Buzz~~
For a brief moment, a special fluctuation swept across the battlefield.
It wasn't loud, but in this inconspicuous instant, the battlefield of Forest Breathing—previously locked in a fierce, undecided clash—fell into a dead silence.
This area of the Infinity Castle looked as if it had been trampled and ravaged by invisible giant hands.
Large sections of buildings and corridors had been turned to powder and ruins during the clash of Forest Breathing, floating in the disordered void.
Only a few relatively intact, crack-filled platforms were still slowly rotating nearby.
Shinichi stood at the edge of one of the tilted platforms. His cyan-green Nichirin Sword hung at his side.
Blood mixed with faint spots of light dripped from the blade's tip into the dark void below. Aside from his heaving chest, a long, narrow wound had appeared on his forehead.
Sweat mixed with blood blurred his left eye, his Demon Slayer uniform was covered in cuts, and his haori was reduced to mere tatters.
Meanwhile, his opponent stood at the other end of the platform.
Shunichi Moriki maintained a stance ready to strike, his upper body leaning slightly forward, legs bent like a bow, his willow-leaf blade pointing straight ahead.
However, facing the now defenseless Shinichi, Shunichi did not move again.
Instead, the dull emptiness in his smoky-gray eyes was slowly fading, replaced by a gradually dawning clarity of understanding.
"Cough, cough. It's over... Ancestor." Shinichi endured the pain and fatigue in his body, flicking his Nichirin Sword to clear the blood from the blade—that wasn't his blood.
Sure enough, as soon as Shinichi spoke, Shunichi lowered his head to look at his chest.
There, where his samurai garb was shattered, a fist-sized hole penetrated his chest!
But calling it a "wound" wasn't quite accurate.
The edges weren't bloody or mangled; instead, they presented a strange "petal" shape, as if carefully sculpted.
The peculiar flower shape held a unique enchantment upon a single glance.
Shunichi's body seemed to begin cracking from that flower, his form gradually turning into fine ash.
"Is this..." Shunichi's voice was no longer hoarse and mechanical; it sounded as if he had recovered some of the clarity he possessed in life.
"...A Blue Spider Lily?"
Shinichi slowly straightened his body, looking at the flower "blooming" on Shunichi's chest, and spoke calmly:
"Breath of Forest-Esoteric Art Yomi River Spider Lily."
"The ultimate extreme of life is the path to final nirvana. Even a demon's infinitely regenerating body cannot withstand it... This is truly a beautiful technique." Shunichi seemed to be evaluating someone else's move, his tone even carrying a hint of admiration.
"Junior, you have surpassed me, the founder. This Esoteric Art is even more perfect than I originally envisioned. You have walked your own path, Shinichi."
Shinichi watched as Shunichi's body began to crumble.
In these final moments before dissipation, his ancestor seemed to have regained his sanity, and Shinichi was willing to show respect to this forefather of the Moriki family.
"If it were just Forest Breathing, I couldn't have achieved this step. The old man once told me that the Final Form of Forest Breathing was just a concept of yours. So you should also know, Ancestor, why I was able to truly unleash this move," Shinichi said sincerely.
Shunichi showed a look of realization at the right moment.
Because of this, the expression of appreciation on his face grew heavier.
"I see. Have you already comprehended the Breath of Life? At such an age, truly remarkable."
As he spoke, Shunichi's body began to dissipate at an accelerated rate starting from the petals on his chest.
It was in this moment, on the verge of fading away, that Shunichi's eyes suddenly became incredibly clear.
His gaze pierced through the ash drifting from his chest and landed on Shinichi's face.
In his eyes was relief, appreciation, and a trace of... compassionate pity for a fellow sufferer.
"Junior... Shinichi." He spoke suddenly, his voice very soft, yet carrying a power that reached straight to the soul.
"There is one thing... you must know."
Shinichi tightened his grip on his sword hilt, staring at him. "Please speak, Ancestor."
Shunichi's gaze seemed to penetrate Shinichi's body, seeing something deeper. He spoke slowly.
"If you have truly comprehended the Breath of Life, then you should know that Yomi truly exists. Shinichi, whether it is you, me, or... Shokyu, we should not have appeared in this world. We are all remnant souls from Yomi."
BOOM!
Shunichi's words were like a heavy bomb, causing Shinichi's heart to skip a beat and his pupils to contract.
"Looking at your expression, you know I'm not wrong. I believe you have memories in your mind that do not belong to this world." Shunichi's body had already half-dissipated, but his voice became clearer, as if using his final will to convey information.
"Although I don't know what your world was like before you lived, I am certain that hundreds of years ago, I was revived in a declining samurai family with different memories, thus becoming 'Shunichi Moriki'."
Shunichi paused, looking at Shinichi. "And you... Shinichi... we are the same. As for Shokyu... It was likely the earliest Yomi remnant soul to appear in this world."
Shinichi's mind roared as countless fragments of clues began to piece together.
Although he had many guesses, hearing the truth from his ancestor Shunichi still shocked him deeply.
So everything stemmed from that ethereal Yomi?
Were they originally remnant souls of the Underworld that shouldn't have appeared in this world?
"I don't know if our appearance is related to Shokyu, but I know what it wants... is not just to destroy or rule this world." Shunichi's figure was already very dim, and his voice became ethereal.
"It wants to control Yomi. If it truly succeeds, the meaning of life and death will be completely destroyed. This world will thoroughly turn into hell. Stop it, Shinichi... not just as a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, but as... a fellow member of the Yomi remnant souls. This world shouldn't have to suffer all this."
With those words, Shunichi's Moriki figure turned completely into dust, vanishing into the cold air of the Infinity Castle like fireflies on a summer night.
At the final moment of dissipation, he gave Shinichi one last meaningful look.
Shinichi stood alone on the shattered platform, looking at the spot where his ancestor had vanished, the stormy waves in his heart refusing to settle for a long time.
Remnant souls of Yomi...
"My duty... my duty..." Shinichi repeated in a low voice, his hand unconsciously tightening around the Nichirin Sword.
Suddenly, the smiling face of Shinobu appeared before his eyes. S
hinichi reached out, but touched nothing.
Yet, in that instant, Shinichi made up his mind.
"Tonight, everything will end!"
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator