The night was unusually still, the pale glow of the new moon casting faint silver light across the rooftops of the Entertainment District. Karina stood at the edge of the roof, Mirage Blade in hand, her violet eyes scanning the city with practiced vigilance. The streets were quiet, deceptively calm after the devastation of the Upper Rank siblings, yet an undercurrent of tension lingered.
Tengen leaned beside her, his presence steady and protective, while Tanjiro and Inosuke patrolled the surrounding alleys. The team had grown tighter, more synchronized than ever, yet even their combined vigilance could not obscure the sense of looming threat. Karina's instincts prickled—a premonition sharper than any blade, honed by years of survival and Arcane mastery.
A subtle ripple in the air drew her attention. Mirage Blade arcs flickered faintly around her, senses heightening. The shadow she had long feared—the shadow of her European mission, the demon she had failed to kill years ago—was approaching.
From the darkness, a figure emerged, tall and composed, exuding a malevolent aura that made the air thicken. Karina's posture remained calm, but her eyes narrowed imperceptibly. So, it has followed me…
The demon's gaze, sharp and calculating, met hers. Recognition passed silently between them—one predator acknowledging another. Years of unresolved history, failure, and unfinished vengeance converged in that single glance.
"Karina," the demon's voice was a smooth, chilling whisper, laced with contempt and amusement. "I've been waiting for this reunion."
Karina's fingers tightened around her blade, Mirage Blade arcs shimmering brighter. "This time," she said, voice steady, carrying the weight of experience, skill, and determination, "you will not escape."
Tengen, Tanjiro, and Inosuke tensed behind her, ready for any sudden strike. Yet all attention, all anticipation, centered on Karina—her presence commanding, her aura sharp and overwhelming. She was no longer just a foreign variable; she was the force that could confront even the demons that had haunted her past.
The European figure smirked, circling cautiously. "You've grown… stronger than I imagined. But strength alone cannot undo the debts of history."
Karina's violet eyes glimmered in the moonlight. "Then I will settle them. Tonight, I close the past. And tomorrow, I face Muzan."
The wind shifted, carrying the scent of rain and battle, the city holding its breath. Every instinct, every Arcane rhythm, every shred of training and survival coalesced in Karina's stance. She was ready, poised between vengeance and duty, between past failures and future confrontations.
The figure lunged with sudden speed, a flash of malevolent power aimed directly at her. Karina moved with fluid precision, Reality Fracture flickering subtly, Mirage Blade arcs intercepting the strike with controlled lethality. The clash was instantaneous, silent, and decisive—the beginning of a confrontation that promised to test every skill, every decision, and every ounce of resilience she possessed.
Above them, the new moon rose faintly, casting silver light over a city that had already witnessed history rewritten. Karina's violet eyes reflected determination, mastery, and the unshakable certainty that this time, history would not unfold the same way.
The shadow of the past had arrived, and with it, the first steps toward an inevitable reckoning with the one who had orchestrated centuries of terror: Muzan Kibutsuji.