The sensation beneath his feet felt strange.
It wasn't the cold marble floors of the Eternal Paradise Cult, nor the blood-soaked mud of the battlefield.
Instead, it was soft—springy—like stepping on cotton candy or clouds.
"Huh?"
Inosuke snapped his eyes open.
All he saw was white—blinding, glowing white.
"Where the hell is this?"
He scratched his head and realized that all the bone-deep wounds on his body were gone. Even his tattered clothes had become brand-new and gleaming.
He looked around.
Faint golden motes drifted through the air, and a pleasant fragrance hung about—so soothing it made him want to fall asleep.
Before him stood an enormous golden gate.
Its pillars were carved with all manner of bizarre creatures, and embedded in the lintel were diamonds larger than all the gemstones he'd ever seen in Yoshiwara combined.
"Whoa!!!"
Inosuke's pupils dilated instantly.
"This place is way too fancy!!
Whose rich mansion is this?
Or did the old man secretly build another estate behind my back?"
Rubbing his hands excitedly, he swaggered forward.
"Hey!! Gonpachiro!! Monitsu!!
Are you guys in there?!
Eating good stuff behind my back again?!"
No one answered.
The empty entrance only echoed his voice back at him.
There was no warm presence like Tanjiro's here.
No shrill screaming from Zenitsu either.
"Tch… what the hell."
Inosuke pouted in annoyance.
"You dare ditch me and go have fun on your own…
Fine! I'll go in and eat everything myself!"
He strode toward the gate. Just as his hand was about to touch the handle—
"Please stop!!
That area is forbidden!!!"
Two flashes of white light appeared.
Two winged figures with halos above their heads—dressed in white robes like guards—hurriedly blocked Inosuke's path.
Though they held spears, the way they looked at him was filled with… reverence?
"Huh?!"
Inosuke frowned.
"And who the hell are you?
Daring to block my path?!
Do you even know who I am?!
I'm the Young Lord of the Eternal Paradise Cult!
Hashibira Inosuke!!!"
"Yes, yes! Of course we know!"
One of the guards wiped sweat from his brow, bowing so deeply he nearly touched the ground.
"Lord Inosuke's great name is… well, thunderous even over here."
"Then get out of my way already!"
Inosuke planted his hands on his hips, utterly arrogant.
"I'm going in to find my underlings!
They're definitely hiding in there!"
"N-no… that won't do!"
The other guard panicked so badly his wings nearly fell off as he blocked the entrance.
"You really can't go in there! At least not right now!
There are no underlings of yours inside, no family either…
There's only—"
"Only what? Food?"
Inosuke wasn't listening at all.
"Enough talking! Let me in!"
Just as the standoff dragged on, Inosuke's sharp eyes suddenly narrowed.
He stared at the guard on the left.
That face… looked awfully familiar.
That timid expression.
That instinctive urge to kneel the moment he saw Inosuke…
"Hey."
Inosuke suddenly leaned in close, their foreheads nearly touching.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?"
The guard jolted, eyes darting away.
"N-no… I don't think so…
I'm just an ordinary gatekeeping angel…"
"Nope."
Inosuke shook his head confidently.
"You look exactly like the guy my dad chased off when I was little—for sneaking offerings."
The guard's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Inosuke's eyes rolled, a bold idea forming.
He cleared his throat, put on the dignified air of the cult's young lord, and asked in a deep voice:
"If you say you're an angel,
then you must know…
what are the teachings of the Eternal Paradise Cult?"
The guard snapped to attention as if by reflex, clasped his hands together, and recited reverently:
"Keep a calm heart and live at ease.
There is no need to do difficult or painful things.
There is no need to make oneself suffer.
Long live the Divine Child, forever and ever!"
The moment he finished—
The air fell silent.
The guard slapped a hand over his mouth, staring at Inosuke in terror.
"I-I'm done for…"
"Hehehe."
Inosuke let out a villainous snicker.
He slung an arm around the guard's shoulders.
"I knew it! It really is you, thick-browed bastard!
Since you know I'm the Divine Child—the young lord—
then hurry up and let me in!
Or I'll tell my dad!"
At the mention of the Cult Leader, the guard burst into tears and snot.
"Mercy, Young Lord!!!
It's not that I don't want to let you in!!
You truly can't enter here!!!"
"Why not?!"
"I'm already at the door!
It's huge and shiny—there's definitely good stuff inside!"
The guard looked at Inosuke's innocent yet arrogant face, his expression turning unbearably complex—sadness mixed with helplessness.
"Young Lord…"
He pointed at the glowing plaque above the gate.
"Do you know where this place is?"
"Where? A branch of the Eternal Paradise Cult?"
"No…"
The guard shook his head, his voice light as a breeze.
"This is… Heaven."
"Heaven?"
Inosuke tilted his head.
"Oh. So it's a good place, then?"
"It is a good place…"
The guard sighed, meeting Inosuke's eyes.
"But… only the dead come here."
BOOM!!!
The words struck Inosuke like a thunderbolt to the skull.
"Dead…?"
His smile froze.
The warm white light around him suddenly felt blinding.
Memories sealed away by the brink of death burst forth like a broken dam.
The ruins of the Eternal Paradise Cult.
Kokushibo's grotesque blade covered in eyes.
Tanjiro and Kaigaku's howls after becoming demons.
The agony of injecting himself with medicine.
The suffocating pain as his lungs froze in the pool of blood.
And the last thing he saw—
Doma's face, twisted in despair and tears.
"Ah…"
Inosuke clutched his head, his body trembling.
"I remember…
I… died?"
He looked down at his hands.
The fan he once held was gone.
The pain that should've wracked his body was absent—he felt weightless.
"So… I can't go back?"
For the first time, fear crept into his voice.
"Gonpachiro's still waiting for me…
Monitsu, that crybaby, must be terrified…
Mom… Mom would cry herself to death if she knew…
And the old man… that idiot!"
"No way!!"
Inosuke grabbed the guard by the collar.
"I'm not going in!
I'm going back!!
I'm not done living yet!
Tell me how to go back—now!"
The guard swayed from being shaken, yet smiled in relief.
"You never belonged here…
At least, not yet."
He pointed beneath Inosuke's feet.
"Look."
Inosuke instinctively looked down.
"What the—?!"
The clouds beneath his feet vanished.
In their place was a massive vortex—bottomless, yet with a visible end.
At its deepest point, he saw the ruins of the Eternal Paradise Cult, the rising sun—
And himself, lying in a pool of blood, surrounded by countless anxious faces.
"That's… me?"
"Go back, Young Lord."
The guard gently pushed him.
"Everyone is waiting for you.
Please give my regards to the Cult Leader…
Tell him the Eternal Paradise Cult really is a wonderful faith.
I followed his guidance and did good deeds—so I made it to Heaven."
"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Before the guard could finish rambling, Inosuke lost his footing and plunged downward like a falling star, hurtling toward the world of the living.
Wind roared past his ears.
The weightlessness made him nauseous.
Then—
That long-familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind.
[Ding
Host has successfully reached Heaven
Rare Hidden Achievement Unlocked: "The Villain Who Went to Heaven"]
[Achievement Description:
As a member of the villain faction, the host earned Heaven's recognition through personal charisma and self-sacrifice.
A disgrace to villains everywhere—and a role model for protagonists.]
[Reward Granted: Key to Heaven (Single-use item)]
[Reward Description:
The host may use this key at any time in the future to forcibly open the gates of Heaven, ignoring the laws of life and death, and return the deceased to the living world (must be within time limits and at great cost).]
[Note:
Candy for the most disobedient child. Please keep it safe.]
"What the hell is that?!"
Inosuke had no time to read as a heavy, softly glowing golden key suddenly appeared in his hand.
"Whatever!! I'll deal with it later—just let me get back!!"
Just as he was about to pierce through the clouds and leave this realm completely—
He instinctively looked back.
The golden gate was growing distant.
Through the narrowing gap as it slowly closed, countless figures emerged.
Some wore Demon Slayer uniforms.
Some wore ordinary kimono.
They all watched him, their gazes filled with blessings and hope.
And at the very center—
A pair of eyes.
Soft pink eyes, like cherry blossoms in spring.
She smiled and gently waved at him.
BOOM!!!
Inosuke's mind went blank.
That figure… that gaze…
So familiar.
Before he could react, blinding sunlight swallowed his vision whole.
Ruins of the Eternal Paradise Cult
Morning sunlight, warm and gentle, shone on Inosuke's bloodstained face.
Deathly silence surrounded them.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the boy whose heart had restarted—but who still hadn't awakened.
"M-moved!!"
Zenitsu screamed suddenly, staring at Inosuke's eyelashes.
"They moved!! Big bro's waking up!!!"
"Ugh…"
A pained groan squeezed from Inosuke's throat.
It hurt.
Everything hurt—like his body had been torn apart and reassembled. His lungs felt stuffed with burning coals, every breath scorching.
Inosuke struggled to open his heavy eyelids.
The light was too bright; he had to squint and adjust.
Gradually, his vision cleared.
Familiar, anxious—sometimes downright ridiculous—faces filled his sight.
At the top was Rengoku Kyojuro, eyes brimming with tears like a dam about to burst.
To the left was Giyu Tomioka, expressionless as ever, but staring without blinking.
To the right was Sanemi Shinazugawa, face smeared with blood, grinning like an idiot.
There was Obanai.
Uzui Tengen squatted nearby with a you're lucky look.
Muichiro poked Inosuke's cheek, apparently checking if he was alive.
Below them—
Zenitsu, bawling his eyes out.
Shinobu Kocho, gripping his left hand, trembling.
And Kotoha, holding his head, tears dripping onto his face.
"Too… too loud…"
Inosuke croaked, his voice hoarse like he'd swallowed sand.
"Inosuke!!!" "Big bro!!!" "Young man!!!"
Cheers erupted instantly, so loud his ears rang.
Inosuke frowned.
He forced himself up a little—grimacing in pain—but still struck his strongest, most arrogant pose.
He scanned the crowd.
"Hey."
He snorted, pulling a ridiculously punchable grin.
"Why are you all crowding around me?
Am I some kind of monkey?"
He glanced at the sobbing Zenitsu and Kotoha, then at the teary-eyed Rengoku.
"What, were you all crying?
Thought I was dead and wouldn't have to pay back what you owe me?"
"Dream on!!!"
Inosuke roared with all his remaining strength.
"…!"
The air froze for a second.
Then—
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
It exploded.
Zenitsu threw himself onto Inosuke, wailing.
"Big bro!!! You bastard!!! You scared me to death!!!"
Kotoha hugged Inosuke's neck, burying her face there, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Inosuke… thank goodness… thank goodness…"
"UMAI!!!"
Rengoku laughed and cried at the same time, voice booming.
"Wonderful!! As long as you're alive, Inosuke!!
I'll definitely repay that one hundred million gold I owe you!!"
"Tch…"
Sanemi turned away, secretly wiping his eyes, cursing under his breath.
"Figures… a disaster like you wouldn't die that easily."
"As long as you're alive."
Giyu remained deadpan.
Shinobu watched the chaotic yet unbearably warm scene.
She released Inosuke's hand and quietly stepped back.
Watching him surrounded by everyone—cursing as always, yet with eyes softer than ever—
A genuine smile finally bloomed on her face.
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