"You've come, haven't you?"
Yohan understood that the demons had likely already pinpointed their location.
He merely gave a brief warning to the Demon Slayer Corps. After all, letting Muzan find the location of their headquarters was part of the plan.
….
"Lord Muzan, all demons outside have returned."
"We've located the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters."
Nakime reported as she appeared before Muzan.
After receiving Muzan's blood, Nakime's power had surged dramatically. Her countless single-eyed spawns had finally succeeded in locating the Ubuyashiki estate.
Even with the disruption caused by Yohan, she could still confirm with certainty that this was the Demon Slayer Corps' stronghold.
"Then let's begin."
Muzan gave the order.
….
Night fell.
Cold winds howled as a crescent moon hung in the sky.
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed over the gravel path.
Draped in jet-black robes, Muzan Kibutsuji appeared within the courtyard.
"Ah… You've arrived, haven't you?"
Ubuyashiki Kagaya lay quietly inside the room, his wife Amane seated beside him with her head bowed.
"A first meeting indeed… Muzan Kibutsuji."
"Such a pitiful sight, Ubuyashiki."
Muzan sneered, mocking him.
But Kagaya paid no attention. His voice calm, he said,
"You… have finally come to me."
"So close now… Muzan Kibutsuji."
Unlike the final battle in the original timeline, Kagaya was still in better health here—he could still sit upright with Amane's support, though his body was frail.
"The Ubuyashiki clan. The Demon Slayer Corps. A thousand years… of chasing after you… demon!"
He gazed into Muzan's crimson eyes, pupils slit like a cat's. The man who had haunted his family for generations was finally here, right before him.
"Fools who don't know their place."
"Disgusting—how utterly repulsive."
"Why didn't you just die off ages ago instead of constantly getting in my way like ants?"
Muzan looked down on Kagaya, his eyes filled with contempt and disgust.
"Yes…"
"Doctors have long told me my body didn't have much time left."
"But I've held on—for the sole reason of killing you… Muzan."
"How laughable. An ant dreaming of slaying a god. Tonight, I will crush this delusion of yours!"
"Perhaps you don't even know this…"
"It was because a demon was born from our own clan—because of you—that our family was cursed."
"All children born after that were sickly, dying young. Despair filled our bloodline."
"Until the shrine maiden told us: Only by defeating the demon within our own clan would the curse be lifted."
Finally able to say these words to Muzan face to face, Kagaya's voice trembled with emotion.
"Absurd. Revolting."
"Is your illness eating away at your brain? There is no such cause and effect."
"After all, I've never been punished by heaven. Even after slaughtering thousands, I've never seen any gods or Buddhas."
Muzan scoffed at his beliefs.
"I know why you came. It's because of Lady Tamayo."
"You want your dream fulfilled… your craving for immortality."
"That's right. And soon, it'll be within reach. And to think—it's all thanks to you."
"So long as I obtain her…"
His voice turned icy.
"You deliberately let her appear before Daki so I'd come here, didn't you? Well, now that I'm here, you might as well bring her out."
Muzan had been watching the surroundings since entering the courtyard. Everything was eerily quiet. A strange sense of nostalgia crept over him.
"I understand now… what eternity means."
"Eternity is conviction. It is legacy."
"For a thousand years, the Demon Slayer Corps has never perished. Though countless children have died, the organization endured."
"All of this proves… human will is indestructible."
"And those ancient forces you've awakened… dragons and tigers that once slept in time…"
"They've set their sights on you, Muzan. And they will not let you go."
"The moment you're destroyed, all the wishes they carried… will finally be granted."
A sudden shift in Muzan's face—veins bulging in fury.
He was enraged.
"Seems I struck a nerve," Kagaya smiled calmly.
"SHUT UP!"
A murderous aura burst forth.
In the blink of an eye, Muzan was at Kagaya's side.
"May I say one last thing?"
Neither Kagaya nor Amane flinched at Muzan's outstretched hand.
"At first, I intended to sacrifice myself… to use my death as a symbol to rally the Corps."
"The children—the Pillars—they respect me deeply. And then there's Yohan-kun, whom you've met."
"I thought, 'If I die, their morale will soar like never before.'"
"But…"
"If I have the chance… I want to witness your death with my own eyes."
Having spoken from the heart, Kagaya seemed at peace.
"You… won't shut up, will you?"
"Thank you, Muzan."
—
—EMERGENCY ALERT!! EMERGENCY ALERT!!—
FLASH!
Muzan barely had time to summon Nakime.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted as countless explosives detonated all at once. The entire estate blew apart in an instant!
"UBUYASHIKI!!!"
Muzan's fragmented body roared in rage.
"…You're really breaking every convention!"
He hadn't expected such a suicidal trap. That divine, serene face of Kagaya still lingered in Muzan's mind.
"Truly… shocking."
"Master, let me take it from here."
Hovering in the air above headquarters, Yohan's massive golden wings unfurled as he held Kagaya and Amane in his arms. At the moment of the explosion, he had swooped in and rescued them both.
"Yohan-kun… you didn't have to…"
Kagaya shook his head, then inhaled deeply.
"Then, I leave everything in your hands."
"My lord!"
Around the estate, all the Pillars had already noticed the explosion. The inferno lighting the sky sent every one of them into a frenzy.
….
Blood Demon Art!
Muzan's body regenerated rapidly, but sharp thorns pierced him from within, splitting wildly.
He was restrained! Muzan panicked slightly.
But the effect was limited; he could absorb it and began wildly shifting his form to counteract it.
….
"Namu Amida Butsu!"
Covered in ofuda talismans, Gyomei Himejima appeared, tears streaming from his eyes. He swung his chained flail with divine might—
CRACK!
Muzan's skull shattered instantly.
"That's him! That's Muzan!"
Gyomei roared as he sensed the Pillars arriving.
….
"MUZAN!!!"
Mist Breathing, Fourth Form: Shifting Flow Slash!
Sound Breathing, First Form: Roar!
Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!
Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!
Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!
Serpent Breathing, First Form: Winding Serpent Slash!
Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale –Sudden Gusts!
….
"…Heh."
Muzan sneered.
The ground twisted beneath them—transforming into a trapdoor. The Pillars' footing vanished.
"Prepare for hell!"
"You really thought you had me cornered? That I'd come here unprepared?"
"You insects! Today, I'll slaughter every last one of you!!"
CRASH!
The floor split apart—dozens upon dozens of demons surged from the depths.
Muzan's "first gift" to the Demon Slayer Corps had arrived…