Muzan—along with the blue spider lilies—shredded into fluttering scraps.
At the same instant, a pentagram-shaped magic circle spun rapidly beneath Muzan's feet, emitting an eerie blue glow.
Muzan's expression darkened; he shot backward.
But just as he neared the threshold of the main hall, countless neatly aligned paper talismans suspended in the air outside suddenly materialized and blazed with light.
"Damn it!"
Muzan dodged back inside the room.
"Good! Very good! So it's that onmyōji called Uchiha Kaito—you have angered me far too many times!!"
"Greetings, Muzan Kibutsuji."
Kaito's voice echoed from every direction.
"The real blue spider lily is in my hands. Come and take it if you want it."
"Excellent! Kaito!!"
Sunlight lingered stubbornly outside; Muzan dared not charge out and could only rage impotently within the hall.
"Indeed, Uchiha Kaito at your service."
Kaito answered nonchalantly and simultaneously released the Hashira from their bindings.
"My apologies, everyone," he transmitted. "Please wait just a little longer—emerge only after the barrier is complete."
Outside the estate, in the east, west, south, and north, a paper-shikigami clone of Kaito stood just beyond the courtyard wall in each direction.