"My Lord…"
Inside the ever-shifting maze of the Infinity Castle, Nakime sat quietly in her usual place. She didn't know what had just happened—one moment, silence. The next, Muzan Kibutsuji suddenly erupted, his body mutating as a massive, grotesque arm smashed through the chamber, utterly obliterating it.
"Could it be… the Upper Moons…?"
Nakime dared not think further. She knew full well that Muzan could read her thoughts at any time from this distance. If she dwelled too long or let a wrong idea slip through her mind, she might be next.
"You're not mistaken. That's exactly what happened."
Muzan's voice was cold, but underlined with unmistakable fury. Even though he had already vented some of his wrath, his tone still carried the sharp edge of barely suppressed rage.
"Kokushibo, Gyokko, and Hantengu are all dead."
He said it expressionlessly, but as the word "dead" left his lips, Muzan's pale face grew even more ashen.
"They… died?"
Even standing beside Muzan, Nakime couldn't hold back a gasp.
Dead. All of them. The news hit her like thunder. Her thoughts stalled—completely blank.
She couldn't believe it. Such overwhelming strength… and they were annihilated? Even Kokushibo, the First Upper Moon? Impossible!
Having served Muzan for so long, Nakime was all too familiar with the faces of the Upper Moons. While the Lower Moons were replaced over and over like fleeting shadows, the Upper Moons were permanent, eternal—unchanging for centuries.
Now? All gone.
All of them, except Daki—the only Upper Moon who hadn't taken part in the recent battle.
Of the six Upper Moons, only one remained. The title "Upper Moon" had effectively become a hollow name.
"So then…"
"Yes. Ridiculous, isn't it?"
Surprisingly, Muzan didn't reprimand Nakime. Perhaps the loss of his elite guards had left the entire Infinity Castle steeped in a heavy, suffocating gloom. Or maybe he had already decided that Nakime, one of the few surviving demons, still had her uses.
"From now on, we stay quiet," Muzan said coldly. "The others outside—let them be. As for Daki, she is to remain hidden. Continue gathering information."
With that, Muzan's form vanished into the shadows. He was heading off to play the role of "father," to tie up that façade before everything came crashing down.
He didn't share what he'd seen in the final memories of the fallen Upper Moons—particularly the image of Kokushibo being shattered into pieces by that man, Yohan, with a single punch.
"No breathing techniques. No blade. Just raw, overwhelming strength?"
Muzan calculated silently. Yohan's strength wasn't fancy—it was absolute. A crushing, brute force that transcended swordplay.
Even so, Muzan—who had hidden away for so many years—valued caution above all.
"So what if he's strong?" Muzan whispered to himself. "He's still just human."
He grinned faintly in the dark.
Humans died. That was their weakness.
As long as that truth held, Muzan believed he could outlive them all. Let them wear themselves out. He would endure. As always.
With that thought, he felt a strange peace settle over him. Let the others die. New demons could always be made.
His cruelty, as always, knew no bounds.
….
"Lord Ubuyashiki! Master!"
A demon slayer came barreling into the estate, frantic and breathless.
"Careful—quiet your steps," Lady Amane, Ubuyashiki's wife, admonished softly. "You'll disturb the Master's rest."
These days, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's condition had been deteriorating rapidly. He now spent most of his time confined to bed, his strength fading by the day.
"It's alright," Kagaya said with a gentle smile. "Catch your breath and speak slowly."
That smile—always calm, always warm—made the young slayer momentarily forget his anxiety.
This is the Master, he thought in awe.
"No—Master, this is urgent! A critical message from the Hashira!"
He quickly handed over the letter. Its seal bore the mark of an emergency.
"An urgent report? Did something happen at Peach Mountain?" Kagaya murmured. He guessed it must have come from the team he'd dispatched there. His hands trembled slightly as he tore the letter open and scanned the contents.
And then, his pupils contracted.
He read it again. Then again, from the beginning.
He even pinched his own thigh hard, to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
The pain told him it was real.
And then—
"Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!"
Kagaya threw his head back and laughed with joy, unrestrained and loud. He hadn't laughed like this in years.
"What is it, Kagaya?" Lady Amane asked, stunned. Her husband—always so composed—was now laughing with childlike glee.
"Amane, listen!" he said, voice trembling with emotion. "A report from Himejima Gyomei just came in—they've resolved the traitor crisis. But that's not all. Three Upper Moons appeared at Peach Mountain!"
"Three?!"
Lady Amane and the nearby slayer gasped aloud. To encounter one was terrifying enough—three was a death sentence.
"And then—Himejima, Tokito, and Yohan killed them all!"
"Killed—all three?" Lady Amane whispered, barely believing her ears.
"Yes! Killed! Not escaped, not defeated—killed them!"
If he hadn't been bedridden, Kagaya would have leapt from his bed and ordered a grand feast.
"It's real. All of them gone!"
Amane stood in silence, unable to find words. Her gaze fixed on her husband, who had begun pacing the room excitedly, hands gesturing as he talked.
Yet her thoughts wandered somewhere else.
"Could it be… that Kagaya's illness might be… curable?" she whispered.
For the first time in ages, hope shimmered in her eyes—not just for the end of Muzan, not just for the final victory, but for the man she loved possibly surviving.
Tears streamed silently down both their faces.
….
"Someone, send word to all Hashira—order them to immediately return to headquarters!" Kagaya said with renewed strength.
"I'm calling a Hashira meeting—this instant!"
"Yes, sir!"
The slayer saluted sharply and dashed off.
The room quieted again, leaving only Kagaya and Amane. The Master of the Ubuyashiki family walked in slow, painful circles, ignoring the aches in his body, his heart surging with determination.
"One last time," he whispered.
"This… this will be the final time."
"Muzan Kibutsuji… I see it now. I see your end."
….