The man led Yoizumi and Tanjirou deep into the mountains, and as they went deeper, the scent of demons became increasingly obvious.
Tanjirou raised a hand to cover his nose and mouth, his crimson eyes filled with indignation.
"What a pungent smell! This is the smell of decaying corpses!"
"To reach such a concentration, it must be emanating from many corpses!"
"How awful!"
"Yoizumi-nii…" Tanjirou looked at Yoizumi, seeing that his brother's face was also grim.
Those villagers, full of joy, sent their family members up the mountain, unaware that they were pushing them into an abyss, forever waiting for someone who would never return, worshipping a murderer.
Soon, the group reached a cave, dark and seemingly endless. The man, ignoring his pain, frantically ran to the entrance, triumphantly pointing his withered finger at Tanjirou and Yoizumi, shouting provocatively.
"How dare you disrespect the gods! And harm the divine messenger! You will pay the price!"
"Oh, gods, please unleash divine punishment upon those who profane you!" the man cried out, kneeling towards the cave.
"Danger!"
Tanjirou's eyes widened. He drew his nichirin blade and flew to the cave entrance, deflecting a huge rock that had flown out of the cave towards the man.
The man shouted in disbelief, "Oh, gods! I am your chosen divine messenger!"
From within the cave, the ugly demon, identical to the one in the shrine, appeared. It looked at the man in shock and anger, its sharp voice cursing, "You useless good-for-nothing, bringing demon slayers here!"
Its eyes nervously fixated on the two individuals holding nichirin blades, and one of them was even a demon?
A demon holding a nichirin blade?!
Damn it, what's going on?!
The demon was already mentally planning its escape route. There was no other way; it was such a cautious demon. Otherwise, it wouldn't have kept humans captive, making them live day and night, controlling their thoughts, preventing them from developing any rebellious ideas, and making them willingly offer themselves as its food.
Its Blood Demon Art had no offensive power, only a hallucinatory effect. However, everyone harbored desires. It would make their long-cherished desires or weaknesses appear vividly before their eyes. See?
They would elevate it to a supreme god. How laughable. They would burn incense and pray to it daily, begging for its protection.
These two demon slayers must also have desires and weaknesses, right?
Its grayish-brown pupils glanced at the nearby forest. If it wasn't 100% sure it could kill them, then run!
The moment it emerged from the cave, it had activated its Blood Demon Art: Illusion. It was that cautious!
Seeing the two humans and one demon in a dazed state, the demon cautiously approached, fearing that if it wasn't careful, the demon slayers would break free from the illusion… "Brother!" Seeing the suddenly vibrant Shigeru appear before him, and Rokkuta tugging at his sleeve, Tanjirou rubbed his eyes.
"Shigeru? Rokkuta?"
No!
This is an illusion! Shigeru and Rokkuta are already dead!
In a single breath, Tanjirou understood he was caught in an illusion. How could he wake up? Did he have to commit suicide to return to reality, just like with Lower Moon One?
What if he was wrong?
Tanjirou felt his body suddenly grow cold as ice crystals and snowflakes flew into his eyes. This was Yoizumi-nii's breathing technique, and the snowflakes seemed to guide Tanjirou.
Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!
The illusion was gone. Tanjirou sliced off the demon's arm that had reached out to him.
The demon gritted its teeth. It had to run!
It had only moved a few steps when the biting snow was already at its neck. A bone-chilling cold pierced its entire body, and before it could even react, its head rolled to the ground.
Its grayish-brown eyes wide, it wondered why they could break free from the illusion so quickly. Wasn't it their desires and weaknesses?
With a few unwilling whimpers, the demon saw those cold blue eyes and heard his whisper.
"Miss Shinobu is not that weak."
The demon dissolved into ash. The man, affected by the Blood Demon Art, awoke as if from a dream, clutching his head in pain. Without the demon's influence, he finally understood the heinous acts he had committed.
"Please pull yourself together. Spend the rest of your days atoning for this," Tanjirou said, sheathing his nichirin blade. Because he had been misled by a demon into committing such unforgivable acts, Tanjirou couldn't defend him. If this man still had a conscience, his future days would only be spent in endless suffering.
Tanjirou closed his eyes, silently praying for the deceased.
"We are sorry we arrived late. Please live happily in the other world."
There were no survivors in the cave, only piles of bones. Tanjirou was about to step inside when the man, still on his knees, grabbed him.
The man's hoarse voice, his trembling hands, softly pleaded, "Let me do it. I'll bury them…"
The man struggled to his feet, his body hunched, and walked into the dark cave.
"Let's go, Tanjirou. We should head back."
"Yoizumi-nii… those villagers…" Tanjirou couldn't even imagine what the villagers at the foot of the mountain would be like if they learned the truth.
Yoizumi's expression softened. He pressed his thin lips together. "We can't change what has already happened. Then let's address the source of the problem."
"…I understand, Yoizumi-nii," Tanjirou said, gripping his nichirin blade, enunciating each word. …Walking back to the Butterfly Mansion, Tanjirou asked as they went, "Yoizumi-nii, you said back then that Miss Shinobu wouldn't be that weak."
"Does that mean you saw Miss Shinobu in the illusion?"
"What happened?"
"…" The wooden box was silent for a long time before Yoizumi's reply was heard, "Nothing."
"Eh! You're not telling me."
Tanjirou didn't dwell on it and continued walking.
In the darkness, Nezuko, who had remained in the wooden box the entire time, curiously watched Yoizumi.
Yoizumi's expression was calm. He casually fed Nezuko a few konpeito. Once his sister's attention was fully on the konpeito in her mouth, Yoizumi propped his chin on his hand.
In that illusion, he had seen Shinobu crying.
Shinobu was crying fragilely, holding his hand, and said to Yoizumi in a voice that was almost broken.
"I don't want to seek revenge anymore. Please take me away."
Yoizumi admitted he didn't want to see Shinobu's tears, but he even less wanted to see such a weak side of her, even if it was an illusion.
Shinobu should be resilient, proud.
This was the Shinobu in Yoizumi's eyes.
An unyielding Kochou, who would fly forever.
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