Episode 281: A Silent Farewell, Demon King Muzan's Confession of the Past...
〜Tokyo Ghoul World〜
"It's finally over…"
Inside the Anteiku cafe, Manager Yoshimura watched the scene before him, unable to help but sigh inwardly:
"A battle between humans and ghouls, is it? Perhaps… perhaps one day, ghouls and humans will also be able to completely resolve their grievances in this world."
However….
Manager Yoshimura couldn't help but lower his head; the question had always existed in his heart.
Must they be exterminated completely? Is there really no possibility of reconciliation?
If there were such a possibility, he would definitely grasp it tightly.
But… relying on him as a single ghoul, it was absolutely impossible.
"Kaneki Ken… did you see that?"
Only one person could mediate between ghouls and humans, and that was Kaneki Ken, who was originally human.
"If there really is such a day, I hope I can see it too."
—
『 On the other side, Kiriya also let out a sigh of relief, collapsing directly onto the ground and fainting.
After all, although he was the commander of this fierce battle, he was actually still just a child.
And on the battlefield.
After the brief joy, someone suddenly realized:
"It's not over yet! So many injured people are still waiting for us to help and treat them!"
Upon hearing the reminder, everyone quickly dispersed and ran to the wounded to prepare for rescue.
The scene shifts…..
"Is Muzan really dead?"
Tanjiro was stunned. He looked at the two people beside him, urging them to slap him to confirm if it was real.
Just at this moment, Inosuke punched Zenitsu beside him, sending him flying.
"It's real… this is truly real!"
"Hey, if he told you to hit him, why did you come at me! Inosuke, aren't you doing this on purpose?"
Zenitsu complained as he pounced on Inosuke and took off his mask.
At this moment, happy smiles appeared on the faces of the three.
Meanwhile, several demon slayers moved Gyomei to the wall and were trying to treat his wounds.
But just as a demon slayer wanted to apply medicine, they heard Gyomei's weak voice:
"Leave me be… do not waste these precious medicines on me…"
Seeing his teammates still unwilling to give up on saving him, Gyomei continued:
"I know my physical condition best… go and help… those young people who need care more."
Hearing this, a member of the Demon Slayer Corps couldn't help but shed tears and said with a choked voice:
"But… but… You are also very young…"
"Your future still has… infinitely bright possibilities…"
As his words fell, the surrounding members burst into tears.
Soon, the sound of weeping filled the air.
Gyomei slowly raised his head, trying to show a comforting smile, and the surroundings gradually quieted down.
In fact, Gyomei had long understood; whether it was the mark he unlocked at twenty-seven or his severely mangled legs, all these told him he could not be healed….
All swordsmen who unlocked the mark were destined to die at twenty-five; the fact that he, at twenty-seven, could hold on for this long was already incredible….
"Promise me, okay? This is my last wish…"
After saying this, Gyomei gently closed his eyes.
Suddenly, he felt a hand gently rest on his wrist. This unexpected warmth made him open his eyes again.
"Oh… it's you all…"
It turned out that Gyomei saw the children who had once lived with him day and night. They all rushed up, hugging him tightly.
"Teacher… over these years… we really wanted to say sorry for what happened back then! It made you sad for so many years!"
"The time we left the temple wasn't to run away; we knew the teacher couldn't see, so we wanted to go get farm tools from outside to protect the teacher."
The children's tone was choked with sobs, tears welling up in their eyes. One of the children added:
"I was planning to go find other adults to come and help!"
Gyomei smiled, slowly stroking the children's heads.
"So that was… it…"
They continued to apologize incessantly:
"Sorry… we shouldn't have driven Kaigaku out of the temple back then, but everyone did that out of helplessness; it wasn't intentional to deceive you."
So that's it… I see.
Everyone was just trying different methods to protect him, but in the end, they failed to usher in a new dawn.
As the misunderstandings of many years were finally cleared, tears quietly streaked down Gyomei's cheeks.
"It is I who failed to fulfill my duty, failing to protect you all well… I'm sorry…"
Watching the children crowding around him, everyone's tears rolled down uncontrollably.
"Don't apologize anymore… we respect you the most, Teacher…"
"So… we have always been waiting for you to come back!"
"….."
Gyomei reached out a large hand, and all the little hands grasped it instantly.
"Is that really so… thank you… Then let's go together!"
The warm sunlight shone on his face, and tears had long since flowed out silently.
At the end of his life, Gyomei's smile was so bright….
For him, everything was complete and without regrets.
Feeling Gyomei's aura slowly fade away, everyone around clenched their fists, tears gushing like a fountain.
On the other side….
"Kaburamaru…"
Mitsuri slowly opened her eyes. At this moment, Obanai was holding her tightly.
"Iguro…-san… we won, right?"
Obanai's weak voice gently entered Mitsuri's ears.
"Yeah… we won… Muzan has been eliminated…."
Saying this, Obanai's tone was clearly a bit spirited, but his physical exhaustion made his voice intermittent.
"That's great… I feel like my whole body doesn't hurt at all!"
"It seems… There isn't much time left for me…."
Thinking of the cute girl in front of him, a smile appeared on Obanai's face, and he said slowly:
"Yeah… I don't have much time left either… so don't be afraid."
"You will always have someone by your side…"
Mitsuri's eyes became moist….
"But… but I don't want you to leave…"
"I really… feel like I haven't been of much use… I'm sorry…"
Hearing Mitsuri's constant self-reproach, Obanai felt a deep ache in his heart, and he gently comforted her:
"Don't ever think like that… please… don't say that about yourself anymore…"
As he spoke, Obanai's thoughts returned to the past.
"Do you remember… when we first met?"
"Of course… it was when Iguro-san found me, lost, in the Master's courtyard…"
"No… it was precisely because of your ordinary appearance that moved me, allowing me to find release."
"That day, you had a crisp and pleasant laugh, and would panic over small things. Although you went through many hardships to become a Hashira, you remained so positive and upbeat."…
"Talking to you feels special, making one feel like they've become an ordinary person again… I believe the other Hashira must have the same feeling. Your kindness and joy have unconsciously healed countless wounded hearts."
Obanai stopped, coughed once; speaking so much had already pushed his body beyond its limits.
"Therefore… as long as I am here… no one dares to be rude to you!"
Hearing this, Mitsuri couldn't hold back her sobbing anymore, and tears dripped down her cheeks onto Obanai.
"I… really like you, Iguro-san!"
"The food tastes the sweetest when I'm with you!"
"Because no matter when, you always look at me with such warm eyes."
"Iguro-san… Iguro-san… please promise me one thing…"
At this moment, perhaps due to nervousness or severe pain, Mitsuri's body suddenly trembled slightly.
"If… if I can be reborn in the next life!"
"Would you… Be willing to take me as your wife?"
"Of course I will!"…..
Obanai answered without hesitation, his own tears sliding down as well.
"As long as you accept me! In the next life, I will do my best to protect you!"
"I will let you… Let Mitsuri have a happy and complete life!"
This long-overdue confession was finally spoken.
The two soulmates, who had been looked at differently since childhood, finally walked hand in hand into another world.
"Hmm? Where is this?"
Sanemi's eyes were filled with darkness, and then the images of Genya and his family appeared.
"Genya? Everyone is here."
The scene over there was so warm, while Sanemi's side had only endless darkness.
He vaguely saw a familiar figure in the darkness.
"Mother?"
The figure in the darkness suddenly trembled, as if about to walk away.
Only then did Sanemi shout:
"Mother! Are you here?"
"Mother… you can't go over there…"
Hearing his mother's voice, Sanemi became even more agitated, grabbing her hand and yelling:
"What are you saying? Let's go over together! Come here quickly!"
However, his mother remained motionless.
"No… mother… really can't go over…"
"I hurt my own family… so…"
His mother covered her face, and tears slid down silently.
And Sanemi looked at his mother in front of him, revealing a gentle smile he had never shown before.
"I understand… then I'll go with you."
"Regardless of anything, if I leave too early, that kid Genya will definitely be sad."
No longer the fierce expression from before, Sanemi's smile now was like a little boy's; in fact, he had always just been a child.
"Mom… just let me carry you on my back and let's go together."
Sanemi held his mother's hand, but at this moment, another hand separated them.
"Let go… this kid is coming with me!"
"You old geezer! Bastard! Let go of my mom!"
Sanemi was thrown far away, and then his father's voice came over:
"Whether it's here or there, neither is a place for you to go!"
"You are my son, and your body is still sturdy enough!"
He saw Sanemi's father and mother holding hands; his mother's eyes were moist, while his father still had a stern face.
Then, Sanemi lost consciousness.
Amidst the sobbing of the people around him, Sanemi slowly opened his eyes.
And the Demon Slayer Corps members responsible for treating Sanemi only heard one sentence:
"Urgh"….
This tragic slaughter did not take Sanemi's life; instead, it gave him and everyone else the courage to keep going.
On the other side of the battle, a member suddenly let out a boar-like howl; it turned out that the over-excited Inosuke had bitten him.
At this moment, the "boar-head" lying on the ground, spitting blood, was still energetic, while the one on the other side was completely different.
"Brothers, if I really don't make it, please tell my love, Nezuko, and by the way, tell her how brave I am and how much I love her." 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Kamado Tanjiro (Demon Slayer): "Hey, hey, hey, Nezuko hasn't agreed to be yours yet, how can you just say that directly?" ]
[ Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer): "Hehehe." ]
[ .....]
『 The two teammates next to him couldn't help but interrupt:
"She didn't agree to marry you at all, okay?"
"Why does this guy talk so much nonsense!"
Over at Giyu's side, two companions couldn't stop him despite his severe injuries.
"Where is Tanjiro? Is he still alive?"
Facing Giyu, who kept asking about Tanjiro's condition while ignoring his own injuries, the members could only try to persuade him again and again.
"In short… your injuries are really serious, please let us treat you!"
However, Giyu continued to go his own way, walking toward the place where the battle was most intense.
Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, his comrades had no choice but to follow closely behind him.
When his eyes locked onto Tanjiro, Giyu's whole body was trembling slightly.
Amidst the bloodstains, Tanjiro knelt on the ground, gripping his weapon tightly.
"He has no breath… and no heartbeat."
"Tanjiro…"
At this moment, everyone was overwhelmed with grief, covering their faces and crying; only Giyu stood there, tears falling silently.
Staggering over to Tanjiro, he repeatedly called out the other's name.
"Tanjiro… Tanjiro…"
"I failed to protect you once again!"
Lowering his head and kneeling on the ground, Giyu let his tears soak the ground.
"So I have always been protected by others…"
"Please… forgive me…"
Past events were like smoke; the heaviness of losing Sabito had been hard for Giyu to let go of, and now the person who had saved him had left in the same way.
Not far away, Nezuko hurried over, but the news that greeted her was truly heartbreaking. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Keqing (Genshin Impact): "After finally turning back into a human." ]
[ Keqing (Genshin Impact): "She had to see her own brother like this." ]
[ Rimuru Tempest (Tensura): "In that world, for the final victory, everyone really sacrificed so much." ]
[ Kamado Tanjiro (Demon Slayer): "Nezuko..." ]
[ Kamado Tanjiro (Demon Slayer): "Since the future Nezuko can recover, I will definitely work even harder." ]
[ Paimon (Genshin Impact): "Perhaps, this reward will allow him to recover?" ]
[ Kamado Tanjiro (Demon Slayer): "Really?" ]
[ March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail): "It definitely will. We've received so many rewards before; this time it must be fine too." ]
[ .....]
『 In the dead of night… countless tentacles in the shadows wrapped around an infant.
Suddenly, Muzan's voice slowly sounded.
"In fact... the shadow of death has been shrouding me every moment."
Muzan's voice continued: "When I was still in my mother's womb, my heart stopped beating several times."
"When I was born, I had no pulse and no breath, like an infant destined not to survive; even the midwife thought I was a stillborn."…..
"My parents were also convinced by others that I shouldn't have survived."
"I only remember that at that time, I was placed among a pile of wood and flowers, just about to be set on fire."
"Finally, at that moment, I struggled and cried out."
"At that time, I made up my mind that no matter what, I had to survive; I must survive!"
"So... I fought desperately for my only wish and finally turned it into reality."
"I gained immortality, yet the power of one person alone is limited."
A sinister smile appeared on Muzan's face.
"Ubuyashiki, now I must admit that what you said before was right."
"All things have a beginning and an end; only the will can endure."…
"You are right; I don't have any impression of the humans I killed. To them, death is the end."
"Then what is the truth?"….
Muzan let out a harsh laugh. At this moment, his plan was not a complete failure yet.
"That will be passed down from generation to generation is like a spark that will never be extinguished. Even a powerhouse like me is eventually defeated by it."
Muzan's smile vanished, tears welled up, unable to stop...
"The scene before me touches me deeply, and I cannot help but shed tears. My existence will soon be extinguished by the sunlight, but my will, just like you humans, is also eternal and indestructible!"
Muzan's hand gripped the sleeping Tanjiro. 』
『 .....』