Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
Demons.
They are beings that defy the laws of nature.
People who should have died turn into demons, continuing to slaughter those who come after.
Some fear demons, while others naturally flock to them.
In this respect, the Dragon's Heritage and demons are the same.
The power of immortality is too enticing.
Both distort the natural way of human existence.
The reason demons gradually increase is merely due to Muzan's own desire for complete immortality.
Having witnessed the twisted humanity caused by immortality in the world of Sekiro,
Tanjuro had long understood.
Whether it be Demons or Dragon's Heritage,
Both should be completely eradicated.
"Wolf… let's sever immortality together."
In his memory, Kuro spoke to him for the first time with such a pleading tone.
Sometimes, Tanjuro felt immensely fortunate.
The one possessing the Dragon's Heritage, Kuro, was a child with a sincere heart.
And the Demon Slayer Corps.
He turned his head to look at Giyu, who was dressing Tengen's wound beside him.
They were a group of children just like Kuro.
...
Yoshiwara Red-Light District.
In the gloomy sky, the rolling dark clouds gradually dispersed, revealing the bright moon that had been slightly obscured.
Unlike usual.
Whoosh!
Tanjuro straightened up, instinctively flicking the blade clean before slowly sheathing Kusabimaru.
He glanced sideways at the heads of Gyutaro and Daki, which had not yet vanished and were still speaking on the street not far away.
Gyutaro had not yet completely turned to ash, and the power of resurrection and the paper dolls had not appeared.
Immersing himself in his mind, he felt the combat memories of a man named Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
This new memory that surfaced in his mind did not emerge from a demon.
Instead, it rose from the depths of his consciousness as if it had always been there.
After a long while.
Tanjuro opened his eyes.
In the aftermath of the Upper Moon battle, he dared not delve deeply into the memory, only touching upon it briefly.
The perspective from the memory...
...was that of the ancestor of the Kamado family from hundreds of years ago.
Kamado Sumiyoshi.
...
On the street.
Gyutaro was silent for a moment, slowly turning his head to gaze at the moon in the sky.
At that moment, he also recalled the vow he had made with Ume—Always Stick Together.
In his amber, mirror-like eyes, the pitch-black night sky was reflected, where faint clouds, stirred by the wind, drifted slowly under the bright moon.
His emotions settled.
"We're going to die." Gyutaro's tone doesn't reveal his feelings.
Unfortunately, there's nothing in the world like in comic books, where a sudden surge of power and victory comes after a bout of reminiscing.
The world is cruel and unforgiving; it always has been.
It loves to deal a heavy blow just when you're complacent and looking forward to tomorrow.
That's why he had chosen to gamble all his power on his sister earlier, rather than attempting a futile full-force counterattack.
"…Yeah." Ume nodded, her stinging eyes blurry. "As expected, losing still stings a bit!"
At that moment.
Not far away.
Tanjuro's gaze lingered on the heads of Gyutaro and Daki. Watching the siblings slowly turn to ash, he set aside the memories in his mind for the moment.
With a step.
Pat.
He jumped down from the rooftop, landing before the two siblings' heads, blocking the bright moon from their view.
Gyutaro's drooping eyelids twitched.
"Hey… you're blocking the moon."
Gyutaro, who had been quietly staring at the moon, paused in his speech. Seeing no reaction from the newcomer, his eyes slowly shifted downward to look at Tanjuro, who stood with his back to the moon.
"What are you looking at me for?"
With death already declared, he had nothing to fear. Gyutaro's voice even held a trace of amusement.
"What? Scared of my appearance?"
He tilted his head back, a faint smirk curling at the corner of his mouth, his hoarse voice rising in pitch.
"You weren't this hesitant when you were cutting my neck just now."
Gyutaro's eyes, tinged with amusement, secretly observed Tanjuro's reaction. Upon noticing the man's expression remained unchanged.
His stiff smile faltered slightly.
'What a strange fellow.'
Beside him.
"Hmph!" Ume puffed out her cheeks, glaring fiercely at Tanjuro before turning her head away.
Perhaps because the two demons had become Upper Moon Three.
The rate at which their heads turned to ash was exceptionally slow now.
If their obsession was deep enough, Gyutaro actually had the ability to overcome the decapitation weakness, becoming the third demon after Muzan to not fear having his head cut off.
At that moment.
Tengen, his wounds bandaged, and Giyu also approached.
"This is anything but flashy." Tengen clutched his left arm, clenching his fist as a feeling of weakness washed over him, a look of melancholy on his face.
Fortunately, his left arm was still functional.
It was just temporarily broken to grip a sword due to the injury.
Reacting quickly and activating Transparent World, he had managed to dodge the fatal blow even from Ume's sudden attack.
"Uzui-san's left arm muscles are severed, but the bone isn't damaged."
Giyu's gaze paused on Gyutaro's head for a moment before he looked away and simply reported to Tanjuro.
"He's a dual-wielder and can still hold a sword. He can still be an active member of the Corps."
Hearing this.
"Hey!" Tengen, who had been curiously observing the two heads on the ground, suddenly bulged a vein in his forehead at Giyu's words and glared over indignantly.
"What are you implying by that sentence?"
Giyu's face remained stoic; he didn't reply.
"I understand." After nodding to Giyu, Tanjuro quickly averted his gaze and crouched down.
Lowering his head, he met the confused eyes of Gyutaro.
"After a demon dies, they go to hell to atone for their past sins."
"This is true," he said.
"…Hell?" Hearing this, Ume, who had been staring blankly, suddenly focused her eyes and looked over.
"Ah…?" Gyutaro's expression turned quite strange. He raised an eyebrow, his shark-like teeth exposed as his mouth opened.
"…And here I thought you were going to say something important… is that all?"
Hell.
What kind of legend from what era was that?
His head, lying there, trembled slightly; he almost laughed out loud.
"Even if we really do go to hell, so what…"
"You might not care."
Tanjuro interrupted him, turning his head to look at Ume, who was also staring at him. Their eyes met for a moment.
"But what about your sister?"
He turned back, his dark crimson eyes, as calm and deep as Giyu's, reflecting Gyutaro's gradually startled expression.
"She's going to hell too." His tone was grim.
"Huh…?" Mentioning his sister made Gyutaro's expression stiffen. He hesitated for a moment, his tone very unnatural, seemingly with a hint of anger.
"What are you trying to do?"
'What was the point of saying this? Just to provoke me… but that was meaningless.'
Gyutaro's gaze gradually darkened, his jaw tightening.
Seeing that the ash had already spread to Gyutaro's chin, Tanjuro quickened his questioning pace:
"Tell me what you know about Muzan."
His expression was serious.
"The more, the better."
Hearing this.
"Huh?"
"Why would I?" Gyutaro's suspicion grew. The corners of his mouth drooped.
"That has nothing to do with going to hell, does it?"
"Do some good deeds. Maybe your sister's punishment in hell will be lighter."
When Tanjuro said this, he didn't look at Gyutaro but instead gazed at the empty street beside him.
"The Demon King's sins are far greater than yours. Telling a demon slayer about your master counts as early atonement."
Hearing this, Gyutaro slowly fell into thought.
He frowned, his eyes puzzled, as he lowered his head in contemplation.
'Was that how it worked?'
---
-Location: Infinity Castle-
Creak… creak…
Meanwhile,
Crimson lumps of flesh writhed and crawled, squeezing together, gradually merging and coalescing.
A vaguely human-shaped Muzan appeared on the throne, gripping the armrests, panting heavily.
"Haah…" He stumbled, supporting himself on the throne, fine sweat beading on his pale skin, glistening faintly under the reflection of the warm-toned lights.
Muzan raised his arm, glanced at his trembling hand, then let out a long sigh, letting his arm hang limply as if exhausted.
Since that snowy night, encounters with that man had become increasingly frequent.
It was as if he himself had initiated this tormenting experience.
He felt a pang of regret inside.
If he hadn't gone out that day, would none of these current events have happened?
Muzan's eyes darted back and forth anxiously as he thought about recent events.
The number of Upper Moons was rapidly decreasing.
In just a few months, the Upper Moon deaths, which hadn't occurred for centuries, were happening one after another.
Only that man could achieve what no one had before.
Of the six Upper Moons, only Akaza and Douma remained active outside.
At this thought, Muzan's pupils suddenly contracted.
If all the Upper Moons died, then next…
'It's fine.'
He thought to himself.
'Inside this underground sanctuary, no one could find him.'
'As long as I stay here, I will survive!'
In his crimson eyes, the hope called survival flickered.
"Until I find the blue spider lily!"
---
-Location: Yoshiwara District-
"The Infinity Castle's location is underground."
Gyutaro said to Tanjuro concisely and forcefully.
"It's controlled by a Biwa Demon."
He had ultimately chosen to believe Tanjuro's words.
Although he hated the Demon Slayer Corps' flashy, self-righteous attitude and their "We are the righteous, you are the evil" demeanor.
It reminded him of the samurai who burned Ume, which he detested.
But...
Gyutaro glanced sideways at Ume, whose eyes were trembling.
He could curse viciously, but Ume couldn't.
Thinking back to what Tanjuro had said about hell.
If it were to lighten the burden on his little sister, Gyutaro wouldn't think twice about burning down the world.
"However, I don't know the exact location." After pondering for a moment, under Tanjuro's watchful gaze, he continued.
"At the last Upper Moon meeting, Muzan-sa—Muzan sent Hantengu and Gyokko somewhere."
"Not long after that, Ume and I became Upper Moon Three. Those two are probably dead by now."
Although Gyutaro hadn't been physically present at the Upper Moon meeting, he had been awake and knew everything discussed.
Gyutaro's eyes drooped, his voice low and hoarse, and his gaze shifted slightly.
"Ah… right."
"Muzan also had Doma-san, the current Upper Moon One, recruit followers to search for the Blue Spider Lily."
"His followers are called… the Paradise Faith Cult, or something like that."
Hearing this crucial information, Tanjuro nodded and pressed further.
"Anything else?"
"There's…" Gyutaro's voice grew fainter as he fell into thought.
He hadn't paid much attention to Muzan's activities; such things meant nothing to him.
Gyutaro held no particular feelings toward Muzan; for him, the only important thing was survival.
Seeing that the other seemed at a loss for words.
Tanjuro changed his approach, thinking for a moment to confirm his earlier speculation.
"Then…" He hesitated briefly.
"Kokushibo. Has he had any recent news or made some movements?"
"Kokushibo?" Gyutaro looked at Tanjuro in confusion, paused for a moment, then suddenly understood.
"The former Upper Moon One?" He glanced at Tanjuro, seemingly puzzled why he would ask about Kokushibo.
"He's dead."
"Muzan mentioned it at the last Upper Moon meeting."
Gyutaro answered truthfully.
After speaking, he couldn't help but glance strangely at the stunned Tanjuro once more.
The moment his strongest Blood Demon Art was blocked by Tanjuro, Gyutaro had formed a rough idea in his mind.
He had previously wondered why Kokushibo died; now it seemed clear. Perhaps he had been killed by this man.
That was also why Gyutaro's first instinct had been to flee.
Now, the one who had killed Kokushibo was asking what happened to him; naturally, Gyutaro found it strange.
Suddenly, Gyutaro's eyes widened slightly.
'Could it be… that someone else killed the former Upper One?'
If that were the case.
Then wouldn't there be two people with strong combat power?
In his heart, he silently mourned for three seconds on behalf of Akaza and Douma.
After waiting for a while and realizing Tanjuro was still lost in thought, he twitched the corner of his mouth and called out impatiently.
"…What's wrong? Zoning out for so long."
"Hey!" Gyutaro looked down, noticing the ash beginning to spread around him, and called out anxiously.
"…Nothing." Tanjuro snapped back to reality. In his mind, all the pieces had now connected and been confirmed.
"Good riddance." He murmured.
"?"
Gyutaro frowned, his expression puzzled.
Ume, beside him, quietly listened to the conversation between her brother and Tanjuro, her gaze fixed on the bright moon.
Hell.
She glanced sideways at her restless brother.
Let him take this chance to atone now.
Just as he had always protected her when they were human.
This time, it was her turn to protect her brother.
She thought this, remaining silent.
"I have no more questions." Tanjuro nodded, slowly rising to his feet and stepping back.
"Thank you."
"Goodbye."
Watching Gyutaro gradually turning to ash on the ground, he bid farewell this way.
Gyutaro's remaining eye watched Ume slowly disintegrate until finally, he too turned to ash alongside her.
...
Within a pitch-black space.
This was probably the waiting area before hell.
Gyutaro opened his eyes, slowly lowering his head to glance, almost instinctively, at his hands—now those of a younger self.
'Huh?'
His grimy little hands showed no trace of being a demon.