Uzui gasped for breath. The moment his blade cut through the neck had felt unbearably sluggish, the first time since becoming a Demon Slayer that the Nichirin in his hand had seemed so dull.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Even as the corpse collapsed, new crimson scythe blades began to form. Without hesitation, he grabbed Muichiro and prepared to retreat.
Hiru, however, did the opposite. He leapt down with Yuichiro, reaching out to seize the two disintegrating bodies.
In an instant, the blood-red scythe blades about to erupt turned into green crystals and clattered to the ground.
Seeing this, Gyutaro immediately recognized the unfamiliar figure.
"It's you! You actually dare—"
"Yes, yes, yes. It's me." Hiru picked up Gyutaro's head, his nails digging into it. "I'm glad you recognized me, but don't even think about telling Muzan. That would be very troublesome for me.
"Now that I look at you more closely, your bone structure is quite beautiful too. If demons left anything behind after death, I might have wanted to do something with you."
"You bastard! Muzan will definitely kill you! Trash like you—absolutely—!"
"Look." Hiru lifted Daki's head. "She's a beautiful girl, isn't she?"
Only her head remained.
The ornate tattoos and demonic markings from her transformation had already faded, yet her face, even with her eyes closed, was still breathtaking enough to stir the heart.
A soft, sweet smile lingered on her lips, as if she were lost in a pleasant dream.
Even as her head slowly crumbled into ash, that quiet beauty remained untouched.
"I saw a little of your memories. You really are a good older brother." He lowered his gaze, his voice softening. "Even in that kind of environment, you never once thought of abandoning your sister. You gave everything you had to raise her. You did well. Truly."
"I don't need approval from someone like you!" Gyutaro's voice turned vicious again. "People like you who live high above, what would you know?
"You have no idea how people like us, born in filth, struggle just to survive. Someone like you, born into comfort, has no right to judge us!"
"A life of comfort, huh…" Hiru looked at him calmly. "Compared to you, I suppose it was. But as time passes, you're starting to forget, aren't you?"
"This girl's name."
"I haven't forgotten. How could I ever forget…?" Most of his head had already crumbled away. His remaining eye stayed fixed on Daki's peaceful face as tears finally fell. "A name like 'Daki' could never suit my sister.
"She is Ume. She is… my little Ume."
"Ume… what a beautiful name." Hiru smiled softly. "Just as beautiful as she is."
"Yeah… Ume is the most beautiful…"
The head in his hand crumbled into ash.
Amid the others' confusion, he looked toward an empty patch of ground, his smile growing gentler.
"They left together… properly."
"Hey. Don't go pitying demons." Uzui rested his twin blades on his shoulder. "No matter how tragic their past, they're still man-eating demons."
"I'm not pitying them." Hiru shook his head. "Judging by when they became demons, dying now could even be considered a long life. They've lived quite well for a long time. What's there to pity?
"I'm just regretting the loss of Ume's beauty."
"But didn't you say you'd plead for them to be spared?" Yuichiro frowned. "Don't you hate demons the most?"
"Hm? I only told you to stop and let him go. I never said I'd spare him." Hiru looked at him as if it were obvious. "I won't spare demons, even if I really like that face.
"At most, I'd keep her a little longer. Maybe make a sculpture or paint a portrait as a keepsake."
Yuichiro fell silent, clearly at a loss.
Uzui sighed, glancing at him.
"I used to think you just had a bit of twisted taste. Turns out I was completely wrong. Your personality is downright terrible."
Hiru laughed. "Not too late to realize that now. So, how does it feel? An Upper Moon."
Uzui frowned.
"If this level is the weakest, then to be safe, it would take at least four Hashira to handle one. And that's assuming proper coordination.
"Though that bear-like guy, Himejima, could probably handle one alone, but he'd definitely need to awaken his Slayer Mark."
"Himejima…" Hiru rubbed his chin. "For a human, his strength is extraordinary. Even in an era full of samurai, he would have been a renowned figure.
"But he's already past the ideal age to awaken the Slayer Mark. If he can't quickly learn to suppress it, death is inevitable.
"And you, Muichiro…"
Muichiro looked up, innocent. "What is it?"
"Why did you go and awaken your Slayer Mark…" Hiru sighed. "Suppressing it isn't easy. And after twenty-five, even the slightest mistake could cost you your life."
"Hmm… I don't know. It just happened naturally…" Muichiro touched his face. "It felt easier than I expected. And it doesn't really hurt."
He still looked uneasy, letting out another sigh.
"I'll go back and discuss it with my brother. Maybe we can find a way to seal the Slayer Mark. As for you, Uzui, don't bother. You fought that hard and still didn't awaken one. Probably no hope."
"Can you say something nice for once?" Uzui clicked his tongue, then glanced at the crystals scattered across the ground. "Those are from your Demon Blood Art, right? What are they for?"
"Paint." Hiru crouched down, picking up the crystals. "What kind of pigment do you think can last hundreds of years without fading?"
"Paint…" Uzui rubbed his chin. "Now that you mention it, you're always painting. Those pigments… are they all made from demon crystals?"
"Most of them. Sometimes I use normal pigments if I can't get the right color." He clapped his hands lightly. "But normal paint can't compare to pigment made from demons."
"Then those paintings signed as Yomi and Asahi…"
"Hmm… the ones that are still perfectly preserved probably all have demon crystals mixed in. It also depends on the concentration of demon blood. Sometimes you have to kill dozens of demons just to get a crystal the size of a fingertip."
Uzui looked away in silence.
Thinking of the vividly colored paintings passed down through generations, he felt a growing sense of discomfort.
That really is a lot of killing.