That night, Akira sat perched on a tree branch overlooking the Ubuyashiki mansion, the quiet estate spread out beneath him like a painting bathed in moonlight. In his hand, he turned over a small device, its surface faintly gleaming. His face is full of excitement.
A soft rustle of air announced Erika's arrival. She landed beside him and sat down without ceremony.
"Akira," she said, her voice low, "everything is in order. Just as you instructed. We can begin anytime."
Akira smiled, eyes still on the device. "That's good."
Erika hesitated, then asked, "Is it really about to begin?"
"Yes," Akira replied calmly. "It will be tonight."
At that, Erika's expression darkened. She fell silent, her gaze drifting toward the mansion below. Akira noticed immediately.
"What is it?" he asked. "Are you worried about something?"
Erika nodded slightly. "I'm worried about everyone." She didn't need to explain further. This was the final battle. She knew it, and so did he. "A lot of people will die here."
Akira's smile faded, replaced by a quiet seriousness. "We did everything we could," he said. "As much as possible, to make sure as many people survive as they can. The rest…" He paused. "The rest is just hoping for the best."
Erika let out a small sigh. "I know."
And once again, silence settled between them, heavy and expectant, as the night waited for what was about to come.
They sat together in silence until a familiar voice echoed in their minds.
"I might have lost my heart… but I still have yours."
Both of them froze.
Their faces turned red instantly.
Yes, even Akira turned faintly red.
"SELENA!" Erika shouted.
"Sis," Akira groaned, rubbing his temple. "Can you please let that go already?"
Selena had been using that line to torment them for a while now.
"Oh, come on," Selena giggled telepathically. "That line was so good. Brother, where did you even get it?"
"I told you," Akira replied mentally, trying to sound composed. "I came up with it myself."
"Yeah, right," Selena shot back. "I didn't expect lines like that from you."
"Oh, come on," Akira said. "You know I wrote light novels, right? I can come up with lines like that."
Selena hummed. "Where was that romance in your novel, then? Sure, there were some romantic undertones, but it wasn't a romance novel."
Akira opened his mouth to defend himself.
"Wait," Erika suddenly interrupted, turning toward him. "You wrote a novel?"
Akira blinked. "A light novel, actually. Well… it started as a web novel. But yes."
Erika stared at him. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
Akira scratched his cheek. "I… forgot, actually."
"He just wrote it because he wanted to try everything," Selena added casually. "But after it became a bit famous, he had to keep writing it."
"Really?" Erika asked, eyes widening.
"Yes," Selena continued. "And that's not the only thing. He basically did whatever he wanted to do at the time, a singer, a dancer, and a bunch of other things too. He lost interest in most of them and moved on, but he kept writing because he wanted to finish his story."
Erika looked impressed. "When we get back, I'll buy your book. Tell me its name."
Akira smiled faintly. "Sure…"
Beep.
The sudden sound cut him off.
Akira glanced down at the device in his hand and smiled faintly.
"Oh. Looks like they're closing in."
Erika stiffened at his words. "Closing in…? How much time do we have before they find this place?"
Akira answered calmly, as if reading the weather. "Based on their speed, distance, and numbers… about thirty minutes."
He had already blanketed the entire region with demon sensors, deployed with the help of the Kasugai Crows. Through them, he had sensed the approach of Nakime's eyeball familiars. They were already nearing the Ubuyashiki estate. Once they confirmed its location, Muzan himself would come.
"So… thirty minutes," Erika murmured.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she hesitated before speaking again, her voice dropping a notch. "Um… can I drink some of your blood? I haven't drunk any today yet."
Akira blinked, then, just a little awkwardly, nodded. "S-Sure."
He held out his hand.
Erika leaned in and bit into it, drinking his blood directly. Ever since that day, the rising tension incident, they had very deliberately decided that this was how she would drink for the time being. It was… safer. And far less awkward than the alternatives.
When she pulled back, she looked visibly more energetic. "Okay," she said, wiping her lips. "Then let's start the mission."
Akira nodded. "Yeah. I'll make my preparations to meet him, too."
Erika glanced at him, unease flickering in her eyes as she knew what he was planning to do. "Is it really okay to do that?"
Akira smiled faintly. "Well, a real Demon King should put on a performance for the heroes who finally come to challenge him, right?"
"But he is the Demon King," Erika said quietly.
Akira's smile sharpened into a smirk. "Yeah. But tonight, he is also the challenger."
Night draped itself over the Ubuyashiki estate.
The wisteria swayed gently in the evening breeze, its pale blossoms glowing faintly under the lantern light lining the paths. The mansion stood quiet, too quiet, like the world itself was holding its breath.
Then, space folded.
Reality seemed to tear open without a sound, and from that distortion stepped Muzan Kibutsuji, as if the night had parted just to let him pass. Pale face, red eyes gleamed beneath black hair, his expression calm, cold, and utterly devoid of emotion. And of course, he was dressed like Michael Jackson.
The moment his feet touched the ground, white smoke erupted from his body. The wisteria burned him on contact, but his regeneration was so fast that it looked less like damage and more like a deliberate effect, as though he were simply releasing cool, drifting smoke.
Muzan surveyed the estate with naked contempt.
"So this is where you hide…" he said softly.
He took a single step forward.
And stopped.
Hanging across the entrance, tied between pillars and nearby trees, were massive banners.
Bright.
Loud.
Absolutely shameless.
They were painted in bold, exaggerated detail.
THE BLUE SPIDER LILY
With cheerful arrows pointing inward.
And beneath it, large text:
"IT'S HERE."
Another banner flapped lazily in the breeze.
"YES, REALLY."
Another.
"DEFINITELY NOT A TRAP."
Muzan's eye twitched.
Then he saw the last one.
"YOU CAN RUN AWAY IF YOU ARE REALLY SCARED."
Silence fell.
Even the night insects stopped their chorus.
Muzan stared at the banners.
He had been planning a dignified, overwhelming entrance, one befitting a demon king.
"What… is this?"
For a moment, the absurdity of it all seemed to burn more than the wisteria.
His expression darkened.
Click.
He seethed.
And then, without another word, Muzan stepped forward and went inside anyway.
The doors inside the mansion opened.
A calm voice greeted him.
"Oh, you're finally here."
Muzan's eyes lifted.
Inside the room, a handsome boy with silver hair and softly glowing purple eyes sat casually at a table. Two chairs faced each other. One was empty. The other was occupied by the boy himself, calmly drinking tea as if this were nothing more than a quiet evening visit.
Muzan recognized him instantly.
The mysterious boy.
The one who had slain his Upper Moons.
Muzan spoke, his tone cold.
"So Ubuyashiki is not here."
Akira set his cup down gently.
"No," he said. "But I have something much more interesting."
Between his fingers, a blue spider lily bloomed.
Vivid.
Unreal.
For a single fraction of a second, Muzan's breath stilled.
Then the flower vanished.
Akira turned his hand palm-up, empty, and said lightly,
"Now you see it. Now you don't."
Muzan's killing intent spiked, flooding the room.
"…You."
Akira smiled faintly.
"Relax. The thing you're searching for is right here." He lifted his cup again. "But before we try to kill each other, I want to talk to you for a bit."
He gestured to the empty chair.
"Why don't you take a seat? Aren't you curious who I am?"
After a brief pause, Muzan sat down.
The tea was still warm.
Muzan did not touch the tea.
Akira did.
He took another slow sip, eyes half-lidded, as if Muzan Kibutsuji were not sitting only a few steps away, radiating killing intent heavy enough to suffocate the room.
Akira spoke casually.
"That blue spider lily… do you know where I got it?"
Muzan said nothing.
Akira continued anyway.
"It's behind Tanjiro's house. You were there too, you know." He tilted the cup slightly, watching the steam curl upward. "Too bad for you, it wasn't the flowering season."
Another sip.
"Tanjiro's family used it as tea," Akira said. "For common colds. Fever. Stuff like that."
A brief pause.
"Kind of funny, isn't it?"
Muzan's eyes narrowed.
"Are you trying to buy time?"
Akira shook his head lightly.
"No. I'm just curious."
He looked up at Muzan.
"How an immortal demon, someone given power like yours, could be so… incompetent."
The air grew heavier.
"I mean," Akira continued calmly, "you had a thousand years. Your enemies were normal humans." His eyes gleamed faintly. "And yet… You never conquered Japan."
The pressure in the room thickened, Muzan's killing intent surging.
Akira glanced at him, unbothered.
"How can someone with five brains be this incompetent?"
Silence pressed down like a weight.
Then Akira casually changed the subject.
"By the way, want to know about the Ubuyashiki family?"
Muzan remained silent.
Akira went on.
"Apparently, they share your bloodline. Cursed by the gods or something, because their bloodline gave birth to you." His voice remained even. "Every child born into their family was frail. And died young."
Muzan's expression darkened.
"Are you an idiot?" he snapped. "There is no god."
He leaned forward slightly.
"You know why?"
A cold smile crept onto his face.
"Because I have never faced any divine retribution."
Akira smiled faintly.
"Well," he said calmly, "I'm here, aren't I?"
Muzan's eyes locked onto him, sharp and cold.
"And who are you?"
Akira slowly placed the teacup down. The faint clink echoed unnaturally loud in the suffocating silence. He rose to his feet, movements unhurried, deliberate, like someone stepping onto a stage he had prepared long ago.
"My name is Hoshino Akira," he said.
His glowing purple eyes met Muzan's crimson ones.
"And I am your divine retribution."
At that exact moment.
The entire mansion exploded.
Light swallowed the night.
Wood, stone, and wisteria were torn apart in a deafening roar as the Ubuyashiki estate vanished in a storm of fire and force, the shockwave ripping through the darkness as if the world itself had drawn its first breath before the final battle.